Farm widow Vaishali to inaugurate Marathi lit fest

Yavatmal: Setting speculations to rest, members of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal have decided to invite a farm widow to inaugurate the 92nd Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan scheduled to be inaugurated on Friday.
The mandal has narrowed down on 28-year-old Vaishali Sudhakar Yede from Kalamb taluka of Yavatmal. The articulate Vaishali has also acted in a Marathi play ‘Teravah’ written by Shyam Petkar and directed by Harish Ethape of Agro theatre in which all actors were farm widows.
The Mahamandal’s meeting was chaired by its vice president Vidya Deodhar who took charge after president Shripad Bhalchandra Joshi put in his resignation on Tuesday.The resignation has been accepted. Joshi was not present at the meeting and is unlikely to attend the lit fest.
The top Marathi lit fest has been in the throes of controversy since Monday when the invitation given to veteran writer Nayantara Sahgal was withdrawn. The official reason cited was that her presence at the meet would create a law and order situation as MNS and a farmers’ organization had threatened to disrupt the meet.
Stressing that the meeting was held in a cordial environment, Deodhar said that since Yavatmal is unfortunately a region where maximum farmer’s suicides have taken place, “it would only be befitting that a farmer’s widow is given a platform to express herself”.
Sources present at the meeting said that there was no acrimony or blame game. “The manner in which this controversy has played out in national media has unnerved the organizers. Ironically, it has also upheld the power of the written word, be it the strongly worded speech of Sahgal or the media reports about the entire controversy,” said the source.
There are murmurs on a farm widow inaugurating a literary festival. Sources say that the Mahamandal was left with no choice after literary figures like Mahesh Elkunchwar, Suresh Dwadashiwar and Vitthal Wagh declined invites. “No self- respecting writer or author would like to take the place of Sahgal after the unceremonious manner in which she was asked not to come,” said a member of the Mahamandal.
What has also taken the sheen off the literary meet is that 15 of its star invitees including Gyanesh Maharao, Sanjiv Khandekar, Vidya Bal, Prabha Ganodkar, Keshav Deshmukh and Asaram Lomte sent letters saying that they will not attend.
Deodhar said this will not impact the meet. “This sammelan is about Marathi literature and the pride every Maharashtrian takes in it,” she said.
Deodhar will continue to hold charge as the president of Mahamandal till a new name is suggested by VSS.