Indian Ocean, Kabir Cafe to headline Sikkim Arts and Literature Festival
Indian Ocean and Neeraj Arya's Kabir Cafe will headline SALF in Gangtok from October 28 to 30. The festival will connect Himalayan voices with India's wider literary and cultural landscape.
- Oct 16, 2026,
- Updated Oct 16, 2026, 9:02 AM IST
- Literary sessions will explore identity, memory, belonging and Himalayan life
- Leading writers and poets will discuss home, language and borderlands
- Young audiences can engage with diverse traditions and established cultural figures
The Sikkim Arts and Literature Festival (SALF) will return to Gangtok from October 28 to 30, with a line-up of writers, poets and thinkers from across India, alongside performances by Indian Ocean and Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Cafe.
The three-day festival, scheduled to take place at The Ridge Park, will feature literary discussions, poetry, live music and cultural exchanges exploring themes of identity, memory, belonging, history and life in the Himalayas, according to a statement issued by the Sikkim government’s Students’ Welfare Board (SWB).
MLA Aditya Golay said the festival would celebrate the voices and stories that place the Himalayas within India’s wider cultural landscape.
The literary programme will include 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.
Discussions will examine the relationship between people, culture and the mountains, with sessions focusing 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 broader cultural conversation.
The festival will open on October 28 with a performance by Delhi-based Aagaaz, paying tribute to legendary ghazal singers Mehdi Hasan, Begum Akhtar and Noor Jehan.
Flautist Kartikeya and percussionist Makrand will perform on the morning of October 29, followed by a performance by Indian Ocean in the evening.
Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Cafe will headline the festival’s closing programme on October 30. The band is known for its contemporary interpretations of the works of 15th-century mystic poet Kabir, combining Indian folk music with rock, reggae, pop and Carnatic influences.
The organisers said SALF aims to strengthen Sikkim’s position as a cultural destination while creating opportunities for young audiences, emerging writers and artists to interact with established figures from the literary and cultural world.
