Four Days To Go!

A Sneak Peek Into Day One of TPF

The arrival of October  this year is accompanied by a strange buzz in the air. No, it is not just the joyous arrival of comparatively cooler weather (yaay!)  but the buzz seems to stem specifically from the campus of Jamia Millia Islamia. Come 15th of October and Jamia will be celebrating  the Bi-Centenary year of Charles Dickens and the Centenary of Sa'adat Hassan Manto in the form of a three day long festival . The preparations for the festival are in full swing and the excitement which has gripped the campus is distinctly palpable In TPF,  along with scholarly engagements which includes a series of lectures by national and international experts on these two renowned writers, a host of co-circular activities will be held.

 Day 1 has some  very exciting activities lined up. The festival will be kick-started by an inaugural session which will include a lectures on Dickens and Manto. Mr. Najeeb Jung, our dynamic Vice-Chancellor will be the Chief Guest, who will declare the festival open. The keynote speaker for this session will be Prof. Sambuddha Sen, a renowned Dickens expert and the Head, Department of English, University of Delhi. The session will be chaired by Prof. M. Asaduddin, Head, Department of English, JMI. Close on its heel will be presentations which will try to critically engage with many facets of the writers and their work. 

The inaugural ceremony would be followed by the event “Theatre of Dickens-Manto” where students would enact scene/scenes from either Dickens' or Manto’s work. This promises to be exciting as the students would try to dramatize some of the finest work by these writers. The audience can hold their breath for the curtains to open and be prepared to be dazzled by an array of spectacular performances. This competition will be judged by  Dr.  Ameena Kazi Ansari  (Jamia Millia Islamia )and Dr. Baran Farooqui (Jamia Millia Islamia).

The other creative activity on the list is the “Graffiti  Making Competition”. Woven around the Dickensian/Manto theme the participants would be allowed to let their creativity and imagination drench the canvass before them and showcase their artistry. Bansky has been instrumental in making Graffiti a powerful medium of expression. The participants would be expected to do the same and make a powerful symbolic expression through their individual Graffiti’s/paintings. The judges of this event would be Prof. Zahoor Ahmad Zargar, the famed  Kashmiri landscape painter and the Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts, JMI and Prof. M. Asaduddin, Head, Department of English, JMI.

 The last event on the list is Creative Writing Competition .Yes folks! It is definitely the time to let your imagination run free. The session will begun with a pep talk by Mr Amandeep Sandhu, author of  renowned works like “Sepia leaves” and “Roll of Honour”. The Judges of the event will be Dr Nishat Zaidi  (Jamia Millia Islamia ) and Dr. Asmat Jahan ( Jamia Millia  Islamia) .

The first day of the three day long literary festival has a host of activities which will not only provide opportunities to people to express their creativity and imagination but also a chance to interact with different literary personalities.  So come all and everyone. The gates of Jamia Millia Islamia are open to welcome you all.

- Farhain Khan

M. A. Final