Three-day poetry fest starts today
A: Over 700 poets and elocutionists from across Bengal are set to participate in the Poetry Festival 2024, starting Thursday.
The three-day festival will kick off with an inauguration ceremony at Ektara Mancha on Thursday at 4.30 pm, with Bratya Basu, Indranil Sen and Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay. The poetry festival, considered the only one of its kind in the country, will include readings and discussions about poems.
“We started this poetry festival in 2017, and it’s been growing ever since. Over the next three days, Nandan and Rabindra Sadan will be buzzing with people coming together to celebrate and enjoy poetry,” said Subodh Sarkar, chairman of West Bengal Kabita Academy, a cultural center uniting poets. Joining him at the press meet on Wednesday were Sutapa Bandyopadhyay, Bijay Lakshmi Burman, and Mandakranta Mahalanabis.
The organisers have also planned a series of special programmes to celebrate the birth centenary of renowned Bengali poet Nirendranath Chakraborty. On January 4, more than 50 poets will gather to honour the Sahitya Academy Award-winning Bengali writer-poet. There will also be talks about Chakraborty’s contributions to modern Bengali literature at Nandan 3. Filmmakers Atanu Ghosh, Sohini Dasgupta, Paramita Munshi and Ayan Chakraborty will discuss the connection between cinema and poetry on January 6 at Nandan 3.
This year too, the Kabita Academy is going to award poets and elocutionists at the inauguration ceremony. Poet Debi Prasad Bandopadhyay will be given the Jibanananda Das Samman, along with a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh. Goutam Chowdhury will receive the Subhash Mukhopadhyay Award, Joshodhara Roy Choudhury will be honoured with the Sunil Gangopadhyay Samman and Sabyasachi Sarkar will be presented with the Binoy Majumdar Samman on Thursday. The event will also facilitate three elocutionists namely Bijay Lakshmi Burman, Soumen Chattopadhyay, and Mouli Dasgupta. Burman will be awarded with the Kazi Sabyasachi Samman, which includes a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh. The poetry festival will conclude on January 6.
