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Bhubaneswar, Oct 8: For the first time in Orissa’s history, 400 poets from different parts of the country gathered under one roof and held numerous discussions on regional Indian literature. Thefirst edition of Bhubaneswar Poetry Festival (BPF) was organised by PEN IN Publication and Media at a city based hotel in Bhubaneswar. The primary focus for such gathering was to discuss the change in modern poetries, which is transforming the landscape of literature.
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Renowned poet Sitakant Mohapatra, who inaugurated the event, said, “Many young poets continue to write good poetry, which means that it is still very popular among people. Such festivals need to be organised often as it encourages them.”
Notable Oriya poet Haraprasad Das addressed the problem with Oriya literature and said there was an ego clash between young and veteran literary figures, which needed to be resolved. “We (the society) do not encourage young talents. Even though some poets still prefer to write in Oriya, we continue to say that nobody writes in the said language. We need to change this mindset,” he said.
Oriya poet Surya Mishra, who was present on the occasion, said the uniqueness of Oriya poetry was in its ‘cultural roots’ and ‘self-estimation’. He added, “Poetry has become a part of a sub-culture, but we have to save it from negligence.”
Five sessions were held on the occasion where poets and several experts addressed various topics and issues related to Oriya literature. Several poetry reading sessions were also conducted.
Happy with the success of the first edition, BPF director Subhransu Panda said, “Our aim was to promote Indian poetic traditions, explore the existing interactivity between different such traditions and develop new horizons of partnership between them.”
