This week belonged to readers. Two of India’s busiest book events welcomed crowds, a respected literary prize named its shortlists, and Indian craft took a turn on a world stage. As the festive season builds, it is a good moment to slow down with a book. We have also picked one new launch for anyone who likes design they can wear every day.

Ahmedabad’s book festival is open until 1 November

The Ahmedabad International Book Festival opened on 24 October at the Sabarmati Riverfront Event Centre and runs for nine days. Organised by the National Book Trust with the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, it has nearly twice as many publishers and stalls as last year, according to NBT’s chairman. An authors’ corner, a cultural stage and a children’s pavilion make it an easy family outing. This year the festival also spotlights Teja Singh Samundri, the Punjabi freedom fighter and social reformer. If you plan to go, weekday mornings are usually the calmest time to browse, and carrying a cloth bag saves juggling books on the way home. Plan your visit.

Mumbai LitFest returns to the NCPA

The 17th edition of Literature Live!, the Mumbai LitFest, ran from 23 to 25 October at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. Its programme spanned fiction, cinema, history, science and technology, with debates, workshops, book launches, a book swap and a separate festival for children. The line-up included Javed Akhtar, Gulzar, Shashi Tharoor and Ramachandra Guha, and the festival presents its own awards for fiction, non-fiction, business books and lifetime achievement. Events like this are where many readers first meet the writers they go on to love.

Sabyasachi brings Diwali to the Met

Designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee hosted a Diwali celebration at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, with guests in sarees and lehengas and a setting dressed in peacock-inspired decor. It follows a multi-year collaboration with the museum announced in August, in which he draws on the Met’s collection for jewellery and clothing made by his artisans in India. The first chapter, a high jewellery line inspired by Byzantine art, was shown at New York Fashion Week in September. It is a sign of how Indian handcraft is increasingly presented as global luxury. Our story.

Casio’s softer G-Shock arrives in India

Casio launched the G-Shock 2500 series in India this week, priced from ₹9,995 to ₹26,995. The analog watches borrow the shape of the very first G-Shock and give it rounder, sculpted edges, in resin and metal-clad versions. A three-cell window at 3 o’clock can show the date, stopwatch time or settings, and the calendar adjusts itself for month ends and leap years. Shock resistance and 20 bar water resistance remain, so it works as an everyday watch as much as a style piece. Prices and details.

The one to watch

The Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman. Its 2026 shortlists, announced on 22 October, cover fiction, nonfiction and debut writing. The fiction list includes Amitav Ghosh’s Ghost Eye and Geetanjali Shree’s Once Elephants Lived Here, translated by Daisy Rockwell, while the debut list includes Sowmiya Ashok’s The Dig. On the nonfiction side, Ghazala Wahab’s The Hindi Heartland: A Study is among the contenders. Winners will be named on 2 December, which leaves a little over a month to read along. Shortlists like this are a useful way to find serious new Indian writing, including work in translation, without relying on bestseller charts. If that sounds ambitious, our guide to building a reading habit that fits your day may help.

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