STATE TIMES NEWS
BHUBANESWAR: Minister for Industry and Mass Education of Odisha, Debi Prasad Mishra on Monday inaugurated the Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) here in the presence of MLA Bhubaneswar, Priyadarshi Mishra, leading poet Haraprasad Das, political leader Mani Shankar Aiyar and the key note speaker Dr. Subramanian Swamy.
Chief Coordinator, Shri Sangram Dhar welcomed the guests and Co-founder Kamala Kanta Dash presented an account of the journey of Kalinga Literary Festival.
Mani Shankar Aiyar spoke on the journey of literature from colonial times to the independent India and
Delivering the key note address on the theme of literature and democracy at the Kalinga Literary Festival, Dr. Subramanian Swamy spoke on the co-journey of literature and democracy since independence.
The session on Dialogue, Development and Democratic Spirit in Literature had great speakers like Arif Mohammad Khan, Rahul Pandita and Haraprasad Das and was ably moderated by Amitabh Behar. The session saw provocative ideas being discussed. The difference of opinion emerged on whether democracy and development go together and whether a writer has any responsibility in creating and sustaining the dialogue.
Contemporary reflections by leading Odia writer Asit Mohanty, Subrat Prusty and Subhranshu Panda looked at the past of Odisha and how literature has evolved in the last centuries.
In the session on Youth, Language and Emotions, Satyanand Nirupam, Vineet Kumar, Kedar Mishra, Sangam Lahiry, Subhransu Panda, Arundhati Subramaniam and Sujit Mohapatra saw the experts deal with emerging trends in the language used by the youth of today.
The special session on Piyush Mishra in Conversation with Vineet Kumar was the highlight of the post-lunch session. The session saw the young Vineet Kumar probing, instigating and provoking the wittiest best of Piyush Mishra. The interaction was filled with daily life experiences, love, laughter and humour. The poetry reading and singing of Husna by Piyush Mishra was enjoyed a lot by the audience.
