Creative Writing Workshop – When the veterans met the budding talent!

Pulwama: A creative writing workshop, organized by Koshur Qalam in collaboration with Government Degree College (Boys) Pulwama on Tuesday was one such event where the veteran writers met the budding talent!

Koshur Qalam, one of the most reputed writing forums in the valley of Kashmir, has been striving to promote creative writings among youth. “This creative writing workshop was a step towards facilitating a platform for the aspiring writers,” Badee Uz Zaman, Administrator of Koshur Qalam said.

Welcome Address by Principal GDC Pulwama, Dr. Bashir Ahmad Mir set the things up for the inaugural session. Later, Keynote Address by Professor Gh Mohi-ud-Din (HOD English), Introductory Remarks by Ummer Wani & Concluding Remarks by Jon Mohammad (Coordinator Workshop; Assistant Professor – English) added to the literary atmosphere.

The innovative workshop was attended by guest writers comprising Tooba Rasheed – Author, Novelist, Nighat Sahiba – Poet, Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar winner and Mushtaq Barque – veteran Poet, Writer who made participants aware of various facets of the art of writing.

The guests shared their experiences with the participants and also apprised them about various things that make up a good writer.

Nighat Sahiba contested the narrative that Kashmiri language is losing its prominence among the youth. She also read out a Kashmiri poem written by her which was highly praised by the participants.

The author of Zerafa, Tooba Rasheed shared her views on creative writing. She also revealed that she is going to resume writing to complete one of her books about the conflict in Kashmir.

In his talk, Mushtaq Barque impressed upon the young writers to innovate and ‘break the rules’ so as to become dynamic writers. He also helped the budding writers to get an insight into different techniques of writing.

The event saw the college Principal Dr. Bashir Ahmad Mir present the foreword of Dueh (Smoke), an award winning book, in a mesmerizing use of Kashmiri language.

A healthy discussion also took place during the workshop as the participants tried to get answers for their intriguing queries in presence of the guest writers.

Around 50 participants including the college staff participated in the workshop which lasted for the whole day.

Speaking during the last session of the workshop, Principal Dr. Bashir Ahmad Mir said that organizing such workshops helps youth to get in touch with the professional writers and artists and helps them improve their art.

He said the college strives to identify and promote budding and talented writers. He further said the college would organize more such workshops to explore the hidden talent of the youth.

Later, the college Principal along with the guest writers distributed certificates and momentoes to the participants and encouraged them to participate in such creative workshops.

Vote of Thanks was proposed by Professor Mudasir Altaf, Assistant Professor – English in which he thanked the organizers as well as speakers / participants for their presence and sharing their experiences and opinions.

“Ignited Minds Academy, Kathi Junction Pulwama, Art City Advertisers & Geeks Institute Pulwama as sponsors played a key role in making this event a reality,” said one of the organizers.

The event is the first of its kind in Pulwama which has been hit badly by the conflict in Kashmir. Initiatives like these certainly contribute towards building a better future by promoting expression of ideas and thoughts in a creative way!