Governor SC Jamir inaugurated a national-level literary festival organised by the National law University (NlU), Odisha here on Thursday. This is said to be the first of its kind organised by any law university in the country, which is being attended by over a dozen eminent literary persons from Odisha and outside.
Dr Jamir hailed the endeavour of the university terming it as a “noble concept”. Stressing that literature is a medium to highlight a country’s academic status, he recalled the contributions of eminent lawyers in the field of literature including that of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Odisha’s very own Madhusudan Das.
The Governor said creative writers have always contributed immensely in shaping the lifestyle of the people in every era and they would continue to do so in maintaining the forward momentum of the mankind. “Although science and technology may give us practical benefits, it is literature and art that give us eternal happiness,” Jamir said at the inaugural session, which was attended by renowned writer Dr Pushpesh K Pant as guest of honour.
Acting Vice-Chancellor of the university Dr Priyambada Mohanty Hejmadi traced the symbiotic nature of literature and law and said literary awareness is an important tool for analysing events, people and the life itself. She reiterated that an enhancement of literary sensibility is crucial for an intellectually-vibrant atmosphere.
Writers and academicians of repute like Arshia Sattar, Vartika Nanda, Athena Kashyap, Altaf Tyrewala, Prof Kalyani Samantray, Dinanath Pathy and Chandrahas Choudhury will be part of the three-day event.