- • February 7, 2020
Bhopal Nama
Author Vertul Singh in conactor IrrFan Khan! versation with senior journalist Rakesh Dixit.
The session was presided over by Tino de Sa, an award winning short-story writer.
Bhopalnama captures the uniqueness, and often, the unique quirkiness of Bhopal, not just in its history but also in the everyday hubbub, in the pulsating vigour and liveliness of life.
Vertul Singh is currently posted in a senior position with the Government of India. An avid reader and literary critic, Vertul’s published works include a novel, over 200 articles and book reviews. He has also written popular weekly columns.
• March 5, 2020
The Handmaid’s Tale
Club Literati held a book reading of The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood.
This interactive session was organised in the Department of English of the BSSS, College, Bhopal and was attended by sixty students, along with twelve members of the Club.
The discussion was enriching for everyone present there. It was not only helpful for the students academically, but the session also proved to be enjoyable, owing to the vivacious audience.
• March 8, 2020
Becoming a Woman
Club Literati, with its versatile members, talked about Women – the essence that makes all of them so wonderfully beautiful and strong.
Some of our notable members who shared their views included Udayan Vajpeyi, Mumtaz Khan and Alpana Vajpeyi. Several educationists, home-makers and entrepreneurs also contributed in this discussion.
Two visually impaired young women – Poonam Sharma (an international judo champion) and Vikesh Gurjar(a bank employee) narrated their inspiring Stories.
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Bhopal Shakespeare Fest – Shakespeareana, 2020
The quiz grew exciting by the second as the participants attempted to answer each question in time as less as 35 seconds!
The Globe Theatre, our event for DAY 3, focussed on the infamous Monologues and Soliloquies that are Shakespeare’s unparalleled contribution to the world of literature.
To be or not to be, that is the question!
Although this year’s Shakespeare Fest was virtual, the spirit of the occasion did not change. It was curated observing the present scenario across our world.
Club Literati is humbled to be offering this unique blend of modernity and classicism to Bhopal every year. We congratulate all our winners and look forward to seeing them every year!
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Beginning of the series ‘Filmy Fridays’
In the wake of nationwide lockdown,Club Literati started a series on Film Appreciation, featuring cinema of substance, celebratimg authors and directors, actors and artists.
A Tribute to Irrfan – May 1, 2020
Club members offered a heartfelt tribute to the one-man-army, the legendary actor Irrfan Khan! The film in focus was the highly acclaimed piece, Hindi Medium.
A Tribute to Rishi Kapoor – May 8, 2020
At the passing of our beloved Chintu, Club Literati organised And the Show Goes On, a soulful tribute to Rishi Ji.
Parasite – May 15, 2020
The Academy Award winning masterpiece of social realism was the focus of discussion in the third session of Filmy Fridays.
“A comedy without clowns, a tragedy without villains”, Parasite has been declared as a gasp-inducing masterpiece by critics and viewers alike.
The Bicycle Thief – May 22, 2020
Hailed around the world as one of the greatest movies ever made, the Academy Award-winning Bicycle Thieves, defined an era in cinema. De Sica’s story of a father and son searching for a stolen bicycle on the streets of Rome is a classic of postwar Italian cinema. The film has a deceptively simple story through which it captures a moment in time- a vision of Rome and of Italy in 1948. lt was awarded an Oscar in the special Foreign-Language Film category in 1949.
May 29, 2020 – Lagaan
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) is set in India in 1893, during the British Raj. The film tells the story of a small village whose inhabitants are oppressed by high taxes. The film made its way to the final list of nominations at the 74th Academy Awards.The film also won a total of eight awards at the 49th National Film Festival, including Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
June 5, 2020 – Remembering Charlie Chqplin
Charlie Chaplin was one of the greatest and widely loved silent-movie stars. He was best known for playing the naive and lovable Little Tramp. The Little Tramp, a well meaning man in a raggedy suit with cane, always found himself wobbling into awkward situations and miraculously wobbling away. In The Circus he Tramp finds himself at a circus where he is promptly chased around by the police and the real crook (the latter having stashed a stolen wallet and watch in the Tramp’s pocket to avoid detection). Running away, the Tramp stumbles into the middle of a performance and unknowingly becomes the star of the show. The Tramp falls in love with the circus owner’s step daughter. She is in love with Rex – the tightrope walker. Does the Tramp succeed in winning his love? Club members find out.
June 12, 2020 – A Tribute to Basu Chatterjee
11th July- Padosan
• May 10, 2020
Mothers’ Day
On Mothers’ Day, club members came forward to share their favourite mother characters in literature, Self compositions, personal anecdotes and even filmy mothers were a part of this very heartwarming session.
• June 11, 2020
Burning Cheek
Premiere Screening of the single-act play, Burning Cheek, directed and produced by Roger Jenkins (a singaporean storyteller and the founder of Federation of Asian Storytellers) graced Club Literati. The play was enacted by school-going students from across India.
P.S.– Jenkins had conducted a 4-week online workshop on virtual drama skills with the young members of the club. This play was the outcome of the acting worshop.
• June 20, 2020
Blood Island
Book Discussion×Author Speaks with Deep Haldar, author of ‘Blood Island’.
The session was moderated by Sharbani Banerjee, a media and communications expert.
Blood Island documents oral histories of survivors of the Marichjhapi massacre which took place 40 years ago. The Left Front government had massacred Dalr numbers, this is perhaps the worst genocide in independent India.
Deep Halder has been a journalist for 20 years and an editor for over 10. He is currently an Executive Editor with the India Today Group. Blood Island is his debut book.
• August 1, 2020
Sangeet ka Sawan
A talk about the portrayal of various elements of rain in dance and music with Alpana Vajpeyi, a kathak dancer and Bhuvnesh Komkali, a classical singer.
• August 10, 2020
Where is Radha in Krishna’s story
The panel discussion to learn a new side of this epic love story of Radha Krishna. The moderator of the evening was Tino De Sa with panellists Malashri Lal, Reba Som, Averee Chaurey & Alpana Vajpeyi.
• August 15, 2020
1962 The War That Wasn’t- The definitive account of the clash between India & China
The book discussion with Shiv Kunal Verma, a military historian, Filmmaker & author of the book in conversation with Niharika Naidu.
• August 28, 2020
From Musings to Creation
On the 8th anniversary of Club Literati Family, we celebrated by discussing the art of storytelling and acknowledged the journey of eight years of learning, crossing boundaries, exploring literature and culture; eight years of sharing art and all its forms.
And we brought to you conversations with two Short Story Winners as recognised by the Times of India Group- Tino De Sa and Dr Neelkamal Kapoor.
Bright from his early years, Tino De Sa took degrees at St. Xavier’s College, Bombay and then, as a Mason Fellow, at Harvard University.
He joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1980. His varied assignments included a stint with the United Nations and culminated in his being the longest-serving Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh.
His poems have been included in various anthologies of the Poetry Society of India and Delhi Poetree. He has twice been the first prize winner in the Times of India national short story competitions. One for Sorrow, Two for Joy is his second published collection of short stories, the first being The Disrobing of Draupadi and Other Stories.
Dr Neelkamal Kapoor is a Professor and the Head of the Department of Pathology at AIIMS, Bhopal.
An award-winning Pathologist and cancer educator, Dr Kapoor has authored various books, stories and articles on pathology, healthcare and parenting. Her short story collection, Chuskiyan-Kahaniyon Ki, has been highly appreciated by readers across age groups.
• September 5, 2020
Much Ado About Teaching
A talk on the current role of teachers using technology and fighting back tough times.
We stand at the center of change–of development, of technology. In this hour of remaking, join us as we take a step back from the conventional teachers’ day celebration and talk about what matters.
A panel discussion, Much Ado About Teaching, where members came forward and shared their views and observations on the changing face of schools and higher education.
Teachers, now robots with hearts due to the pandemic, have a job more difficult than ever seen in the profession. Not only do they have to calm the anxiety of their students, but they have to also ensure that the student leaves with an abundance of knowledge. Technology and Teachers, the two driving forces of today’s world, will find a communion through our esteemed members.
The discussion was moderated by Mrs Amrita Motwani, Principal of Navnidh Hassomal Lakhani Public School, Bhopal, focussing on bringing students, parents and teachers together on a common platform to make it easier for them to share their expectations from each other, leading to a healthier and happier learning environment.
• September 13, 2020
‘हिंदी पखवाड़ा’ – ‘कहानीकार और हिंदी’
कविवर श्री उदयन वाजपेई के साथ।
कवि, कथाकार,उपन्यासकार।
कहानी संग्रह- ‘सुदेशना’, ‘दूर देश की गन्ध’, ‘सातवाँ बटन’, रेत किनारे का घर (संकलित कहानियाँ); कविता संग्रह- ‘कुछ वाक्य’, ‘पागल गणितज्ञ की कविताएँ’, ‘केवल कुछ वाक्य’और ‘वह’। परधान चित्रकला पर ‘जनगढ़ कलम’ सहित तीन निबन्ध संग्रह, फिल्मकार मणिकौल के साथ उनके सम्वाद की पुस्तक ‘अभेद आकाश’ सहित अनेक लेखकों, दार्शनिकों, नाट्यनिदेशकों आदि पुस्तकाकार संवाद प्रकाशित। कुमार शहानी की रबीन्द्रनाथ टैगोर के उपन्यास पर आधारित फ़िल्म ‘चार अध्याय’ और ‘विरह भरयो घर आंगन कोने’ में संवाद लेखन। कृतियों के तमिल, बंगाली, मराठी, फ्राँसीसी, पोलिश, बुल्गारियायी, स्वीडिश, अँग्रेजी आदि पन्द्रह भाषाओं में अनुवाद। कृष्ण बलदेव वैद फैलोशिप ,रज़ा फाउण्डेशन पुरस्कार और स्पन्दन पुरस्कार से सम्मानित, नोन्त (फ़्रांस) के उच्च अध्ययन केन्द्र में 2011 में फ़ैलो। सभ्यता ,साहित्य और कला की प्रमुख पत्रिका ‘समास’ के सम्पादक। भोपाल में आवास।
हाल में पहला उपन्यास ‘क़यास’ प्रकाशित।
• September 29, 2020
Nutrition During Covid and Beyond
Webinar on nutritional myths and pondered on the insight into home remedies for covid-19 with Amrita Singh, consultant in nutrition & dietetics, moderated by Sulbha Dixit, the yoga exponent.
• October 4, 2020
Get That Right
‘A Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body’ with a belief in this adage, see you all happy and strong during the Pandemic. After a recent session on the right diet and nutrition, an interaction session with Dr Veena Sinha, Addl Director at the state’s Integrated Disease surveillance program (IDSP) who answered the queries on Corona and gave useful information on how to deal with this situation.
• November 8, 2020
Life in the Army and Beyond
An interactive session with Dr Jailacmi R Vinayak, recipient of the International Women’s Award in 2003. She is a prolific writer, poet, trained classical singer, composer and most significantly an army wife who is dedicated to the welfare of martyrs’ families. She is a doctorate in English Literature and a Sangeet Prabhakar from Prayag. And the moderator of the evening was Jyoti Dixit.