*Pragya Mail’s Multilingual National Poetry Festival draws colourful response*
New Delhi / 19 December, 2023/Our cultural correspondent
· Northeast poets were an attraction
· Assam’s renowned poet Ashutosh Das gets memorial award
· Poets pay homage to poet cardiologist Late Nabajit Talukdar
NEW DELHI: The second edition of the capital-based Hindi weekly Pragya Mail organised Multi-Lingual National Poetry Festival and Award Ceremony 2023 saw a colourful cultural extravaganza and poetry recitation.
Ashutosh Das, a renowned poet and multi-faceted literary personality from Assam’s Barak Valley was conferred the Arjun Chandra Barman Memorial Award for his lifetime contribution to the literary world. Delhi-based international journalist Ratnajyoti Dutta received the prestigious award on behalf of the acclaimed poet who is based at Hailakandi town of South Assam.
The colourful poetry festival was inaugurated by lighting the lamp by the special guests and paying homage to a noble poetic soul. Rich tributes poured in for Delhi’s well-known heart specialist Late Nabajit Talukdar who had an impactful presence at last year’s first edition of the multi-lingual poetry festival.
All present at the inaugural session observed a minute’s silence as a mark of respect to the doctor. Soma Talukdar, wife of the departed noble soul, was present at the condolence session. She read out a self-composed short heart-touching poem remembering her soulmate with a heavy heart.
The program was organised at the auditorium of the Gandhi Peace Foundation located on Deendayal Upadhyay Marg of the capital. Nearly fifty noted poets from across the country participated in the exclusive half-day programme with the majority of poets coming from the Northeast region.
Noted Urdu poet Rajinder Singh Arora (Dildar Dehlvi), Gujarati poet Madhavi Vyas, Bengali poet Aloka Goswami, Assamese Mrinmoy Nath, Nepali poet Arjun Upreti ‘Apratim’ drew huge attention among others from the audience for their styles of recitation of poems.
Ved Prakash Singh, National Secretary, Mahamana Madan Mohan Malviya Mission, gave away the mementoes and certificates at the Pragya Mail award ceremony as the Chief Guest of the evening.
Kavyamani Bora, the Northeast Coordinator of the Multi-Lingual Poetry Festival, Convenor of the poetry festival and well-known multi-lingual writer Hitesh Vyas, and Babu Rabha, Editor of Guwahati-based five decades old monthly RAHASYA magazine, were honoured for organizing the colourful poetry festival.
Ratnajyoti Dutta, the national adviser of Pragya Mail, addressed the gatherings of the multi-lingual poets and urged them to write poems upholding the concept of ‘National Integration through Language’ for common men.
Arun Kumar Barman, Editor-In-Chief of the weekly newspaper Pragya Mail, expressed gratitude to the poets, artists and the gathering for encouraging the unique format of the poetry festival.
(This story has not been edited by News Mania staff and is published from a Media Release)
