The English department of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) concluded a two-day national conference on “Indian English poetry: Toru Dutt to Vanavil K Ravi” on Wednesday with a valedictory session conducted in the conference hall of the faculty of social sciences. The conference honoured the contribution of Indian English poets, affirming the expression of Indian sensibility and emphasising the need for India to establish its own canon.
Dr. Zoya Zaidi, a poet who is fluent in both Urdu and English, was the principal guest at the closing ceremony. She spoke on the theme and stated that language is a culture in and of itself, not just a means of communication. She also recited some of her compositions, including “The bees’ announcement” and “Life is a vast ocean with many depths.” She concluded her speech by humming “aiye baithiye,” a self-composed Urdu poem.
Prof. Ameena Kazi Ansari delivered a speech entitled “From the Creative to the Critical: On Evolving a Poetics for Indian English Poetry” in which she highlighted the methods to evaluate Indian English poetry by reading contemporary poetry through its poetics. She also drew attention to the subtheme of Indian experience and identity and discussed how literature is both a mirror and a map, a geography of the psyche.
Prof. Kazi stated, in reference to the use of the term “deshscape” by a Canadian scholar, that the nation, according to eminent critics, is a historical concept that arises from tradition, culture, and ideas. She also discussed the art of translation and how far we’ve come since Raja Rao’s conception of the spirit of Indian writing in English, as well as how our identities have shifted from colonial to postcolonial to neocolonial.
Dr. Sukrita Paul Kumar, an internationally renowned poet, critic, translator, and academic, spoke about “Owing the liminal: Indian English poetry” in her keynote address, emphasising liminality as a fundamental condition for writing Indian poetry in English. As another advantage of liminality between two or more languages, she highlighted the ability to practise multiple cultures.
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