Year 2020 started with big bang for the Writers’ Forum Kuwait with the launch of their Multilingual Book “Navratna”. The bright beginning was unfortunately clouded by the dark shadows of the ongoing pandemic resulting in a temporary halt of the Forum’s activities. However, the Forum’s members eventually got accustomed to the newer version of life amidst lockdown and social distancing and conducted their first ever e-meeting on Friday, 24th July 2020, through Zoom Application.
The meeting was attended by enthusiastic members, who were excited about reunion and looked forward to an enthralling evening.
The meeting was convened by Mrs. Nazneen Ali, Gen Secretary of the Forum. Hindi Poetess Dr. (Mrs.) Radhika Guleri Bhardwaj was requested to preside over the meeting while Mrs. Sabiha Bilgrami, an English Poetess was invited as the Chief Guest of the evening.
The meeting started with a small prayer by Mrs. Sabiha Bilgrami for the well-being of everyone. This was followed by a short story by Dr. (Mrs.) Radhika Guleri Bhardwaj. The story, inspired by real life incidence left an impact on everyone present.
This was followed by a mesmerizing session of poetry in which the members recited their beautiful creations. While most of the compositions were a reflection of the unprecedented experience of the current pandemic in the form of Corona Virus, other subjects like love, hope, faith, beauty and nature were also spoken about. The following poets shared their views; Mrs. Nazneen Ali, Mrs. Kavita Sarvesh, Mrs. Kalpana Shah, Mrs. Chayya Athavale, Mrs. Anupama Chaturvedi, Mrs. Priyanka Baranwal, Aamir Diwan, Ameeruddin Ameer, and Sunil Sonsi (Hindi). Mohan Singh (English), Biswa Ranjan (Oriya) and Sabir Omer (Urdu).
In the end, the Chief Guest, Mrs. Sabiha Bilgrami expressed her contentment over the evening and admired the poets in a unique way by weaving the key words of each of the recitations in her message. In her closing presidential comments Dr. (Mrs.) Radhika Guleri Bhardwaj said the meeting has revived and re-energized everyone. She expressed her opinion on each of the individual creations and appreciated the efforts of the poets in bringing out true meaning of life through their poems.
Forum’s member Rajiv Athavale was also present in the meeting. The members missed the presence of the President of the Forum Mrs. Maimuna Chougle and Mrs. Parul Chaturvedi, who could not join due to technical issues.
The meeting concluded in high spirits and with a wish to continue the journey even while maintaining the current social distancing norms.