post news network, Bhubaneswar, April 1: Several readers from diverse age groups Wednesday interacted with Susmita Bagchi, the noted Oriya writer from the city, whose many books have already been translated into English, Hindi, Telegu, Kannada, Malayalam and other languages. She also interacted with many budding writers who were in the literature-loving crowd in the event organised by Walking Bookfairs, a body that promotes reading and literature. The event was held near Fortune Towers, here. Susmita gained popularity through her novels like Deba Shishu and others.
The Oriya author who wrote her first book in 1991 answered to the many queries of the audience and encouraged them to feel proud of their mother tongue. “Oriya language is a very rich language. Many people have tried their hands at writing in Oriya and succeeded in garnering popularity. But still it has not flourished like other Indian languages in the literary circles. The present generation should not shy away from writing in their mother tongue; rather they should adopt it and feel proud. Nothing better than your mother language can allow you to express your inner thoughts precisely,” said Bagchi.
When asked if the advancements in the field of technology have made the reader-author interaction easier than it used to be earlier, she said, “Of course, technological advancements have bridged the gap between readers and authors through social networking sites and other means but nothing can be more significant and effective than meeting the writers and interacting with them personally in order to know them better. Such interventions are very successful and effective,” she said.
Bagchi meanwhile also emphasised that nowadays an informal platform/body was lacking in the city which used to exist earlier were many writers could interact and get honest feedback from readers. Agreeing to her view, another young writer Surbahi Sarna from the city said, “There are many young and experienced writers in and around the city, but the city lacks an institution where all like-minded people from our circle can come together to get feedback on our work or to discuss vivid topics. As writers we need a platform where we can freely discuss our ideas and thoughts.”