Ranchi: The fifth edition of Tata Steel Jharkhand Literary Meet was inaugurated today in Ranchi
by Padma Bhusan awardee Javed Akhtar. A host of poets, novelists and artists will be there at
the annual literary fest at Audrey House over next two days. At the inauguration of Tata Steel
Jharkhand Literary Meet, Member of Rajya Sabha Mahua Maji and Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice
President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel, veteran journalist Ashutosh Chaturvedi and Malavika
Banerjee, Director of Jharkhand Literary Meet were also present. 
Javed Akhtar at the inauguration session spoke on the importance of books and literature and
how it helps in shaping the life of the people. Post the inauguration, Javed Akhtar spoke about
his life and poetry and also recited some of most well-known poems.
Inaugural day saw a variety of programs featuring a poetry session featuring Anuj Lugun, Jyoti
Lugun, Mungeshwar Sahoo and Chandramohan Kisku. Mihir Vatsa, the winner of the Yuva
Sahitya Akademi award for Tales of Hazaribagh spoke about his in-depth examination of the
town’s social and economic history. A session remembering iconic author Mannu Bhandari and
discussing her legacy that she left behind had Sudha Arora, Poonam Saxena and Rachana
Yadav. The day ended with a discussion on Kishore Kumar’s biography and a musical jam
session of his songs.
On December 11, Booker International winner Geetanjali Shree will speak about her award-
winning novel Ret Samadhi. A session on cinema of the region featuring Purushotam Kumar,
Niranjan Kujur and Anurag Lugun, a discussion on Akshaya Mukul’s biography of Agyeya, and
another session on the legacy of local hero MS Dhoni are also in store. The festival will end with
a solo act by eminent actor Vinay Pathak. He will perform the play ‘Nothing Like Lear’ which is
directed by actor-director Rajat Kapoor.