Guwahati: The third edition of the Pragjyotishpur Literature Festival (PLF) is all set to turn Guwahati into a literary hotspot from November 14 to 16, bringing together writers, translators, critics, performers and readers to explore the cultural and literary legacy of ancient Pragjyotishpur—today’s Assam.
Organized by the Sankardev Education and Research Foundation (SERF) under the theme “In Search of Roots,” the three-day festival will celebrate the region’s deep literary and artistic traditions through panel discussions, interactive sessions, workshops on nature writing, and multilingual poetry recitations.
The festival will feature five major discussions, including “Evolution of Assamese Performing Arts: From Ankiya Bhawana to Bhramyman,” “Evolution of Assamese Lyric Literature: Tracing the Journey from the 1990s to the Contemporary Era,” “Assamese Language, Literature and Journalism: Growth and Expansion,” “Transcending Language Boundaries: The Triumphant Journey of Assamese Translated Literature,” and “The Creative World of Novelist Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya: An Exploratory Journey.”
A special session will pay tribute to Kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha, the legendary polymath whose contributions to Assamese music, literature, art and politics remain unmatched. The festival will also host a nature-inspired writing workshop and open-air multilingual poetry sessions, bringing together voices in Assamese, Sanskrit, Hindi, English, Bodo, Karbi, Mishing, Nepali, Bengali, Rabha, and Tiwa, among other languages.
With literary festivals across India—from Jaipur to Kochi—drawing massive crowds of writers, readers, and thinkers, the Pragjyotishpur Litfest is fast emerging as a significant addition to the country’s cultural calendar. It now joins the league of national events such as the Jaipur Literature Festival, Kalinga Litfest, Apeejay Kolkata Litfest, Kerala Litfest, Bharat Litfest, and Hyderabad Litfest, among others.
Speaking ahead of the event, PLF President Phanindra Kumar Dev Choudhury said the festival seeks to showcase the history, language, and culture of Pragjyotishpur, once the capital of the Kamrup kingdom, located in present-day Guwahati. “Many educated people today tend to undermine their own heritage and view Indian literature through Western eyes, forgetting the serenity and sophistication of our ancient civilizations,” he remarked.
Before the PLF’s inception, Guwahati hosted three editions of the Brahmaputra Literary Festival, organized by the National Book Trust (NBT) and the Publication Board Assam at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra.
Dev Choudhury expressed hope that PLF 2025 would continue to redefine and revive the legacy of the Kamrup-Kamakhya civilization, inspiring a new generation to reconnect with their cultural and literary roots.
