Cuttack/Bhubaneswar: Sunday was a day of celebration for avid readers and travellers as Walking BookFairs, the famous travelling book store, organised a 9-hour Travel Writing Festival in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. “This was a first-of-its-kind independent literature festival in India celebrating travel writing and the spirit of exploration and adventure,” said Akshaya Bahibala, cofounder of Walking BooKfairs. The festival was inaugurated by Nikhil Pavan Kalyan, Vice Chairman of Cuttack Development Authority at Netaji Bus Terminal, Cuttack.
Appreciating the initiative, Kalyan said it should be held frequently in Odisha. During the first session titled ‘Cuttack Days and Nights’, eminent lyricist and academician Devdas Chhotray shared about his life’s experience in Cuttack. Talking about the dialects of Odia language spoken in Cuttack, he said, “The Kataki language is greatly influenced by the Persians and Marathas due to colonisation by Muslims and Marathas.” He spoke about how making ‘paan’ was a tradition and culture in every household in Cuttack. The next session was on ‘How to Write a Travel Book’. Travel writers Rajat Ubhaykar, Jubanashwa Mishra, and Chandrahas Choudhury participated in the session. “The main objective of a travel writer is to offer an image and experience to those who have no travel experience,” said Rajat.
The venue of the event shifted to Walking BookFairs Bhubaneswar in the evening. The session here, titled ‘Travellers of the World’, was attended by Carlota Giralt (Spain), Mariana Martin (Spain), Rodolphe Spoorenberg (France), Eduardo Cardoso (Portugal), and Sofia Toraldo (Italy). Carlota, a traveller, said, “Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are friendly destinations, and I enjoyed my travel a lot in these cities.”
Speaking about the event, student-writer Subransu Dash told Orissa POST that such a festival is a great place for young authors, and this should be organised frequently across the state. Walking Bookfairs’ other founder, Satabdi Mishra, said, “Walking Bookfairs has made its mark as India’s first of its kind independent travel bookstore, which has toured more than 35,000 km across India to promote reading habits among people.”
