PATNA: For the first time, more than 50 eminent littérateurs of 21 Indian languages will recite their compositions at a two-day literary festival being jointly organized by Sahitya Akademi-New Delhi and Arvind Mahila College on July 21 and 22.Prominent among those who are likely to attend the meet include Tai Tugung (Nishi), Uttima Keshri (Hindi), Meishnam Bhagat Singha (Manipuri), Alam Khursheed (Urdu), Jiten Sharma (Assamese), Izhar Mubashir (Kashmiri), Comphu Khungur Brahma (Bodo), Rattan Doshi (Dogri), Bhupinder Kaur Preet (Punjabi), Sanu Lama (Nepali), Sumita Dhar Basu Thakur (Bengali), Rajesh Kumar Vyas (Rajasthani), and Mahesh Jha (Sanskrit). Besides, a number of local writers and poets, including Usha Kiran Khan, Arun Kanal, Satya Narain, Ram Bachan Roy and Amar Nath Sinha, will also attend the two-day meet.According to Arvind Mahila College’s senior Hindi teacher and programme organizer Shiv Narain, this will be a grand meet of writers from northern and north-eastern regions. While distinguished Hindi poet and Sahitya Akademi’s former president Vishwanath Tiwari will inaugurate the meet, Assamese writer Laxmi Nandan Bora will be the guest of honour. Pataliputra University vice-chancellor Gulab Chand Ram Jaisawal will preside.Different sessions to be organized during the two-day festival include ‘Poets’ meet’, ‘Short story reading’, ‘Contemporary literary trends’ and ‘My writing, my world’. An exhibition of Sahitya Akademi books will be organized at the venue from July 20 to 23. Sahitya Akademi secretary K Sreenivas Rao will be here to oversee the literary activities to be organized during the festival.Meanwhile, the home science department of Arvind Mahila College organized a ‘Calm-Sutra Camp’ on Thursday for college girls and faculty members.Addressing the participants, orthopaedic surgeon Amulya Singh said one could remain physically and mentally fit by adopting the traditional Indian lifestyle. “Regular yoga, balanced diet and avoiding unnecessary tension are essential for maintaining good health and peaceful mind,” he said.Vending machine: Arvind Mahila College principal Punam Chaudhary on Thursday inaugurated a sanitary napkin vending machine donated by the Inner Wheel Club of Patna for the benefit of girls. Club president Anju Sinha thanked the guests.Interactive talk: Stress is a universal phenomenon which affects all groups, including youngsters and adolescents. So claimed Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences’ psychiatry department head Dr Rajesh Kumar at an interactive talk on ‘Stress Management and Mental Health’ on Thursday.The session was organized by Asian Development Research Institute’s Centre for Health Policy (CHP) at Anugrah Narayan College.Dr Rakesh talked about the negative impact of stress, its coping mechanism, stress relievers and stress as a risk factor for other forms of diseases like those related to the heart. He urged the students to focus on positive thoughts and have a positive attitude towards life.Later, epidemiologist Dr Sanchita Mahapatra threw light on ‘Adolescents and Mental Health’. “During adolescence, the biological changes that take place and the risk-taking attitude have a great impact on health. At present, the most prevalent mental illness among adolescents is depression and stress has been identified as a major contributor,” Dr Sanchita said.She also pointed out how unhealthy beliefs about oneself, others and the world hold one back and result in bad mental habits. She described a few coping mechanisms to deal with mental stress.Dr N K Sinha, mental health nodal officer at the state health society, also talked about ongoing mental health initiatives and programmes of the state government.

Stay updated with all the Latest Patna headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.