The rain has delayed things slightly, and one of our guests is late. But that is to be expected in the week preceding the city’s premiere literature festivals when we meet two giants who have been steering Mumbai’s literary arts scene with this annual spectacle, now in its 16th year. 

“Things are always in motion,” admits festival co-director, Amy Fernandes, as she plays the genial host. As Quasar Thakore Padamsee walks in, there is some worry. “I hope the rain slows down. We were not expecting wet weather in November,” the playwright admits later. The duo has been part of Mumbai’s first, and oldest, literary festival, Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest since it was founded by Anil Dharker and Shashi Baliga.