Shillong literary fest draws prominent authors

Shillong: The 4th edition of the Shillong Literary Festival kicked off at the iconic Ward's Lake in the city on Monday. Prominent authors like Vikram Seth, Shobhaa De and others were present at the festival.Inaugurating the festival, chief minister Conrad Sangma said, "It truly captures the spirit of Shillong, bringing together incredible stories, culture and creativity. Looking forward to an enriching journey with celebrated writers and our vibrant community."He added, "It is an opportunity for our local writers to gain more exposure and share their ideas and thoughts with writers from other parts of the country and even the world." Stating that the other objective of the festival is to encourage youngsters to read and write, Conrad said, "We have urged schools to participate in the festival as it will make students curious about the art of reading and writing."Meghalaya has a younger population in comparison to the rest of the country and we are trying to ensure that reading and writing becomes an integral part of development activities for our youth, he added.Conrad also spoke of the CM's Scholars' Program under which the govt supports 50 research scholars in their endeavour to research and document the culture and society of Meghalaya.The CM said the govt will spend about Rs 4,000 crore on the development of infrastructure such as hotels, homestays, amenities and other facilities to boost tourism in the state.