Carnival 2011

Adviser, Shri KK Sharma, visiting the CSA stall

CSA at the Carnival:

Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi held a Literary Quiz at the Carnival. The Quiz, conducted by Prof Anil Raina, was open to the public and 6 teams participated for the cash prizes that offered. Prizes were bagged by Tanveer and Piyush (DAVC), Vijay and Ishan (PU), Nishtha and Rohit (PU).

In addition, CSA also held On-the-Spot Contests: Slogan Writing, Couplet and Caption contests. Prizes and souvenirs were given to outstanding entries.

Prize-winners of the Literary Quiz with Prof Anil Raina

Carnival Capers

CHANDIGARH SAHITYA AKADEMI
invites you to participate in
ON-THE-SPOT COMPETITIONS (open to all)
(Caption Contest, Slogan Writing and Couplet Concoction)
on 25th, 26th and 27th November 2011
10 AM to 4 PM
At: the Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi Stall, Chandigarh Carnival

LITERARY QUIZ (open to all)
on 26th November 2011
Reporting time: 10.30 AM
At: the MINI STAGE, Chandigarh Carnival
LEISURE VALLEY- SECTOR !6

Tri-Lingual Kavi Sammelan

Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi, in collaboration with the Dept of Culture, Chandigarh, organized a Tri-lingual Kavi Sammelan at the Bal Bhavan this evening. in addition to ten local poets there were two well-known names from outside Chandigarh: Jagjit Singh Sufi and Yogendra Maudgil.

The local poets included the following names:

Hindi:

Jagmohan Chopra

Chander Trikha

Sushil Hasrat

Atul Arora

Santosh Dhiman

Punjabi:

Jagjit Singh Sufi

Jagroop Singh Roop

Manjitinder Kaur

Nirmal Dutt

Urdu:

B.D. Kalia

Madhukar Arya

The Kavi Sammelan was part of the celebration of the Communal Harmony week. Through poetry the attempt was to establish Linguistic Harmony, bringing poets of different languages together on a single platform..

The entire program was ably compered by Madhav Kaushik, a skilled poet himself, who is the Secretary of the CSA.

Shri KK Sharma, Adviser to the Administrator, UT, was the Chief Guest on the occasion. He applauded the efforts of the Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi and the Dept of Culture and spoke of the role that poetry can play in bringing people together. Language and literature, he said, can be a bridge between different communities.

Dr KL Zakir, Chairman, Urdu Sahitya Akademi, presided over the function and brought it to a fitting close with a sprinkling of Urdu poetry that was much appreciated by all.

Ms Varsha Khandwal, Director, Cultural Affairs, who was the chief organizer along with Prof Manju Jaidka of the CSA, was also present on the occasion.

Photographs of the event: https://picasaweb.google.com/105464712099114161998/CSAKaviSammelanNov2011

Competitions at PU

CSA EVENTS HELD AT PU

Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi (CSA) in collaboration with the Panjab University today held an on-the-spot Essay Writing Competition, followed by a Story/Poetry Writing Competition at the Panjab University Campus. The event was organized for the CSA by Dr Meenu Gupta, Assistant Professor of the English Dept. Students of the campus participated in the competitions which were held in English, Hindi and Punjabi.

The Literary Quiz was conducted by Prof Aneel Raina of the English Dept who is also a member of the CSA. The questions asked were drawn from world literatures, Indian literature from different regions, classical literature, literary awards and outstanding personalities associated with literature.

For today's photos click this link: https://picasaweb.google.com/105464712099114161998/12November2011

Results of the competitions:

EVENT	CATEGORY	PRIZE WINNERS
ESSAY WRITING	English	First: Sandeep Kumar Second: Alisha Angrish Third: Anupriya
	Punjabi	First: Sukhjinder Kaur
SHORT STORY	English	First: Nishtha Saxena Second: Aditi Bist Third: Sayyantana Dutta Consolation: Manika Arora
	Hindi	First: Gaurav Kalra Second: Bhawna
	Punjabi	First: Chanchal Sharma
POETRY	English	First: Swastika Khosla Second: Rashi Nair Third: Amandeep Kaur
	Hindi	First: Bharti Second: Chanchal Sharma
	Punjabi	First: Sukhjinder Kaur

QUIZ CONTEST RESULTS

First Prize	Tajinder Singh and Nosheen Kapoor (English Dept)
Second Prize	Pavneet Bangar and Umendra Sharma (UIET)
Third Prize	Gopal Singh and Nupur Pal (English Dept)

Prizes for on-the-spot competitions (Rs. 700, 500, 300) and Team Prizes for the Quiz (Rs.1,000, 800 and 600) will be given at the Third Chandigarh Literary Festival to be held on Feb 10-12, 2012.

FORTHCOMING ACTIVITIES:

At the Chandigarh Carnival, 26-28 Nov 2011, the CSA will hold another Quiz (open to all). There will also be interesting competitions like Slogan Writing, Shayari, Caption Contests, etc, held through the 3-day event.

Gandhi and Tagore

Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi today organized a two-tiered program to pay homage to the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Coupled with it was a homage to another great intellectual and visionary, Rabindranath Tagore.

Shri Vishanath Prasad Tiwari, well-known critic and man of letters who is also the Vice-Chairman of the national Sahitya Akademi, delivered an extremely lucid and well-informed talk on "Gandhian Philosophy in Contemporary Times". This was followed by another scintillating and impassioned discourse on "The Environmental Philosophy of Tagore" by Mina Surjit Singh, Emeritus Fellow at the Dept of English, Panjab University. Chairing the event was Prof Anirudh Joshi, eminent professor and critic who is well-versed in Sanskrit literature as well as Indian literary traditions.

Shri Tiwari set the tone of his talk with a comparison between Gandhi and Christ. Then he referred to Gandhian philosophy vis a vis Karl Marx, focusing on the fact that Gandhian thought is unique because it is characterized by non-violence, compassion and truth. Gandhi became popular because he drew his beliefs from tradition and from mass culture, adapting them to his political agenda. This is the reason why his philosophy spread through the world, crossing all boundaries of time and space. Tiwari discussed in detail Gandhi's ideas on civilization as distinct from progress and the manner in which he upheld the axiom of simple living, high thinking.

Mina Surjit Singh discussed the work of Tagore as a mystic, transcendentalist and romantic, highlighting the areas which overlapped with Gandhian thought. She referred to the clash of the two giants on divergent views and explored the connecction between science and spirituality. Tagore was able to see the interconnectedness in all spheres of life and this is what made him the great thinker that he is acclaimed to be.

Drawing upon the main points presented by the two speakers, Prof Anirudh Joshi further elaborated upon the connection between the phinking of the Mahatma and the poet.The three speakers of the day held forth on the subject and held the audience mesmerized. Madhav Kaushik, Secretary of CSA, comered the event and Manju Jaidka, Chairperson, in her vote of thanks informed the audience of upcoming events, urging greater participation of the people of Chandigarh.

Over the last three years the CSA has been working diligently, offering interesting and intellectually stimulating fare to the city and its activities are eagerly awaited, as may be judged by the enthusiastic crowd that regularly attends all events.

Among the on-going activities is the Grants-in-Aid that will be announced shortly, a Quiz that will be held at the Carnival in November, and the 3rd Chandigarh Festival of Letters in February 2012.

Indeed, a lot of interesting happenings to look out for!

Photographs of today's events may be downloaded from this link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/105464712099114161998/GandhiTagore?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHdy5-empePygE#

Chairperson

Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi

Obituary - Shri Gursharan Singh ji

CSA places on record its sense of deep loss at the demise of the eminent city writer and playwright, Shri Gursharan Singh ji. His absence will be acutely felt in all the literary circles of the region. May his soul rest in peace!
Two years ago CSA gave him an Award of Recognition for his life-long contribution to literature.

VYANGA GOSHTHI

A VYANGA GOSHTHI was organized this evening at the CSA Audi, State Library, Sector 34, Chandigarh. The Chief Participant was Prem Janmejai (from Delhi) while the local participants were Jasvinder Sharma, Rajinder Nishesh, and Prem Vij.

Janmejai teaches at Delhi University and brings out a magazine called “Vyanga YAtra. HE has been a Visiting Professor at the University of West Indies and published more than twelve collections of satires.

Jaswinder Sharma has authored eight books, including one by Penguin. He is a recipient of the Haryana Sahitya Akademi award as well as the Chandigarh sahitya Akademi award for his writing.
Rajinder Nishesh has composed seven books on vyanga, two poetry collections and two books for children. National Book Trust is bringing out his collection of poems.

Prem Vij is a writer and journalist, the author of a dozen books including two on vyanga. He is the recipient of the Panjab State Award for his literary contribution.

Today’s speakers chose to focus on political themes, electioneering, democracy and red-tapism. In his presidential remarks Dr Prem Janmejai spoke of the present scenario of Hindi satire and read a satirical piece that spoke of Doordarshan in the times of Shri Ramchandra. He is of the opinion that the satirist should not descend to the level of slapstick. On the contrary, combining wit with intelligence and a concern for society, the satirist can do much to reform the world he lives in.

Madhav Kaushik, Secretary, CSA, compered the event deftly, pointing out that satire should heal even as it attcaks the vices of the society.

Chairperson of CSA, Prof Manju Jaidka, thanked the speakers and informed the audience that the next CSA event would celebrate Gandhi Jayanti. Information will be posted on the blog and Facebook.