Oxford Bookstore’s fourth edition of Apeejay Bangla Sahitya Utsob was inaugurated at the birthplace of Rabindranath Tagore, Jorasankho Thakurbari in the presence of eminent Bengali writers like Shankha Ghosh, Samaresh Mazumdarand Mazharul Islam from Bangladesh.

India’s only festival dedicated to Bengali literature started in 2015. ABSU is presented in association with Patra Bharati Group and supported by Rabindra Bharati University.

The opening ceremony of its fourth edition was held in the courtyard of Jorasanko Thakurbari and was graced by Prof Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury, Vice Chancellor, Rabindra Bharati University, Tridib Kumar Chattopadhyay, MD Patra Bharati Group of Publications and Swagat Sengupta, Director Apeejay Bangla Sahitya Utsob and CEO Oxford Bookstores.

The inauguration was followed by the launch of Tagore’s ‘Golpo Guchcho O Shob’. The keynote address on ‘The Future of Bangla Literature’ was delivered by Mazharul Islam.

The Light and Sound Show in the stunning background of Rabindra Bharti Museum was part of the opening ceremony that included the unveiling of book cover of ‘Tero Nadir Pare’ by Sirsho Bandhopadhyay and a discussion on Terrorism in Bangla Literature titled Sahitye SantrashbetweenSirsho Bandhopadhyay, Bitanu Chatterjee, Debotosh Das, Tridib Kumar Chattopadhyay and Himabanta Bandhopadhyay.

ABSU 2018 speakers include authors and writers Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Sanjib Chattopadhyay, Shankha Ghosh, Samaresh Majumdar, Mazharul Islam, Soikat Mukhopadhyay, Anish Deb, Subodh Sarkar, Sirsho Bandhopadhyay, Debatosh Das, Himadrikishore Dasgupta, Pracheto Gupta and Srijato Bandopadhyay ;  Historians, professors and researchers Debasis Mukhopadhyay, Somen Sengupta, Abhijit Gupta, Chinmoy Guha, Srabani Gupta, Sougata Chakraborty, Syed Tanveer Nasreen, Alokprasad Chattopadhyay; Entrepreneur Satyam RoyChowdhury; Media personalities Abhik Sarkar, Bitanu Chatterjee, Santanu Chakraborty, Avik Mukherjee, Chumki Chattopadhyay and publisher Esha Chatterjee;   celebrated theatre personalities Arindam Ganguly and Kheyali Dastidar; popular musicians Usha Uthup, Anupam Roy,Anindya Chattopadhyay, Upal Sengupta and Parama Dasgupta; andprominent Film Directors Arindam Sil, Sudeshna Roy, and Kaushik Ganguly.

The three day festival will indeed be a great treat for the lovers of Bengali literature!!