Though the internet has changed the reading and writing exercises of a majority of the people, cyberspace has not been able to kill books.
This was evident from the number of crowds that thronged the first day of the fourth edition of the Shillong Literary Festival, which began here today.
The sombre and serious literature fest drew more than 3500 people to listen to the dynamic literary intellectuals from across the country. The main seating area, which accommodates only about 200, was packed the entire day with the audience overflowing on the banks nearby to listen in rapture to the various conversations that continued through the day.
The distinguished personalities that featured today were celebrated authors Vikram Seth, Shobhaa De, Jerry Pinto, Kynpham N Nongkynrih amongst various other authors.
Khasi author and poet, Nongkynrih introduced his book, ‘The Distaste of the Earth’ that weaves an ancient world of Khasi kings and queens, warriors and plunderers, and chronicles the sorrows of a young man caught up in that world.
Later Sabir Hussain spoke of his travels and how it moulded his experiences as a writer and journalist in conversation with former president of Shillong Press Club, David Laitphlang.
People in the audience were also given an insight into creating visual narratives during a conversation between Mario Pathaw and Kenneth Thangkhiew, an educator and cartoonist.
Arupjyoti Saikia, a noted author of Assam delved into the history of the North East and Assam while interacting with Dr Kaustabh Kr Deka, from colonial times to the modern society.
Reclusive author and Padma Shree awardee, Vikram Seth conversed with noted journalist and author from West Bengal, Malavika Banerjee on his journey and why he came to literature fest in Shillong when he mostly stayed out of such programs. He further read excerpts from his book while talking about his journey in life.
Janice Pariat, a well known journalist conversed with noted author Jerry Pinto about his book, ‘The education of Yuri’ a book about an orphan. Excerpts from his book were also read to the audience that gathered.
Shobhaa De discussed her journey as a writer and encouraged those present to continue writing while also talking of fair pay for writers.
All sessions during the lit fest were interactive with enthusiastic participants putting out questions to the literary luminaries.
Earlier, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma in his inaugural address said the literary festival aims is to bring our writers together and provide them a platform since the people of the state have the interest, talent and most importantly the passion to write. He said it is also an opportunity for local writers to gain more exposure and share their ideas and thoughts with writers from other parts of the country and even the world.
Another objective of the festival is to evoke interest in reading and writing. “We have pressed on schools to participate as it would garner curiosity among students to inculcate the art of reading and writing.”
Sangma said Meghalaya has a younger population in comparison to the rest of the country and the government is trying to ensure that reading and writing becomes an integral part of development activities for the youths.
He highlighted that the written art form is also a medium of documentation and research for preserving the rich culture and history of our people.
After the talks and discussions, a musical evening under the Meghalaya Grassroots Musical Program was a treat to the tired minds while the blazing pink cherry blossom trees were a treat to the eyes.
