In tune with its theme of “Translations Transnations”, the 2014 edition of Samanvay Indian Languages Festival will put a slew of regional languages in the spotlight. These will include Bangla, Bhojpuri, Chhattisgarhi, Hindi, Konkani, Malayalam, Punjabi and Sanskrit.
This is the fourth edition of the annual event held at India Habitat Centre, and is tipped to be bigger than before. To be held from November 6-9, it features more than 90 speakers and performers representing 20 languages and dialects across 21 sessions, four evening performances and workshops for children. For the first time, the festival will also host writers from other South Asian countries.
The likes of Altaf Tyrewala, Anvar Ali, Arunava Sinha, Asad Zaidi, Badri Narayan, CS Lakshmi, Gillian Wright, Jerry Pinto, Melvyn Rodrigues, Swanand Kirkire and Syed Samsul Haq will represent an Indian language each. The idea is to bring together authors and translators across languages and nations, to discuss how languages travel and get translated. Festival Director Rakesh Kacker says, “In the last three years, we have been able to make Samanvay a platform of diverse and unique voices from Indian languages and dialects. We hope to bring voices of dissent and agreement, hope and despair, anger and calm together to forge dialogues and partnerships.”
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Another highlight of this year’s festival will be tributes to UR Ananthamurthy, Bipan Chandra, Rajendra Yadav, Nabarun Bhattacharya and Khushwant Singh.
As for this year Samanvay Bhasha Samman 2014, it will be conferred upon Hindi poet Ashok Vajpeyi for his contribution to Hindi and Indian literature. “Literature celebrates life all the time. Sometimes life should also celebrate literature,” sais Vajpeyi.
Beyond the language-specific sessions, Samanvay will also cover issues that have shaped our times and will include sessions such as “The Information War”; “A Tryst with Modernity”; “Imagining Pardes”; “Kiska Sheher, Kiski Zubaan”; and “One Language, Two Countries”.
Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More
