Khandu proposes writers’ village for creative minds
ITANAGAR, 18 Nov: Chief Minister Pema Khandu proposed establishing a ‘writers’ village’, “somewhere suitable in Arunachal Pradesh,” in order to provide the perfect ambience to writers, artistes, researchers and creative minds.
“This ‘village’ would be a resort in the laps of nature where writers and artistes can push their creative pursuits in peace and solitude,” the CM said during the valedictory function of the three-day Arunachal Literature Festival (ALF) at the DK Convention Centre here on Saturday evening.
Khandu informed that “the project was in my mind for quite some time,” and said that the occasion was the perfect platform to make the announcement from.
“Arunachal Pradesh has some of the best locations where the mind roams free, hearts beat in perfect rhythm, and the soul is at total peace. Writers and artistes just need such an ambience to perfect their art. We will offer it,” he said, adding that the ‘writers’ village’, to be established at some remote location, would be provided with all basic facilities, so that “writers can stay there for weeks and months, fine-tuning their creative pursuits.”
“I would like to invite all creative minds to avail this facility,” he said.
The ALF was attended by more than 50 renowned and budding authors and poets from across the country, including from Arunachal. Some of the big names this year were Anand Neelakanthan, Kavita Kane, Preethi Shenoy, Asgar Wajahat, Mahesh Dattani, Janice Pariat, and Anuja Chandramouli.
“Literature is a reflection of humanity and a way for us to understand each other. By listening to the voice of another person, we can begin to figure out how that individual thinks. I believe that literature is important because of its purpose and in a society which is becoming increasingly detached from human interaction, novels create a conversation,” he said.
Khandu was all praise for the information & public relations department for organising the festival annually since 2018 in collaboration with the Arunachal Pradesh Literary Society (APLS), headed by renowned authors like YD Thongchi and Mamang Dai.
Saying that the festival is growing with each passing year, Khandu suggested that “the festival should travel across the state and not stay confined to the state capital.” He assured to enhance the funds for organising the festival “on rotation basis across the state from next year.”
ALF-2023 was the 5th edition of the festival. While the first three editions were held in Itanagar, the 4th edition had been held in Namsai.
Adding to a previous speaker’s concern, Khandu reiterated his stance on the significance of preserving local dialects and languages. “The younger generation ought to learn and speak in their native tongues naturally,” he said.
“It is our responsibility to teach our kids our mother tongue and it’s the responsibility of our kids to take it forward. We must always remember that cultural erosion begins when use of local dialects gets disrupted,” he said.
The state government, he informed, has introduced several tribe-dialects in the syllabus of primary-level schools and work is on to do the same for the remaining tribes.
Khandu expressed optimism that the ALF would “ignite young minds to not only read literature but also write it.”
“Literature helps us to unlock our minds and perception of the world and allows us to see out of the box. With this, we begin to reflect, ask questions, and understand better. Meanwhile, reading literature gives us knowledge about history, religion, customs, and traditions, and provides us the opportunity of understanding customs and beliefs other than our own. Literature helps us to understand other systems of living around the world,” Khandu added.
The idea behind conducting the ALF is to provide a platform to the local authors and poets, and to encourage them in the field of literature. The festival invites national and international level authors to engage in meaningful discussions centering on literature. It also aims at letting local youths meet both big and small publishing houses to know the hows and whys of publishing.
The valedictory function was attended also by, among others, IPR Minister Bamang Felix. (CM’s PR Cell)
