First Literary Festival Inaugurated at Fakir Mohan University
“Literature: A Continuous Process of Refinement and Upliftment” – Chief Guest Dash Benhur “Literature Emerges from the Expression of Experience and Imagination” – Keynote Speaker Dr. Gourahari Das
Balasore, 16/05 (Krushna Kumar Mohanty):
With an aim to honor literature and introduce its richness, potential, and collective vision to the younger generation, Fakir Mohan University has inaugurated a two-day literary festival.
The inaugural ceremony was organized under the guidance and chairmanship of Vice-Chancellor Prof. Santosh Kumar Tripathy. Registrar Kukumina Das delivered the welcome address, while Prof. Bhaskar Behera, Chairperson of the Postgraduate Council, elaborated on the objectives and significance of the festival.
Renowned writer Dash Benhur, the Chief Guest, in his address, termed literature as the highest form of human achievement. He presented literature in a very lucid manner, describing it as a reflection of wonder and contemplation.
Delivering the keynote address, eminent literary figure Dr. Gourahari Das insightfully discussed the role, essence, objectives, and future of literature in society. He also highlighted the diversity inherent in literature.
Chairing the festival, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Tripathy expressed gratitude to the attending dignitaries—writers, scholars, and literary enthusiasts—and hoped this unique initiative by Fakir Mohan University would continue in the future. He emphasized the university’s pivotal role in shaping a future rooted in the legacy of Fakir Mohan, and enriched by knowledge, science, and the region’s cultural identity in agriculture, fisheries, and rice cultivation.
The two-day festival features four thematic sessions including:
The Present and Future of Odia Short Stories
The Philosophy and Creative Scope of Translation
Ideas and Possibilities in Odia Poetry
Agriculture and Farmers in Literature
Lord Jagannath and Global Consciousness
The Body of Literature: The Illusion of Cinema
My Language and the Direction of My Literature
Notable contributors to these sessions include Prof. Kailash Pattnayak, Sadananda Tripathy, Nibaran Jena, Prof. Jatindra Kumar Nayak, Prof. Abhiram Biswal, Prashanta Das, Prof. Giribala Mohanty, Krushna Kumar Mohanty, Kshiroda Parida, Dr. Laxmikanta Tripathy, Kadhi Sridev, Arun Kumar Patra, Sheikh Maqbul Islam, Jayajyoti Goswami, Dr. Anita Bose, Samarendra Nath Mahapatra, Surya Deo, Saroj Bal, Dr. Radharanjan Pattnayak, Dr. Kshitiswar Das, Madan Mohan Soren, Khawar Naqeeb, and Dr. Satish Chandra Panda.
Prof. Debashis Patra, Head of the Department of Language and Literature, is coordinating and anchoring the entire event.
The inaugural session concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Dr. Jayanta Kumar Das.
