Promising serious deliberations that would underline the significance of literature and litterateurs in shaping a civilised society, the three-day annual Bangalore Sahityotsava kicked off with a colourful note at the Palace Grounds on Friday.

The Sahityotsava or the literary festival has an array of books for a cross-section of society ranging from tiny tots to serious readers — literature of different hues — science, maths, history, geography, law, competition, sociology, religion and spirituality. Books priced from as low as Rs 10 to as much as Rs 5,000 have been put up for sale.

The annual event turned out to be a crowd-puller on Day One. Anticipating good business, Prism Book Store has brought with it at least 10,000 titles of various publishers. The sales executives at Prism Book Store said they have books with prices ranging between Rs 50 and Rs 4,500.

Sparda Vidyalaya Publication, a prominent name among those vying for government jobs, too has set up its stall with books related to competitive examinations. For those interested in issues pertaining to development, 'Books For Change' has a wide range of books to offer.

Oxford University Press India, Macmillan Publication, Saraswati House, Pooja Book House and many other publications have put up their stalls.

Chethana, a housewife who came with her children to the Sahityotsava, expressed her happiness over the large variety of books that are on display.

“The kind of books I have been looking for is here. I wanted some quality atlas for my children, which I got here,” she said.

Ranjith, an ardent fan of Kannada literature, was quite content with the wide range of Kannada books. He said he bought books worth Rs 1,500 and wishes to buy more on Sunday.

Litterateurs from different parts of the country appreciated the Bangalore Sahityotsava stating that the shrinking space for literature got widened with such events.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the Sahityotsava, eminent Hindi litterateur Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari said literature and litterateur are symbols of tolerance and rational thinking. Writers side with the marginalised and express views that are ethical.

Often, they are subjected to atrocities when they stand against the hypocritic dogmas and rules of ruling class or the religious heads. Tiwari reminded that societies, which ignore writers and poets, perish.

Addressing the gathering, noted litterateur, Jnanpith award winner and retired bureaucrat, Sitakant Mahapatra underlined the need for good translators to communicate the works of noted writers and poets to the international arena.

He said there was no dearth of quality literature in India but  due recognition was not given in the absence of proper translation. He informed the audience that the Sahitya Akademi and similar organisations have taken up some steps in this direction.

Jnanapith award winners Chandrashekhara Kambara, M T Vasudeva Nair and acting secretary of Sahitya Akademi K S Rao too expressed their views at the event.
On the occasion, three books - 'Shivarathri', a play written by Kambara, the Malayalam translation of Indian Illustrated Classic and a book penned by Devanur Mahadeva were released.