• This festival marks the successful completion of five years of Gaatha and aims to celebrate literature in its various forms

• The key attractions of the festival will include a celebrity talk, musical evening, open mic, panel discussion, writer corners, and kavi sammelan

Kanpur, 19 July, 2024: The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK), under the joint aegis of Rajbhasha Prakoshtha (Hindi Cell), Shivani Centre for the Nurture and Re-Integration of Hindi and Other Indian Languages, and Hindi Sahitya Sabha, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh, and the renowned audio platform Gaatha, will organize the literature festival 'Gaatha Mahotsav 2024' at IIT Kanpur's Outreach Auditorium on July 21, 2024. This festival marks the successful completion of five years of Gaatha and aims to celebrate literature in its various forms.

The festival will feature a total of eight sessions, each focusing on different aspects of literature and culture. The inaugural session will be graced by Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director of IIT Kanpur; and Shri. Amit Gupta, Divisional Commissioner, Kanpur. The first session will see a discussion on the tourist spots of Uttar Pradesh, led by Dr. Pradeep Dixit, with contributions from Mr. Sanjay Sepherd, Mr. M.K. Pandey, and Mr. Satyarth Anirudh Pankaj, DIG of Lucknow Zone.

In the second session, there will be a detailed discussion on the Hindi poetic genre 'Navgeet' featuring Mr. Ram Sanehi Lal Sharma, Mr. Virendra Astik, Mr. Raja Awasthi, moderated by renowned litterateur and critic Mr. Rakesh Shukla. The third session will bring together prominent young writers Mr. Bhagwant Anmol and Ms. Aakanksha Pare with Kahakashan Foundation founder Mr. Anand Kakkar to discuss young literature.

The fourth session will provide a platform for young talents through an open mic, moderated by Ms. Pallavi Garg. In the fifth session, the renowned actor Mr. Rajendra Gupta will be in conversation with famous poet Dr. Bhavana Tiwari, followed by a story reading session.

The sixth session will be dedicated to the renowned music composer Madan Mohan, featuring presentations by Ms. Archana Chauhan from All India Radio and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa winner Gopal Sharma. The seventh session will feature actor Ashok Pathak, known for his role as Binod in the popular web series 'Panchayat', discussing his life journey and struggles.

The final session of the festival will be a poetry conference, with well-known poets Dr. Vishnu Saxena, Mr. Ajay Anjaam, Mr. Rahul Sharma, Mr. Yogesh Shukla, Mr. Alok Bejan, and Dr. Bhavana Tiwari captivating the audience with their poetic expressions.

The Gaatha Mahotsav 2024 will commence at 11.00 AM and continue until 8:00 PM in the evening on July 21, 2024. For more information, please visit www.gaathamahotsav.com.

About IIT Kanpur:

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur was established in 1959 and declared to be an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India through an Act of Parliament. IIT Kanpur is best known for the highest standard of its education in science and engineering and seminal R&D contributions over the years. The institute has a sprawling lush green campus spread over 1050 acres with large pool of academic and research resources spanning across 19 departments, 25 centers and 3 interdisciplinary programs in engineering, science, design, humanities, and management disciplines with more than 580 full-time faculty members and approximately 9000 students.

For more information, visit www.iitk.ac.in.