New Delhi: The second edition of Sikkim Arts and Literature Festival will bring together writers, poets, thinkers, artists and cultural practitioners for conversations around identity, memory, landscape, belonging and contemporary culture.
The art and literature festival will be held at The Ridge Park in Gangtok from October 28 to 30, the organisers announced at a press conference.
The three-day festival, presented by the Students' Welfare Board, education department, government of Sikkim, and produced by Teamwork Arts, will be headlined by Chuden Kabimo, Mamang Dai, Nawaraj Parajuli, Ranjit Hoskote, William Dalrymple, Yuvan Aves, Guru T Ladakhi and Stephen Alter among other prominent writers, thinkers and cultural practitioners.
"The 'Sikkim Arts and Literature Festival' is an important part of our effort to create meaningful opportunities for the young people of Sikkim to engage with literature, art, culture and ideas.
"The second edition builds on that commitment by bringing some of the finest writers, poets and cultural practitioners to Gangtok, while also creating space for our own stories, languages, traditions and contemporary experiences," Sonam Chopel Sherpa, chairman, Students' Welfare Board, education department, government of Sikkim, said in a statement.
An initiative of Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang (Golay), the festival aims to create a "platform for dialogue, creativity and youth engagement, connecting Sikkim's cultural voices with national and international perspectives".
"We want our students and young audiences to see culture not simply as something to be preserved, but as something they can actively participate in, question, reinterpret and carry forward.
"With workshops, conversations and performances designed for audiences across generations, SALF 2026 is an invitation to come together, listen, learn and celebrate the extraordinary cultural richness of Sikkim and the Himalayas," Sherpa added.
The festival will showcase the state's literary and cultural traditions and its diverse communities, languages, histories and oral traditions.
It will also bring the music, stories and experiences of Sikkim and the wider Himalayan region into conversations around identity, memory, landscape, belonging and contemporary culture.
"This year, we have brought together an exciting mix of writers, poets, thinkers and cultural practitioners from Sikkim, the wider Himalayan region, India and beyond, creating a space for conversations that move between literature, landscape, identity, memory and contemporary life.
"Most importantly, SALF is a festival for everyone - open and free to all and we hope audiences of all ages, particularly young people, will come to discover new ideas, encounter different perspectives and find their own voices," Syed Shams Jawaid, festival producer, senior vice president, Teamwork Arts, said.
Among the programme highlights will be "Echoes of Verse", featuring Mamang Dai and Ranjit Hoskote in conversation with Guru T. Ladakhi, exploring the relationship between poetry, memory, landscape and lived experience; "Kavita Concert: Beats of Poetry" featuring acclaimed poet Nawaraj Parajuli, bringing the rhythm, energy and immediacy of poetry to the stage.
It will also host "These Hills Called Home", where Chuden Kabimo and Stephen Alter will be in conversation with Sharda Chhetri, exploring ideas of identity, belonging, memory and the Himalayan landscape.
The festival will also feature workshops for all age groups, as well as children, facilitated by Gangtok-based creative organisers Tangible Tangerines and Mind Matters.
This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.