Intriguing deliberations on Assamese lyrics, traditional theatres, translation literatures, regional media’s role in nurturing languages, unparalleled literary creations of Jnanpith awardee Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya, a thorough look on Kalaguru by his playwright son, talks on nature writing and two sessions of multilingual poetry recitations enriched the three day Pragjyotishpur Literature Festival 2025 which concluded on 16 November at Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra premise of Guwahati. The third edition of prestigious literature festival, organized by the Sankardeva Education and Research Foundation (SERF) with the theme ‘In Search of Roots’ initiated to showcase the history, culture and languages of the land, once known as Pragjyotishpur (later Kamrup kingdom, where the capital was located roughly in the present day Guwahati) in the right perspective.
Valedictory function of the three-day literary exploration witnessed two Assamese writers felicitated in gracious presence of PLF president Phanindra Kumar Dev Choudhury, chief guest Sahitya Akademi awardee Apurba Kumar Saikia and a galaxy of authors, writers, translators, critics, cultural personalities, journalists and literature enthusiasts. Tiwa scholar and a tireless researcher of the society–literature–culture–history Maneswar Dewri along with emerging short-story writer Srotashwini Tamuli were honoured with PLF-25 awards. Accepting the award, distinguished essayist Dewri narrated his struggle and search for the Tiwa ethnic community’s identity amidst many challenges.
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Srotaswini, a research scholar at Birangana Sati Sadhani State University, admitted that receiving the award at an early stage of her literary journey simply enhanced the sense of responsibility in the field of creative writing. The annual litfest was inaugurated on 14 November by distinguished litterateur Nanda Singh Barkola, who highlighted India’s growing global stature while painting a vivid portrait of the nation’s cultural heritage. Aligning with the festival’s theme, Barkola insisted on a meticulous look at the pre-Sankari traditions to rediscover the forgotten literary roots of Bharat. Internationally acclaimed author Shefali Vaidya, who delivered the keynote address, appreciated the festival’s evolving journey along with the mission to reconnect younger generations with the glorious cultural and intellectual heritage.
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Opening her speech in Asomiya, she also invoked the timeless songs of legendary music maestro Bhupen Hazarika, underscoring the linguistic and cultural richness of the far eastern region of India. SERF chairman Lt Gen (retired) Rana Pratap Kalita, Pragjyotishpur University vice-chancellor SK Sinha also shared the dais, as a souvenir titled ‘Pragjyoti’, edited by Hemchandra Doley was released. Prior to the inauguration of PLF-25, the attendees paid floral tributes to Assam’s three cultural icons namely Sudhakantha Dr Hazarika, Zubeen Garg and Deepak Sharma. The first panel discussion on ‘Transformation and Evolution of Assamese Lyric Literature: From the Nineties to Present Era’ highlighted cautious optimism over the future of Assamese language enriched with a vigorous literature.
It was followed by Kavya Kaveri, a session joined by a number of popular poets with self-composed literary creations in different languages. A reflective session on ‘Evolution of Assamese Performing Arts: From Ankiya Bhawana to Bhramyman’, witnessed four active cultural personalities viewing theatre as the mother of all performing arts. They painted a challenging picture ahead of Assamese theatre but with promises to be kept in the coming days. Acknowledging the contribution of Assam’s mobile theatre groups, they lamented that the landscape of Assamese theatre was yet to ascertain a distinct school of tradition. Addressing listeners of the session on ‘Transcending Language Boundaries: The Triumphant Journey of Assamese Translated Literature’, the speakers opined that an honest translation deserves admiration as an original literary work.
on more translating verses from Assamese to other languages and vice-versa, they agreed that Sanskrit, though largely ignored in present days, should be kept alive for nurturing the regional languages. A panel discussion on ‘Assamese Language, Literature and Journalism: Growth and Expansion’, where four seasoned scribes participated, underlined various challenges ahead of traditional print journalism. They were unanimous in views that regional media always foster languages and it will soon return as the digital fatigue of abundant electronic and internet-based media outlets start exhausting the valued consumer-audiences. The session on ‘The Creative World of Novelist Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya: An Exploratory Journey’, enlightened the audience about the literary creations by Assam’s well acclaimed novelist encompassing the alienated region’s socio-political backdrops. Another session of Kavya Kaveri amused the audience comprising author – translators, art-connoisseurs, budding writers, performing artistes with others. A one-to-one interview with eminent actor Prithwiraj Rabha, who spoke about his father Bishnu Prasad Rabha’s colourful life and struggles, stole the limelight.
Currently a legislator Rabha brought alive the extraordinary cultural journey of Kalaguru from a luminous student to a legendary artiste and a revolutionary preacher. Kalaguru dedicated his life to three masters namely Sri Krishna, Srimanta Sankardeva and Leonardo da Vinci, said his illustrious son, while narrating the fascinating stories from Bishnu Rabha’s personal, artistic and revolutionary world. Another important event marked on discussions regarding nature literature, where the conversationalist resource person Soumyadeep Dutta elaborated on literature inspired by nature and cultural roots. He categorically distinguished between the western green-writings (which are mostly human centric) and the Bharatiya nature literature dedicated to all creatures on Earth. Guwahati earlier experienced three editions of Brahmaputra Literary Festival, which was patronized by the state-owned publishing institutions namely the National Book Trust and the Publication Board Assam. With a vision to redefine the legacy of Kamrup-Kamakhya civilization, the PLF now joins in the club of annual litfests spread across the country.
THE WRITER IS A GUWAHATIBASED SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE STATESMAN
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