The 80th annual literary conference of the Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelan (NBBSS) was inaugurated in Bangalore on Friday.
Governor Rameshwar Thakur, who inaugurated the five-day event, stressed the need for preserving the plurality of language and culture irrespective of political boundaries as it is the linguistic diversity that lends colour and richness to the country’s rainbow-like heritage.
Recalling Kaviguru Rabindranath Tagore’s stay in Bangalore city in 1919 as a guest of the then Maharaja of Mysore, the Governor said that the literary and spiritual linkage between Karnataka and West Bengal continues till today with regular exchange programme of translation of Kannada and Bengali literary works.  
Mother tongue
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also the President of the Sammelan, stressed the need for giving importance to mother tongue, which goes a long way in preserving a language.
The NBBSS, which is being held in Bangalore for the third time (earlier it was held in 1959 and 1993), is aimed at enriching Bengali literature and culture by exchanging views and resources with the Indian counterparts apart from addressing various issues related to Bengali language.
Over 2,000 Bengalis, who have arrived here from various parts of the country, would engage in language-related discussions at the campus of South East Asia Group of Educational Institutions near K R Puram, where the meet is being held.
Exhibition
An exhibition of handicrafts of West Bengal is also being held at the venue of the Sammelan. Ramakrishna Mutt’s Swami Prabhananda Maharaj, former chief minister M Veerappa Moily, NBBSS Secretary Jayanta Ghosh, Bangalore Chapter’s office bearers were present.