Indian Ocean, Kabir Cafe to perform at Sikkim Arts and Literature Festival

The Sikkim Arts and Literature Festival (SALF) is set to return to Gangtok, bringing together writers, poets and thinkers from across India, alongside musical performances by Indian Ocean and Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Cafe. The three-day festival will be held from October 28 to 30.

Organized by the Sikkim government’s Students’ Welfare Board (SWB), the three-day festival at The Ridge Park will feature literary discussions, poetry, live music, and cultural exchanges centered on identity, memory, belonging, history, and the Himalayan experience.

MLA Aditya Golay said the festival would provide a platform to celebrate the voices and stories that make the Himalayas an important part of India's cultural landscape.

The literary programme will feature writers and poets such as Chuden Kabimo, Mamang Dai, Nawaraj Parajuli, Ranjit Hoskote, William Dalrymple, Yuvan Aves, Guru T Ladakhi and Stephen Alter, among others, the statement said.

Sessions will explore the relationship between people, culture and the mountains, with discussions on the meaning of home, borderland identities, language and belonging.

SWB Chairman Sonam Chopel Sherpa said the festival would give young people an opportunity to engage with diverse literary traditions and recognise their own languages, experiences and stories as part of a wider cultural conversation.

The festival opens on October 28 with a tribute to legendary ghazal singers Mehdi Hasan, Begum Akhtar, and Noor Jehan by Delhi-based Aagaaz.

Flautist Kartikeya and percussionist Makrand will perform on the morning of October 29, followed by Indian Ocean in the evening, with the festival concluding on October 30 with Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Cafe blending folk, rock, reggae, pop, and Carnatic music to interpret the 15th-century mystic poet's works.

SALF aims to strengthen Sikkim’s position as a cultural destination and create opportunities for young audiences and emerging writers and artists to interact with established literary and cultural figures, the organisers said.