The Asian Literary Society (ALS) in association with the Journal of Asian Art, Culture and Literature (JAACL) organized Caravan 2021-Bhutan on Sunday.
Caravan 2021-Bhutan is a programme to celebrate the rich heritage of Bhutanese art, culture, and literature.
In light of the present Covid19 scenario, the event was conducted online.
The day-long event began with a welcome note by Manoj Krishnan, founder, Asian Literary Society.
“The chief guest Prof. Thakur S. Powdyel, former minister of education, Royal Government of Bhutan, delivered the inaugural address and highlighted the grandeur of Bhutanese culture,” Shivpriya, administrator, ALS said in a statement.
The guest of honour, Dr. Saamdu Chetri, former joint secretary at the PM’s Office, Bhutan, spoke about ‘Mindfulness and gross national happiness’.
A panel discussion on the rich heritage of Bhutanese art, culture, and literature was also organized at the event.
The discussion was attended by the panellists including Bhutan’s eminent writer Kunzang Choden, Bhutan’s eminent journalist and writer Gopilal Acharya and Chablop Passu, the founder of Bhutan Toilet Organization.
The panellists brought to light various unique aspects of Bhutanese art, culture, and literature.
Former Sikkim Governor Balmiki Prasad Singh and former secretary, ministry of economic affairs (MEA), Dr. Amarendra Khatua also shared their thoughts about Bhutan and reminiscences of their stay in the land of the thunder dragon.
In a scintillating discussion, linguist and ALS administrator Dr. Bishakha Sarma and poet & ALS administrator Anita Chand spoke about various interesting facts about Bhutanese people, languages, dances and festivals.
An exciting segment of Caravan 2021-Bhutan programme was the soulful performances of Bhutanese songs and dances by Prachitha M Bhat, Sangeeta Gupta, Shivpriya, Ugyen Dema Doya, and Pranjali M Bhat.
An online art exhibition on the theme ‘Bhutan’ was also organized by the Society where artworks of Deepika Singh, Ritu Kumari, Navneet Kaur Kohli, Ankurita Khajanchi, Payal Agarwal, Neeti Parti, Pushkar Rastogi, Dr. Aparna Pradhan, Deepti Saxena, Anju Sachdeva, Raina Pal, Aradhana Singh, Priyanka Desai, Dr. Sonam Rastogi, Aditi Narang, Nidhi Mathur, Anita Chand, and Master Vishwanath were displayed.
Many Bhutanese and Indian poets and writers participated in the session on poetry recitation and storytelling.
The participants included Kezang Dawa, Ash Bahadur Subba, Tshering Wangchuk, Tashi Dorji, Bagawath Bhandari, Arun Kumar Gurung, Nari Maya Limbo, Dr. Molly Joseph, Neeti Parti, Dr. Aparna Pradhan, Mandira Ghosh, Shweta, Deepti Saxena, Pema Wangmo, Karma Zam and Khesise Lungma, and Anita Chand.
The programme ended with the felicitation of all the participating writers and artists by Manoj Krishnan and a vote of thanks, the statement said.