Sparshanandan Drishtihinder Braille Patrika (SDBP), a Braille magazine published since 1992 by Shri Satyajith Mandal is going to organize the first phase of the fifth Sparshanandan Braille Poetry Festival of the Blind Poets on 20thand 21st January, 2017 in the Poetry Village (Rabindra Sadan – Nandan campus) in Paschimbanga Bangla Academy Sabhaghar Auditorium in Kolkata. Here nearly sixty to seventy blind poets will read their own poems in Oriya, Nepali, Hindi, Gujarati and Bengali. There will be cash prize of INR 2,000 for the best poet in the festival.

The second phase of the festival will be held in the Montmartre auditorium of Kolkata Book Fair 2017 on 5th February, 2017 at 4 p.m. Here also nearly thirty to forty blind poets coming from all over West Bengal will read their self composed poems in Bengali Braille. It will be the first Endeavour in the history of world literature as well as of book fair.

Railway concessional fare ( to and fro ) and bus fare ( where railway service is not available ) and food and lodging of each blind poet along with one escort residing within India but outside Kolkata will be provided. Poets are invited to send their poems to the organizer within 30th September, 2016. For details contact the Publisher and Editor of Sparshanandan, Shri Satyajith Mandal by email to [email protected] or over phone on 9836071404 or 8420248828.