Harish Trivedi, Madhu Kishwar and Pratibha Ray

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 27: A book reading session of seven popular classics of the world will be one of the main highlights of the third edition of the Bhubaneswar Literature Festival to be held here on Saturday.

Ten students of Utkal University will present excerpts from the classics in a theatrical style under the guidance of their professor, Himanshu Mohapatra.

Thereafter, eminent litterateurs of the state will conduct discussion sessions on the same.

The classics include novels by Dante, Shakespeare and French philosopher Sartre among others. Fakirmohan Senapati’s novel Lachama, depicting the autocracy of the Marathi rulers in the state, will also be discussed.

Organised by Tefla’s, the festival promises to provide the literature lovers an opportunity to interact with writers and promises an intellectually stimulating event.

“We thought that a book reading session in presence of prominent writers will help the youngsters understand the inner meaning of the classics. A classic is known by its timeless relevance and therefore involving them in a lit fest is imperative,” said Kailash Singh from Tefla’s.

Around 15 students from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, will stage a theatrical rendition of Munshi Premchand’s Bade Bhai Saheb.

The inaugural session will witness writers such as Madhu Kishwar, Manju Kak, Pratibha Ray, Yashodhara Mishra discussing on feminism as a universal tool to combat discrimination.

Another session will include linguists and littérateurs such as Debi Prasanna Patnaik and Sitakant Mohapatra talking over the future prospects of Odia language. In the concluding session, writers such as Ramendra Kumar, Vikram Sampath, Haraprasad Das and Satyarth Nayak will discuss about various forms of manifestations such as art and drama other than literature.

Brand specialist Harish Bijoor will speak on the topic called “Branding: We have gone too far! Let’s clean it up”.

Odia translations of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis by S.P. Das and Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Illyich by Rabindra Nayak will also be released on the occasion.