By Arindam Ganguly, OP
Bhubaneswar: Literature, travel, history, food, photography and music came together at the fourth edition of the Walking BookFairs Travel Writing Festival (WBTWF), held at New Community Space, 3rd Space Odisha, here Saturday.
The one-of-its-kind curated literary festival brought together authors, journalists, editors, readers and travel enthusiasts for a day-long programme of conversations and cultural experiences centred on the idea of “walking through stories and spaces.”
The festival was inaugurated by Tathagata Satpathy, Editor of Orissa POST and Dharitri. Speaking on the occasion, Satpathy said 3rd Space was conceived to provide creative people with a platform to discuss, exchange and develop ideas.
He said WBTWF was one such initiative aimed at creating awareness about reading and expressed hope that it would encourage more people to engage with books and literature.
A major attraction on the opening day was the inauguration of ‘Allen Ginsberg in Odisha’, an exhibition featuring 24 previously unseen photographs of American poet Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky in Odisha. The exhibition was presented by The Allen Ginsberg Project, New York, in collaboration with Walking BookFairs.
The first exhibition of its kind in India offers a glimpse into Ginsberg and Orlovsky’s journey through Odisha in 1962. The two poets visited Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri and Konark during their stay in the state.
Ginsberg, an acclaimed American poet and leading figure of the Beat Generation and counterculture movement, later wrote about his experiences in Odisha in his book Indian Journals.
Several books by acclaimed authors, including Jerry Pinto, Sarat Chandra Das, Christoph Ransmayr, Aakriti Mandhwani and Chandrahas Choudhury, were also showcased at the festival.
The literary discussions began with ‘The Past, Present and Future of Reading and Writing’, featuring writers Chandrahas Choudhury and Aakriti Mandhwani and moderated by Swati Murmu.
Mandhwani observed that people today read across different formats, but the larger question was whether they were actually engaging with literature or merely consuming other forms of content. She stressed the need to focus on telling good stories that would encourage people to read.
Choudhury described books as “ultimate time travel machines”, saying they emerged from a deeply human desire to overcome the barriers of time and space, allowing ideas, stories and knowledge to outlive their creators and travel across generations and geographies.
He also emphasised that readers should choose books based on their own interests rather than simply following recommendations from others.
The festival then turned to Odisha’s culinary heritage with ‘Exploring Odisha Through Food: How Migration, Trade and Travel Shaped Odisha Cuisine’.
Rachit Kirteeman was in conversation with Sweta Biswal on the influences that have shaped the state’s food culture over generations. Cuttack’s popular dahibara was cited as an example of a local culinary tradition that has absorbed influences from outside the state.
The role of literature in connecting people across regions and languages was explored in the session ‘Stories Beyond Borders: The Role of Publishers, Translators and Readers in Making Stories Travel’. The session featured authors Ravi Singh and Jerry Pinto and was moderated by Abinash.
Pinto highlighted India’s enormous diversity, saying the country’s architecture, cultures and traditions offer a vast range of experiences and stories.
“No story can travel without translation,” Pinto said, emphasising that translating regional books into different Indian languages could help people understand the country’s diversity and experiences beyond their own linguistic and cultural boundaries. The literary conversations were complemented by a traditional pitha tasting, giving participants an opportunity to experience one of Odisha’s distinctive culinary traditions.
The day’s programme concluded with ‘Naadamritam: Beyond Boundaries’, a musical jugalbandi featuring flute and tabla, performed by Keerthanraj Shetty and Susanta Kumar Jena.
Walking BookFairs co-founders Satabdi Mishra and Akshaya Bahibala said the festival was India’s first travelling literary festival and that the fourth edition had been designed as a combination of literary discussions, exhibitions, food, music and travel experiences.
“Our aim is to create awareness about reading, especially in places where accessibility to books is limited. This year, we added more travel destinations compared to previous editions. It is a unique experience for both readers and authors,” they said. The two-day exhibition will remain open until 8 pm on September 6 at 3rd Space Odisha in Bhubaneswar.
On the second day, participants will embark on a train journey from Bhubaneswar to Daspalla. The journey will feature conversations, music, reading, writing and poetry, offering participants an opportunity to experience “the extraordinary in the ordinary.”