Three-day Tata Steel Bhubaneswar Literary Meet inaugurated

Bhubaneswar: The fourth edition of Tata Steel Bhubaneswar Literary Meet (TSBLM) kicked off here on Friday. The three-day literary fest was inaugurated by renowned poet Jayanta Mahapatra in presence of several noted dignitaries. 

Anand Sen, President of TQM & Steel Business at Tata Steel, MP Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, veteran Bollywood actress Waheeda Rehman among others graced the occasion.

Paying homage to the best in Odisha literature, guests at the TSBLM said that Jaydev’s Gita Govinda and Sarala Das’ Mahabharat are some of the greatest works that have been enriching the cultural history of India.

Mahapatra talked about how literature is becoming more accessible in the digital age and encouraged the budding authors to draw inspiration from the adversities they face and use the technology to express their creativity and imagination.

He further stated, “If I want to call myself a poet, I cannot stay in the society with a blind eye towards the various issues, injustices in the society and I will be automatically inclined to write on those topics. And the presence of a small boy in me always encourages me to write.”

Actress Waheeda Rehman participated in the interactive session and discussed on her iconic roles in movies.

Talking about her portrayal as Nurse Radha in 1970’s Khamoshi opposite Rajesh Khanna, Waheeda said, “When I saw the Bengali movie 'Deep Jwele Jaai', I wanted to do it in Hindi and asked my producer friends to make a movie. The character was not about singing or romancing but the role was very different and difficult, in fact very deep in emotions.”

Mentioning some low-budget movies like Raazi, Badhaai Ho and Andhadhun performing well in theatres, Waheeda said that Bollywood industry has improved a lot in producing quality movies with low expenditure.

Audience at the event were also fully entertained by acclaimed stand-up comedian Abijit Ganguly's performances.