Jamshedpur: East Singhbhum district’s maiden literary festival got off to a flying start on Friday. The three-day event titled ‘Pratham Purvi Singhbhum Sahitya Utsav-2026’ held at the Gopal Maidan, witnessed an encouraging pan-India response from book enthusiasts, eminent littérateurs, scholars, poets, historians, thinkers and cultural artists among others.Organised to promote literature, culture and art, besides the preservation of tribal heritage, the event saw the participation of renowned littérateurs Padma Shri Pushpesh Pant, Padma Shri Jaanum Singh Soy and Padma Shri Haldhar Nag. Scholars like Parvati Tirkey, Jerry Pinto, Rahul Pandeta and others also attended the event.Praising the district administration’s move to hold the event, CM Hemant Soren, in a public message, said the host district has a deep tradition of love for literature.“Several littérateurs of the district earned recognition at the national and international stage for their commendable literary work,” Soren said in a written message that the organisers read from the dais.The CM also said that, taking the tradition further, the state govt opened the Master Sobran Manjhi District Libraries in all districts. The CM also praised the East Singhbhum district administration for its initiative to open libraries in all the blocks.Addressing the inaugural ceremony, SDO (Dalbhum) Arnav Mishra said, “Literary festival is an initiative aimed at preserving and promoting the traditions of literature that are diverse yet unique and informative.”The SDO appealed to the residents, particularly the youth, cultural activists, women and students, to take part in the event in large numbers.The festival began with the opening session titled “Jharkhandi-Worldview of Tribal Language and Literature”, which ensured a thorough discussion on varied aspects of tribal literature, lifestyle, philosophy and culture by participants, namely Parvati Tirkey and Anuj Logan.Lively entertainment events, such as tribal folk dance, Chhau, tribal games, band performances, glitter art, live painting and pottery are being organised for the three days to make the event engaging and entertaining for the visitors.
