Second Patna Literature Festival begins

The three-day Patna Literature Festival began here Friday with well-known poets Gulzar and Ashok Vajpayee, fiction writers, filmmakers and others discussing different colours of the age-old literary tradition in the ancient land of Patliputra.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who inaugurated the festival at the state museum here, urged the participants and organisers to make the event lively like the Jaipur Literature Festival, if not equal to it.

"I hope that Patna Literature Festival has potential to turn it into a big event in coming years. It is purely a literature festival focussed on Indian languages," he said.

Gulzar said that this festival is a welcome step to give a stage to and opportunity to discuss literary traditions of Indian languages. "I am upbeat and happy to be part of this unique literary festival in Patna," he said.

Vajpayee said this festival will contribute to improving discussion and knowledge of the Indian languages.

Festival director Ajit Pradhan said it is the unique concept of including an array of literary traditions - from Hindi to Urdu, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Magahi, Angika and Brajika - in the meet.

The chief minister's cultural adviser, Pavan K. Varma, said that other than poets and writers, filmmakers Sudhir Mishra, Anubhav Sinha, Tigmanshu Dhulia and others would talk on the "changing equation of time, place and action in Hindi films" on the last day of the festival Sunday.

The first Patna Literature Festival last year was a big hit as it attracted large number of people, he said. "We expect more people this time," he added.