Phulbani: For the first time, Kandhamal will host a national literary festival. The Kandhamal Literary Festival will be held on 26th November 2016 at the district headquarters in Phulbani. This festival is being organized by Kalinga Literary Festival and, Odisha Diary Foundation (ODF) in collaboration with Kandhamal Progressive Forum (KPF).
The Festival will explore the interconnections between nature, culture, and literature and locate Kandhamal’s place in Odia literary imagination. It will inspire the youth to explore their inherent creativity. Kandhamal is famous for its natural beauty, indigenous culture, and simplicity in social lifestyle and behavior. These are pristine qualities for any thinker, philosopher, writers, and poets. Gopal Corporation Limited is the title sponsor of the event. KLF Founder Rashmi Ranjan Parida thanks Gopal Corporation Limited for supporting KLF and other outreach activities of KLF.
Leading names including the legends and emerging writers, poets and media personalities like Bibhuti Pattanaik, Jayant Mohapatra, Phani Mohanty, Haldhar Nag, Sadananda Tripathy, Paresh Patnaik, Chirashree Indrasingh, Bhima Prusty, Sucheta Mishra, Prajnashree Rath, Soorya Mishra, Bipin Nayak, Birendra Kumar Das, Swayam Prakash, Swapna Mishra, Gayatreebala Panda, Amiya Mohapatra, Kedar Mishra, Chandra Sekhar Hota, Mukul Mishra Pabitra Mohan Das, Dr. Iswar Chandra Naik, Saroj Bal and Badal Mohanty will join the festival. Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) team led by Founder President Mr. Rashmi Ranjan Parida, and the members of Board of Directors, Ms. Prachee Naik, Mr. Sitansu Mahapatra and Mr. Kamala Kanta Dash will also join the festival.
The One-day festival will have four sessions. Poets, Writers, and Public Intellectuals will discuss and analyze several aspects of Kandhamal and how best the region has been represented in Odia and other literary traditions. There will be a photographic exhibition to showcase the nature, beauty, and culture of the region. The festival will have a dedicated poetry recitation session by leading poets and will also launch some new books of poetry and translations including one Odia translation of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali. Local talents, both, young and seasoned, will be felicitated for their inspiring work in different segments of life.
Speaking to the media here at Phulbani, Co-founder of Kandhamal Literary Festival, Mr. Barendra Kumar highlighted the need for such a national and state level platform. He added that the objective is to promote Kandhamal in Odisha and in India, as a destination of nature, beauty, and creativity and also to show that Kandhamal is ready to engage and have a dialogue with the creative world. He further added “Kandhamal has many things to offer. It has been a silent inspiration for many in the valley. We want to explore the interconnections between Kandhamal with Odisha’s literary history and celebrate Kandhamal’s rich artistic and cultural heritage”.
Leading young poet, Mr. Debasish Samantray, co-founder and convener of the literary fest stressed that poetry is a universal expression of human creativity. Kandhamal Literary Festival will see both young and seasoned poets on one platform. The effort is to popularize literature among the youth of Kandhamal while paying respect to the seniors who have kept the creative tradition of song, dance, and writing alive.
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