Abhivyakti and Expressions

Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi (CSA) has made quite a niche in the City Beautiful with its regularly held literary events, book-readings, interactions with writers, and poetry sessions. 

“The pull

Of an old scar…

Another winter”

and

“Stars adrift…

The loved ones who left

One by one.” (Both verses recited by Arvinder Kaur)

Today the CSA held a two-tiered session at the UT Guest. The morning session, Abhivyakti, showcased creative writers in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu while the post-lunch session focused on writers who have made a name in the English language. All the writers belong to the city and have been quietly engaged in their creative pursuits.

Punita Bawa is a novelist and poet who recently brought out her book “Neeljal ki Sonemachhlian”. She is also trained in music and highly accomplished orator and speaker with a mellifluous voice, much in demand as a compere and host at local events. This morning she recited some poems from her latest collection. Her poetry has a strong feminist streak evident in the themes which revolve around the rights of women and the discriminatory attitude of our society towards the fairer sex. 

Rajwanti Mann, Deputy Director in Haryana Archives, is a researcher and poet. She acquired proficiency in Urdu and now writes in the language. She has recently published her debut collection of poems with the title “Babool ki Chhaanv”.  Coversational in tone, her poetry reaches out to the reader with its directness and sincerity.

Arvinder Kaur teaches in the local Govt. College. She has been writing poetry in Punjabi and in English and can deftly handle long poems as well as short haikus. This morning she spoke of Haikus, giving an introduction to the genre as it originated in Japan.  Arvinder has adapted the Japanese form to local taste and her first book of Punjabi haikus, “Nimolian,” was published earlier this year.

Manjit Tiwana has been writing poetry for the last fifty years and is a well-known name in Punjabi literature. In fact popular opinion rates her close to Amrita Pritam; she is now a leading voice in Punjabi poetry. Although something of a recluse who has spent time away from the local literary scene, she opened up today with the audience and enthusiastically read some of her poems.  In her opinion, kavita is “sanjeevani booti” that keeps her going. Highly symbolic, her themes are personal, dwelling on family relationships, loss, pain and grief.  

Presiding over the morning session was Brajendra Tripathi, well-known editor, critic and poet from the national Sahitya Akaademi, who has represented India at many forums, national as well as international. He complimented the CSA on organizing multi-lingual literary events and was particularly pleased with the response of the audience to the poetic renderings of the day. Tripathi read some of his own poems which touched upon several emotional issues, raising questions like “What is home?” Is home something abstract  or concrete? How does one define home? Is it an institution? Whatever it may be, home is a concept that cannot be defined; its meaning is not found in dictionaries and encyclopedias.

In the post-lunch session there were three more writers of the tricity and the session was chaired by Nirupama Dutt. 

Neelkamal Puri teaches in Govt. College for Girls, Sector 11. A very popular teacher, she is also into creative writing and has the distinction of being one of the leading Chandigarh residents capable of using the English language with ease and felicity. Her first book was Patiala Quartet, a city where she spent many years and to which she is emotionally attached. Her second novel, Remember to Forget, is set in Ludhiana, the city where she was born. In Puri’s novels the city is not simply a place but a character that has a major role to play in the story. She spoke at length about the beliefs underlying her writing and read excerpts from both her books. The audience was particularly moved by her passages on the infamous practice of female infanticide prevalent in the Punjab.

Rajbir Deswal is a cop-poet. A senior IPS officer, his love for literature is well-known and he is often in the news for the poetry he has published.  He writes in English and also in Hindi and Urdu (in Devnagari script). This afternoon he discusses his themes and read his poems before an interested audience. His Urdu poetry, in particularly, was greatly appreciated. From an earlier collection, “My Own Khajurahu,” he recited some pieces, explaining the nuances of the symbols used. A poem with the title “His Master’s Choice” was appreciated for its wit and subtlety.

Anuradha Bhattacharya is a young upcoming poet who has published two slim collections of poems. She teaches in Govt. College and has a passion for English. The poems she read this afternoon spoke of experiences that have touched her life. There is a certain innocence about her work, a freshness that speaks of her talent and holds promise for the future.

Nirupama Dutt, editor, critic and poet, who writes with fluency in English as well as Punjabi, presided over the session, concluding with a couple of poems recited before a highly appreciative e audience.  She had a word of praise for the speakers and for the platform that CSA provides to the burgeoning literary talent of the city.

Thanking the audience, Manju Jaidka, Chairperson of CSA, announced that the next CSA event would be held on 11^th January and then on 8-9 February 2014. Announcements will be made over Facebook and Blog. Photographs of today’s event will be posted on these sites.

CSA

CSA at the Book fair on 17th Nov

CSA at the Book fair on 17th Nov.

The main hall at the Chandigarh Book Fair was once again the hub of literary activity which commenced early in the morning and continued all day. Most of the activities were hosted by the Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi, beginning with book launches and author interactions.

It seems as though the residents of Chandigarh are becoming more and more creative day by day, judging from the number of books being published in the city. There are established writers coming up with new titles and also emerging new voices joining the literary chorus.

Pam Handa, who has moved to Chandigarh recently, launched her book of poems in English: "Kismet and Karma".  Subhash Sharma has translated Madhav Kaushik's Hindi poems into Punjabi and published them as "Parat aao Paarth".  Anant Sharma has published Hindi poems under title "Kabhi Khatam nahi hoti Kavita."  These titles, among others were released at the Book Fair this morning. Charandeep Singh and Ekum Manuk brought out their debut books. The Ahmadiya Society came up with a book on world peace.

The special guest of the day, poet and journalist Parminderjeet Singh released all these titles and then engaged the audience in a discussion of poetry, reciting some of his moving poems to an appreciative gathering. It was indeed another busy day of the CSA but everyone in the packed hall seemed to enjoy the sessions.

In the evening there was an interactive session with the very young and successful writer Sachin Garg who belongs to the rapidly burgeoning tribe of talented MBA graduates who combine their literary talent with marketing strategies. Sachin has published several bestsellers till date and is now a full-time writer. Engaged in a lively conversation with Meenu Gupta, he talked about the ideas that trigger his imagination, the need to be disciplined in one's writing habits, as also his passion for travelling and his love for people. 

Sachin came across as a very amiable young man with starry dreams in his eyes and a confidence to see his dreams turn into reality. Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi wishes him luck in his future enterprises.

The evening session marked the last of CSA events at the Book Fair. The Valedictory function will be held tomorrow and then it will be curtains on the event that has caused a giant ripple in this City Beautiful!

Thank you, UT Administration & NBT, for providing this delightful treat to all book lovers!

Photographs taken today are being posted on CSA Facebook.

November 16 at the Book Fair

At the Book Fair today the Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi was busy indeed, first with book launches, then with an author-interaction, and finally with a kavi sammelan.

Among the local authors whose books were launched was a fifteen year old girl from Bhavan Vidyalaya. Ishita Aggarwal has penned a novel entitled Lieability in which the main protagonist is a  high school girl from the eighth class who has the uncanny ability to detect lies! Ishita spoke about her book and her love for writing and her talk was much appreciated particularly by the youngsters in the audience.

A Banker who Writes:

Ravi Subramaniam hails from the south but he considers himself a punjabi. "I am a Punjoo at heart," he says, "having lived in Ludhiana for 17 of his formative years.

An IIM Bangalore graduate who became a best-selling author with his If God Was a Banker, Ravi is serious about his creative writing although he says he will never give up his regular job for the sake of novels. His inside information of the banking system, gathered over almost two decades of his career, gave him the raw material for his books. Although he is steeped in non-literary subjects like banking and economy, he uses his background as a framework against which he builds his stories.

Ravi writes thrillers which sell like hot cakes because they portray men and women who are not super-human beings but ordinary creatures that his readers can identify with. 

His latest book is Bankerupt, again on similar lines and Ravi is happy with its sales.

Not only did Ravi talk about his novels, he also spoke of the art of writing, the techniques he follows, and the need for pushing the sales of a book. Writing, he feels, is the easiest part of being a novelist. The major challenge lies in pushing the sales and many a good book suffers because it is not marketed properly.

The audience appreciated the author's candid talk and his account of the discipline and regularity he had to practice in order to produce his novels.  Of particular interest to all was the fact that Ravi Subramaniam's father was also a writer and his daughter had published her first novel last year at the age of thirteen. So much for the literary leanings in the family!

The grand finale of the evening was a Kavi Sammelan in which several poets participated, reciting their poems in Hindi and in Punjabi. Among those who recited their poems were Laaj Pushp, Kumar Vinod, Gyan P Vivek, Virendra Madhur, Dr Mukta, Sharanjit Kaur, and Janak Raj. 

Tomorrow the Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi will hold book launches and author interactions in the morning. In the evening there ill be a discussion with writers Nitika Singh and Sachin Garg.

Stories from the Kitchen

Day 3 at the Book Fair

So this was Tara Deshpande, the lady with the dimpled cheek and the winsome smile, with a bagful of stories gathered from the kitchen space. Stories with the flavour of cinnamon and pepper, and cloves and garlic.

At the Chandigarh Book Fair this evening the star attraction was Tara Deshpande who opened for the Chandigarh audience a totally new take on literature.  Whereas the Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi has encouraged its speakers to explore the various dimensions of literature and its multifarious connections with diverse fields like music and art and painting and cinema, this evening a totally novel perspective was unravelled before the packed hall at the Book Fair: cuisine and creativity!

Tara Deshpande has donned many hats in her career: as a stage artist, as an actress, writer, former model and MTV VJ. She has appeared in several acclaimed films such as Sudhir Mishra's Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin and Kaizad Gustad's Bombay Boys. She played Begum Sumroo in Alyque Padamsee's play of the same name. Since her marriage to an American citizen and moved to Boston in 2001, she has shuttled betweeen Bombay and Boston where she has been running a catering agency. Her husband, a graduate of Harvard Business School, is in finance. Tara published her first book, Fifty and Done (Harper Collins) at the age of 23. Her latest book A Sense for Spice: Recipes and Stories from a Konkan Kitchen (Westland Publishers 2012) has become a best seller.

In an animated conversation with CSA Chairperson, Manju Jaidka, Tara explored the relationship between food on the one hand and folk-lore, myth, history and culture, she spoke at length on how cuisine can be a bridge of understanding between peoples and how food and literature are inextricably intertwined.

A fascinating talk indeed, on a subject the is of interest to one and all, it was attended by a number of dignitaries and their wives. Mrs Ninette Sharma, wife of the Adviser to the Administrator, was present in the audience and felicitated the speaker.

Bhaag, Milka, Bhaag!

Chandigarh Book Fair 2013

This was soon after the inauguration of the Book Fair by His Excellency, the Governor, Shri Shivraj Patil.

The especially erected main hall of the exhibition was packed to capacity. From a distance you could hear the din. The heaving crowd within the tent roared, almost as though it were baying for someone's blood. From time to time there were catcalls and hoots and whistles.

But if you mustered up enough courage and approached the tent you would see that the noise did not emanate from anger or any other negative emotion. The young and the old packed like sardines were full of enthusiasm. Their excitement was almost palpable. They were waiting for their celebrity, Milkha Singh, the Flying Sikh.

And they waited! Waited patiently for the legendary hero.

Milkha Singh came slightly late. But he dashed in and almost dashed out. It almost felt as though he were running a 400 metre race, teasing his captive audience, cocking a snook and challenging them with a "catch me if you can!"

In the very precious half hour that the Flying Sikh spent with the tumultuous crowd he told them about his achievements and the lessons he had learnt in life. He exhorted them to work hard, not to cut corners, and keep on persevering until they reach their goal.

Apart from his bio-pic, "Bhaag, Milkha, Bhaag," the sportsman of yesteryears has penned an autobiography with the help of his daughter. It is entitled "The Race of my Life". Published this year by Rupa, it is an inspirational account of the ups and downs of his life, the courage and fortitude with which he overcame obstacles, and the hard lessons he learnt.

The crowd sat spell-bound and listened. But when Milkha Singh wanted to leave they all rushed on to the stage and mobbed him. The Flying Sikh had to do a disappearing trick and was whisked away deftly by the very efficient security guards provided by the UT Administration.

All in all a great start to a long-awaited Book Fair.

AKADEMI AT THE CHANDIGARH BOOK FAIR 2013

Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi will be very busy at the upcoming Chandigarh Bookfair to be held at the
Parade Ground, Sector 17, from 13th to 17th November. 

Take a look at what we are doing:

Nov 13: Ru-ba-ru with Sh Milkha Singh at 6pm

Nov 14: Childrens' Day Celebration at 11 am to 1 pm

Nov 15: Interaction with Sh Surjit Patar at 6pm

Nov. 16: Meet the author, Ravi Subramaniam, at 5 pm
              Kavi Darbar at 6 pm

Nov. 17: Book Launches and Author interactions from 11 am to 1 pm
             Meet the Writers: Nitika Singh and Sachin Garg from 6 to 7pm

Voices from the City

VOICES FROM THE CITY: A GATHERING OF POETS

Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi organized “Voices from the City”, a multi-textured poetry session with twenty local poets reciting their choicest poems in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. While in the recent past the CSA has been holding major events in which speakers from outside dominated, today’s session was solely dedicated to the talent of the City Beautiful. Established poets as well as budding writers vied with each other, holding the attention of the audience with their verses. Their enthusiasm was evident in the gusto with which they read their poems.

Those who held the platform this evening included the following (in alphabetical order):

Amandeep Singh

Amarjit Amar

Balbir Tanha

BD Kalia Hamdum

Chander Trikha

Gurdeep Gul

Kedarnath Kedar

Manjit Indra

Mrs Pannu

Nirmal Dutt

Santosh Dhiman

Shams Tabrizi

Shashi Prabha

Sultan Anjum

Sushil Hasrat Narelvi

Taaran Gujral

TN Raaz

Urmil Sakhi

Vibha Ray

Yojana Rawat

The session began with the debut poet, Amandeep Singh, presented a poem that drew comparisons between the West and the East, between America and Punjab, focusing on the changed lifestyles of the people in contemporary time, lamenting the loss of values and traditions. Sushil Hasrat’s poem on “Beti”, focusing on the various roles donned by a woman, was greatly appreciated. Highly topical, it spoke of the rising crimes against women and the need for social awareness and reform. Veteran poet, Balbir Tanha’s verses, “Dil main chahat ke chiragon ko halye rakhiye… laut aayengey, musafir hain safar pe nikley…”  “unki yaado ko seeney se lagaaey rakhiye” won a lot of applause.

Amarjit Amar displayed subtle humour and self-directed irony in his poems while Urmil Sakhi, in a gentle, mellifluous voice, rendered a sensitive poem of love, loneliness and loss couple with patriotism and sacrifice for the nation. “Madari ban woh mere Bandar man ko nachaata hai...” “Sakhi who aayega ik din laut kar… “

Vibha Ray, in a sequence of minaiture poems, painted different colours of life, including women’s issues like “Arre o aadmi nazar zara jhuka ke rakh teri is mehfil main aurat mahfooz nahi.” Shashi Prabha, too read short haiku style poems.

Yojana Rawat’a verses spoke of relationships in the lap of nature, with rivers and mountains representing human emotions and bonding. “Rang toh hamesha hi hotey hain hamarey andar” began one of her poems, evoking the colours of Holi and then went on to show how these colours may be  destroyed by political violence.

Santosh Dhiman sang a longish poem on “Betiyan” which was appreciated by the audience even though the lights went off and the hall was plunged in darkness. The session was temporarily disrupted by a sudden storm that blew out the lights and caused a temporary suspension of poetry but the veteran hasya-kavi, TN Raaz, soon brought the show back on the rails with his humorous poems, one of them lamenting the time when “Ek alhad si haseena humko baba keh gayi.” Although advanced in years, the resounding applause TN Raaz received proved that old is indeed gold.

Among the women poets it was Taaran Gujral who stole the show, reciting her poems on childhood. She sings her poems and her composition “Matthe na lage ilzaam” was greatly appreciated as she crooned in a voice mature and controlled. Gurdeep Gul, another seasoned poet, recited deftly crafted couplets with ease and felicity.

 Kedarnath Kedar’s topic was the atrocities perpetrated on women, referring to ageing money-laden sheikhs from the Middle-East who marry adolescent girls young enough to be their grand-daughters. Kedarnath writes in Punjabi and recites in a compelling, forceful manner, effectively jolting the conscience of society. Birendra Kaur Pannu, who writes in Hindi as well as Punjabi, sang a dirge lamenting the loss of a loved one. Manjit Indira’s poem captured with nostalgia the lost ambience of “Babul da Vehra” and the blessings of Ammi in a bygone childhood.

Shamz Tabrezi, the Urdu poet, insisted that one needs to be destroyed by love in order to be a good poet. “tu agar ishk main barbaad nahi ho sakta toh achcha shayar bhi nahi ho sakta.” Seriousness and levity were intricately woven into his verse. Sultan Anujm, another senior poet who writes in Urdu, recited his poems weighed down with ideas in a slow, sonorous, deliberate style: “Jinke chalney se kaampey gulaabon ke dil, gulshanon ko khuda woh hawayen na de.”

Nirmal Dutt, writes in Punjab; he, presented his compositions in a sophisticated, restrained manner, “katra katra, hauka, hauka,” liberally sprinkling his poems with titli te jugnu (butterflies and fireflies).

“Kalam se khoon kya tapka nahi hai / gazal ka rang kya nikhra nahi hai / sare bazaar isko na uchhalo / hamara dil koi sikka nahi hai,” said BD Kalia, Humdum, who is equally skilled in Hindi and Urdu.

Chander Trikha brought the session to a grand finale with his couplets. “Aadhey sach ki aadat chhod aur peed parai likh” was his advice. Write for others, write with a purpose, was his parting advice to all.

In this evening’s session there was rhyme, rhythm, blank verse; there were ghazals and couplets; there was love, romance, emotion, anger and much more reflected in the poetry. Besides these poets there were many others who expressed their keenness to present their poems. In the dark interlude when the lights went off, a couple of senior citizens willingly came to the rescue and held forth with extempore recitation of poems.

Manju Jaidka, the Chairperson of CSA, announced that a similar event would be held in the last week of October to accommodate poets who did not get a platform this evening and for those who write in English.

The event was ably conducted by Shri Madhav Kaushik, himself an accomplished poet. Although the rain had tried to play spoilsport, it was nevertheless a successful evening and the audience felt enriched by the variety and range of poems presented.

 Manju Jaidka

Chairperson, CSA