Litterateurs can change nation, says Nasira Sharma

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Feb 11

The litterateurs can change the nation through their words, said veteran Hindi litterateur and journalist Nasira Sharma during a programme held in Odisha capital yesterday.

Attending the 30th annual ceremony of ‘Katha’ magazine held at Jayadev Bhawan, the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award winner said, “Before writing something, the writers should think about what they want to write. Their words can bring many changes in the nation. This is the country, where all has right to express through words and criticize the government through writes up. The freedom that the nation has given to us is not possible in other countries. We can bring change in the nation through freedom of writes up”.

Speaking on the occasion, Murtidevi award winner and Padmasree Kolakaluri Enoch said that the literature has been created for the world. Each nation stands united being tied up by literature. The litterateurs are also part of the unity. They can also bring changes through their writes up. As the sociery and litterateurs are not static, there will be change in the society as well as in the writes up.

Change is a natural process, which is made by the language. Therefore, we should respect our language. As literature puts impact on the society, the litterateurs need to play a major role in bringing change in the society, he added.

Chairing the ceremony, Sambad Editor Soumya Ranjan Pattnaik, who is also the editor of ‘Katha’, said, “There was a need for short stories 30 years ago to make the society free from language crisis. The ‘Katha’ was born out of the need. Subsequently, the Sambad played a significant role in bringing revolution in the magazine.”

Earlier, 700-800 stories were contributed in ‘Katha’ for Naba Pratibha award. Now, the number of short stories and writers has started declining, he said.

Talking about ongoing ‘Bhasha Andolan’, he said the peaceful revolution is staged everyday by four people holding black flag on the road demanding implementation of Odia in the office and business operations. “Even after 80 years of formation of Odisha as the separate statehood, Odia could not be implemented as the official language in Odisha”, he said adding that the voice for Odia should be raised together.