Guwahati: Vishwa Samvad Kendra Assam organizes annual Devarshi Narad Jayanti festival at Sudarshanalaya in Barbari area of the city on 1 June (starting on 3:30 pm sharp) to commemorate the birth anniversary of the world’s first journalist with a series of intriguing programs, where prominent Assamese children’s writer and editor of Shantunu Tamuli will be presented Devarshi Narad Jayanti Award-2025. Three city-based working journalists namely Himanshu Pathak (Asomiya Khabar), Diganta Saharia (Prag News) and Khanin Deka (Niyomiya Barta) will also be felicitated on the occasion. Nationally acclaimed journalist, a progressive thinker and political commentator Harshvardhan Tripathi will be present in the function as its primary speaker.
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Devarshi Narad, a celestial sage and divine messenger for Devatas, Asuras and human beings on Earth, is worshipped by the Hindus for his wisdom across the Indian subcontinent. Manasaputra of the Lord Brahma, Devarshi Narad was a revered devotee of Lord Vishnu and his famous quotes are popular as ‘Narayan Narayan’ in Assamese literature since time immemorial. Narad gets mentions in Ramayana, Mahabharata and also Puranas indicating him as an institution and not an individual. The celestial journalist in Hinduism is usually adored on Pratipada Tithi of Krishna Paksha in the month of Jyeshtha (Jeth). Narad Jayanti Award carries a citation, cash prize and a collection of books, informed VSK Assam secretary Kishor Shivam in a press statement.
(Nava Thakuria is a senior Indian journalist who contributes to various media outlets including print and digital platforms of India and across the world.)