Tata Steel Literary Extravaganza To Promote Odia Literature

Bhubaneswar: The fourth edition of the Tata Steel Bhubaneswar Literary Meet (TSBLM) was inaugurated in Odisha capital on Friday.

The three-day festival, which celebrates and seeks to promote this rich heritage, was inaugurated by celebrated poet laureate Jayanta Mahapatra in the presence of TQM president Anand Sen, founder and editor of Sambad Soumya Ranjan Patnaik.

Mahapatra, the feted poet and proponent of Odia Literature, who is also the first Indian English poet to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award, spoke about how poetry lets him understand reality.

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He also talked about how literature is becoming more accessible in the digital age. He encouraged budding authors to draw inspiration from the adversities they face and use the technology now available to them to their advantage to express creativity and imagination.

“I was a student of science. It was hard. I have gone through various manifestations of tears, joy, pain and loneliness. Later, I realized that poetry has always been the passion of my life. It comes out of life,” said Mahapatra.

“One needs poetry to understand the relationship between one part of the universe with another and each other. I would read poetry to learn about myself. One also needs poetry for enlightenment and pleasure,” he added.

With steel, Tata Steel has also been making lot of other things, said Patnaik.

He also said like 13 festivals in 12 months, many literary festivals have been organized in Odisha. People should think about how literature and politics can be interlinked. Everybody should love politics as well as literature, so that development can be possible.

“Bhubaneswar is rich in its culture as we have authors, singers, dancers,” said Sen.

 “It is wonderful to see the support that Tata Steel Bhubaneswar Literary Meet has received from the people of Odisha. It is their enthusiasm and love for literature, creative pursuits and debate that motivates and encourages us to make future events even bigger and better,” he added.

He also said, “The literary meet is in alignment with Tata Steel’s corporate philosophy of encouraging and supporting initiatives that aim to foster intellectual and cultural pursuits in society. It has been a privilege for Tata Steel to be able to bring stalwarts from literary and creative fields to Bhubaneswar and I am certain that this edition will once again ensure memorable experiences.”