PANAJI
The DD Kossambi lecture series, held annually as a "Festival of Ideas" is set to return after a hiatus of four years when it will be held in February next year, a top official of the Art and Culture department has confirmed.
Officials of the department have already begun preparing for the much-sought after event where luminaries like former President Abdul Kalam and Dr Raghunath Mashelkar have ignited minds and thoughts in the past.
"We are scouting for speakers and reaching out to them," Sagun Velip, who heads the Art and Culture Department has confirmed.
While Velip declined to reveal the shortlist of invitee speakers, an official confirmed that Kapil Dev, the hero and captain of India's 1983 Prudential World Cup winning team, is the government's first choice.
Hindu monk Gaur Gopal Das, a motivational speaker and member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness ISCKON is another name on the shortlist.
The DD Kossambi lecture series had for several years attracted a robust following among Goa's inteligensia, student community and others. However, it also had its share of controversies.
When it was last held in 2020, award-winning journalist Faye D'Souza was controversially dropped from the list of speakers. The action was attributed to the journalist's critical views on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
Art and Culture Minister, Govind Gawade, who was also the minister holding this portfolio then, had explained that the decision was to avoid controversy because the event is government-sponsored.
Another controversy linked to the festival was when the government aborted organising the event in 2022 after the pandemic related gap in 2021. It first announced that the festival, which was scheduled to be held in November, is being "postponed" and then did not hold it at all.
The government's announcement postponing it was attributed to examinations of schools and colleges which would deny students to participate.
However, it was widely reported then that the decision was a response to a fiat from the BJP's central leadership, who were uncomfortable with the choice of speakers: Jnanpith award winning Goan literateur Damodar Mauzo, Dalit author Dr Suraj Yengde, Madhavi Menon and Dr Devdutt Patnaik.
Government sources said this time a 10-member panel headed by Gaude has been formed to fine-tune the process of selecting speakers. Other members include prominent personalities drawn from various professions.
