First SOA Literary Fest To Kick-Off On Feb 1

Bhubaneswar: Eminent litterateurs from different parts of the country will come together on a single platform to discuss the contemporary trends in Indian literature at the first SOA Literary Festival, which is scheduled to kick-off here on Saturday.

The two-day literary fiesta is being hosted by Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University to facilitate the interface between eminent authors, storytellers, poets, commentators, historians, critics and translators, both young and old, and further the cause of Indian literature.

The event, which bears the tagline ‘Celebration of Words and Ideas’, will also focus on the rich literary and cultural legacy of Odisha.

“SOA believes that though Science and Technology are tools through which modern society’s
progress is made possible, it should be done in an atmosphere fragrant with art, culture and
literature,” Vice-Chancellor Prof. R.K.Chauhan said.

The SOA Centre for Preservation, Propagation and Restoration of Ancient Culture and
Heritage of India (PPRACHIN), a SOA initiative aiming at preservation, propagation and
restoration of the country’s rich heritage and culture, is organizing the event.

PPRACHIN’s main thrust is to make a variety of publications, conduct research, take up
digitalization, organize workshops, seminars and conferences to provide an understanding and
appreciation of the philosophy, aesthetics and beauty inherent in Indian art, literature and
culture, its Head, Dr. Gayatribala Panda said.

The literary figures expected to participate in the festival include Dr. Vasdev Mohi,
eminent Sindhi poet who has been conferred with the prestigious Saraswati Samman this year,
Dr. Sitanshu Yashaschandra, Dr. Jayanta Mohapatra, Dr. Pratibha Ray, Dr. Ramakant Rath, Dr.
Sitakanta Mahapatra, Dr. Vikram Sampath, Chitra Mudgal, Dr. Dnyaneshwar Mulay, H.S. Shivaprakash, Jayant Parmar, Ashok Maheshwari, Arun Kamal, Brajendra Tripathi, Dr. Rita Nath Keshari, Dr. Ranu Unyal, A.J.Thomas, Udayan Vajpeyi,  Amandeep Sandhu, Rajendra Kishore Panda, Dr. Soubhagya Kumar Mishra, Kuldeep Kumar, Yashodhara Ray Choudhury, Haraprasad Das, K.R.Meera, Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharjee and Dr. Rajendra Prasad Mishra.

“The event, which will have 26 sessions spread over the two days, will also feature Odia
film personalities like Sabyasachi Mohapatra, Anu Choudhury, Akash Das Nayak
and Akhyay Parija,” Dr. Panda said.

Odia author Tarun Kanti Mishra and Santali writer Kali Charan Hembram, who
have been nominated for the Kendriya Sahitya Akademi award for 2019, will be felicitated on
the first day of the meet, she said.

The topics to be deliberated upon will include ‘A Moment’s Monument: Art of Short
Story’, ‘Inter Lingual Translation in India’, ‘Publishing Trends in India: The Problem of Plenty’,
‘Women’s Writing: Holding Up Half the Sky’, ‘Literature and the Fifth Column: A Troubled
Marriage’, ‘Return of the Narrative: Novel Writing in India’, ‘Poetry as Performance’, ‘Visual
Poetry: The Exploration of Colour’, ‘How to Tell a Story When There is No Story’, ‘Can a
Contemporary Best Seller stand the Test of Time’, ‘Roll, Camera, Action: Magic Mantra of Our
Times’ and ‘Jagannath Culture’.

There will also be ‘Face-to-Face’ sessions with eminent litterateurs like Dr. Jayanta
Mohapatra, Dr. Sitanshu Yashaschandra, Amandeep Sandhu, Vikram Sampath and
Sadhana Shanker. Besides, there will be sessions for multi-lingual poetry recitation as well, she
added.