IMPHAL, December 23: A two-day symposium on `Modern Trends in poetry and fiction in Eastern Regional languages`™ was inaugurated today at the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy auditorium.
The symposium is being organised by the Sahitya Akademi.
Speaking at the function, convener of the Manipuri Language Advisory Board, Sahitya Akademi H Behari Singh said the Sahitya Akademi is divided into four regional zones with the Eastern regional languages zone being the largest.
He said owing to the efforts of the organisers, literature aficionados and writers from the region have gathered for the programme today.
Among the Eastern regional languages, the Bengali, Odissi, Assamese and Maithili are advanced languages and at the same time the potentials of other languages like the Manipuri, Nepali, Bodo and Santhali also cannot be ignored, he said.
The Sahitya Akademi is the only organisation in India which can highlight the uniqueness and richness of the literature of the languages, he said adding that the symposium is being organised for the same reason.
Behari further expressed hope that the two-day programme will be beneficial to the participants and make people aware of the present trend of writing in the previously mentioned eight languages of Eastern India.
He continued that the programme will help the participants identify the commonness, connectedness and the unique styles of the culture, language and literature of the region, which he said is also a necessity to encourage unity and oneness in a democratic set-up like India.
The function was also attended by convener, Assamese Advisory Board, Sahitya Akademi Karabi Deka Hazarika, eminent Manipuri scholar N Khagendra Singh, Sahitya Akademi, Eastern Region officer in charge Gautam Paul, and conveners of other languages of the region.