Bhubaneswar: Legendary poet, writer, scriptwriter and thinker Javed Akhtar was conferred the first SOA (Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan) Sahitya Samman award at the third edition of the SOA Literary Festival which began at the university campus here on Saturday.
The award comprises a citation, a shawl, a silver idol of Goddess Saraswati and cash prize of Rs 7 lakh. The newly-instituted award will be presented every year to an eminent litterateur whose work exemplifies excellence, creativity and intellectual depth.
Odisha Governor Dr Hari Babu Kambhampati, who graced the inaugural function, congratulated Akhtar and said that his extraordinary contributions had shaped the cultural consciousness of India for over five decades.
“He has given the voice to human emotion enriching Indian literature and cinema. The honour conferred on him elevates the prestige of the award in its first year,” the Governor said.
Akhtar said he was overwhelmed by the honour bestowed on him. “It is a great opportunity and honour to be invited by such a university,” he said.
Describing language, culture, mythology, poetry and art as great resources, Akhtar said when India gained independence the country could not even manufacture a needle, but today it had become one of the most industrialised nations of the world.
“But in our pursuit of material achievement, we have left some baggage on the platform thinking they were not needed. Somewhere we started believing that we could not carry everything we have, and culture is one of it,” he said.
Akhtar, who was interviewed by actor and producer Vani Tripathy Tikoo on stage, and interacted with faculty members and students, spoke about Artificial Intelligence (AI), saying technology had no morality. “It depends on how you use it,” he said.
Governor Kambhampati opined that though technology is expanding and reshaping human relationship, it could not replace the depth of human experience.
“At present, Artificial Intelligence has been reshaping communication, creativity and even human relationship, but the future influenced by AI will still depend on empathy, ethical judgment and ability to imagine what lies ahead,” Kambhampati said in his address at the inaugural ceremony of the two-day festival.
The third edition of the Literary Festival, organised by the SOA Centre for Preservation, Propagation and Restoration of Ancient Culture and Heritage of India (PPRACHIN), is being attended by more than 100 poets, writers, novelists, theatre and mediapersons from across the country.
The programme was presided over by SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda, while former Secretary of Sahitya Akademi Dr K Sreenivasarao and SOA Vice-President Saswati Das were guests of honour.
‘River Daya’, the English translation of Prof Gayatribala Panda’s book ‘Dayanadi’, and three books published by PPRACHIN — two Sabha Parvas and Madhya Parva of ‘Saroladas Mahabharatha’ — were released on the occasion.
