Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay lights the inaugural lamp for the fifth edition of the Kolkata Literature Festival, in association with The Telegraph, at Central Park on Thursday.

A host of authors from India, France, the UK, Russia and America were present on the occasion. "I don't know what literature festivals want to achieve but I do hope they go on to build some friendships and lasting relationships through interactions," said Mukhopadhyay, author and chief guest.

"This festival should be about chaos, debate, discussion and opinions both inside this auditorium and outside," said Sujata Sen, the director of KLF.

Also present were Tridib Chatterjee, the general secretary of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, Annie Terrier of Les Ecritures croisees in France, Scottish literary agent Jenny Brown and French publisher Sabine Wespieser. The inauguration also paid tribute to singer Kalikaprasad Bhattacharjee who had performed at the Calcutta Book Fair last year. (Sanat Kr Sinha)