LitFest concludes enriching search for socio-cultural roots

Breaking the conventional territory of a standardised literature festival in India, the Pragjyotishpur Literature Festival 2024 unveiled a series of panel discussions and special sessions with eminent authors to motivate the audience to look beyond the current narrative and search for socio-cultural roots.

- NAVA THAKURIA

Organised for the second time by the Sankardev Education and Research Foundation on 13, 14 and 15 December, the LitFest in the prehistoric city of Guwahati also comprised different sessions on multilingual poetry recitation, regional literature aspiration, a few selected cultural programmes with local flavours that flourished on the bank of the Brahmaputra, and workshops on creative writing and environmental protection to attract people with a variety of interests in literature, art, culture and traditions that prevailed in northeast India.

The inaugural ceremony of the national-level LitFest opened up for thousands of literary enthusiasts, art connoisseurs, and novice writers with a real intellectual and interactive treat propagating the rich cultural heritage of the land.

The closing ceremony witnessed the presentation of Pragjyotishpur LitFest Literature Awards to veteran Nepali writer Bidyapati Dahal and in the promising writer's category to Suprakash Bhuyan.

Dahal, a revered Sanskrit scholar who has immensely contributed to Nepali and Hindi literature, expressed his gratitude for the honour and stated that it gave him a motivation to create more literary works in the coming days.

On the other hand, Bhuyan, who is a stimulating story writer regularly contributing to prominent Assamese literary magazines like Prakash, Gariyosi, Prantik, Satsori, etc., stated that the award has made him more responsible for his literary activities.

Assam's widely acclaimed academician Amarjyoti Choudhury, who graced the occasion as the chief guest, observed that the national-level LitFest would open doors to new ideas, which became necessary for the younger generation.

He mentioned that Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika always maintained a sense of national responsibility, harmony, and universal philosophy in his creations.