Bhubaneswar: The Tata Steel Bhubaneswar Literary Meet in association with Sambad is back to enthrall booklovers with a diverse showcase of authors and discussions.
The festival will be inaugurated by Amitav Ghosh and will feature authors and celebrated artistes. The event is being held at the Bhubaneswar Club and will be open to all.
The festival will also feature eminent dancer Mallika Sarabhai who will be speaking on her book ‘In Free Fall’ later on the inaugural day. The surge of interest in Odia theatre and cinema will be discussed as part of the Odia strand of the festival. Sofia Alam and Tanaya Patnaik will discuss the stupendous success of Aahe Nila Shaila and Anupam Patnaik and Gourahari Das will discuss Odia cinema’s resurgence while focusing on Pratikshya, which was based on Das’ Bapa.
Poetry from young poets Sujit Kumar Satapathy, Sreema Satapathy, Nikhilesh Mishra and Swagatika Mishra will read their poetry on the second day of the festival.
Stalwarts Gopinath Mohanty and Jagadish Mohanty will be discussed in sessions that will witness the release of two English translations.
The way Odia literature is viewed in Odisha and outside the state will be discussed by award-winning authors Paramity Satpathy, Gayatribala Panda and Mona Lisa Jena.
Besides the Odia sessions, several new books in English like the biography of Kishore Kumar and a focus on the Anglo- Indian community’s history and contribution by Barry O’Brien. Former British Museum director Richard Blurton will present his book on the history of India through objects and Boston-based author Chitrita Banerji will speak about her book on Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as well as on her celebrated books on the food history of India. Sumanyu Satpathy’s book on nonsense verse will also be part of the program.
A unique feature of the Tata Steel Bhubaneswar Literary Meet has been the presence of excellent performances at the end of day on the weekend at the festival. Ustaad Shujaat Khan will be performing at the festival on Saturday, February 4 and Pankaj Kapur will be doing a solo act ‘Dopehri’ on February 5 at the Rail Auditorium. Passes for this will be available during the festival at the Club. The veteran actor will speak at the festival in Saturday alongside Supriya Pathak Kapur.
Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel said, “We are proud to return to the city with the Tata Steel Bhubaneswar Literary Meet. What started as a platform to promote literature and arts of the region in 2016 has grown to become a three-day extravaganza that encourages meaningful dialogue and debates. This year’s event brings a wide range of renowned authors, thought-leaders, influencers and icons of the arts. We encourage the people of Bhubaneswar to come to the festival and enjoy its flavour.”
“Programming the Bhubaneswar Literary Meet this year has been a joy. I think this is our best presentation yet and I hope book lovers of the city can sit back and enjoy some wonderful conversations next weekend,” said festival director Malavika Banerjee.
