The Sahitya Akademi in collaboration with Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU) on Saturday organized a lecture under the ‘People and Books’ series. The series is aimed at giving an opportunity to a personality who is an avid reader.

Nagendra Singh Jamwal, Registrar, SMVDU, discussed the books which influenced him. He also gave feedback about the literature, especially Dogri literature, its availability and influence on people.

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“While English and Hindi have been able to address the literary needs of the readers, Dogri literature needs to reorient itself to the changing times including e-books, kindle editions, social media and marketing through marketing platforms, e-platforms.”

The lecture was followed by panel discussion on the contribution of Sahitya Akademi awarded to Dogri novels and fiction. The session was chaired by eminent Dogri writer Jatinder Udhampuri Padamshree. Vijay Verma, Shivdev Singh Sushil and Dr Sushma Rani also presented their papers.

Shivdev Singh Sushil highlighted the Dogri novel titled ‘Dhara te Dhura’ by Prof Madan Mohan Sharma. The two-day conference culminated with a panel discussion on the present status of Dogri novel with reference to prominent Indian languages. The session was chaired by noted Dogri writer Dhian Singh.

Inderjeet Kesar, Shailender Singh and Nasib Singh Manhas deliberated on the evolution of  novels in Dogri literature and its relevance to the changing times. Dr Isha Malhotra HoD School of Languages and Literature and Dr Rakesh Thussu president BCA along with scholars of University coordinated the event.