vice president m venkaiah naidu on friday said that literature opens pathways to new experiences filled with hope and optimism in difficult times literary texts recreate places events and experiences providing a magical escape into a world in which we lose ourselves he said speaking at the inauguration of the times literature festival 2021 naidu said that in a crisis it is literature that poses the most relevant questions and comes up with pertinent answers literary figures through their work appeal to our imagination in a number of waysas creative writers moralists guides and philosophers among other thingsthe times litfest has been introduced in a virtual avatar for the first time this year and will be held over a period of two months from august 27 to october 17 with sessions every wednesday saturday and sunday it will include more than 100 authors including more than 15 international bestselling writers close to 70 sessions and 20 workshops among the speakers are salman rushdie jeffrey archer booker prize winner douglas stuart rutger bregman tom holland shashi tharoor amish tripathi devdutt pattanaik and chitra banerjee divakarunidescribing how great writing reaches out to us in ways that nothing else can the vice president said we lose ourselves in the world of words in an experience that transcends all limitations of time and space there is no such thing as an appropriate time to immerse oneself in great writingnaidu said the silver lining of the last 16 months has been a rapid increase in the pace of digitalisation of activities it has demolished barriers of access in a way that nothing else has and is without doubt a manifestation of human creativity in the face of adversity not only is human imagination capable of finding ways to cope with extraordinary circumstances but can also convert adversity into opportunity he addedlauding the times of india for organising the event and creating a conducive environment for debate and discussion he said i am told that the standout feature of the times litfest has often been the sparkling exchange between book lovers and authors he also expressed his happiness that the litfest has no entry barriers and is thrown open to all for participation i am certain that this is one of the reasons behind its resounding success he added expressing the hope that the festival would emerge as a platform for different ideas and viewsfor more information on session today go to timeslitfestcomtodays sessions28 august saturday500 pm 540 pm tuning into happiness with anupam kheranupam kher in conversation with vinita dawra nangia540 pm 620 pmvalmikis women different perspectivesanand neelakantan in conversation with madhavi mahadevan620 pm 700 pmrutger bregman are humans fundamentally goodrutger bregman in conversation with dr shashi tharoor