Festival of Letters to focus on protecting mother tongue

Sahitya Akademi's annual 'Festival of Letters' which is scheduled to begin here from February 21 will this year focus on "Protecting the mother tongue and folk literature".
The six-day event, which will be inaugurated by eminent Sanskrit scholar Satyavrat Shastri, will see participation by over 215 authors and scholars from across the country.
The institute will also felicitate the winners of the 2016 Sahitya Akademi awards including Jerry Pinto, Nasira Sharma and Vannadhasan among others during the festival.
"Over 215 writers and intellectuals will be taking part in this event. Also, 24 authors writing in different Indian languages will be presented the Sahitya Akademi award on the second day of the event," K Srinivas Rao, Secretary, Sahitya Akademi, said.

Commemorating 'International Mother Language Day' on February 21, the institution will also launch a two-day national seminar on protecting mother tongues, as well as felicitate writers in languages such Halbi, Kurukh and Ladakhi.
The seminar will be inaugurated by renowned Kannada author and fellow Sahitya Akademi recipient S L Bhyrappa.
The Akademi's annual Samvatsar lecture this year will be delivered by eminent scholar and historian Ram Chandra Guha, who will deliberate on 'The Craft of Historical Biography'.
The festival will also feature a young writers festival called 'Yuva Sahiti', and 'Spin-A-Tale' for children besides a host of cultural performances from different parts of the country.