NASHIK: The stage is set for the 94th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, which is beginning today in Nashik, the land of literary luminaries. The 3-day literature lovers’ fair will be held at Kusumagraj Nagari, Bhujbal Knowledge City which is located at the gate of the city. The inaugural ceremony will be held in the presence of important writers, authors, people’s representatives, and aficionados from the literary world.
Organisers of the convention have expressed confidence that this literary feast, organised by Lokhitwadi Mandal, will be a grand success. All Nashikites will have an opportunity to awaken their literature on the occasion of this festival which is being held after 16 years. The main inaugural function of the 94th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan will be held at the main pavilion of Kusumagraj Nagari at 4.30 pm.
Sammelan president Dr. Jayant Narlikar, Inaugural Vishwas Patil, and District Guardian Minister and Chairman of the Welcome Committee Chhagan Bhujbal will be present. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will be present online on the occasion. After the 93rd All India Marathi Sahitya Sammelan held at Osmanabad in 2019, Sarvajanik Vachanalay, Nashik which has a history of 125 years had demanded the organisation of the 94th literary convention in Nashik.
The convention was to be organised by Sarvajanik Vachanalay, Nashik however as some matter was sub judice, it was decided to lead ii by Lokhitwadi Mandal in the city. Earlier the first wave of the Coronavirus prevented the convention from taking place in 2020; In April 2021, as the dates and venues were announced and preparations for the convention began, another wave of Corona erupted.
Therefore, the scheduled convention had to be postponed. Discussions were going on about whether to take the event interim, online or offline, whether to change the district of the convention and whether to leave the planned venue in Nashik and shift to another place. In the end, due to the efforts and follow up of the organisers, it was announced that the offline convention would be held in Nashik only After that only the convention place was changed and it was developed as Kusumagraj Nagari in Bhujbal Knowledge City. Marathi literature is awakening while debates are taking place on the occasion of the convention.
The organisers are working hard day and night to make this event a success. “Although the convention is being held under the shadow of Omicron, a new variant of the coronavirus and the India Meteorological Department has forecast rain till the 4th November, it will not affect the event,” the organisers said. Therefore, after 16 years, the city of Saraswat will definitely convey a positive message to the people.
Granth Dindi
In today’s inaugural day, the Granth Dindi will proceed from the poet Kusumagraj residence in the city. The Dindi will reach the Sarvajanik Vachanalay near Nehru Garden via CBS, Shalimar. The Dindi route has been declared a no vehicle route. The literature lovers will reach Kusumagraj Nagari by bus.
At the venue
At 11 am, the flag will be hoisted at the entrance of Sahitya Nagari by the President of Sahitya Mahamandal, Principal Kautikrao Thale Patil.
Also, the Art Exhibition will be inaugurated by Vijayrao Bodhankar. The event will be graced by the special presence of Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Council Neelmatai Gorhe. The book fair will be inaugurated at 11:30 am by the outgoing president of the convention, Father Francis Dibrito. Raosaheb Kasbe will be the special guest at this event.
Also, Nashik writers book exhibition will be held by Prof G T Patil. Poet Naresh Mahajan and Principal Dr. Ram Kulkarni will be present as special guests. Dr. Sadanand More, President of Sahitya Sanskriti Mandal, Dr. Raja Dixit, President of Vishwakosh Nirmiti Mandal, Bhushan Gagrani, Principal Secretary, Marathi Language and Milind Gawande, Joint Secretary will be as chief guests on this occasion.
The Marathi gallery will be inaugurated by Subhash Desai on the greenery of Kusumagraj Nagari at 12 noon. Poet Katta will be inaugurated by Ramdas Phutane in key presence of Judge J P Zapate.
