Legendary poet, writer, lyricist and scriptwriter Javed Akhtar will be visiting Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University here on Saturday where he will be honoured with the SOA Sahitya Samman for 2025.
Akhtar will be attending the inaugural function of the two-day 3rd SOA Literary Festival beginning November 29 to be held in the SOA auditorium. The festival will be inaugurated by Odisha Governor Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati.
The SOA Sahitya Samman, introduced this year, will be presented to an eminent litterateur in recognition of his or her contribution to literature every year.
In a video message, Akhtar expressed his happiness over his visit to SOA, saying he was delighted to be part of the SOA Literary Festival. He congratulated the university authorities for organizing the festival and all its participants.
Akhtar, who belongs to a family lineage that can be traced back to seven generations of writers, has received five National Film Awards and 15 Filmfare Awards. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1999, Padma Bhushan in 2007, and Sahitya Akademi Award in 2014. His poetry collections ‘Tarkash’ and ‘Lava’ are counted among the best sellers in modern Hindi literature and have been translated into several Indian and foreign languages.