The Festival of Literature: The spectacular start to the second day of Sahitya Aajtak Lucknow 2026 is underway. Celebrating Lucknow's cultural legacy and sophistication, this two-day event at Ambedkar Memorial Park offers a unique blend of art, culture, music, poetry, and storytelling. Day one dazzled with the essence of Halla Bol Chaupal and Dastak Darbar, featuring poetry, ghazals, music, and spirited discussions with Bollywood stars, politicians, poets, and artists attending.
On the second day (February 15), the festivities began with a Maha Shivratri special bhajan jamming. Following this, BJP leader Manoj Tiwari will delve into politics and music, with Siddhant Chaturvedi and Mrunal Thakur sharing their insights on films, while Taapsee Pannu will speak on courtroom dramas. Ghazal maestro Hariharan will perform, followed by a book release. Pawan Singh's Power Star show will be another highlight, and the Mushaira-e-Lucknow will witness participation from poets like Wasim Barelvi and Nawaz Deobandi.
Day 2: Stage 1 - Halla Bol Chaupal
Time - Event - Details (Moderator/Speaker/Performer)
11:00 - 12:00 - Maha Shivratri Special Bhajan Jamming - India Music Collective by Ankur 12:00 - 1:00 - Oh Raja Ji Lagal Karajwa Me Teer - Manoj Tiwari (Politician, Singer, and Performer) 1:00 - 2:00 - Two Lovers in the City - Siddhant Chaturvedi (Actor), Mrunal Thakur (Actor) 2:00 - 3:00 - The Courtroom Queen - From Pink to Assi - Taapsee Pannu (Actor) 3:00 - 4:30 - Ustad-e-Ghazal Hariharan - Hariharan (Singer) Anand Kakkad (Author of 'Ustad-e-Ghazal Hariharan') followed by Book Release of 'Ustad-e-Ghazal Hariharan' 4:30 - 5:30 - The Power Star - Pawan Singh (Politician and Singer) 5:30 - 7:00 - Mushaira-e-Lucknow - Wasim Barelvi (Poet) Nawaz Deobandi (Poet) Shakeel Azmi (Poet, Lyricist) Azhar Iqbal (Poet) Azam Shakri (Poet) Tabrez Rana (Poet) Shahid Anjum (Poet) Ana Dehlavi (Poet)
Day 2: Stage 2 - Dastak Darbar
Time - Event - Details (Moderator/Speaker/Performer)
11:00 - 12:00 - One Over Weight - Saeed Ansari 12:00 - 1:30 - Ye Ishq Nahi Asaan - Preeti Tripathi (Poet) Dharma Raj Kavi Shayar (Poet) Sonal Jain (Poet) Pratibha Mishra (Poet) Mohit Shaurya (Poet) Ramayan Dhar Dwivedi (Poet) Badal Sharma (Poet) 1:30 - 2:15 - Unraveling Non-Nawabi Vegetarian.. Naval Kant Sinha (Author of 'Gumnam Hindu Raja Teekait Rai') Arshana Azmat (Storyteller and Author) Hemendra Dhar 'Hem' (Culinary Historian) 3:00 - 3:45 - Three Peas in a Pod - Kamlesh Kishore Singh (Journalist, Columnist, Storyteller) Asif Khan (Journalist) Kuldeep Mishra (Journalist) 3:45 - 4:15 - Shams' Story - Shams Tahir Khan (Journalist and Storyteller) 4:15 - 5:00 - New Voices of Lucknow.. RJ Raftaar (Founder of India's First Insta Radio) Manvendra Pratap Singh (Lawyer and Podcaster) RJ Prateek Bharadwaj (Storyteller and Social Media Influencer) 5:00 - 5:30 - Youth's Favorite in Hindi Fiction Writing - Divya Prakash Dubey (Author and Storyteller) Neelotpal Mrinal (Poet and Author) 5:30 - 6:00 - Poetic Lucknow - Himanshu Bajpai (Author and Storyteller) 6:00 - 7:00 - Laughing Through the Journey - Amit Mishra (Comedian and Mimicry Artist) Saurabh Singhal (Comedian and Mimicry Artist) Vibhor Chaudhary (Comedian and Mimicry Artist) Shashi Vardhan (Comedian and Mimicry Artist) Deepak Saini (Comedian and Mimicry Artist)
