Bhubaneswar, Mar 18: The Kalinga Literature Festival is set to begin on March 21, with over 400 writers from all Indian states and Union Territories participating in the event. Additionally, around 70 writers from 12 countries, including Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Japan, Bulgaria, and the Netherlands, will also take part in the event.
Indonesia will be the country partner for this event, as announced by Ashok Kumar Bal, the founder of the Kalinga Literature Festival.
On the first day, the festival will be inaugurated by the Governor, Haribabu Kambhampati, at Mayfair. The event will also be graced by distinguished guests such as the Ambassador of Indonesia to India, H.E. Ina Hagniningtyas Krisnamurthi, State Culture Minister Suryabanshi Suraj, Padma Bhushan Sudarshan Sahoo, and the Secretary of the Sahitya Academy, K. Srinivasa Rao.
The prestigious Kalinga Literature Award will be presented to renowned Hindi writer Mamata Kalia, acclaimed translator and academic Professor Jatindra Kumar Nayak, and Sanskrit scholar Dr. Srinuruddha Dash. Nepali writer Dr. Mamata Mishra will be awarded the Kalinga Literature Award (Youth).
This year, there will also be direct discussions with authors, including prominent figures such as Princess Geory Lakshmibai, Ila Arun, Dr. Vikram Sampath, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Dr. Shiv Khera, Devadatt Pattnaik, Sameer Anjan, Dr. Manjula Puja, Gagan Gill, Anand Neelakantan, Sudarshan Sahoo, Mamata Kalia, Arcia Sattar, Shantanu Kumar Acharya, Buddhisagar, Saikat Majumdar, Dr. Soumyaranjan Samal, Anant Vijay, Prakash Mishra, Bhanu Bharti, and Vibha Kaghajee.
The festival will also host several sessions addressing various topics beyond literature, including cooking, printing culture, architecture, education and its challenges, science, and dance.
During the inauguration, a book on the printing culture will also be released, aimed at expanding the perspective of the youth.
Additionally, the festival will showcase Odisha's art and culture, along with exhibits of different tourist destinations in Odisha, as stated by Sudarshan Sahoo, the advisor to the Kalinga Literature Festival.
