A click away

“If we want to keep literature alive,the contribution of the youth is inevitable. And in order to reach out to the youth,we have to adopt their medium,which is the internet,” says Anand Avadhani,director of Unique Features that organised this meet. “The contribution of readers is very important,as it facilitates the exchange of thoughts. We also introduced a feature called ‘Mukta Katta’,for people to upload their poems,” he adds.

The e-sammelan received an overwhelming response. “People from Ghana,Egypt,New Zealand and the USA have given their feedback,” says Nishikant Bhalerao who conceptualised the event. “Our main objective was to prove the notion wrong that people don’t read nowadays,and we have succeeded in doing that. The medium of reading may have changed,but people still dive into the world of words,” he adds.

The e-literary meet saw active contribution from well-known writers and poets like Arun Sadhu,Achuta Godbole,Ranganath Padhare and Nilu Damle. Eminent writer Ratnakar Matkari was the president of the meet. He says,“Literary meets are normally in news due to reasons like conflicts between sponsors or because of celebrity involvements and appearances. This meet however was fully focused on literature.”

Writer Achyut Godbole also participated and praised this initiative. But he also adds,“While the internet was a great way to reach out to many,one shouldn’t underestimate the power of conventional mediums like newspapers and magazines. No matter how many blogs I write,if people are not aware of its existence,it’s all in vain. Conventional mediums come in handy to bring about awareness among people.”