State poets deserve national recognition: Ronnie

SHILLONG: Arts and Culture Minister Ronnie Lyngdoh made a call for preservation of the multi-lingual diversity in the State saying, “the beauty of the country lies in its people from different communities and culture.”
While addressing the prize distribution ceremony of the Seventh Meghalaya Poetry competition cum North East Poetry Festival organised by the All India Poetess Conference (AIPC), Meghalaya chapter at St Edmund’s College here on Monday, Lyndoh said “Every competitor is a winner, winning is not everything.”
The minister further added that Meghalaya should get prominence in the national forum while poets and poetesses of the state should get recognition for their talents for excelling in the field of literature and culture. Lyngdoh is optimistic that there will come a time when these young talents will be globally recognised in literature and bring laurels like Bob Dylan and Rabindranath Tagore.
When pointed out to the challenges faced by the AIPC with regard to fund constraints on the publication of a collection of prize winning poems in a booklet, he has assured them that the monetary requirement of Rs 50,000 to publish a booklet was not too hard for the government to meet.
There were 400 participants in the AIPC contest. However, the AIPC, Meghalaya chapter, could not invite all the members from the eight northeastern states to the conference because of financial constraint.