Amber Habshi

The Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi today held a play reading at the CSA Auditorium in Sector 34.

Dr Narendra Mohan, has been a professor of Hindi and is a well-known name in literary circles. He read from his new play, “Amber Habshi” to a select gathering of literature and theatre lovers. He has published several plays which have been translated into different languages and performed to great acclaim. Dr Mohan's reading was in tandem with the theatre thespian Prof Harish Bhatia who also read portions of the play.

The eponymous hero of the play, Malik Amber, was a historical figure born in Ethiopia, sold into slavery in Baghdad. His master, Mir Qasim brought him to Ahmednagar. Later Amber rose to the post of the Prime Minister of the Deccan Empire under Ahmed Shahi and fought against the Moghuls. He was secular in his outlook and considered himself a staunch Indian.

Madhav Kaushik, Secretary of the CSA compered the event. The Chairperson, Manju Jaidka, also addressed the gqathering and expressed her appreciation of the playwright. Further, she announced that a major CSA event is round the corner. On the 7^th and 8^th of May CSA will hold a “Summer Bonanza” in which several noted litterateurs will participate. Details will be posted on CSA's Facebook and Blog.

April 9, 2011. Goshti

The Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi today held its monthly Goshti at its Mini-Auditorium in Sector 34. Altogether 19 poets, young and old, participated in the event which brought together several literature enthusiasts. Some of the participants in the Goshti were debut poets who came to the stage for the first time while others were veterans in the field.

Diljit Singh Kaiffy's book comprising paintings and poetry, entitled "Poornima" was released by Dr Atamjit who praised the young artist-poet's endeavor. Other poets whose poems were highly appreciated included Puneeta Bawa, Narinder Thakur, Anil Kumar, Geetanjali Bhagat, Reena Talwar and Aradhika Sharma.

Today's event was tri-lingual. It was part of the Akademi's venture to promote literature in the city, to bring people back to the love of the book, and to encourage a bonhomie amongst the established and emerging writers of Chandigarh who usually tend to work in isolation. These events have become popular of late and several participants flock to the city from other places to attend CSA's events. This evening one of the participants, Vivek Sachdeva, had come from Delhi especially to take part in the Goshti.

The next event of the CSA s a play-reading by Narendra Mohan on 16th April, again at the CSA's Audtorium. The title of the play is "Ambar Habshi" and the reading will begin at 4pm.

Thereafter, on 7th and 8th of May, a bigger event, the "Summer Bonanza" will be held at the UT Guest House. It will bring together several noted personalities, poets and writers, including
Deepti Naval and Manju Kapur. Further details will be circulated on CSA's Facebook and Blog.

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