Founder & Director, Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF)
Founder, Kalinga Art Festival | CEO, OrissaDiary
Rashmi Ranjan Parida is a visionary cultural entrepreneur, literary curator, and one of the most influential voices shaping India’s contemporary literary and creative ecosystem. Widely recognised as a pioneer of online journalism in Odisha through his landmark initiative OrissaDiary (est. 2005), Rashmi transformed how news, culture, and ideas from Odisha reach the world. His journey from digital media to building one of India’s most powerful literary movements reflects his lifelong belief that stories, languages, and cultural identities must remain accessible, respected, and celebrated.
As the Founder & President of the Kalinga Literary Festival, Rashmi has nurtured KLF into a transformative space that brings together writers, thinkers, artists, performers, and change-makers from India and across the world. From its beginnings in Bhubaneswar, KLF has grown into a vibrant international movement—shaping conversations in Kathmandu (KLF Kathmandu) and soon expanding to Bali (KLF Bali) and other global cultural centres. His leadership has created an inclusive platform that bridges geographies, languages, and communities, while showcasing India’s intellectual heritage on a global stage.
Rashmi’s commitment to the voices of the underserved lies at the heart of KLF. Under his guidance, the festival has expanded to KLF Koraput and KLF Kandhamal, celebrating indigenous literature, tribal knowledge systems, oral traditions, and local creative talent. These festivals have become powerful spaces where Adivasi writers, elders, poets, and youth icons share their stories with pride and visibility—strengthening cultural confidence across generations.
He is also the founder of the Kalinga Art Festival, a dynamic annual platform that showcases the work of dozens of painters, sculptors, photographers, craft innovators, and contemporary artists. The festival has become a sanctuary for emerging and mid-career artists, giving them visibility, recognition, and opportunities that are often unavailable in mainstream spaces.
Beyond festivals, Rashmi has been instrumental in establishing prestigious recognition platforms such as the Odisha Living Legend Awards and the Youth Inspiration Awards, celebrating excellence in public service, arts, culture, sports, entrepreneurship, and creativity.
A relentless advocate for cultural democracy, Rashmi believes that literature and art must not remain restricted to the elite; they must belong to the people. His mission is to build open, democratic, and diverse cultural landscapes, where young writers, tribal storytellers, women artists, and grassroots creators find equal opportunities to shine.
With international collaborations expanding and new literary and artistic initiatives on the horizon, Rashmi Ranjan Parida continues to redefine what a literary festival can achieve—for a state, for a nation, and for communities across the world. His work has made KLF not just a festival, but a movement; not just a platform, but a bridge between tradition and modernity, local genius and global imagination.