Kolkata Literary meet to Travel to Jharkhand, Odisha

Kolkata, Jan 12 (IANS) The Kolkata Literary Meet (KaLaM) - in its fourth year now - will travel out of the eastern metropolis to Jharkhand and Odisha, organisers said here Monday.

Tata Steel, which inked a five-year agreement with the KaLaM organisers during the day to become the event's title sponsor, said it was making efforts to take the festival to cities like Jamshedpur in Jharkhand and picturesque locales in Odisha.

"The eastern region is rich in art, culture and literary heritage. We are trying to hold one-day events in Jamshedpur and either in Gopalpur or Puri in Odisha," Chanakya Chaudhary, the company's group director for corporate communication and regulatory affairs, told the media here.

The meet begins Jan 23 and concludes Jan 27.

According to KaLaM director Malavika Banerjee, the one-day sidelights in the other cities will be treated as separate entities with specific sessions and discussions.

"These one-day events will be held this year," she said.

Banerjee announced that author Amitav Ghosh will be joining the stellar line-up of litterateurs during the fourth edition of KaLaM.

Indian-born Ghosh, a Man Booker Prize nominee and Arthur C. Clarke Award winner, has consented to participate in the concluding session of the event Jan 27.

"This will be the only festival where he will participate this season," Banerjee said.

Ghosh's "Flood of Fire" (the last book in the Ibis trilogy) is the most awaited book of 2015.

Some of the Padma Shri recipient's famous works include "The Calcutta Chromosome: A Novel of Fevers, Delirium, and Discovery", "The Hungry Tide" and "Sea of Poppies" among others.

The fest will be inaugurated by noted author Ruskin Bond.

Daman Singh, daughter of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, veteran Bollywood actresses Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi are some of the key participants.

The other names include American writer Joanna Rakoff, French author Aliette Armel and music composer Shantanu Moitra.

Poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar, actor Naseeruddin Shah, Bengali actor Abir Chatterjee and Bollywood filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee will highlight intersecting threads of theatre, cinema and literature.

Most of the sessions will be hosted at the iconic Victoria Memorial Hall grounds.