Assam is all set to host the Brahmaputra Literary Festival (BLF) with more than 150 authors from within and outside the country scheduled to participate in the three-day literary extravaganza beginning here from February 28.
''We have aimed to make the festival a landmark event of the country's literary calendar, which will not only expose people to interact with famed litterateurs but also take literature of the North East to the rest of the country and the world,'' National Book Trust (NBT) Director and a Sahitya Akademi winning Assamese author Dr Rita Choudhury, told PTI.
The festival will be inaugurated by Union Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javedkar.
The festival is being organised jointly by the NBT and Assam government and will host 60 panel discussions, host of book releases, book readings and culture festivals including screenings of films based on books, musical and dance performances.
The festival's will focus on languages, literature, culture, society, politics, performance traditions, music, identity, media of the North Eastern region of the country but also national and international elements packages in the three-day event, she said.
Choudhury said the presence of intellectuals, litterateurs, editors, publishers and students in the festival will enrich the literary fabric of the state.
''There are many popular literary festivals in the country but the North East with such a rich literary tradition, both past and contemporary, is yet to have one and the BLF wants to change that'', Choudhury said.
''We hope that the festival will become an annual feature of the country's literary calendar and not only encourage new ideas and their dissemination but also offer a platform for intellectual exchanges'', she said.
Besides, panel discussions on different issues related to literature and language, in-Conversation sessions with writers, reading sessions, book signing sessions, film screenings as well as cultural programes showcasing indigenous cultures.
The panel discussions on the first day will focus on
literature in more than 15 languages including Hindi, Assamese, Bengali and other languages of the North East, women's writings, writing for children, perspectives of young voices, oral narratives, media and social media, crime, science fiction, thriller and writings on food.
The second day will witness discussions on writings on wildlife and environment, stories that never saw the light, graphic novels, new writings from languages, writing from the margins, memoirs and autobiographies, editing and changing narratives in Indian cinema.
The final day will have discussions on India from the foreign perspective with several foreign writers likely to participate in the session, contemporary fiction from North East and contemporary trends in different languages while poetry readings will be held on all three days.
There are six venues of the BLF located at the Sri Sankardeva Kalakshetra here and named after stalwarts of Indian literature and culture-- Tagore Hall, Pandita Ramabai Hall, Premchand Hall, Subramania Bharati Hall, Nalinibala Devi Hall and Bezbarua Hall.
