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Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Inaugurated Kumaon Literary Festival

on Oct 20, 2022

The Kumaon Literary Festival was inaugurated today at the Kashmir International Convention Center by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

Indian Cinema Heritage Foundation and Kyaari India collaborated to organize the two-day event.

The festival, according to the Lt. Governor, brings together renowned writers, poets, and philosophers from throughout the nation to celebrate literature, art, and culture while giving people a chance to consider fresh viewpoints and ideas.

He said that J&K has a long and rich literary legacy that dates back many centuries and that our pursuit of knowledge never ends.

According to the Lt. Governor, throughout the last two years, focused efforts have been made to resuscitate and promote J&K's culture, art, literature, cinema, and music under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The nation is witnessing Economic, Cultural, and Scientific Renaissances under the leadership of the Hon’ble PM. Our ancient literary culture and values are rich and diverse and always guided us on the path of peace, co-existence, and brotherhood,” the Lt Governor further added.

Terming Culture as a way of life and a mirror that reflects people's aspirations and socio-economic transformation, the Lt Governor said efforts are being made to involve local artists and people as stakeholders in the maintenance and promotion of art, heritage sites, etc.

The Lt. Governor recalled the contributions of well-known poets and philosophers from Jammu and Kashmir and stated that the cultural character of our great nation has long been closely tied to the Jammu Kashmir UT. He said, "Jammu Kashmir is the land of different artistic genres, from storytelling to Classical Indian Music."

The Lt. Governor also discussed attempts to promote regional tongues, such as Punjabi, Kashmiri, Pahari, Gojri, and Gojri.

Dr. Bibek Debroy, a novelist and the head of the Prime Minister's economic advisory council, spoke on Kashmir's literary, cultural, and historical legacies. He also clarified the relationship between Kashmir and the Sharda Peeth.

Veteran filmmaker Rahul Rawail expressed his joy at being present in the heyday of Kashmiri filmmaking.

"We are happy to organize the Kashmir edition of the Kumaon Literary Festival," said Asha Batra, co-founder of the festival.

She also thanked the UT administration for helping to sponsor the festival.

In his welcoming speech, Arhan Bagati, the founder of Kashmir's Yumberzal Applied Research Institute (KYARI), emphasized the goals and vision for the festival.

"We are thrilled to realize a much anticipated literary excursion of the highest caliber in Kashmir. Kashmir has a long history of producing intellectual works. "The natural beauty of the area makes it the ideal setting for writers to come up with provocative thoughts related to politics, history, culture, and the creation of Naya Kashmir, among other topics," Bagati added.