The second edition of the Sikkim Arts and Literature Festival (SALF) will bring writers, poets, artists and cultural practitioners to Gangtok for three days of discussions, performances and workshops centred on identity, memory, landscape and contemporary culture.
The festival will be held at Ridge Park from October 28 to 30, organisers announced at a press conference on Tuesday.
Presented by the Students’ Welfare Board under the Education Department, Government of Sikkim, and produced by Teamwork Arts, SALF 2026 will feature several prominent names, including Chuden Kabimo, Mamang Dai, Nawaraj Parajuli, Ranjit Hoskote, William Dalrymple, Yuvan Aves, Guru T Ladakhi and Stephen Alter.
The festival is an initiative of Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) and seeks to provide young people with greater opportunities to engage with literature, art and cultural conversations. It will focus on the literary and cultural traditions of Sikkim and its diverse communities, while also bringing stories and perspectives from across the Himalayan region into wider discussions on identity, belonging, memory and landscape.
The programme will include ‘Echoes of Verse’, featuring Mamang Dai and Ranjit Hoskote in conversation with Guru T. Ladakhi on poetry, memory, landscape and lived experience.
The festival will also feature workshops for adults and children, conducted by Gangtok-based creative organisations Tangible Tangerines and Mind Matters.
(East Mojo)
