Bhubaneswar: The 11th edition of the iconic Kalinga Literary Festival commenced on Saturday in the state capital. Literary minds from across South East Asia and the world, representing some 25 languages, are participating in the annual festival of art, culture, and literature.
The Governor of Odisha, Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati, inaugurated the festival along with Indonesian Ambassador to India Ms. K. Ina H. Krishnamurthi and Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
Kalinga Literary Festival CEO and Patron Ashok Kumar Bal presented the welcome address, while Festival Founder Director Rashmi Ranjan Parida presented the itinerary for the next three days and a brief background of the literary history of Odisha. He also briefed about the contributions made by Kalinga Literary Festival in bringing creative minds from across South East Asian nations to celebrate the rich cultural, artistic, and literary legacy of the state and the country.
Thought leaders, writers, and visionaries from across the globe are participating in these three days’ engaging sessions to discuss literature, culture, art tradition, history, and politics. While delivering his address, Governor Kambhampati highlighted that Odisha has a profound literary and intellectual legacy deeply intricate in its history and artistic footprints. 
He said that the state has produced the finest literary minds in the country, and festivals like these would celebrate such legacy as the state had immensely contributed to the literary heritage of India.
“India has never been sectarian and narrow-minded in the question of language, never been intolerant, had always promoted intellectual freedom and cultural diversity,” Kambhampati asserted. He added that in today’s world of technology and artificial intelligence, literary festivals like this will create space for literary legacy and intellectual freedom, human imagination, and written words.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, said, “We have forgotten the sacrifices of our forefathers. During the last 10 years, significant changes have happened in the country.” He added that people who have the potential to ignite minds and create consciousness have a great responsibility in contributing to the transformation of the country, and they are writers.
As of today, Sanatan tradition and culture are under threat from external forces, and creative minds can stop these, he added. Odisha has produced some of the finest literary minds, from Fakir Mohan Senapati to Prativa Ray. Ina H. Krishnamurthi, Indonesian Ambassador to India, outlined that Indonesia is truly honoured to be the partner of the festival, as they share the 75th year of country partnership.
Indonesia has a history of friendship with India that spans millennia. “We share an old and millennia-long friendship with Odisha, as ancient Kalinga had rich business links with Indonesia. Then, the Kalinga King had sent 20,000 Odia people to Java, Sumatra, Bali, etc.,” he said. This year’s central theme of the KLF is “Literature and the world: Inclusion, identity, and belonging.”
The annual literary event is being held in three different venues in the city: Mayfair Lagoon, Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra Odishi Research Centre, and Utkal Mandap. This year’s Kalinga Literary Award was bestowed upon legendary Hindi writer Mamata Kalia, acclaimed translator and academic Jatindra Kumar Nayak, Kalinga International Literary Award given to Sanskrit scholar Dr. Srinuruddhs Dash and Dr. Mamata Mishra, and the Kalinga Literary Award (Youth) was given to popular Nepali writer Budhhisagar.
Prominent among others who were present at the inaugural ceremony were Kendra Sahitya Akademy Secretary K. Sreenivas Rao and Padma Bhushan Sudarshan Sahoo.
