Bhubaneswar: Kalinga Literary Festival, Odisha Diary Foundation (ODF) have brought Kandhamal Literary Festival on virtual platform. This is the first ever online literary festival that will promote the indigenous heritage of Odisha, its interconnections between nature, culture and literature.
The session will be aired live on all the official forums like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube of Kalinga Literary Festival on 28th June, 2020.
The mission behind bringing ODF and Kalinga Literary Festival’s flagship initiative Kandhamal Literary Festival to online platform is extend the arena and reach out to different regions of the state. Kandhamal is famous for its picturesque beauty, indigenous culture and simplicity in social lifestyle and behaviour. These are pristine qualities for thinkers, philosophers, writers and poets.
The online event will be held in two segments- 3.00 pm-3.45 pm, 4.00pm-4.45pm. It will host Padmashree honoured author Prativa Ray as the keynote speaker. Other notable panelists include Dr. Aurobindo Behera, Rajesh Patil (IAS), Sujit Kumar, Bijoy Pattnaik, Kedar Mishra, Dr. Khetrabasi Manseth, Pradip Kanhar, Dr. Nirad Kanhar, Jyotirmayee Kanhar, Pruthibiraj Mandal, Bideshi Nayak.
As the Founder & Director of Kandhamal Literary Festival and Kalinga Literary Festival Rashmi Ranjan Parida says, “Its a tough time when we are battling with a pandemic along with several other day to day struggles. Technology being a boon has made social media the strongest platform of today’s time. Kandhamal has many things to offer. It has been a silent inspiration for many. The reason behind making it a virtual festival is to let the world know the indigenous and cultural heritage of Odisha. It will be a virtual exploration of interconnections between Kandhamal with Odisha’s literary, artistic, and cultural.
Debasish Samantray, co-founder and convener of the Kandhamal Literary Festival expressed happiness on the overwhelming support for this virtual initiative from people around Odisha and all parts of the country. He believes it to be a remarkable event on the literary calendar of the state. This is part of our outreach to Odisha’s nook and corners for knowledge and inspiration, said Samantaray.
