Anil Dharker (1946-2021): ‘Anil wanted to prove that Bombayites are readers’

Antoine Lewis believes Anil Dharker gave the city a festival that attracted all kinds of authors and readers, across genres and age groups. Pic/Natasha Hemrajani

Of all of us on the team, Anil Dharker was the most passionate reader. The study room in his home at Hanging Gardens would be stacked with piles of books from publishing houses," recalled Antoine Lewis, former assistant festival director, Tata Literature Live for a decade until its last physical edition in 2019, still trying to digest the news.

"Anil was keen to organise a city-based literary festival. The idea was to counteract the belief that people here don't read. He strongly believed that they did, and wanted to relay this via the festival. There was this stubbornness in his beliefs, and if anyone debated them, he was ready to prove his point 10 times over," he recalls.

Lewis had come on board as a volunteer in the second edition of Tata LitLive to help Shashi Baliga (executive festival director). "But I paid the price of efficiency," he smiles, saying he moved on to become its assistant director. "Anil had no ego, All seven-eight of us in the core team enjoyed working with him. It didn't matter where we were coming from, how young we were, or how silly our idea was. He was always receptive."

And when it came to authors, many who can be prima donnas, he reconciled with their tantrums, "because he believed that the festival came first," he adds. "The mechanics of running such a festival are huge - from advertising to planning itineraries, and he remained the calming, connecting factor that bound it all together for a relatively small team, many of whom had their longest working stints at Tata LitLive," he revealed.

"He was an editor across leading publications, a respected voice on film policy, and was closely associated with the arts. He knew everybody, and was part of so many circles. This advantage of having a pulse across levels reflected in the line-ups of prestigious speakers in itineraries of the festival, and other events throughout the year," Lewis shares, adding that Dharker had a knack of devolving responsibilities - "He would let you do it. One of the great successes was the children's section at the festival. The festival is one of the few Indian literary platforms with a strong school and college presence. It was Reena Agrawal's idea, and Anil supported her all the way."

Lewis believes that Dharker gave the city a festival that attracted all kinds of authors and readers, across genres and age groups. "He envisioned it as a printed word festival, and constantly introduced ideas to break the conventional template of a literature festival."

We have lost a stalwart of the cultural sector

‘Anil was one of my closest friends. Vikram and I have known him since we moved back from London 28 years ago. We are both devastated. Mumbai and India have lost a very important voice and a stalwart of the cultural and literary sector. He was fearless but balanced, and a friend to many. Seven years ago, when the BMC was trying to take back the museum, he marshalled 250 signatures from everyone who mattered in Mumbai to protest the takeover'

- Mehta, Managing Trustee & Director Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum

Great loss for literature in India

‘It was shocking and distressing news that Mr Dharker is no more. I remember so many instances over the years - discussing books, authors, hosting writers informally, and indeed through the prestigious awards for books and writers, his festival Tata Lit Live has hosted over the years. Mr Dharker is one of those rare champions of the written word, who wholeheartedly celebrated creativity and creative expression, was a true friend to artists, especially writers, and was ever ready to celebrate a book, and one who stood for freedom of speech and free voice. This is a great loss not just for Indian literature, but also literature in India'

- Ananth Padmanabhan, CEO, HarperCollins India