The Himalayan Writing Retreat announces its UAE debut with Shekhar Kapur.
Dubai, UAE – After its success and growth in India, The Himalayan Writing Retreat (HWR) announces its first course in the UAE: ‘The Shekhar Kapur Masterclass on stories and storytelling’.
“We are delighted to make our first foray into the Middle-East with Shekhar Kapur. Participants sign-up for both our online and physical courses from the Middle-East. There seems much interest in learning creative writing and related crafts here, so from 2025 we will be offering our courses on ground in the Middle-East, as well. After Shekhar Kapur we will bring many stars from the literary world to UAE,” says Chetan Mahajan, Co-founder of the Himalayan Writing Retreat. “We are open to partnerships with like-minded companies in the gulf.” he adds.
Shekhar Kapur has won a Bafta award, a Golden Globe Nomination and most recently the Padma Bhushan. “Working with the Himalayan Writing Retreat was a truly fulfilling experience for me personally. Where teaching becomes learning. Where story telling becomes story sharing. Where relationships formed lasted far beyond the 3 days I spent with the participants. Where teacher and student both evolved.” said Shekhar.
“I thank the Retreat for selecting the participants with such care. And I look forward to participating in their first workshop in the UAE.” he added.
Ameen Haque, founder of Storywallahs, attended the Shekhar Kapur Masterclass at HWR in October 2024. He says “Shekhar did not use a single slide. He did not show any clip from any of his movies. Yet he went deep. And wide. Made us reflect on our own stories. On life. And he did all of this so effortlessly that it hardly seemed like a class.”
The Shekhar Kapur Masterclass will be held at the Al Wathba Desert Resort in Abu Dhabi from 23-25 March, 2025. It will help people develop any story, be it a business or fiction or personal narrative. The Masterclass also cuts across formats – film or books or other media.
“Shekhar is unique in how he listens to your story, reflects upon it. He takes you deeper and helps you elevate it. The course is not about him – he completely focuses on the stories of the participants. And he knows of stories: from Masoom to Mr. India to Bandit Queen to Elizabeth, he’s gone past stereotypes and succeeded across genres,”says Dr Vandita Dubey, co-founder of the Himalayan Writing Retreat.
Application Details
The Masterclass is limited to 12 participants. You can apply now. Applications close when all twelve spots are taken. As on 8th February 2025, four spots remain open.
For more information, please visit https://www.himalayanwritingretreat.com/event/the-shekhar-kapur-masterclass-stories-storytelling/ or contact us at [email protected] .
About the Himalayan Writing Retreat
Created in 2016, The Himalayan Writing Retreat is today a favoured destination for writers, poets and other creators looking for learning and inspiration. The retreat is a residential facility located in the Kumaon region of the Indian Himalayas. The retreat is consistently rated 5-star https://g.co/kgs/3po1R1M. It was co-founded by published authors Chetan Mahajan and Vandita Dubey.
The Himalayan Writing Retreat caters to domestic as well as International audiences, but hosts most of its courses in the Himalayas. The domestic courses include poetry, creative writing, non-fiction writing, translation, storytelling, script-writing, etc.
Our faculty members include Annie Zaidi, Arundhathi Subramaniam, Gurcharan Das, Jerry Pinto, Manav Kaul, Ranjit Hoskote, Shekhar Kapur and others. International Faculty members include Annie Finch, Erika Krouse, Kathleen Rooney, Sarah E. Schantz and others from the USA, Jacqui Lofthouse and Sara Starbuck from the UK, and Kelly Rigby from Australia.
Many of our Alums have gone on to study further overseas. The Himalayan Writing Retreat is also one of the selected partners for the French Residency under the “Villa Swagatam” initiative of the French Institute.
Our Charitable initiative the First Draft Club (FDC) supports the NGO-run Chirag School and early-stage writers. We raise approximately 25% of the school’s annual budget through the First Draft Club and other fund-raising
activities. Details here: https://www.himalayanwritingretreat.com/first-draft-club-online-writing-community-live/ .
To support writers, we run the Himalayan Emerging Writers Residency and also the HWR Khozem Merchant non-fiction fellowship. Our Book Club with 400+ members is also free.
Contact
Debdatta Dasgupta
[email protected]
+91-73035-16665
