Authors, Art Connoisseurs, Critics, Budding Writers Searching for Roots with Pragjyotishpur LitFest
By
Nava Thakuria, New Age Islam
10 October
2023
Pragjyotishpur
Was Pronounced By Lord Ram In The Critical Phase Of His Struggles After Losing
His Wife Seeta. On The Other Hand, The Powerful King Of Pragjyotishpur, Bhagadatta
Fought Along With The Kauravas (Against Pandavas) In The Battle Of Mahabharata
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It was a unique literary confluence of authors, translators, art connoisseurs, critics, budding writers and young people, who assembled for Pragjyotishpur Literature Festival 2023 showcasing a series of panel discussions, interactive sessions with authors, a workshop on creative writing, a thematic prize money quiz competition, a multilingual poetry recitation, launching of books and splendid cultural programs at Asom Sahitya Sabha and District Library premises in Guwahati. Organised for the first time by Sankardev Education and Research Foundation (SERF) with the theme ‘In Search of Roots’, the three-day festival was a real intellectual & interactive treat for thousands of literary enthusiasts which propagated the rich cultural heritage of the land with a noble initiative to rediscover and redefine the legends of Pragjyotishpur.
The
national-level Lit Fest (29 September to 1 October) was launched with lighting
of the sacred lamp by the festival organising committee chief Phanindra Kumar
Devchoudhury and National Book Trust-India chairman Milind Sudhakar Marathe,
who were assisted by cultural personality Robin Kalita, non-resident Assamese
writer Devajit Bhuyan, Nature enthusiast Soumyadeep Datta, etc. Padmashree
awardee Gorkha writer Lil Bahadur Chetri, Konkani author Bhushan Bhave from
Goa, New Delhi-based scholar Anshu Joshi, prominent television news personality
Rubika Liyaquat and a large number of distinguished audiences including SERF president
Ramananda Das, Pragjyotishpur University vice-chancellor Smriti Kumar Sinha
with others from various parts of the region graced the inaugural function.
An acclaimed author himself, Devchoudhury in his welcome address emphasised on showcasing the history, culture and languages of eastern Bharat in the right perspective. Expressing anger over the tendency of many highly educated people to undermine the heritage of their own land, Devchoudhury argued that many intellectuals try to define the Indian literature with foreign theories only to cover up the serenity of ancient civilizations. Ms Liyaquat made a strong statement that for her the motherland always comes first before her religion. She insisted on strengthening the roots for each and every Indian who might have changed their way of worshiping or adopting a different culture in the courses of time.
NBT
chairperson Marathe, who himself is a versatile writer and critic, insisted on
creating purposeful literature for the wellbeing of society in general. He
urged the new generation writers to come out of the colonial mindset with
extensive study, interaction and resolutions for engaging in the futuristic
creative exercises. The inaugural function began with a mantra invoking ‘Shipar
Sandhanat’, a performance of Saraswati Vandana by teachers & students of
Birubari Sankardev Vidya Niketan, a
chorus by Tezpur Shilpi Samaj and a Bhoar Taal Nritya by Banalata Baishy’s
Sadhana Shilpi Samaj and it was concluded by a Bharat Bandana performed by
Mallika Kandali and her disciples.
The present-day Assam is the central part of the ancient kingdom named Pragjyotishpur (later also known as Kamrup), where its capital was located roughly in the present-day Guwahati. The kingdom was spread to Jalpaiguri, Koch Behar, Bhutan hills (including some parts of Nepal), Rangpur, Sylhet, Mymensingh, Dhaka (now under Bangladesh), Tripura, Khasi & Garo hills, etc. Pragjyotishpur (meaning the eastern part of Jyotishpur) gets its mention in both the great Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata as well as in Kalika Puran, Yogini Tantra and Charyapada.
Pragjyotishpur
was pronounced by Lord Ram in the critical phase of his struggles after losing
his wife Seeta. On the other hand, the powerful king of Pragjyotishpur,
Bhagadatta fought along with the Kauravas (against Pandavas) in the battle of
Mahabharata. When it came to exist as the Kamrup kingdom, legendary king Kumar
Bhaskarvarman used to rule
over the
land. Bhaskarvarman enjoyed a dignified and mutually respected relationship
with emperor Harshavardhan (of Kanauja and Thaneswara) and often sent valuable
books as gifts to Harshavardhan. He was a vibrant patroniser of ancient Nalanda
University, one of the greatest centres of learning across the globe.
Pragjyotishpur
itself was an abode of learning, publications and intellectual exercises as these
were the oldest traditions and practices for the residents. Many valuable books
were written in this part of the world, where Madhav Kandali’s Ramayana in a
local language signifies the dimension and intellectual capacity of an author.
The society used to promote the learning and redefining of general science,
Ayurveda and traditional healthcare, Astrology, craftsmanship and both
performing & visual arts. The residents still carry the legacy of ancient
Indian culture, developed since the pre- historic days.
Scholarly writer Joshi from Jawaharlal Nehru University, during a conversation with researcher Namrata Pathak, spoke about the fake secularism embarrassing love jihad in various higher education centres. Quoting her own novel ‘JNU Mein Ek Ladki Rehti Thi’, Joshi described the hypocrisy in the name of Marxism that still exists in the premier institution. Finally, she urged the budding writers to learn how to judge the wrong and right contents in their own life and literary creations. Making themselves responsible writers to the society, Joshi hoped that the new generation would use their literary works for the process of nation building. Sahitya Akademi awardee Assamese author Anuradha Sarma Pujari, while talking to writer Nizara Hazarika, enlightened the audience on many pertinent issues.
Panel
discussions on ‘Rhetoric of Empowerment: The Study of History in Search of
Roots’ drew the attention of audience, where Ankita Dutta (JNU), Jyotirmoy
Pradhani (NEHU), Namita Devi (Barbhag College) and journalist Rupam Barua
shared their in-depth views under the moderation of Jogesh Kakati. Similarly,
JNU professor Joshi, Konkani litterateur Bhave and Assamese historian Robin
Sharma delibarted on ‘Exploring Tradition through Literature’ arguing that some
traditions (including the traditional medicinal practices of Bharat) should be
redefined for the present-day use.
Authors
Arindam Sarma, Manika Devi, Lakshi Hazarika, Bhakarjyoti Sarma and Dhiren Sarma
spoke about the contemporary Assamese literature enriched with history and
tradition in an interesting session moderated by Bibhash Choudhury.
Environmentalist turned writer Datta moderated a session on ‘Contemporary
Nature Writing’, where Bharati Dutta, Pradosh Ranjan Saha, Pankaj Dutta, etc
highlighted their experiences. Award winning translator Bipul Deuri moderated a
session on ‘Regional Indian Literature: Lost and Found in Translation’, where
Mitra Phukan, Indrani Laskar and Nil Mohan Roy shared their views.
Acclaimed
Assamese film personalities like national award-winning director Manju Bora,
acclaimed actress Malaya Goswami, film critic Ankan Rajkumar and film maker
Kankan Deka put their views in the session on ‘Assam through the Cinematic
Lens’, which was moderated by writer Bitopon Borbora. The speakers were unanimous
in their views that the regional movies only reflect the real India. They also
urged the new age film makers to adopt the transformation of film technology
while working in the field. Digitation of all available Assamese (including
other movies produced in ethnic languages) celluloid movies become need of the
hour, asserted the film personalities.
Auniati
Satra’s Satradhikar Pitambar Devgoswami and Rabindranath Tagore University’s
vice-chancellor Amalendu Chakrabarty spoke on ‘Neo Vaishnavism of Bharata and
Sankardev’, which was moderated by Purandar Barua. They put together views on
many unique characteristics of Srimanta Sankardev, the 15th century saint,
philosopher and social reformer, along with his prime disciple Shri Madhabdev,
who shaped the culture of present-day Assam. Distinguished storyteller Atanu
Bhattacharyya guided the workshop on creative writing for young students. The
quiz competition on India’s history and culture was conducted by Dipankar
Koushik. Several promising poets including Modar Jyoti, Dhiman Barman, Sourav
Saikia, Induprabha Devi, Joijeet Deka, Ganga Mohan Mili, Hangmiji Hanse, Sanjay
Das, etc participated in the multilingual poetry session, which was moderated
by Aparajita Pujari.
Veteran
litterateur Nahendra Padun and promising writer Nayanjyoti Sarma were conferred
with Pragjyotishpur Sahitya Puraskar at the closing ceremony in presence of
Samudra Gupta Kashyap (chancellor of Nagaland University) and Sahitya Akademi
awardee author –translator Diganta Biswa Sarma. Receiving the award, Padun
recalled his literary journey saying that Mising is his mother tongue and
Assamese the midwife language. Refusing to be identified as a Mising poet in
the society, Padun clarified that he is an Assamese poet (as he writes in
Assamese language). He also pointed out that even though ethnic writers of
Assam continue creating literature in Assamese language, no mainstream Assamese
writers try their hands in any tribal language.
Nayanjyoti,
who is a practicing physician, commented that the award has inspired him to
continue the journey as a writer.
Sarma in
his address discussed the eras of literature created in the West and at the
same time criticized concept of the post-modern era. He lamented that this kind
of western thinking has taken away Indian culture from the Sanatani values.
Sarma appreciated that the Lit Fest adopted a pertinent theme, which needed a
brain storming discussion in from of a wider audience. Kashyap termed the
country as Punyabhoomi Bharat and revealed that when literature was created
here, the western countries even did not have written languages. Sudeshna
Bhattacharjya (on behalf of SERF) and Bikram Kalita (the festival organising
committee secretary) thanked every participant and well-wisher of the
initiative.
The LitFests
become very popular among book lovers, writer-authors, playwrights, music-film
appreciators, social thinkers, editor-journalists etc across India, where the
regional literary works are often propagated with a great enthusiasm. Now
Pragjyotishpur LitFest has proudly joined the list of annual festivals
comprising the Jaipur Literary Festival, Kolkata Literary Festival, Bangalore
Literature Festival, Kerala Literature Festival, Pune International Literary
Festival, Mumbai Queensline LitFest, Nagpur Orange City Literature Festival,
Gurgaon Literature Festival, Chandigarh Literature Festival, Dehradun Valley of
Words, Kumaon Festival of Literature & Arts, Goa Arts and Literature
Festival, Times LitFest, etc.
Pre-events
to the promising literature festival were also organised in Dhubri Bholanath
College, Dibrugarh H Surajmall Kanoi College, Dhemaji Balika Bidyalaya, North
Lakhimpur College, etc with great enthusiasm from hundreds of novice writers,
book-enthusiasts and serious readers. Prior to this LitFest, Guwahati witnessed
three editions of Brahmaputra Literary Festival. Initially patronised by the
NBT and later solely organised by the State government run Asom Prakashan
Parishad, those festivals at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra attracted a number
of foreign authors besides many national and regional literary activists.
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Nava Thakuria is a northeast India-based
professional journalist who is an engineering graduate.
URL: https://newageislam.com/current-affairs/authors-art-connoisseurs-critics-writers-litfest/d/130864
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