New Delhi, March 10 (IANS): More than 170 writers and scholars from across India have converged at the ongoing annual festival of Sahitya Akademi to deliberate over the challenges Indian languages are facing and the role of literature in society.

The week-long Annual Festival of Letters began in the capital on Monday and this year the literary institution is also celebrating its 60 years of existence.

A three-day national seminar on "The Region and the Nation in Indian Fiction" will be inaugurated by English writer Kiran Nagarkar on March 12.

This year's foundation day lecture will be given by distinguished Kannada writer S.L. Bhyrappa on March 12.

There will also be a story-telling and poetry writing competition for children and a special choreographic presentation by differently-abled children on March 14, the concluding day of the festival.

Writers and scholars like Gopi Chand Narang, Giriraj Kishore, Munawar Rana, Uday Prakash and Rukmini Bhaya Nair will be attending the festival.

Several cultural programmes involving Manipuri dance, Bharatnatyam (Tamil dance form) and Rajasthani folk singing will also be a part of this festival.