Dr Jernail reports the two-day 4^th International Literature Summit and World Poetry Conference organised by Aazaad Foundation and World Literature India at Chandigarh – exclusively for Different Truths.

“He whom the voice of Poesy disdains is a barbarian, be he whom he may” ~ Goethe. 

Literature has always exerted a subduing effect on human passions.  Literature deals with the ‘how’ of things. Men are making history every day, which eventually ends up making the future. A brick we place in making the past also builds the future structure. While history is the active agent of civilisation, literature makes the reflective one. Like an observer, it stands apart from the general run of life and comments on it, and if these suggestions are taken in stride, human civilisations can look for better times. But men are known to be adamant about religious instruction, even if it comes from the scriptures. Human beings, possessed by the present, remain hypnotised by the past, and everywhere they believe the past was great and try to put it before the present like the proverbial placing the cart before the horses. We refuse to recognise where good ends and evil starts. These boundaries stand blurred today.

Before the central issue: the dwindling human values in contemporary times and the role of literature in it, was articulated, the most debated point among the organisers was whether to have it online, offline or both lines. Since the covid times, we have discovered the online mode, which was like crutches to a disabled person. But soon, we started loving these crutches so much that we decided to throw away our legs. Poets were too eager to join but online. We wanted to fight this ‘stay in touch, but never meet’ style of working, which is now the norm rather than the exception. Most poets were tired of online poetic meets and wanted the warmth of breath, shaking hands, hugs, and eye-to-eye smiles to replace the cold-blooded spectacle of online meetings. So, the decision was a rather difficult one. Only offline. A real show. We invited videos from offshore friends, which they readily provided. They were too eager to come online, as the offline expenses were too heavy. Yet the passion of Dr Maja Herman Sekulic proved too much for these monetary issues, who finally joined us on the 5^th evening.  

It had a joy of its own, after a gap of two years, to wait for visiting poets at the airport, carry them to the hotel, and then look after their needs, and finally, keep count of the time slot when they were to move off, and seeing them off. And before they boarded taxis, it was a joy to have shots of togetherness. When can an online camera capture the feelings behind those smiles? The warmth behind the hugs? 

This idea of ethical corrosion of society was subjected to intense exploration at the 4^th International Literature Summit and World Poetry Conference organised by Aazaad Foundation and World Literature India in the busy city centre of Sector 17 at Chandigarh in which around 70 poets and scholars from the length and breadth of India participated. Foreign scholars from Serbia, Egypt, Mexico, Germany, Australia and Jordan also pitched in. 

The poets’ air dropped from various destinations in India and abroad, like Chennai, Hyderabad, Kerala, Assam, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and New Delhi. Rajasthan, Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal were amply represented. Dr Maja Herman Sekulic, the Conference Chair, had travelled from Belgrade. At the same time, the Keynote Speaker, Dr Harish Narang, was the former Chair of the Dept. of English, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi. Poet after poet and scholar after scholar attacked the social systems that promoted living without moral scruples. Twenty-five books by poets and scholars were released; prominent among these were Dr Dalvinder Singh Grewal, five books on Sikh religion, Dr Lalit Mohan Sharma’s ‘There is no Death’, two books by Dr Laksmisree Banerjee, a book by Dr Bina Singh, to mention a few. The Conference proceedings were masterfully orchestrated by Dr Parneet Jaggi, the welcome address by the Chairman, Dr Jernail Singh Anand, and the Vote of Thanks by Dr Manminder Singh Anand, Secretary, Aazaad Foundation. 

It all started with the Conference Chair Dr Maja Herman Sekulic from Serbia, pointing out that most of the so-called best books are just trash, stressing the need for the best literature and not the literature which sells, an idea that Dr Parneet Jaggi stirred, the host and Organising Secretary. In his brief speech, Dr Jernail Singh Anand, President of the Conference and Chairman of the Aazaad Foundation, asserted that the increasing criminalisation of society resulted from pushing literature beyond the margins in upcoming private universities and focusing entirely on research in traditional universities. He added that only literature could fight the moral decay of contemporary society.  In his speech, he also mentioned the great authors of the world. Thad sent their messages on the theme of the Conference, like Dr Bajram Redzepagic [Australia], Dr George Onsy [Egypt], Dr Aprilia Zank [Germany], Dr Nizar Sartawi [Jordan] and Dr Marle Pasini [Mexico].

 Dr Harish Narang, the Keynote Speaker from Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi [former Chair, Dept of English declared that writers write with a purpose, and ethicality rests in their fight to challenge the wrong. Literature is not a product of intuition, it is like a cold-blooded murder, highly calculated, and the writer knows what he is attacking and how it is being done. Dr Lalit Mohan Sharma summed up the Inaugural session. It was presided over by Sh. Bhagirath Choudhary is a senior poet and philosopher from Delhi. Mukul Kumar, a poet and novelist, was the Guest of Honour. 

After the Inaugural Ceremony, there were two sessions, one chaired by Dr Laksmisree Banerjee, former Vice-Chancellor Kalhan University, Jharkhand, and the other by Col. Dr D.S. Cheema from Chandigarh.  On the second day, Dr Bina Singh [Varanasi], Dr Molly Joseph [Kerala], Dr Lalit Mohan Sharma [Dharmsala] and Dr I.D. Singh chaired different sessions. Twenty-five books by scholars, mainly Dr J.S. Anand’s The Ultronic Age and The Real Corporate and Dr Dalvinder Singh Grewal’s five books on Guru Nanak Dev and Sikh philosophy, were released. ‘There is no Death’ by Dr Lalit Mohan Sharma, ‘Pighalte Lamhe’ by Dr Bina Singh, ‘Soul chants’ by Harinder Cheema, ‘Critical Review’ by Dr Manminder Singh Anand, ‘The Magical Nectar by Dr Kiran Preet Grover and ‘Ration for the Soul’ by Ashu Garg and books by a host of other poets were also released.  

Thanksgiving was done by Dr Manminder Singh Anand, Secretary, Aazaad Foundation. Dr Parneet Jaggi, a senior academician from Rajasthan, beautifully and successfully orchestrated the programme. Sargun and Hargun added colour to the proceedings by dancing to popular numbers. Dr Mukesh Grover was, as usual, at his best in ensuring a photo finish for the event.

Vinod Khanna, one of the Guests of Honour, maintained that Chandigarh was fast shedding its image of a concrete city as it was becoming a hot destination for poets and scholars with gatherings like this. The Summit saw versatile authors like Prof Brahm Jagdish Singh, Dr Dalvinder Singh Grewal, Dr D.S. Cheema, and Mukul Kumar express their views. Several personalities from different fields were also honoured, such as Prof. Yash Pal Sharma, former Dean of Academic Affairs, Punjabi University Patiala, Dr Maja Herman Sekulic, Dr Basudeb Chakraborti, Dr Kulbushan Razdaan, Balachandran Nair [Kerala], Dr Molly Joseph and Dr Laksmisree Banerjee and younger authors like Dr Tamali Neogi and Harinder Cheema. 

The two-day Festival of Words concluded on 7^th Nov., with a feeling of “hats off” to the organisers, setting in motion the process of a conference which extends far beyond Chandigarh and beyond those two days which made possible the meeting of minds in ferment, ideas in a stir, and human relationships, bridges across human personalities which will mark their presence in times to come. 

What was the takeaway of the function? It proved to be a great meeting point for mighty minds and a point of reference for the upcoming poets.  The participants expressed a sense of fulfilment at the pleasant ambience of the programme, which they felt was masterfully executed. “We have attended so many conferences, but this conference had a charm of its own” – was the usual refrain from academicians and poets. The Conference succeeded in bringing together scholars from different cultural backgrounds and offered them a common ground to engage in dialogue, share and communicate, and fight moral decadence.  The conference succeeded in setting in motion Operation Re-think and Re-Connect to the sources of eternal wisdom. The Cosmic Anthem, sung at the beginning of the Conference by Greek poet Angeliki Zevgolati had the tagline: 

                        O Lord, make me transparent like glass.
                        And humble like the Grass.

Photos sourced by the author

Dr. Jernail Singh Anand

Dr Jernail Singh Anand is an Honorary Member of the Association of Serbian Writers. He is also an honorary Professor Emeritus in Indian Literature with the European Institute of the Roma Studies and Research, Belgrade (Serbia). Anand has authored more than 150 poetry, fiction, non-fiction, philosophy, and spirituality books. His works have been translated into 20 languages, and his nine epics are considered world classics, including the latest Mahakaal Trilogy.

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