New Delhi, Nov 5 : The eighth Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF), to be held from December 10 to 12 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha will celebrate 75 years of India's Independence with the central Theme 'India at 75: Commemorating the Republic of Letters'.

More than 300 speakers, poets, musicians, artists and performers will be part of the festival which will also boast of sessions on Ram Katha, poetry recitation, short story, lyrics. Three prestigious awards will be conferred during the two-day festival where more than 30 national and international books/publications will be released.

Writers, poets, speakers and performers likely to join the festival include Sandeep Bamzai, Arun Kamal, Alka Saraogi, Mamta Kalia, Arunava Sinha, Pratibha Ray, Sitakant Mahapatra, Ramakanta Rath, Santanu Kumar Acharya, Haldhar Nag, Namita Gokhale, Malashri Lal, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Divya Dutta , Amar Pattnaik, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Gulzar, Jairam Ramesh, Basant Chaudhary, Ashutosh Bhardwaj, Jayanta Mohapatra, Tarana Husain Khan, Ashok Kaul, Satish Padmanabhan, Santosh Singh, Yatish Kumar, Vibha Rani, Dr Krishna Mohan Thakur, Priya Sahgal, Gautam Chintamani, Shantanu Datta, Sabin Iqbal, Shirish Khare, Perumal Murugan, Nandini Krishnan, Meena Iyer, Tamal Bandyopadhyay, Zorawar Daulet Singh, Shekhar Pathak, Guru Prakash Paswan, Shafey Kidwai, Yatindra Mishra, Rasheed Kidwai, Ruchira Chaudhary, Ranjit Rae, Prof. Prabhkar Singh, Vyomesh Shukla, Balendu Diwedi, Anushakti Singh, Sekhar Pathak , Arun Maheswari, Abhay Mishra, Rajdeep Saradesai, Rama Pandey, Bishnu N. Mohapatra, Sachidananda Mohanty, Priya Kapoor, Swati Chopra, Vaishali Mathur, Aditi Maheshwari,Vikarant Pande, Rishabh Kothari, Trisha De Niyogi, Prof. Banibrata Mahanta, Shobha Shrma, Kaveree Bamzai, Ameya Prabhu, Sai Swaooropa Iyer, Vikram Sampath, Atul Thakur, Anindita Ghose, Meena K. Iyer, Puja Changoiwala, Anu Chaudhary, Debasis Samantray, Ranjan Mallick, Rohit Supkar, Shibani Sibal, Yugal Joshi and Neha Sinha.

The festival organisers say that an important 'purpose' of KLF is to enhance interaction, and promote mutual understanding, between people of different regions, culinary, costume and dress habits, faiths, persuasions and lifestyles across the length and breadth of the country, through interactions among language and learning, tangible as well as intangible cultures and heritage -- paving way for what the critic Patrick J. Hill aptly calls 'a conversation of respect' among diverse people.

Considering the fact that India writes in many languages and speaks in many more voices, with a view to promote deeper inclusivity across the nation, our language, and folklore, the 'Marga' and the 'Deshi' traditions, will be showcased in the Festival. The regions will have their pride of place, along with the province and the metropolis.

KLF has emerged as one of the leading literary platforms in India, attracting both experienced and young litterateurs. Bigger than ever before, the eighth edition of the festival will bring nationally and internationally acclaimed names on one platform to discuss, debate and explore commonalities in the diverse voices in literature. The three-day festival will cover several dimensions of the interconnections between Literature, freedom, Republican values, cultural diversity, social equity.

The key sessions will be on topics like democracy, cultural nationalism, Generation Y, Indian languages, the publishing industry , mythology, media, market, children, women, transgenders, citizen engagement, cinema, sports, ethics, discrimination, revolutions, Peace Building, Conflict Resolution and Harmony. There will be several one to one sessions with leading experts on the subjects. There will also be story telling sessions that promise to add new flavor to the literary spirit of the festival. Three special sessions will be held on textile and literature.

The delegates and speakers of KLF will have a unique opportunity to participate in Heritage Walk called Mystic Walk and participate in plantation and Mystic Mic. In order to expand the opportunity for the delegates KLF team has partnered with local cycle clubs to provide cycles for speakers to roam around the smart city and experience the blend of ancient heritage and modern urban planning. A dedicated platform, Kalinga Art Festival provides a unique platform for artists to showcase their talent and connect their art to the central theme of the festival.

Four awards in literature will be conferred during the festival -- Kalinga Literary Award (for a distinguished writer in Odia), Kalinga International Literary Award (for a writer in any global language), Kalinga Karubaki Literary Award (for women writers) and Kalinga Literary Youth Award (for a young writer in any global language).

Rashmi Ranjan Parida, founder director of KLF said, "KLF 2021 returns with the promise of hope and optimism. Our return emphasises resilience and the spirit of Rise. We are delighted to bring back the joy of literary spirit to the temple city Bhubaneswar. We welcome our delegates & performers and look towards a great festival amidst all safety protocols."

Kalinga Art Festival, an exclusive art segment has been designed to showcase the best of the creations of contemporary artists. In its fifth year the Art Festival attracts young male and female artists from Bhubaneswar, Odisha and from the national capital.

There will be a cultural programme to showcase India's art, culture and literature on each day of the three-day program

KLF to be held from Dec 10-12 in Bhubaneswar