Use tech to promote language, literature: Patar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 21

The Punjab Arts Council, in collaboration with Ekam Literary Forum, organised a poetry session at the Khalsa College. The session was presided by Padam Shree-awardee Surjit Patar, among other prominent names of Punjabi literature. The event started with over 20 eminent poets sharing the stage to render their compositions. The poetry session saw participation from poets of English, Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi,  from across the state. 

The focus of the discussion was largely on the importance of preserving the language. “Bhasha or language, be it any regional or national language, or even a dialect, is an intangible heritage. It needs to be acknowledged and preserved and passed from one generation to other without much dilution. With globalisation and digitalisation, the world might have found a common language. But we should also use these tools of communication to identify the areas that push for promotion and preservation of local dialects and regional languages, rather than use digitalisation as a tool against these,” said Patar in his address. 

Laying stress on the importance of literature in moulding the intellectual growth of a generation, writer and scholar Lakhwinder Johal said literature played a constructive role in student’s life and it should be developed as such. 

Patar also shared his memories of days at Khalsa College and his early beginnings as a young poet. “I used to attend a lot of mushairas as a student here. Our ideology and writing skills were honed by listening to the celebrated poets and understanding their ideas. Today, when I go for such poetry session, I wish that students listen to us with the same zeal,” said Patar, who is the chairperson of the Punjab Arts Council. 

Some prominent personalities present were Punjabi poet Jaswant Zafar, Bhagwan Dhillon, Pal Kaur, Raman Sandhu, Narinder Kang, Karnail Shergill from the UK and Ajaib Singh Hundal. Popular Punjabi poet Artinder Sandhu, who is also the editor and publisher of punjabi literary magazine Ekam, said: “It is definitely a need of the hour to host such glorious opportunities to bring together and celebrate the champions of literature. It also provides an oppurtunity to young writers and students to interact and learn from listening.”