5th Edition of Apeejay Bangla Sahitya Utsob.

The fifth edition of Apeejay Bangla Sahitya Utsob was inaugurated at the Jorasanko Thakurbari, the birthplace of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore on 22nd November 2019 in the distinguished presence of eminent writers Shankha Ghosh; Professor Syed Manjurul Islam and editor, publisher Majharul Islam from Bangladesh and Pracheta Gupta along with Prof. Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury, Vice-Chancellor, Rabindra Bharati University; Tridib Kumar Chattopadhyay, MD Patra Bharati Group of Publications and Swagat Sengupta, Director Apeejay Bangla Sahitya Utsob and CEO Apeejay Oxford Bookstores. ABSU is presented in association with Patra Bharati Group and supported by Rabindra Bharati University.

Right to left Procheta Gupta, Majharul Islam, Syed Manujrul Islam, Sankha Ghosh, Meher Afroz Shaon

The inauguration was preceded by a one-of-a-kind literary discussion with different Facebook Page Groups who work towards promoting new-age Bangla literature in the society; and a panel discussion tracing the evolution of Bangla Magazines to Webzines-titled Little Magazine Theke Webzine- Cholar Pothe Chine Nin. The inauguration was soon followed by interesting panel discussions on innovative and new areas of Bangla literature ranging from historical fiction to comedy. The panel – Jara Pori, Jara Porai, Dui Dol-e Somane Somane Korchi Borai! (Publishers V/s Readers) had Sudhanshu Dey, Majharaul Islam, Chumki Chattopadhyay, Rupa Majumdar and for the first time brought publishers and readers face-to-face to discuss the issues in publishing. 

Some important highlights of the event:

Eta Oitihasik Sotti, Bhalo Sahityo Itihashe Bhorti! (Writing the Past: Historical Literature in Bengali) brought forth the intricacies of historical writing with Debotosh Das, Krishnendu Mukhopadhyay, Abul Kashem and Himadrikishore Dasgupta followed by the launch of Kashem’s new book.  The first day sessions ended with laughter and hilarity with the panel Mojae Meje Gechi, Tai Hashite Bachi (Who’s laughing? Comedy in Bengali Literature) which brought together stalwarts of Bangla comic writing, Sanjib Chattopadhyay, Subhashish Mukhopadhyay, Saikat Mukhopadhyay, Mirchi Somak and Pracheta Gupta.  The evening wrapped up with the famous Light and Sound Show, a speciality of the Jorasankho Thakurbari, tracing the history and contributions of Rabindranath Tagore.

ABSU 2019 speakers included authors Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Sanjib Chattopadhyay, Shankha Ghosh, Samaresh Majumdar, Majharul Islam, Subodh Sarkar, Saikat Mukhopadhyay, Anish Deb, Debatosh Das, Himadrikishore Dasgupta, Pracheto Gupta and Srijato Bandopadhyay;  Historians, professors and researchers Debasis Mukhopadhyay, Abhijit Gupta, Chinmoy Guha, Alokprasad Chattopadhyay; publishers Sudhanshu De, RupaMajumdar, Majharul Islam, Esha Chatterjee; celebrated theatre personalities Sohini Sengupta, Chandan Sen, Sohag Sen and Sujoy Prasad Chatterjee; popular musicians Surojit Chattopadhyay and Parama Dasgupta; and Actors Rudranil Ghosh, Subhasish Mukhopadhyay and Saheb Chattopadhyay.

About Apeejay Bangla Sahitya Utsob (ABSU):

Apeejay Bangla Sahitya Utsob (ABSU), India’s first Bangla Literary Festival (ie Utsob in Bangla) created by the nearly 100-year-old Oxford Bookstores in 2015, honours the rich literary tradition of the Bangla language. The objective of ABSU, a prized initiative of Oxford Bookstores, is to make Bangla literature increasingly visible and accessible, build an audience for Bangla books and create a culture of readership and familiarization with Bangla language among the youth. An interactive platform bringing together voices of contemporary Bangla Literature from the national and international stage, ABSU showcases all aspects of Bangla literature and literary expression and their impact on various art forms. ABSU is committed to the journey of Bangla Literature which is both exciting and exhilarating and have brought eminent personalities to grace the Festival in the last three years. They include renowned authors like Shirshendu Mukherjee, Nabaneeta Dev Sen, Samaresh Majumdar, Sankha Ghosh, Pracheta Gupta, Ranjan Bandhopadhyay, Sanjib Chattopadhaya, Saikat Mukhopadhyay, Anindo Chattopadhaya, Nrisingha Prasad Bhaduri, Srijato, Binod Ghoshal, Himadrikishor Dasgupta, Anish Deb, Krishnendu Mukherjee and Subodh Sarkar; film Directors like Suman Mukhopadhyay, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury and Arindam Sil; Bengali musicians Nachiketa, Surojit Chatterjee and Swagatalaksmi Dasgupta; Actors Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Barun Chandra. Utsob has also attracted prominent literary personalities from Bangladesh like Salina Hussain and Imdadul Haq Milon.