The three-day 5th edition of Kalinga literary Festival (KlF) kick-started with the presence of eminent personalities representing Indian literature, politics, media and public services here on Friday.
Union Petroleum and Natural Gas, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, inaugurating the event, lauded the efforts of KlF founder and director Rashmi Ranjan Parida for placing the event in the map of important literature festivals of India and hoped that the event would ultimately become a platform for young budding writers.
Pradhan urged the organisers not to keep the KlF as an event only but also to hold an intellectual outcome after each event which should inspire the society for generations to come. He also asked the writers present at the fest to write about rich Kalinga legacy.
Amish Tripathy, Indian mythological writer, receiving the Kalinga International literary Award (writing in any global language) said, “Ancient Kalinga had rich legacy and was influential in not just east India but in entire India and must be retold to new generations.
As I had lived in Odisha in early childhood, it has become my duty to write about King Kharavela to showcase rich Kalinga culture.” Besides, Padmaj Pal received the Kalinga Sahitya Sanman (Odia) and Nirupama Rao accepted Kalinga Karubaki literary Award (for women writers).
On the occasion, advisor to Janata Dal (United) president Nitish Kumar and former bureaucrat Pawan Verma, eminent Odia writers Dr Pratibha Ray and Pratibha Satapathy also spoke.
Besides, during the event, young writers and poets from several districts of Odisha would receive the Kalinga literary Youth Awards for their excellence in literary fields.
More than 300 writers, poets, lyricists, journalists and public intellectuals would participate in the event. During the fest more than 10 books would also be released.