City to get treat of Marathi literature after 8 decades

Vadodara: It was during the rule of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III that the city last hosted its last grand Marathi literature festival.
After 84 long years, Barodians will again savour the literature treat at the Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan. The three-day festival will begin at D N Hall Ground in M S University on February 16.
Nearly 12,000 persons from Gujarat and Maharashtra are expected to participate in the sammelan.
“We had been trying to bring this festival to Vadodara for last 10 years. Finally, we got an opportunity to host such a big event that draw the best from the field of art and literature,” said Dilip Khopkar, chairman of Marathi Sahitya Sammelan. When asked why it took so long for the literature festival to be hosted in the city, Khopkar said that arranging for funds was one of the prime issues apart from the organizing such a big event in the city.
From poets like Neerja and Marathi actress, Rohini Hattangadi to advertisement guru Bharat Dabholkar and advocate Ujjwal Nikam will speak at the festival. Nearly 130 people from different fields will address the audiences. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Gujarat chief minister, Vijay Rupani will also attend the event. The event will focus on Maharaja Sayajirao’s contribution to new India and his views about literature.
“We have also organized three different sessions of Gujarati litterateur in this festival. This festival will give national platform to Marathi artists and authors from Gujarat,” Khopkar told TOI.
The organizers said that they have invited students from colleges and universities of Gujarat and Maharashtra and nearly 500 will be participating in this festival. “We have also organized workshops for the students,” said Sanjay Bachhav, media convener of the literature festival. Also, 150 stalls offering a range of books on Marathi literature and other topics will be kept at the festival.
The Marathi Sahitya Sammelan was first organized in the city in 1909 and then held again in 1924 and 1934. Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, an admirer of literature, used to encourage such events in the Baroda state. The city will be, however, hosting this sammelan for the first time after independence.