Tata Steel has decided to cancel its 2021 edition Tata Steel Bhubaneswar and Tata Steel Jharkhand Literary Meets in view of the zcovid-19 pandemic.

The Bhubaneshwar and Jharkhand Literary Meets were 2016 and 2017 respectively, with the belief that culturally-rich regions like Odisha and Jharkhand need a festival that would celebrate literary and allied cultural pursuits, including dance, music, recitation, and theatrical performances.

The idea was to take Odisha and Jharkhand to a wider world audience and to bring the world closer to the two culturally-rich states in eastern India.

Since its inception, the literary meets have drawn leading authors and speakers from across India and the world. It has hosted eminent delegates such as Manoj Das, Ruskin Bond, Jayanta Mahapatra, Sitakanta Mahapatra, Ramakanta Rath, Nayantara Sehgal, Kiran Nagarkar, Sharmila Tagore, Ileana Citaristi, Mark Tully, Nandita Das, Amol Palekar, Uday Prakash, Harivansh Narayan Singh, Jairam Ramesh, Devdutt Pattanaik, Mahadev Toppo, Ashwini Kumar Pankaj, Vandana Tete and Rekha Bhardwaj among several others.

The event has become an integral part of the annual cultural calendars of Bhubaneswar and Ranchi over time.

Talking about the decision, vice-president (Corporate Services) of the company Chanakya Chaudhary said, “We are indeed disappointed to be unable to host the Tata Steel Bhubaneswar and Jharkhand Literary meets this year owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

He said that as a responsible corporate, health and safety of the patrons is of great concern to the company.

“We hope to be back with the next edition of the premiere literary meets with increased participation of all our stakeholders,” he added.

Director of the literary meets Malavika Banerjee said, “Tata Steel Bhubaneswar and Jharkhand Literary Meet’s plans for January 2021 are kept in abeyance in view of the pandemic. The edifice of this festival was hosting writers and speakers from India and overseas in Bhubaneswar and Jharkhand so that the discerning audiences there had a chance to hear and meet them.”

“We will be back when a similar meaningful interaction is once again possible, with new speakers, new presentations and new energy. In the interim, stay safe and keep reading,” she added.