The 29th Spring Literary Festival was held in Netrakona in a joyful atmosphere on the first day of spring.

The 29th Spring Literary Festival and Khalekdad Chowdhury Literary Award ceremony were held in Netrakona in a joyful atmosphere on the first day of spring.

The day-long festival was organized by the Literary Society at Bakultala in Moktarpara, the district town, on Saturday (February 14).

The festival officially began on Saturday morning with the performance of the national anthem, hoisting of the flag and the celebration of Basant Bandana.

The opening ceremony was chaired by Netrakona Sahitya Samaj President M Kibria Chowdhury Helim and moderated by General Secretary Tanvir Jahan Chowdhury. The special guest was the Superintendent of Police Tariqul Islam and local dignitaries.

After the opening ceremony, a colorful procession was taken out from the festival premises. The procession circled the main roads of the city and ended at Bakultala.

The day-long program included poetry readings, musical performances and literary discussions on the festival stage.

In this year’s festival, renowned poet Abdur Hai Sikder and researcher Professor Dr. Abdullah Al Masum are receiving the ‘Khalekdad Chowdhury Literary Award’ in recognition of their special contribution to Bengali literature.

It has been announced that they will be presented with this honor through a grand ceremony in the evening.

It is worth noting that in the course of this literary festival, which started in 1997, 35 distinguished personalities of Bengali literature have been awarded the ‘Khalekdad Chowdhury Literary Award’ so far.