Professor Dr Muhammad Asaduzzaman, director general of the International Mother Language Institute, writer and researcher, has said: "Literature is a matter of practice. Without practice, nothing stays in its proper place. Literary magazines and literary gatherings are among the key parts of that practice. Various material comes out of literary meetings and gatherings. These gatherings need continuity. In that light, Sareng's Eid reunion and fruit festival carries considerable importance."

He said: "Ramsundar Trivedi, one of the subcontinent's leading literary figures, used to host literary gatherings attended by many talented writers. Once Bankim Chandra was garlanded at such a gathering. Bankim put the garland on Rabindranath and said that after him Rabindranath would be the greatest writer of Bengali literature. In that tradition, the practice of literature and gatherings must be spread across the country."

Dr Asaduzzaman was speaking as chief guest at the Eid reunion and fruit festival organised by Sareng Sahitya Sabha at Malibagh in the capital on 20 June. The meeting was chaired by Sareng editor Abdur Rahman Mallik, with writer, researcher and poet Dr Mahbub Hasan and writer and researcher Jamir Uddin Milon as special guests.

Sareng adviser Dr Mahbub Hasan said: "A literary gathering is an underground stream through which we can learn a great deal. It needs to be spread especially among the young. Many of us cannot break out of the confines of our consciousness; gatherings remove those confines. We eat fruit anyway, but the Sareng fruit festival is a continuity of consciousness. Gatherings are part of life, and from them we get material for stories, poems and novels. I urge that Sareng's events be kept regular and ongoing."

Writer and researcher Jamir Uddin Milon said: "The importance of gatherings in Bengali literature is immense. Great poets and writers drew literary sustenance from gatherings and showed the nation the way through them. Through Sareng's literary gatherings we want to build a deep bond among poets and writers."

Others present included writer Fazlul Haque Khan, senior journalist and writer Jamaluddin Bari, poet Saiduzzaman Shipon, poet and writer Wahid Zaman, Puthiprokash director and poet Sujan Biswas, Kochipata editor Aleya Begum Alo, writer Safiqul Islam Sohel, poet Amina Naznin Dana and poet Jharna Debi.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.