News Desk, News Nation 360 : Apeejay Bangla Sahitya Utsob (ABSU), the first Bengali literary festival in India, kicked off its ninth edition with authors and intellectuals who inspired the masses. The festival was officially opened by renowned poet Joy Goswami at the venerable Oxford Bookstore, with Abhirup Mukhopadhyay and Swagat Sengupta, the CEO and festival director of Oxford Bookstores, in attendance. Swagat Sengupta, Festival Director and CEO of Oxford Bookstores stated that with a mission to raise the profile of Bengali literature and give readers a chance to interact with distinguished writers, academics, and artists, ABSU has always worked to do just that. They are incredibly grateful for the love and support that the audiences have given them over the years. The festival this year is expected to provide a more stimulating and thought-provoking experience for everyone.
“There are two types of writer-poet all over the world. The first type craves for the stage, limelight, and festivity and the other whose writing table is their stage. While the former group is numerous, the latter remains limited. And this is how the world is.”, said Joy Goswami.
Three riveting sessions with creative luminaries from various backgrounds followed the inaugural one. These discussions covered a wide range of topics, such as Sakti Sadhan Mukhopadhyay in conversation with Abhishek Ghoshal, and Debatosh Das, and the commemoration of Michael Madhusudan Dutt's 200th birthday. Conversations about translations with Abhijit Mukherjee, Srikumar Chattopadhyay, Chaitali Chattopadhyay, and Chinmoy Guha were moderated by Aveek Majumder. Debashis Sen, Satyam Roychowdhury, Arindam Sil, and Suvadeep Chakraborty moderated a discussion on how literature transcends the pages of books to wrap up the first day of Apeejay Bangla Sahitya Utsob. The 9th Apeejay Bangla Sahitya Utsob's upcoming sessions will cover a wide range of subjects. Day 2, or November 25, 2023, will focus on unconventional conversations about topics like politics, how rural life is portrayed in Bengali literature, and poetry, the importance of stories and novels in magazines and periodicals waning, the conflict between violence and love stories in Bengali literature, and the contribution of memes and jokes to the genre's humour. In honour of Suchitra Mitra and Kanika Bandhyopadhyay, a musical tribute will be performed.
Pic - Courtesy
