What is the Point of Making Things Free?  

Should we acquiesce to the seemingly inexorable logic of the market that you don’t get what you can’t pay for? Should my exposure be limited to what I can afford? But if my ‘reach does not exceed my grasp, what’s a heaven for’? 

I am one of the founder directors of the annual Hyderabad Literary Festival (HLF) and I, and no doubt others like me, confront such questions routinely. I never tire of reminding people that HLF is a free-to-all but not a free-for-all festival. That is not a matter of semantics but ethics. HLF’s commitment to promoting equity and inclusivity has never come into conflict with its adherence to quality, and this shows that the perceived dichotomy between the two is a false one. HLF is one of the very few major literary festivals in India that are not bankrolled by a business house or a party in power. Yet, the fact that HLF has been able to remain an unticketed event for nearly a decade and a half is a testament to the validity and viability of its core values. 

Keeping it as a free event has enabled HLF to reach out to and make positive discrimination in favour of sections of society—tribal artists, folk performers, craftspeople, self-employed, NGOs, children and youth in disadvantaged educational institutions—that otherwise would perhaps have remained excluded. Not being entirely focussed on recouping the costs, let alone making a profit, has also given us the freedom to curate the festival in a manner that aligns with its broader vision.  

It is, however, true that a festival of this size featuring over 200 speakers in nearly 150 events and attended by more than 60,000 people cannot be run year after year on pure idealism. But the crucial question is who should pay for culture and how to overcome the free-rider problem. Different festivals have found different solutions. Some have created a two-tier audience where those who pay get extra privileges while the rest benefit from cross-subsidy. Others have designed a two-tier programme where some events are free and the remaining are charged. 

HLF has been lucky so far to have received steadfast and no-strings-attached support from sponsors, citizens, and the growing community of friends. But how long it can sustain itself with this revenue model is not a question that can be answered easily. As it does not charge the audience, HLF also does not pay the speakers or resource persons, except the artistes. However, more and more writers are now expecting, perhaps justifiably, to be treated like performing artists and paid similarly. One crucial difference, however, is that while performances are the economic lifeline for the artistes, the writers’ source of income is their books which get a huge promotion when the authors participate in festivals. For instance, in the recent edition of HLF, over 15,000 books were sold in three days while the average monthly sale of the bookstore is less than 300. 

Literary festivals can remain truly democratic and inclusive spaces only when authors, publishers, organizers, audiences, and everyone concerned about culture see it as their collective responsibility to keep them alive. Otherwise, they will become fleeting sideshows. 

Dr Vijay Kumar Tadakamalla teaches literatures in English at BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus. Formerly, he was a Professor and Head of the Department of English, and Dean, Faculty of Arts, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. His publications include critical studies: Indian Languages in the Diaspora (2021), English and Other International Languages (2018), and translations from Telugu: The Liberation of Sita (2016) by Volga and Kanyasulkam (2002) by Gurajada Venkata Appa Rao. He is a TEDx speaker, a Founder Director of the annual Hyderabad Literary Festival, and a Founder Editor of Muse India: the literary e-journal. 

The International Literature Exchange is a partnership project by National Centre for Writing and British Council, supported by Arts Council England.