Dubai maybe battling a debt crisis but it is game to host the second international Marathi Sahitya Sammelan. Maharashtrians residing in Dubai are in fact looking forward to the literary summit to lift their spirits.
“Being a tourist destination, it is easy to get visas and tickets to Dubai. Also there are Marathi mandals spread across the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries. Participants will be coming from Doha, Kuwait, Bahrain and other countries,” says Vinayak Deshpande, a Dubai resident.
The event will cost Rs1.25 crore and the main sponsor is Al Adil, a trading firm. Chief minister Ashok Chavan is contributing Rs25 lakh. Such an event, say the organisers and sponsors, will give Marathi the push it needs in Dubai.
“There are 20,000 Maharashtrians living in Dubai alone. They want to stay in touch with their roots and language. This event is very important for our people,” says Dhananjay Datar, director of Al Adil.
These summits enjoy brisk sales of books. Writers like Mangesh Padgaonkar believe that this can help Maharashtrian expats stay better connected with their culture. “Maharashtrians like to attend these sammelans, wherever they may be hosted. We will be conducting discussions and debates on ways to motivate Maharashtrians living abroad to read in their own language,” says Padgaonkar.
Author Kautikrao Thale-Patil believes that the Maharashtrians who now live in the Gulf region belong to an older generation. This, he says, poses a different set of challenges to those wishing to promote the language. “Maharashtrians who have migrated to Dubai face a unique situation. You use one language to conduct your daily life and another to conduct your business. In the middle of this, keeping your mother tongue alive is a challenge in Dubai,” said Thale-Patil. “In the US, they have to only juggle between English and Marathi.”
The sahitya sammelan will be held from March 4 to 6.
