Kavisandhi, Pranabandhu birth centenary held
Age is not a factor for Devdas Chhotray; for him the poet has no age. Poems he has written in his college days and even a recent few carry a deep romantic note. His early verve and vigour have not diminished.
“My style and mood have not changed with the change of time,” said Chhotray at the Kavisandhi programme held in Idcol auditorium here on Friday. As the chief speaker in the programme which was organised by the Kendra Sahitya Akademi, Chhotray shared his experience and feelings to the readers. He also said his most interesting craze in the world was book. “life has no value without books. The person who falls in love with the books is the happiest one,” he quipped.
Great poets and writers like Virgil and Kafka, etc were his source of inspiration, he said. “Poetry is my personal experience, an individual endeavour,” Chhotray maintained.
Chhotray recited his popular poems Cuttack, Cuttack Sundari, Mallika, Mallika Swargare Narkare, Sukeshi Balika, Rabibara, Mahumachhi, and Devi on the occasion. Introducing Chhotray, Akademi’s Odia Advisory Board Convener Gourahari Das described Chhotray as an evergreen poet.
Goutam Paul gave welcome address whereas Banoj Tripathy gave vote of thanks. The programme was followed by singer Bibhu Kishore’s rendition of Chhotray’s few poems. Bibhu enthralled the audience by singing Chhotray’s poems Sakala, Thikana and Tume Dekhiba etc.
The Sahitya Akademi in association with Odia department of the Utkal University celebrated playwright Pranabandhu Kar’s birth centenary year at the PG Council Hall of the varsity. A daylong seminar was organised where Khirod Behera, Prakash Parida, Santosh Tripathy, Sanghamitra Mishra and Udayanath Sahoo presented papers on the stories Pranabandhu Kar. Baishnab Charan Samal chaired the session. The second session was chaired by Hemant Kumar Das. Bishnupriya Otta, Narayan Sethi, Rajalaxmi Jena and Samar Mudali presented papers on Kar as a playwright.
Akademi president Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari, secretary K Sreenivasarao, Gourahari Das, Utkal University VC Asok Kumar Das, Ananta Mohapatra and Srimoy Kar graced the occasion and told about the contribution of Kar.
