The Kalinga Literary Festival set to trigger global and national discussions on Mahatma Gandhi’s work and ideas through the variety of forms of literature; lived experience, politics, art, film, business, media and sports.
BHUBANESWAR: Kalinga Literary Festival is back with its sixth edition to invigorate, educate, provoke and entertain as well. Around 250 celebrities from the worlds of literature, cinema, media and politics will assemble in the temple city of Odisha to deliberate on the theme of ‘Gandhi’s Idea of India: Truth, Harmony, Non-Violence’ from July 19 to 21.
KLF is well known for its socially relevant themes and in a way compels all ‘creative’ people to think and articulate ‘the contemporary’. Like its past editions, the KLF this year also has a hard-hitting theme for writers, poets and artists to ponder on. The central theme focuses on Gandhian Ideology.
Founder and director of KLF Rashmi Ranjan Parida stated that this year the world is celebrating 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. “It is only fitting to pay tribute to him, his ideas and reflect upon them in contemporary times. KLF 2019 will pay literary and creative tribute to the immortal spirit of Gandhi Ji,” she said.
The three-day festival will cover several dimensions of the interconnections between Literature, Gandhian Ideology, truth, harmony and non-violence. The key sessions will be on topics such as cultural nationalism, Gandhigiri, Generation Y, Odisha , Media, Market, Children, Women, Transgender, Kamasutra, Citizen Engagement, Cinema, Sports, Ethics, Discrimination, Revolutions, Peace building, Conflict Resolution and Harmony.
Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) has emerged as one of the leading literary platforms in India and number one in the Eastern part of India, attracting both experienced and young litterateurs. Bigger than ever before, the sixth edition of the festival will bring nationally and internationally acclaimed names on one platform to discuss, debate and explore commonalities in the diverse voices in literature, peace and harmony.
Several Writers, poets, speakers and performers including Anirban Ganguly, Anand Neelakantan, Anshuman Tiwari, Ashvin Kumar, Anu Chaudhary, Anubhav Sinha, Ahmad Afsar, Anuradha Beniwal, Anamika, Ashok Maheshwari, Arun Ram, Ashutosh Parida , Bipin Bihari Mishra, Bhaavna Arora, Bhawana Somaaya, Bhavani B Iyer and Bhabani Mohanty among others will tell the stories of life, society and the world and will also provide a future perspective on the topics of discussion.
Four prestigious awards in literature will be conferred in the following categories: Kalinga Literary Award (for a distinguished writer in Odia), Kalinga International Literary Award (for a writer in any global language), Kalinga Karubaki Literary Award (for women writers) and Kalinga Literary Youth Award (for a young writer in any global language). There will also be a cultural program to showcase Odisha’s art, culture and literature on each day of the three-day program.
