Kumar Bahukhandi
Raipur : The Literature Festival 2026 being held at Nava Raipur is continuing with great enthusiasm and literary fervor. As part of the festival, several sessions of poetry and satire were organised at the Surjit Navdeep Pavilion, including a special poetry reading by women writers. More than 90 emerging and contemporary writers from various regions of the state participated in these sessions.
Under the umbrella of the Raipur Literature Festival, a special poetry reading by women writers was organised jointly by the Jai Johar Sahitya-Sanskriti Sansthan, Chhattisgarh Sahitya Evam Sanskriti Sansthan, and Chhattisgarh Mitra.
The program was coordinated by Dr. Seema Nigam, Chairperson of the Jai Johar Sahitya-Sanskriti Sansthan. Dr. Rashmilata Mishra, Shashi Surendra Dubey, and Shakuntala Tarar, President of the Chhattisgarh Sahitya Evam Sanskriti Sansthan, were present as special guests.
The stage was managed by Dr. Seema Awasthi and Suman Sharma Bajpai.
The women writers effectively presented themes such as Chhattisgarh’s folk culture, the glory of its rivers, social issues, women’s empowerment, and patriotism through their poems. Many writers participated in this session, including Vimla Maheshwari, Bharti Yadav Medha, Purva Srivastava, Pallavi Jha, Nandini Lahej, Dilshad Saifi, Anita Jha, Anamika Sharma ‘Shashi’, Pramada Thakur, Sushma Prem Patel, Purnima Tiwari, Shubhra Thakur, Dhara Dewangan, Shakuntala Tiwari, Seema Pandey, Dr. Jyoti Diwan, Dr. Sandhya Rani Shukla, Nalini Bajpai, Anjana Bhake ‘Kanu Priya’, Shashi Tiwari, Dr. Tuleshwari Dhurandhar, Pratima Banerjee, Durga Pathak, Abha Srivastava, Manjusha Agarwal, Kalyani Tiwari, Preeti Mishra, Chandra Prabha Dubey, Chandrakala Tripathi, Archana Jain, and Khilesh Gaur.
The vote of thanks was given by Dr. Mrinalika Ojha.
Other literary sessions held at the Surjit Navdeep Pavilion as part of the festival, including group poetry readings and satirical presentations, were also a major attraction. A 15-member team from Dhamtari, led by Dumanlal Dhruv, presented poems rooted in rural life and folk sensibilities.
Nine writers from Raipur, led by Rajshekhar Chaubey, presented satirical works on contemporary themes, while a 12-member group from Mahasamund, led by Ashok Sharma, gave voice to regional culture. Meanwhile, a 7-member group from Raipur, led by Ashish Singhania, recited poems reflecting youthful perspectives and innovative approaches.
These sessions, which continued throughout the day, were attended by a large number of literature enthusiasts.
The enthusiastic applause from the audience after each presentation encouraged the writers. According to the organisers, the Raipur Literature Festival has now evolved from a cultural event into a powerful intellectual and literary movement, continuously enriching Chhattisgarh’s literary heritage.
