Lucknow, March 20 – The Shrilal Shukla Birth Centenary Festival began with grandeur at Jupiter Auditorium, Indira Gandhi Pratishthan, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, on March 20. This event marks the start of a five-city celebration honoring the legendary author. The festival brings together personalities from cinema, literature, and art and will conclude in Delhi with the prestigious Shrilal Shukla Smriti Sahitya Samman, an award recognizing contributions to rural literature.
Star-Studded Inauguration of Shrilal Shukla Birth Centenary Festival in Lucknow
The event was organized by the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO). It featured six sessions and was inaugurated by Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Distinguished guests included Surya Pratap Sahi, Agriculture Minister of Uttar Pradesh, JPS Rathore, Cooperative Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Dilip Sanghani, Chairman of IFFCO, and Dr. Uday Shankar Awasthi, Managing Director of IFFCO.
The event’s highlight was an engaging excerpt recitation from ‘Raag Darbari’ by renowned actors Pankaj Tripathi and Ashok Pathak. Their performance captivated the audience, bringing to life the characters of the iconic novel.
Sessions and Discussions
The first session (10:30 am – 11:30 am) featured a photo and book exhibition inaugurated by Manoj Sinha.
The second session, ‘Shrilal Shukla: Kuch Rang, Kuch Raag’ (11:30 am – 1:30 pm), was led by senior writer Mahendra Bhishma, who shared insights into the creative journey of Shrilal Shukla. Ministers JPS Rathore and Surya Pratap Sahi spoke about their experiences with literature and Shrilal Shukla’s influence on their lives. In his address, Manoj Sinha praised Shrilal Shukla’s impact on Hindi literature and recalled the release of a commemorative postage stamp in his honor in 2017. Dr. U.S. Awasthi delivered the vote of thanks.
The third session, ‘Raag Darbari: Kal Aaj Aur Kal’ (2:30 pm – 3:30 pm), featured a discussion on the novel’s relevance in modern society. Storyteller Himanshu Vajpayee, litterateur Dr. Jai Prakash Kardam, and editor Ashutosh Shukla participated, with IFFCO Chairman Dilip Sanghani chairing the session.
The fourth session (3:30 pm – 4:30 pm) showcased a short film by poet-filmmaker Devi Prasad Mishra on Shrilal Shukla’s life and works.
The fifth session, ‘Shrilal Shukla Sham in the Mirror of Memories’ (4:30 pm – 5:30 pm), featured poet Naresh Saxena, writer-translator Vandana Mishra, writer-editor Akhilesh, storyteller Shivmurti, radio producer Anamika Srivastava, and young writer Utkarsh Shukla. IFFCO MD Dr. Uday Shankar Awasthi also joined this session.
The final session (6 pm – 7 pm) presented a stage adaptation of ‘Kahani Shivpal Ganj Ki’ by Darpan Natya Manch, Lucknow. This play, based on ‘Raag Darbari,’ left a lasting impression on the audience. The event concluded with Dr. Uday Shankar Awasthi honoring the artists.
