Itanagar: The Arunachal Pradesh Literary Society (APLS) celebrated its 17th foundation day by conducting various literary activities across the state on Tuesday.
Addressing a large gathering of literary lovers at the Jawaharlal Nehru State Museum here, noted Assamese poet Bangshi Bora said “literature has no boundaries and it binds people from all over the world.”
Bora, also the president of Assam Kabi Sanmilan, called upon the budding writers of Arunachal Pradesh to concentrate on creating literary works that promote brotherhood and harmony among the people of the state and the country as a whole.
Bora also appreciated the APLS for its efforts in promoting reading and literary activities in the state.
Echoing Bora, APLS president Y D Thongchi said that there is no dearth of talent among the youth of Arunachal.
Commending the sportspersons for consistently raking in laurels for the state in various national and international events, Thongchi said the young generation is excelling in almost all the fields, be it fine arts, music, sports and literature.
Arunachal should progress in all spheres of activities, Thongchi said and emphasized on the need of also nurturing the young talents in the field of literature.
He further called upon the youngsters to join the literary movement of the state, spearheaded by the APLS.
RGU professor (Hindi department) Dr Rajeev Ranjan Prasad also spoke on the occasion.
The day also saw the APLS release the sixth edition of ‘Prayas’, the lone literary magazine of the state.
Earlier while releasing the magazine Bora said that aspiring writers will be thrilled to see their literary works in a printed format and it will act and an inspiration for them and others.
The multilingual literary session saw Bipul Dihingia, a renowned poet from Assam and APLS members Ajanta, Bagdevi Dabi, Dr Jumyir Jini, Bengia Antra, Mukul Pathak, Biki Yader, Takam Maga and Ranjit Sinha recited their self-composed poems and short stories.
The APLS foundation day was also celebrated at the Hija Government Higher Secondary School in Ziro in a befitting manner.
Addressing the occasion, Lower Subansiri deputy commissioner Bamin Nime urged the young generation to strive to promote and popularise the local languages for posterity.
He cited the examples of Y D Thongchi and late Lummer Dai, who etched their names in Assamese literature
“We should also endeavour to protect, promote and popularise our own dialects through literary works,” he said.
Congratulating the winners of the poetry and short-story writing competitions, the DC said he was a voracious reader of all forms of literature and advised the students to follow the principles of ‘vocal for local’, dignity of labour and environment-friendly attitude.
Guest of honour and DIPRO, Gyati Kacho advised the students to focus on creative and positive writing which would have positive social ramifications for society at large.
He further suggested the APLS come out with authenticated books on the local history of the district that could be used as a reference book by all including the visiting tourists who sometimes tend to project distorted history of the district in absence of authentic local history books.
While narrating the history of growth and development of APLS in the state, the president of the APLS Ziro unit, Hage Tabio said the unit was formed in 2018, twelve years after Thongchi founded the APLS in 2006.
He said APLS is a platform to uplift and encourage young, budding and senior citizens to promote their writings.
In his welcome address, APLS Ziro general secretary Taku Nanio said competitions in poetry and short story writing were conducted for higher secondary level students of the valley to commemorate the day.
APLS Ziro advisory members and senior citizens Liagi Miri and Tage Tada presented short stories on the need for the conservation and preservation of wildlife in the valley.
In the poetry section, Taku P Anya won the first prize for her poem ‘Life is so beautiful’ while Teli Yeti won the first prize in the short story writing category for her story ‘Life of non-living things’.
The day was also celebrated at Khonsa by the Tirap unit of APLS.
Addressing the occasion, Tirap ADC Hakresha Kri emphasized on the importance of the formulation of local Nocte scripts in the educational curriculum.
He also called for documentation and preservation of the forms of knowledge which can be achieved only via practicing writing.
He further encouraged the students to hone their creative skills for story and poetry writing and congratulated the APLS, Tirap Unit on achieving the milestone.
Khonsa circle officer Dr Ripi Doni encouraged the young students to inculcate the habits of reading and writing which she said will further assist them in the longer run.
A creative writing workshop and poetry writing competition was also organised for the students of GHSS Khonsa.
Lomjet Tesia, Chouham Tesia and Ngona Rangsong won the first, second and third prizes respectively in the poetry competition.
