Mr. Saroj Kumar Mahananda is the Advisor of the English Literary Association of Jamia Millia Islamia. On his shoulders he carries the biggest portion of responsibilities to make TPF a name which future generations reckon by. In the course of festival preparations, Mr. Mahananda was the one who gave the students his guidance, material support and thoughtful inputs, which have greatly aided the background work behind each event of TPF. Ragini Tewari sought a few moments from the super busy schedule of Mr. Mahananda, to know from him, what is it that actually goes into organizing a literary carnival on such a grand scale.
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| Mr. Saroj Kumar Mahananda, posing with his team, at a rare moment when he could take break from his unending work |
Q: What do you have to say about the preparations,this being the
last week?
A: The students are doing a good
job. A lot of preparations has been done. My concern is the dramatization competition where I have not seen any field work up till now. I hope the script
writing stage is through, I am looking forward to a final rehearsal now.
Q: Which is the particular event you
are most interested in?
A:well all the events are quite fascinating, I am particularly looking forward
to the dramatics, graffiti being
next, perhaps then the film screening and then the rest.
Q: Who do you think is working more, event heads or C R's?
A: The event heads are definitely working very hard,whereas the C R's
definitely need to gear up,and get into some
real work.
Q:on a scale of ten how will you rate the present progress?
A: I will give it a five on ten.
Q: What is the number of students you expect will be attending the fest?
A: Overall I expect a minimum of 2000 people to come for the fest. We will be
having students from Delhi university, Amity university, Bhartiya
Vidyapeeth, Hamdard university etc., participating, so a good number is expected.
Q: Have you received substantial co-operation from the students?
A: Definitely. A lot of co-operation has come from the first year. M. A. of course is working. From B. A. second and
third year work has not been up to the mark but students individually are working hard and are
devoted.
Q: On a lighter note,most of the students are interested in knowing whether
there will be food for the volunteers or any other perks.
A: Well, we have thought of coupons for food for the volunteers. We are
working on this presently.The jury will also be taken good care of. For the volunteers there are going
to be t-shirts and certificates.
Q: How excited are you about this event?
A: There are lots of expectations. The guests have to be taken good care of
and the event has to match up to all expectations. I am excited about how our students
will perform and I really wish they bag prizes. I am really hoping and wishing
for this.
Q: Who is your favourite - Dickens or Manto?
A: Both equally are.
Q: One important step you think needs to be taken at present to ensure smooth
running of the festival?
A: Well, everything is being taken care of. Dramatics is one of my concerns. The
students should come forward fully geared up now.
Q: Your message for the festival?
A: Our aim is to revive interest in Manto. This year we are celebrating
his genius so we have the opportunity to revive lost interest and do away
with the notions of obscenity which we very easily attach with his work. It is
the occasion of Manto's centenary and let us also focus on subcontinental
literature. Dickens is obviously a celebrity figure and it becomes clear why we
have placed Manto next to him. Manto has never
been convicted and he is a humanist and also a canonical writer. So
what we are missing out, we hope to achieve through this festival. This is also my
message to the students.
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