Himalayan Echoes 2026: Delhi Curtain Raiser Marks New Chapter for Nainital Festival

Himalayan Echoes, India's festival of Himalayan literature, art and ecology, held its Curtain Raiser event outside Nainital for the first time in its ten-year history on 2 September 2026. The event, hosted at the Embassy of Switzerland in New Delhi, also marked the announcement of the winner of the Radisson Himalayan Echoes Nature Prize 2026.

Held annually at Abbotsford Estate in Nainital since 2016, the festival will mark its 11th edition on 30 and 31 October 2026. This year's programme includes sessions on literature, ecology, indigenous knowledge and mountain cuisine, held in association with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and Uttarakhand Tourism.

The Curtain Raiser was presided over by Her Excellency Maya Tissafi, Ambassador of Switzerland to India and Bhutan. Speaking at the event, Tissafi noted parallels between the Alps and the Himalayas, and pointed to Switzerland's ongoing collaboration with Indian institutions on climate resilience, disaster risk reduction and environmental protection in the Himalayan region.

Benjamin Viatte, a Swiss author who completed a 14,000 kilometre pilgrimage on foot from Europe to the Indian Himalayas, was announced as the festival's first speaker representing Switzerland.

Mridula Ramesh Wins The Nature Prize

The Radisson Himalayan Echoes Nature Prize, now in its second edition, was awarded to Mridula Ramesh, founder of the Sundaram Climate Institute and author of The Climate Solution, Watershed and The Pralaya Prophecy. The prize, instituted with Radisson Hotel Group and administered by the Himalayan Echoes Literature Festival, recognises work in climate resilience, water security and sustainable waste management.

The jury comprised Namita Gokhale, co-founder of the Jaipur Literature Festival; Janhavi Prasada, founder of Himalayan Echoes; and Sanjoy K Roy, co-founder of the Jaipur Literature Festival.

Accepting the prize, Ramesh reflected on how easily natural resources are taken for granted. "Water was invisible to me until it ran out," she said, adding that nature tends to register in public consciousness only once something has already gone wrong, whether a dried borewell, a flooded lake or a landslide.

Gokhale described the prize as recognising work that gives voice to the wild, while Roy said it was meant to celebrate those who help audiences see the natural world differently, through literature, art, music, technology and action.

Prasada said the festival had spent a decade amplifying voices from the trans-Himalayan region, describing the concerns of mountain communities in India, Nepal and Bhutan as central to the livelihood and sustenance of the region.

The evening also featured an exhibition of antique aquatint engravings from the Himalayas, presented in association with Nippon India Mutual Fund's investor education and awareness initiative. The works, by Scottish artist James Baillie Fraser and his brother William B. Fraser, date from their 1815 journey through the Himalayas and depict the region's terrain, architecture, flora and fauna.

Sakshi Dogra, Area Director for Marketing and Communications, South Asia, at Radisson Hotel Group, spoke about the company's literary initiatives ahead of the prize announcement.

Himalayan Echoes was founded by Janhavi Prasada and Namita Gokhale in 2016, and is held annually at Abbotsford Estate in Nainital under the aegis of Porcupine Media Pvt. Ltd., which also administers the Nature Prize. The festival's 11th edition, its first since extending its reach beyond Nainital, will be held on 30 and 31 October.

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