A three-day SAARC literary festival on Asian novel began today, in the capital. The festival with the theme, “traversing the cultural contours through South Asian Novel”, will provide a platform to the novelists, writers, literary critics, literary enthusiasts in the region to share their thoughts, insights and voice their concerns.
The festival is an open forum for writers, as well as literary critics, to discuss the current status of South Asian Novel and to indulge in exploring the unique cultural tapestry of the South Asian Novel.
The Director of the SAARC Cultural Centre, G.L.W. Samarasinghe, said South Asian writers acquired the spirit of western novel and in the process forgot their own form of writing which is derived from ancient classics. “The SAARC cultural center has plans and projects are in place to promote the South Asian novels to be published in local languages.”
The festival will see discussion on the origin roots of novels which are rich in cultural and religious concepts to develop new mechanisms to introduce outstanding novels written in local languages.
The festival is also seen as a platform in regaining the lost identity of writing stories in south Asia.
