Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelan
Encyclopedia
Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelan (All India Bengali Literary Conference) is an annual convention of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

i literary personages of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, held annually. The first annual conference (Then, Prabasi Banga-Sahitya Sammelan) was held in Benares
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...

 in 1922 and was presided over by Kobiguru Rabindranath Thakur
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...

 


The first sponsors were distinguished 'Bengalis living outside Bengal' ('Prabasis') like Atul Prasad Sen, Radhakamal Mukherjee, Kedar Nath Bandyopadhyay, Mahendra Chandra Roy et al.

Since 1922 till 1980 the conference has travelled far and wide within India, from major cities like Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

, Calcutta, Bombay
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

, Madras, Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....

, Hyderabad to far flung Srinagar
Srinagar
Srinagar is the summer seasonal capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. It is one of the largest cities in India not to have a Hindu majority. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats...

 and Guwahati
Guwahati
Guwahati, Pragjyotishpura in ancient Assam formerly known as Gauhati is a metropolis,the largest city of Assam in India and ancient urban area in North East India, with a population of 963,429. It is also the largest metropolitan area in north-eastern India...

.

The 12th convention was held at Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

 in Dec 1934. Post Independence, in 1953 the coinage 'Prabasi' was dropped and 'Nikhil Bharat' (All India) was adopted in context of the free nation.


Objectives of the conference

Delegates from all over the country meet to hold thematic discussions, meet Bengali authors, novelists, and poets, attend literary sessions, exchange thoughts with people of other languages, and enjoy cultural evenings.

Current scope

Under the patronization of great Bengali literary personalities like Atul Prasad Sen, Kazi Nazrul Islam
Kazi Nazrul Islam
Kazi Nazrul Islam , sobriquet Bidrohi Kobi, was a Bengali poet, musician and revolutionary who pioneered poetic works espousing intense spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression. His poetry and nationalist activism earned him the popular title of Bidrohi Kobi...

 and others, the Sammelan has reached maturity, having branches every major city and town of India. Its activity of serving Bengali literature and Bengali culture outside Bengal has spread over almost all the states of India. The central office of the organization is located at Kali Bari, Mandir Marg, New Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

-110001.

The organisation publishes a regular Bengali journal called 'Sammelani' and various other books related to Bengali literature and culture . It organizes cultural and literary programmes throughout the year . The annual convention is held every year in different parts of the country. The idea is to enrich Bengali literature and its culture by exchanging views and resources with other Indian authors.

See Also

  • 12th Prabasi Banga-Sahitya Sammelan held at Calcutta, 1934
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