Indian languages fest ends
December 18th, 2011 - 10:31 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Dec 18 (IANS) The curtain came down on the three-day Samanvay IHC Indian Languages Festival here Sunday with a call to renew the literary fraternity’s commitment to promoting Indian writing.
The last day saw three key literary sessions on “Women: Writing the Body”, with a a panel of Tamil women writers and poets deliberating on the challenges and triumphs of feminist and Dalit writing.
The session featured writers P. Sivakami, Kutti Revathi, Malti Maitri, Sukirtharani and Arshia Sattar. They said women’s bodies were often used as tools of vendetta.
A discourse on “Indian English Writing Beyond Fiction” explored the scope of the contemporary Indian literature in non-fiction.
The session, addressed by writers like Arshia Sattar, Basharat Peer, Annie Zaidi and Rahul Pandita, was unanimous in its verdict that non-fiction writers were not supported by government agencies to research for their books, which slowed down the growth of the genre.
A session on the popularity of Bengali poetry elicited a mixed house, with speakers shedding light on the trends on modern Bengali poetry and predicting its future - which they felt required more talent and encouragement.
Noted Hindi writers Rajendra Yadav, Paresh Nath, Arun Maheshwari, Neeta Gupta, Ravish Kumar and Giriraj Kiradoo debated whether Hindi literature drew adequate number of readers in the 21st century.
They felt that Hindi literature had to become more contemporary and identifiable with younger readers.
“It is our duty to raise awareness about Indian writing in languages. The Jaipur Literature Festival is the only festival which promotes Indian writing in languages. Youngsters in smaller cities know about the Nobel prize and Booker prize winners, but very few young readers in the country are aware of the Sahitya Akademi winners and their work. Samanvay will try to this gap in Indian writing,” member of the IHC programme advisory committee Satyanand Nirupam, a emerging Hindi writer-editor, told IANS.
The Samanvay festival will be an annual literary event on the IHC calendar, Nirupam added.
- Celebration of Indian literature in Delhi - Nov 30, 2011
- Spotlight turns on Indian language writing (With Image) - Dec 17, 2011
- Jaipur lit fest to focus on Indian languages - Dec 27, 2010
- Eyeing English readers, best-selling foreign authors head to India - Oct 22, 2010
- Soyinka, Calasso, Sivakami...Watch out for Jaipur lit fest - Jan 19, 2010
- The changing contours of Hindi discussed - Mar 13, 2011
- Mumbai gets its first open literature festival - Nov 11, 2010
- Odes to turbulent times, from India's 'bhasa' poets - May 22, 2012
- Rahul Bhattacharya wins British fiction prize - May 29, 2012
- India, Bhutan to refresh friendship over fine print - Apr 25, 2012
- An eclectic mix, Jaipur Literature fest sees spirited start - Jan 21, 2011
- Indian writers added diversity to English literature: British novelist - Jan 27, 2011
- Tagore in spotlight at Indo-Bhutan literature fest - May 17, 2011
- Hay festival aims to promote new Indian voices - Nov 04, 2010
- Delhi Book Fair to focus on travel, children - Aug 25, 2011
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