32. Umberto Eco 57 33. Bitacora (2015-2016

Co-curricular life at the Department of English (2015-2016)

The Departmental Literary Society organizes activities through the year so that students’ co-curricular exposure enhances their curricular development and faculty hearts and minds are enriched in the process too.

September 2015

Lit.Soc.’s participation in KATHA’s brainstorming session on the “Translating India Project” introduced students to the formal mechanics of translation as academic activity. Student inspiration from the activity is visible in our first year student’s realization of a translation into English (perhaps for the first ever time) of the Naga folktale published in this issue. Our attempt at celebrating the enriching, alternate, multilingual realities of our nation. One small step.

October 2015

• In collaboration with Upstage, the Dramatics Society of Gargi College, Lit.Soc. organized a staging of Ismat Chughtai’s “Bichoo Phupi” an Urdu play produced by Vikram Singh Thakur.

• Lit.Soc. also organized a Poetry Reading and Interactive session with acclaimed poet Sudeep Sen.

February 2016

Faculty member Aditya Mohan Bahl conducted a creative writing workshop for students of the Department of English and for students enrolled with Quilluminati, the creative writing society of the college.

March 2016

Lit.Soc. organized Literati, its Annual Literary Festival with this year’s theme being ‘(Re) Imagining the ‘Literary’: The Aesthetics and Politics of Folktales’ inviting explorations of the various lives of the folktale, including its cultural histories across the pan-Indian canvas and how one might benefit from a more direct consideration of the folk tale form when combined with the permanence of the modern media of writing, film or television. Folk artists who were invited showcased and sold their craft work.

Dr. Shashi Tyagi, Principal, Gargi College declared the fest open This was followed by a panel discussion chaired by, Assistant Professor, Gargi College. The panelists included Dr. Gitanjali Chawla, Dr. Sangeeta Dutta, Mr. Shonkhajeet De and Ms. Arunima Das. Convenor of Bitacora, Nzanmongi Jasmine Patton chaired the session and also announced the publication of the first edition of the literary magazine of the Department of English. Hope you all enjoy reading Bitacora as much as we’ve enjoyed working on its first edition. That’s a bitacora entry on Bitacora in Bitacora. Is that right?

April 2016 Lit Soc organized a lecture by Craig Brandist (Director, Bakhtin Centre, University of Sheffield, UK) on how to develop theoretical paradigms for the study of the novel using the work of Mikhail Bakhtin.