The 84th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan got off to a colourful start this morning. The inauguration held at the sammelan venue at Dadoji Konddeo Stadium was marked by lighting of lamps by various prominent dignitaries from the Marathi literary world. In the inaugural speech, the President of the Sammelan Uttam Kamble, stressed on the role of Marathi literature in the changing social and economic scenario. He said the literature should reciprocate the development of the science and technology. As part of the three-day literary meet, a `Granth dindi' (procession of books) was taken out yesterday evening in which hundreds of citizens and prominent personalities participated. The dindi was taken out from the residence of late poet P Savlaram and after passing through several areas it concluded at the venue of the conference, Thane Stadium, which is named after Swatantra Veer Savarkar.The entire city wore a festive look with illumination, welcome arches and colourful `rangoli' put at each square. The meet is being held in Thane, located on Mumbai's outskirts, after a gap of 22 years. The next two days will witness several symposium, debates, panel discussions and various other programmes associated with rich Marathi literature.