Goshti - 28 May 2011

Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi held its monthly Goshti this evening at Panjab University, Sector 14. Ten city writers read their poems in Hindi, Punjabi and English.

Harbans Singh Tasawur's book on Qurratulain Hyder was released by Dr. Darshan Singh, eminent critic and Professor Emeritus, who assessed the contribution of the noted Urdu writer and also spoke at length on the finer aspects of Urdu and Punjabi literature.

Among the younger city poets who made their debut today were Ms Nikha Kumar, Jagtar Singh Deol and vishal Monga. Their poems were greatly appreciated. There were also senior poets who recited their poems.

Monthly goshtis are a regular feature of the CSA's events and they cater especially to the local talent, giving a platform to the young and the old, faciliatating interaction amongst the writers of the city. Today's event was attended by a sizable gathering of literature lovers, several of whom wish to share their work with the audience te next time.

The Chairperson, Prof Manju Jaidka announced that the next such get-together would be held in July. Shri Madhav Kaushik, the Secretary of CSA who has now been appointed the convenor of the hindi board of the National Sahitya Akademi, assisted the Chairperson in making the evening a success.

Summer Bonanza day 2

The Summer Bonanza organized by Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi concluded this afternoon. Although the 'star' speaker of the vent, Deepti Naval the actress, failed to turn up, the remaining sessions were held successfully, much to the satisfaction of the organizers and the audience.

Manju Kapur, the celebrated writer of novels like Difficult Daughters and the recentCustody, held the listeners riveted to a scintillating conversation with the vivacious Aradhika Sharma who quizzed her about her books, her likes and dislikes, and her work habits. Ms Kapur read excerpts from one of her books and explained how her books are committed to women's issues.

A panel discussion on "Literature in a Globalized Context" brought together four eminent writers /scholars in an animated discussion with Madhav Kaushik and Manju Jaidka. Prof Harish Narang, speaking on the subject, drew attention to web literature, thanks to which the total concept of literature in contemporary times

has undergone a change. Prof Alok bhalla joined the discussion with a reference to the need for emerging from provincial chauvinism that gnaws into the vitals of our society. Anirudh Joshi struck a different note and mentioned that there are unignorable pockets of society untouched by computers or by the internet. Atamjit gave examples from Punjabi literature, stressing on the need for translation. All these views were rounded off deftly by the secretary of CSA, Madhav Kaushik.

The session was followed by the Annual Round-Up of the activities of the CSA and saw the release of a illustrated brochure recording the events and landmarks of the year that has ended. Prizes for printed books were given to four city writers who had submitted their books for the competition. Narinder Pal Singh Komal received the prize for Punjabi fiction, Manoj Tiwari for his Hindi novel. The prize for Hindi Poetry went to Rajendra Nishesh, and for Hindi Short Stories to Jaswinder Sharma.

The Round-Up marked the culmination of the year's activities and ended with the audience praising the effort

s of the CSA, appreciating its role in bringing zest to the intellectual life of Chandigarh.

Pictures of the event online:

https://picasaweb.google.com/sahitakad2008/SummerBonanza2?authkey=Gv1sRgCNmI7ozy-5nZZA#

Day 1- Summer Bonanza

Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi is holding a Summer Bonanza at the UT Guest House. Sessions spread over two days include a panel discussion, creativity sessions, meet-the-author events, a commemorative session on Shiv Batalvi to mark his death anniversary, and the annual round-up of the CSA

Today's events began with a session devoted to Shiv Kumar Batalvi. Dr Yograj Angrish, who teaches Punjabi at the Panjab University, spoke on the contribution of the talented poet to Panjabi literature. the session was chaired by Shri CR Maudgil who has headed the Punjabi Sahitya Akademi of Haryana. The audience took an active part in the discussion that followed, with several people reminiscing their personal experiences with Batalvi.

In another session, the Oriya writer, JP Das, who has had an illustrious career and received several notable awards including the Sahitya Akademi Award, spoke of his works -- poetry, plays, fiction and translation -- in conversation with the Academic and critic GK Das.

Vishvjit Singh, who hails from the royal family of Kapurthala and has been a member of the Indian parliament, is also a sensitive writer and has recently published his Hindi poetry, "Kuchh Shabd Kuchh Lakeerein". He was in conversation with Nirupama Dutt in a Face-to-Face session. Raj Chengappa, Editor in Chief of The Tribune, chaired the session.

The final session of the day unfolded creativity and brought together invited and local writers who made brief presentations of their writing. Harish Narang and Alok Bhalla, better known for their critical and academic work, are also skilled translators and creative writers. While Narang read a short story, Bhalla read some powerful poems based on his experience of Jerusalem. Other poets who read their poems in the session included Vijay Kapoor, Roshan Sharma, Gurpreet Kaur, Geetanjali Bhagat, Aradhika Sharma, and Reenu Talwar.

On the second day of the Bonanza, i.e., the 8th of May, the noted writer Manju Kapur will be in conversation with Aradhika Sharma. There will be a panel discussion on Literature in a Globalized Context. This will be followed by the grand finale of the Bonanza, the Annual Round-Up of the CSA's activities in 2010-2011.

Photos of the event: https://picasaweb.google.com/sahitakad2008/SummerBonanza1?authkey=Gv1sRgCMWDv-2Snof6-QE#