LUCKNOW, Nov. 28 -- A four-day literary festival began at UP Darshan Park in Lucknow on Thursday. The event brings together writers and performers. Speaking after the inaugural session, Kathak exponent Manjari Chaturvedi said it is a myth that Qawwali is music for entertainment and is associated with a particular religion. "The spiritual context of Qawwali was taken over by the pop-cultural context where Bollywood movies promoted it as part of entertainment. Besides, the Qawwalis written over 100 years ago were so visionary that we are still grooving on it. It shows that music is timeless," she added. Qawwalis also transcend religious boundaries which can be understood as the festival of Basant is celebrated with fervour at Hazrat Nizamuddin's dargah where several qawwalis for Basant are also rendered. Similarly, qawwali is not just sung in Urdu, Arabic or Persian but also in Hindi, Khadi Boli and Punjabi as well," Chaturvedi said. She was in conversation with Devanshi Seth. The session was followed by another one "Lights, Camera, Lucknow," featuring Sandeep Yadav, Archana Shukla, Anil Rastogi, and Devashish Mishra in conversation with Prateek Bharadwaj. A session "Tales We Carry" with Reena Puri from Amar Chitra Katha, and writer-editor-publisher Ashwitha Jayakumar joined Arsh Ali for a dialogue on mythology, folklore, and the evolution of storytelling. Later in the evening, a session "The Hindi Heartland," was held in which author Ghazala Wahab and Jayant Krishna were in conversation with Jyotsna Mohan. The discussion revolved around the cultural, political and demographic significance of Hindi heartland, a region representing nearly 40 percent of India's population while addressing its social complexities, historical influence, and ongoing transformation....