Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- A two-day ‘National Poetry Festival’ will be celebrated in the capital Dhaka with extravagant festivities from February 1 this year.

The 26th festival, organized by National Poetry Parishad, will begin at 9:00 am at the premises of Dhaka University Central Library with the participation of about 300 poets and litterateurs from home and abroad, the organizers said.

A total of 40 poets and litterateurs from India, Nepal and Bhutan, including renowned poet Sunil Gangopadhaya, Education Minister of India’s Tripura State, poet Anil Sarker, Ashish Sannyal, Uttam Das, Amrita Mytai, Shamalkanti Das and Mrinal Basu Chowdhury will take part the two-day festival.

A large number of Bangladeshi expatriate poets and litterateurs from USA, Italy, Syria and Australia would also join the festival, they added.

Apart from this, three seminars will also be held on the second day of the festival.

Poet Ahmed Rafique, a language hero, and poet Mahmud Al Zaman will present two key note papers in the first and second seminars.

Vice -chancellor of Assam University Professor Topodhir Bhattachariya will present a key note paper in the third seminar.

BBN/SSR/AD-28Jan12-11:55 am (BST)