India News | Second Edition of Dibrugarh University Lit-fest Begins with Africa as Theme
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The second edition of the Dibrugarh University Literature Festival (DU Litfest) began here on Wednesday with over 120 writers scheduled to participate in over 50 sessions during the four-day event.
Dibrugarh, Feb 5 (PTI) The second edition of the Dibrugarh University Literature Festival (DU Litfest) began here on Wednesday with over 120 writers scheduled to participate in over 50 sessions during the four-day event.
Addressing the inaugural session at the Rang Ghar auditorium, 84-year-old explorer-writer Tete-Michel Kpomassie narrated his journey of landing up in Greenland, far away from his homeland in Togo, West Africa.
In his eight-year-long journey, he took up various types of work in several European countries while remaining focused on his goal of reaching Greenland.
He wrote about his adventure, including his experience of living with indigenous people in Greenland in his book 'An African in Greenland'.
Explaining his own mistake about ‘igloo', which in Greenland local terms simply means house and not just house built with ice as he had understood, he cautioned travellers about different contexts of words in different places.
Dibrugarh University vice-chancellor Prof Jiten Hazarika, in his address, expressed gratitude to the organisers for taking the initiative to organise the literary extravaganza in the varsity.
He also expressed happiness over the festival coinciding with the diamond jubilee year of the university and reflecting the spirit of National Education Policy 2022 with increased focus on art and culture.
Sahitya Akademi Award winner and former professor of Dibrugarh University Dr Nagen Saikia in his address highlighted the importance of understanding the temporal existence of human lives.
He referred to the classic drama 'Waiting for Godot' by Samuel Beckett to explain his point of how god in various prominent religions remains an invisible character.
Authors from over 25 countries from Asia, Africa, and Europe are participating in the festival organised jointly by the Foundation for Culture, Arts and Literature (FOCAL) and Dibrugarh University.
FOCAL trustees – renowned filmmaker and Padma Bhushan awardee Jahnu Baruah, eminent writer Dhruba Hazarika, and festival chief coordinator Rahul Jain – and university registrar Paramananda Sonowal were also present on the occasion.
Africa is the theme of the festival with several nations from the continent participating in the over 50 literary sessions scheduled in the four-day literary event.
A documentary on Africa prepared by students and teachers of Dibrugarh University showing different aspects of the continent from rich culture to technological advancements also marked the occasion.
A cultural performance by over a dozen African students studying in the university was also held on the occasion. PTI cor DG
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