11th Annual Celebration of Maithili Sahitya Mahasabha Concludes Successfully in New Delhi
New Delhi : The 11th anniversary celebration of Maithili Sahitya Mahasabha (MAISAM) was held with great enthusiasm on the occasion of International Mother Language Day at Malviya Smriti Sabhagar, Deendayal Upadhyay Marg (ITO), New Delhi. The event, organised in collaboration with the Maithili-Bhojpuri Academy, Delhi, marked a proud decade of the organisation’s literary journey and was inaugurated with traditional rituals and ceremonial lamp lighting.
The grand programme ran from 2 PM to 7 PM and was conducted in three sessions featuring poetry, awards, and scholarly discussion.
Poetry Session
The first session began with an address by MAISAM General Secretary Arun Kumar Mishra, followed by a Maithili poetry symposium. Fourteen poets — including both established and emerging voices — recited their compositions. The session was chaired by Dr. Abha Jha, while Prabhash Akinchan attended as the chief guest. The programme was conducted by Sudha Thakur, coordinated by Akhilesh Mishra “Dau Ji”, and concluded with a vote of thanks by Sanjay Jha.
Participating poets included Dr. Pramod Kumar, Parasara Narayan, Binay Thakur, Abha Jha, Jayanti Kumari, Munni Kamat, Shubham Vats, Prabha Jha, Anita Mishra, Shubhra Jha, Kavita Pathak Jha, Manjusha Jha, Supriya Vatsyayan and Akhilesh Mishra.
MAISAM Samman-2026
The second session featured the presentation of the MAISAM Samman-2026 to eminent litterateur Dr. Gangesh Gunjan for his long and distinguished contribution to Maithili literature. He was honoured with a cash prize of ₹31,000, traditional Mithila art-decorated pag-dupatta and a citation. In a notable gesture, Dr. Gunjan announced he would donate the prize amount back to the organisation’s Literary Welfare Fund.
Seminar and Book Launch
The third session hosted a seminar on “Bholalal Das: Personality and Works.” The session opened with remarks by MAISAM President Hemant Jha, who outlined future plans including regular literary programmes, publications, and participation in upcoming World Book Fair events.
The seminar, chaired by noted Maithili scholar Chandrashekhar Paswan, featured keynote speaker Shambhunath Mishra, special speaker Jivendu Prasad Karn, and institutional speaker Prem Chaudhary, who presented detailed reflections on the life and contributions of the late Bholalal Das.
On the occasion, MAISAM’s half-yearly journal Apoorva, jointly edited by Sanjeev Sinha and Ujjwal Kumar Jha, along with books authored by Raj Kishore Mishra, Nivedita Jha and Prabhash Akinchan, were also released.
Participation and Acknowledgements
The event witnessed participation from a large number of writers, scholars, artists, journalists and language enthusiasts. CA Saroj Jha delivered the vote of thanks, acknowledging the contributions of literary figures, organisers, supporters and the audience for making the programme a memorable success.
The celebration highlighted the continued commitment of MAISAM toward preserving and promoting Maithili language, literature and cultural heritage.