The national prelude to the Shillong Literary Festival concluded in New Delhi on May 9 after two days of discussions focusing on literature, culture, ecology, food, sports and storytelling from Northeast India.
The event, organised by the Meghalaya tourism department at Bikaner House, brought together writers, filmmakers, policymakers, journalists, entrepreneurs and artists ahead of the sixth edition of the Shillong Literary Festival scheduled to take place later this year in Meghalaya.
The discussions during the event mainly focused on increasing cultural representation of the Northeast, preserving indigenous traditions and creating wider economic opportunities for the region through tourism, sports and creative industries.
One of the major sessions on the second day featured former Indian footballer Eugeneson Lyngdoh and entrepreneur Mayukh Hazarika. During the discussion, the speakers spoke about the growing connection between sports, tourism and local entrepreneurship in the Northeast.
They highlighted how sports infrastructure and tourism projects could contribute to economic growth and create employment opportunities for local communities. Meghalaya’s growing investment in sports infrastructure, including the proposed Mawkhanu Football Stadium project, was also discussed during the session.
Another important discussion focused on Shillong’s changing food culture and the growing popularity of indigenous cuisine from the Northeast. Speakers spoke about traditional Khasi food practices, farm-to-table culture and the increasing national interest in local ingredients and regional culinary traditions.
Several sessions also featured young and emerging writers from different northeastern states. The discussions focused on regional identity, storytelling and the challenges faced by writers from the Northeast in gaining wider recognition in mainstream publishing spaces.
Participants spoke about the need to move beyond stereotypes often associated with the region and stressed the importance of telling stories rooted in local experiences, languages and cultures.
Environmental conservation also emerged as a major theme during the programme. Speakers discussed the close relationship between ecology, indigenous communities and cultural identity in the Northeast. Concerns related to environmental protection, sustainable development and preservation of traditional knowledge systems were raised during different panel discussions.
Writers and literary speakers also highlighted the importance of festivals in promoting regional languages and indigenous literature. Several participants stressed the need for more platforms dedicated to Khasi, Garo and Jaintia literature alongside mainstream Indian literary spaces.
The first day of the event included a conversation between Conrad K Sangma and senior journalist Shekhar Gupta. Other sessions featured filmmakers, authors and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Suparna Sharma.
Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah also addressed the gathering during the programme.
The sixth edition of the Shillong Literary Festival is scheduled to be held at Wards Lake from November 12 to 14 later this year.