Kulgam, Aug 08: A maiden two-day ‘Veshow Literary Festival’ to promote rich literature, art, culture, heritage and traditions, and deliberate on various aspects of literature, culminated on Tuesday here. The programme was organized by District Administration Kulgam in collaboration with Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.
During this two-day literary festival, multiple functions and literary sessions were held at the mini-secretariat Kulgam.
Giving details of the programme, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kulgam, Dr Bilal Mohi-Ud-Din Bhat said this event was primarily aimed towards promoting and creating awareness about culture, art, heritage and literature among the youth and people in general. He said during the festival, various literary persons and artists from different districts of J&K and outside UT participated in the event. He expressed hope that it will have a successful impact in creating awareness among the public, especially the younger generation.
Till now, we have achieved great success in the areas of development and tourism, and now our focus is on the promotion of art, culture, literature & preservation of rich heritage, Dr Bilal said.
The festival witnessed different sessions including Sessions on Sirsov (Spiritualism in Kashmir Literature), Tsrathaal, Magun (Talent hunt) Sadre, young women authors of Kashmiri, Kathi Manz Kath, Kashmiri Folk Literature, Mushaira, among others.
During the Sirsov (Spiritualism in Kashmir Literature) session, the authors including Dr Maroof Shah, Haroon Rashid, Shahbaz Hakbari, Dr Afaq Aziz, and Dr Javaid Iqbal deliberated on Buddhism, Shaivism, Reshi/Sufi Tradition, Tasawuf, Shivism and on the spiritualism in Kashmir.
During the Tsrathall session, extensive deliberations on language, culture and heritage were held by esteemed speakers including Dr Sohan Lal Koul, Brij Nath Betab, Prof Ratan Lal Talashi and Prof Majrooh Rashid.
A session on the scope of publication and printing business was also held and speakers included Manoj Jha, Bilal Bashir Bhat, Sheikh Aijaz, Sheikh Fayaz, and Vikram Singh who narrated about the business setups, and startups for the youngsters.
The session titled ‘Sadre’ was also held where women authors including Shaisata Shafaq, Nadim Shouqia, Shadab Yasmeen, Shabeena Ara Pathan, Roomez e Baekhudi, Zaira Ashraf, Nighat Sahiba, Pakeeza Heena, and Hamida Shah Akhter participated and literary contribution of women of South Kashmir was elaborated.
During the Digital World & Literature session, Dr Satish Vimal, Dr Shafaqat Altaf, Izhar Mubashir, Mushtaq Ul Haq, and Rameez Makhdoomi highlighted the impact of the digital age on literature.
Sapoot, a session for revisiting the legendary authors of South Kashmir, witnessed the participation of Yusuf Jahangeer, Chowdhary Mohd Shareef Qamer, Rajender Premi, Dr Mehfoosa Jan, Ab Rashid Srashar.
Magun, a talent hunt show, was also organised to provide a platform to youth, students, artists, etc for showcasing their talent in singing, dancing, mimicry who gave scintillating performances for the delight of the mammoth audience.
A Mushaira was also conducted wherein poets Mansoor Banhali, Abdul Rashid Sadiqi, Bashir Zayir, Parvaiz Gulshan, Azam Farooq, Sagar Sarfaraz, Gulzar Tabassum, Dr Showkat Shiafi, Riyaz Anznoo, Ali Shaida, Nasir Munawar, Muzafar Shad, Ali Mohd Bhat, Jahangir Ahmad Jehangir, Shahnawaz Ahmad Bhat, Dr Shaida Hussain Shaida, Mushtaq Mazroob and others participated.
