The eleventh edition of the Indore Literature Festival 2025 witnessed an engaging and insightful session by Anish Kanjilal, distinguished author of Fateless 13 and 11 Oracles. A celebrated figure in contemporary literature, Kanjilal is the recipient of several honours, including the Rajasthan Patrikar Literary Award (2009), the Best Educator Award from the National Education Forum (2024), and the Best Poet Award at the Kolkata Literary Carnival (2025). Beyond his literary accomplishments, he is also a respected pedagogue and the Founder-Director of Educare – The Institute, where he mentors hundreds of students across disciplines.
Invited as a notable panel member for the festival’s discourse on the “Writing Toolkit”, Kanjilal delivered a compelling exploration of the creative process. When asked how writing serves as a cathartic force in his life, he described himself as a “mutinous character,” one who boldly disregards conventional patterns of writing due to his intrinsic fondness for rebellion. This penchant for nonconformity, he explained, allows him to break boundaries and craft narratives infused with emotional and psychological depth.
In an intellectually rich segment of his session, Kanjilal encouraged the audience to envision the existential voyage of Sisyphus from Albert Camus’ philosophy—perseverance in the face of endless repetition—which he linked to a writer’s journey. From there, he seamlessly guided listeners to Franz Kafka, imaginatively portrayed as “swinging on Robert Frost’s Birches,” weaving an interplay of realism and subtle fantasy. His narrative arc continued to transport the audience through Tagore’s “Postmaster” before concluding with a reflective return to the spiritual introspection of Ved Vyas’s Bhagavad Gita.
This stylistic fusion of diverse texts, ideas, and epochs, Kanjilal explained, form a core part of his literary identity. His method of amalgamating contexts and chronicles imbues his work with a distinctive voice—one that is emotionally charged and psychologically nuanced. While themes may often recur in literature, he emphasized that the true craft lies in how a writer digresses, interprets, and executes a narrative. This, he asserted, is the essence of a writer’s “toolkit.”
Expressing his deep love for literature, Kanjilal remarked, “A hawk knows many skies, but it hunts by the one who feeds it,” illustrating how writers must discover and nurture the creative spaces that sustain them.
Addressing questions about overcoming writer’s block, he advised young writers to resist the pressure of rigid routines. Writing, he said, is “like a fever”—a force arising naturally, not something to be compelled. He urged students to study Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, famously known for its 36 alternative endings, as a reminder that writing is an act of liberation rather than confinement.
Kanjilal encouraged aspiring writers to read extensively, engage in rigorous editing, and learn to extract stories even from the most mundane moments. He recalled how observing a dead rodent on the road—an everyday sight for many—became the basis for one of his own works. Another distinctive technique he employs is creating an “element of stupor,” luring readers into comfort before thrusting them into darkness, ensuring that each narrative leaves a resonant sting.
He also advocated for integrating works of local and regional authors into school and university curricula, emphasizing that Indian students should not be limited to Western poets alone but should be enriched by the voices flourishing within their own cultural landscape.
Concluding his session, Kanjilal urged young writers to prioritize the quality of their subject matter over external validation. Awards and certificates, he noted, may adorn a résumé, but it is the refinement of one’s craft that ultimately defines a writer’s journey.
With his compelling blend of philosophy, literary critique, and creative counsel, Anish Kanjilal’s address at the Indore Literature Festival offered a profound reflection on writing as both an art and an introspective journey—leaving the audience motivated to explore, experiment, and elevate their own literary pursuits.
