3RD PRAGJYOTISHPUR LITFEST TO KICK START ON FRIDAY 

Pragjyotishpur Literature Festival, beginning its voyage with the vision of introducing the younger generation to India’s rich cultural heritage and glorious intellectual traditions through literary discourses, enters its third edition this year. The three-day festival (14, 15 and 16 November) has been organized at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra in Panjabari locality of the city with the central theme ‘In Search of Roots’.

At a press conference held on 12 November in Guwahati, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Rana Pratap Kalita, chairman of the organizing body Sankardev Education and Research Foundation (SERF), along with Soumyadeep Dutta, working president, Nava Thakuria, vice president and Bikram Kalita, general secretary of the of PLF 2025 organizing committee, shared an overview of the upcoming litfest. In addition to highlighting various aspects of the festival, they informed that, like the previous years, the Pragjyotishpur Sahitya Award 2025 will be presented to one eminent and one emerging author in the closing function.
The inaugural session will be held at Dr Banikanta Kakati auditorium of Kalakshetra on Friday, beginning with a tribute to the three great sons of Assam- Sudhakantha Dr Bhupen Hazarika, soulful artiste Zubeen Garg and flute maestro Deepak Sharma. The keynote address will be delivered by internationally acclaimed author Shefali Vaidya, where eminent writer Nanda Singh Barkola will grace the occasion as the chief guest.
The topic for the inaugural literary discussion is set as ‘Transformation and Evolution in Assamese Lyric Literature’. A number of in-depth discussions on themes like the relations between Assamese literature and journalism, the evolution of Assamese theatre from Ankiya Bhaona to commercial mobile productions, the influence of nature writing on Assamese society, and the growth of Assamese translated literature. Two special sessions- one exploring the life and philosophy of Assam’s cultural icon Bishnu Prasad Rabha and another on literary works of Jnanpith awardee novelist Birendra Kumar Bhattacharyya are also on the card. Two multilingual poetry sessions are also being planned.
All these discussions will feature several distinguished writers, intellectuals, and artists from the literary and cultural sphere of the region. All programs on the second and third day of the litfest are organized at Madhavdev auditorium. The valedictory session, scheduled for Sunday, will be graced by Sahitya Akademi awardee Dr Apurba Kr Saikia as its chief guest. SERF chief Kalita extended an open invitation to all literature enthusiasts to join hands in making the prestigious litfest a grand success.