New Delhi: The world's largest literature festival being organized by Sahitya Akademi was formally inaugurated today by Sri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Hon’ble Minister of State for Culture, Government of India. While inaugurating the Festival of Letters 2024, he said that literary writing is a different art, and a writer is a seeker. Only aspiring writers create a better culture, a better society, and a better country. He further said that literature has had a great influence on him too and because of that he has learned to speak eloquently. Citing examples of the lines of Maithili Sharan Gupt and other poets, he said that literature creates wisdom in human beings, which plays a big role in nation-building. He discussed the book he had written on his wife, acknowledging her support and encouragement. Congratulating Sahitya Akademi for organizing the world's largest literature festival, he said that this is a huge achievement and its impact will be very wide. Speaking on this occasion, Madhav Kaushik, President, Sahitya Akademi, said that India is the largest museum of languages and Sahitya Akademi is carrying out the work related to Indian literature very efficiently and seriously. Commenting on the literature festival that is providing the world's largest platform to writers, he said that due to the diversity of our languages, the scope of our thinking is also very broad, the benefit of which proves to be very useful in maintaining the unity of the country. Prof. Kumud Sharma, Vice President, Sahitya Akademi, said that this literature festival is a celebration of creation and it is also a symbol of giving voice to humanity. Our literary culture will also be illuminated in the light of the echoes of words. Before this, Dr K. Sreenivasarao, Secretary, Sahitya Akademi, describing the achievements of Sahitya Akademi last year, said that this is the 70th year of Sahitya Akademi and the 40th year of Festival of Letters. It is a big achievement in itself for a literary festival to keep the country's diverse literature dynamic for 40 consecutive years. In true sense it is a celebration of Indian languages and literature. After this, Sri Meghwal inaugurated the Sahitya Akademi exhibition by cutting the ribbon and lighting the lamp. In this annual exhibition, the achievements of the past year were displayed through pictures and articles. In the Rabindra Bhavan premises, in different auditoriums named after the name of Indian saints, from 11.00 am to 6.00 pm, various programs will be held including LGBTQ writers’ meet, Bhakti literature of India, theater as a medium of cultural expression, ideology and literature, children's literature in India. Issues related to translation, literature and women empowerment, technology and literature etc. were discussed. The important writers who participated in these were - Asghar Wajahat, Arjun Deo Charan, Surya Prasad Dixit, Navtej Sarna, Bratya Basu, Ashok Chakradhar, Vaman Kendre, Bhanu Bharti, Oscar Pujol, Kumar Tuhin, Tapan Bandyopadhyay, Paro Anand, Sujata Prasad, Varsha Das, etc. In the evening, on the special occasion of 70 years of Sahitya Akademi, the Sahitya Akademi Fellows - S.L. Bhyrappa, Tejwant Singh Gill, Raghuveer Chaudhary and Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari were given special felicitations. As part of the cultural programme, Bharatnatyam performance titled ‘Shringaram’ was presented by Rajshree Warrier.
Tomorrow, the main attraction of the Festival of Letters, the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2023 presentation ceremony will take place at Kamani Auditorium at 5:30 pm. Renowned Odia writer, Pratibha Ray, will be the chief guest of the award
