Maha: 94th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan inaugurated

If Tamil and Kannad can get the status of Abhijaat classical languages, Marathi should certainly get it, Vishwas Patil said in his inaugural address.

The 94th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan (All India Marathi Literary Meet) was inaugurated by renowned litterateur Vishwas Patil in Nashik on Friday.

The event, which is being held at Kusumagraj Nagari in Bhujbal Knowledge City here, has been been organized by Lokhitwadi Mandal.

It was inaugurated in the presence of popular lyricist Javed Akhtar, state minister Chhagan Bhujbal, Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal president Kautikrao Thale-Patil, state agriculture minister Dada Bhuse and convener Jayprakash Jategaonkar among others.

''Marathi is immortal and it will remain immortal. If the words and lyrics of Marathi linger abroad, Marathi will not die and for this such literary meets are necessary. If Tamil and Kannad can get the status of 'Abhijaat' (classical) languages, Marathi should certainly get it," Vishwas Patil said in his inaugural address. If meets can take place in the name of castes, religion, politics, then why not in the name of languages, he added.

He praised Nashik's religious, social and cultural tradition, and termed the home of late Kusumagraj as Ajanta and playwright Vijay Kanitkar as Verul for him. During his speech, Patil hailed the work of social reformer Dadasaheb Gaikwad, the rebel literature of Baburao Bagul, Vamandada Kardak, Shahir Parshuram and others. Bhujbal, who claimed he was speaking as a reader, said writers must be given complete freedom.

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