The Nikhil Bishnupriya Manipuri Sahitya Parishad (BMSP) brought together writers, poets, and language scholars from across the Northeast at a day-long literary festival held at Shilpgram in Guwahati, celebrating and deliberating on the future of the Bishnupriya Manipuri language and its literary heritage.
The event opened with a flag-hoisting ceremony led by Parishad president Dils Lakhmindra Kumar Sinha.
Bongaigaon Literary Festival and Press Club conference conclude on vibrant note
The first major session of the day focused on a subject of growing concern among the community - "Preservation and Development of the Bishnupriya Manipuri Language among Indigenous Communities of Assam."
The discussion was moderated by Dils Sinha and conducted by general secretary Samarjit Sinha. Speakers included retired Gauhati University professor Dr. Upen Rabha Hakacham, former Abilac director Dr. Dilip Kalita, Dr. Upasana Bora Sinha of Nagaland University, and Arunachal Pradesh-based writer Rabikanta Sinha.
The literary festival also featured a multilingual poets' meet titled 'Basantar Khalik', moderated by Lakhmindra Kumar Sinha, which brought together voices from several of the region's languages on a single stage.
Participating poets and their languages included:
Dipak Sharma - Assamese
Ranjit Sinha - Bishnupriya Manipuri
Jiten Payeng - Mising
Ratneswar Basumatary - Bodo
Hemlata Golcha - Hindi
Bidyut Chakraborty - Bengali
Paheli Mukherjee - Bishnupriya Manipuri