The New Indian Express ·
Odisha Literary Festival 2026: 'Literature offers emotional, spiritual comfort', says Arif Mohammad Khan
BHUBANESWAR: The great works of literature and poetry provide people with emotional and spiritual comfort, particularly during difficult and anxious times, said veteran politician, scholar and former Governor of Keralam and Bihar, Arif Mohammad Khan, on Saturday.
Khan was speaking after inaugurating the 14th Odisha Literary Festival (OLF), organised by The New Indian Express, at Hotel Mayfair Convention in Bhubaneswar.
The event was attended by TNIE Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla, The New Indian Express Group CEO Lakshmi Menon and other dignitaries.
“Literature gives us emotional and spiritual comfort. In difficult times, when we are anxious, we turn to great works of literature and poetry. They give us solace of mind. They do not merely entertain us,” Khan said in his address.
Speaking about what inspires writers and poets, he said it is often an emotional or spiritual 'injury' that turns a person into an author or poet. However, he said, one need not personally experience such an injury.
“For sensitive minds, there are so many things happening around us that disturb our conscience. We feel concerned about them, and this makes us participants in them,” he said, citing Adi Kabi Valmiki, who wrote the Ramayana, as a great example.
Khan said literary festivals provide an important platform to discover great works of literature and interact with people who share an interest in them.
He also spoke about the pursuit of knowledge and the purpose of life.
Referring to Swami Vivekananda, Khan said the purpose of life is the pursuit of knowledge, while the purpose of knowledge is to develop the ability and competence to see the inherent oneness behind apparent diversity.
“What we see here is everyone sitting in this hall. There are people with different appearances, people who speak different languages and have different food habits. The purpose of knowledge is to develop the ability to see the inherent oneness behind this apparent diversity,” he said.
Khan said this understanding is a distinctive feature of Indian culture and literature.
“Every culture says ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ or ‘Main hi Khuda hoon’. But Indian culture says ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ and ‘Tat Tvam Asi ’-what I am, you are,” he said.
In his welcome address, TNIE Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla said Odisha is the intellectual capital of India, which was why the organisation decided to launch the Odisha Literary Festival in the state 14 years back.
“Odia literature is a living history. The Odia language received classical language status in 2014 because of its richness,” Chawla said.
He highlighted the contributions of several prominent Odia writers, including 15th-century poet Sarala Das, who retold the Mahabharata and Fakir Mohan Senapati, whose works such as Chha Mana Athaguntha and Rebati enriched Odia literature.
Odisha, he said, also has a strong oral literary tradition.
The two-day festival, being held on September 5 and 6, features 25 specially curated sessions and more than 40 speakers from the worlds of literature, culture and public life.