Kolkata is often described as a city of book lovers; and true to this description, Oxford Bookstore saw the presence of a number of book lovers on 5th March, a Sunday evening to welcome and usher in debut poet, Ayushman Jamwal- who released his book Chameleon Lights, to the world of literature. Ayushman is the Senior News Editor at CNN-News 18, apart from being a writer. He is currently based in New Delhi with his family and dog, Leo.
The launch of the book was supported by the Kunwar Viyogi Memorial Trust which was started in the name of Mr Jamwal’s grandfather, Late Group Captain Randhir Singh who was also a renowned Dogri writer and Sahitya Akademi Awardee. It is a trust which supports art and culture and especially promotes them in the field of Dogri language, a language spoken in Jammu. “We have decided to curate Kunwar Viyogi’s work and also find innovative ways to take it to the public through dance, drama and music. In this whole pursuit we realised that the best way to showcase art is to encourage young people to appreciate art or if they have talent to give them a platform.”, said Poonam Singh Jamwal, Founder and Vice chairperson of the trust. You can browse more information about the trust at: http://www.kvmtrust.com/trust
The event was divided into three sessions moderated by Mr. Debashish Mandal. It started with a series of questions by the moderator which brought the audience closer to the poet, followed by a Q/A session and the event was concluded by a mesmerizing musical poetry session by Surjo Bhattacharjee and Ayushman, himself.
The evening saw some really interesting discussions. From the poet talking about how he did not like his boarding school days to the fact that the chaotic newsroom often gave him the motivation to pen down his poems; were all interesting insights to him. He then went on to read two of his poems. Interestingly, during the Q/A session the dialogue turned towards topics like the freedom of speech and expression, the influence of Social Media in promoting his works; to his inspirations and even to the fact that he would like to be remembered as a Journalist (with conditions applied). He hinted that his next book would be a novel and he is already progressing with it.
The event ended with a musical adaptation of Ayushman’s poems performed by Surjo Bhattacharjee. One could not have asked for an apt closure to this wonderful evening. Chameleon Lights is indeed an interesting book where the poet explores a variety of themes and is sure to win the hearts of many.
by Subhadrika Sen 