Kolkata: Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi (PBA) is going to host five-day Literary Festival & Little Magazine Fair (Sahitya Utsav O Little Magazine Mela) at Rabindra Sadan—Nandan premises from February 23 to 27. More than 465 writers known for their literary skills will be participating in the Fair this year. 340 little magazine publishers will take part in the five-day event.
As many as 332 poets will be reciting, 78 prose writers will take part in a discussion sharing their experience on the root behind their respective work. There will be 10 seminars with 55 eminent poets and prose writers, dramatists etc. A meeting involving editors of the different publications will also be held.
Bratya Basu, state Education minister and chairman of PBA said that the lead poetry – "Amar Jonmer Kono Sesh Ney" that has been chosen this year is to honour poet Shankha Ghosh who breathed his last in April last year. The Festival this year will be jointly inaugurated on February 23 by noted Indian Bengali writer Anita Agnihotri and poet Mridul Dasgupta.
According to Basu, a major attraction of the Festival will be a photo exhibition as a tribute to doyens of cultural world who have passed away during the pandemic that includes Shankha Ghosh, Shaoli Mitra (former chairman of PBA), Soumitra Chatterjee, Buddhadev Guha, filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Manindra Gupta to name a few.