Foothill Notes, the annual literary meet organised under the aegis of Café The Twins, returned for its fourth season in December 2025, reaffirming its growing importance as a cultural and literary platform in the Eastern Himalayan region. Held at Café The Twins in Siliguri on December 11 and December 13–14, Foothill Notes Season 4 brought together book lovers, aspiring and established writers, poets, filmmakers, translators, artists and enthusiastic readers for two days of dialogue, learning and celebration.
Since its inception, Foothill Notes has remained committed to celebrating literature and diverse voices from a region often underrepresented in India’s broader literary landscape. Organised annually by a small but passionate team of book enthusiasts, the festival has steadily grown in scope and ambition, while retaining its intimate, community-driven spirit.
Season 4 was supported by the Ojha Foundation and Chhimeki. The Ojha Foundation was established by the family of Shri Ojha to honour his lifelong commitment to education and support scholarships for students at the school in Chhapra, Bihar, where he studied. Chhimeki, a Siliguri-based NGO, works on social health through community-based events that strive to build meaningful connections.
Curtain Raiser and Day 1 Highlights
The festival opened with a curtain-raiser on December 11, featuring a creative writing workshop by acclaimed writer Chetan Raj Shrestha, author of The King’s Harvest and The Light of His Clan. The workshop, attended by a small group of participants, was marked by thoughtful discussions and hands-on writing exercises.
Day 1, on December 13, began with an inaugural session where Lekha Rai, proprietor of Café The Twins and the driving force behind Foothill Notes, spoke about the festival’s journey and its steady growth over four seasons. One of the most anticipated moments of the day was the launch of Beneath Magnolia Skies: Writings from Sikkim and Darjeeling Hills, an anthology published by Zubaan and edited by Mona Chettri and Prava Rai. This was followed by a conversation between Prava Rai and Dr Sanjukta Chatterjee, along with readings by selected contributors.
The day featured several engaging panels, including “Leaf, Labour, Language: Writing and Translating Tea Garden Lives,” with Chuden Kabimo, Chewang Yonzon and Samik Chakraborty in conversation with Anuradha Sharma. Another notable session focused on shamans in literature, where Namchi Government College students Neshant Nawbag and Nissiel Rai discussed their work Shamans of Sikkim – a travelogue with Siddharth Chhetri.
Post-lunch sessions included a creative writing workshop in Nepali by Madan Puraskar awardee Chuden Kabimo, and a parallel panel titled The Human Line: Creativity and Responsibility in an AI World, featuring Anurag Basnet and Loden Lama. The day also highlighted young readers and writers through a child-centric panel, the e-book launch of The Talespinners Children’s Project, and a storytelling session for children by award-winning writer Linthoi Chanu.
Day 2: Reflection, Translation and Closing Voices
Day 2, December 14, opened with Between Silence and Story: Why We Write, a panel of young writers Lubina Kritika Dahal, Simran Sharma and Loden Lama in conversation with Sonam Laden Moktan. This was followed by a deeply personal conversation between Linthoi Chanu and Dr Anurima Chanda on folktales, memory and inheritance.
Filmmaker Vivek Rai spoke with Dr Priyanka Chatterjee on portraying Himalayan lives through cinema, while an eagerly awaited panel on translation brought together Anmole Prasad and Anurag Basnet in conversation with Nikhilesh Bhattacharya. Poetry readings by Tashi Chophel and Guru T. Ladakhi added lyrical depth to the day.
Foothill Notes Season 4 concluded with its signature Open Mic session, where emerging writers and storytellers shared their work with honesty and courage. Ending on this note, the festival once again celebrated the enduring power of stories and the joy of remaining, as artists and readers, “children at heart.”
