HYDERABAD: With a resonant call for ‘the globalisation of compassion’, the 16th Hyderabad Literary Festival opened on a note of shared humanity at Sattva Knowledge City here on Saturday, signalling three days of ideas, dialogue and cultural exchange that stretch well beyond books.
The festival was inaugurated in the presence of writers, artists and thinkers from India and abroad. Governor Jishnu Dev Varma attended as chief guest, alongside Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi and Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary in FAC of Youth Advancement, Tourism and Culture.
Welcoming the gathering, the organisers traced HLF’s 16-year journey from a book-centric festival to a multidisciplinary platform embracing cinema, theatre, music, science, visual arts and performance. Now a fixture in Hyderabad’s winter cultural calendar, the festival continues to draw wide audiences, with nearly 1.2 lakh visitors recorded last year.
This edition features 15 parallel streams with multiple daily events — from talks and panel discussions to workshops, storytelling sessions and cultural demonstrations for all ages. Kashmir is the region in focus, with cinema, literature, exhibitions and performances spotlighting the Valley’s landscapes, crafts and creative voices.
Addressing the audience, Jayesh Ranjan spoke of the festival’s growing scale and diversity, underscoring libraries as vibrant spaces for learning, dialogue and community life. He outlined a vision to extend HLF’s impact beyond the festival dates through year-long literary and cultural initiatives across the city.
In his remarks, Satyarthi reframed compassion not as a soft sentiment but as a force for change and problem-solving. Drawing from his life’s work, he urged people to move from apathy to action through what he termed the ‘globalisation of compassion’.
Governor Varma praised HLF as an inclusive platform for dialogue and cultural harmony. A writer and patron of the arts, he highlighted the enduring relevance of literature, libraries and compassion — rooted in the Indian idea of dharma — in shaping thoughtful societies.
The ceremony concluded with the release of Satyarthi’s book Karuna: The Power of Compassion and the felicitation of guests, setting the tone for the days ahead.