Newai, Tonk. William Shakespeare, the English poet and dramatist, who has become an epitome of drama in world literature, has many things to offer even now. He passed away in 1616 AD but his works have kept him alive till today. His popularity and glory has increased year after year. This is so not just because his plays are highly entertaining but also because they provide a deep insight in human psyche and interpersonal relationships. William Shakespeares place could prove to be a panacea to a bereaved heart and a restless mind.
These observations were made by the chief guest of the XIII International conference of Rajasthan Association for Studies in English organized by Dr. K.N. Modi University University, Newai, Tonk on the 5th of Nov. 2016. A world known critic and author, Prof. P.C.Kar, Director, Forum on Contemporary Theory, Baroda chief guest of the inaugural session, said that literature not only captures the reality of the time reflected in it but also has vision for the future. It transcends time and acquires a universal significance. He said that Shakespeare is not gone, he is present in our times as well.
The guest of honour, Mr. Matthew Kramer, California, USA presented William Shakespeare in a new perspective. He introduced his theoretical foundation of predatory leadership and tried to relate it with the plays of William Shakespeare. He stated that Shakespeare’s writing is framed and infected by predatory leadership. In order to tell a good story, Shakespeare needs to incorporate specific elements: conflict, relevance, believability, tension and, occasionally, fantasy or magic to take the audience beyond the banal reality of their lives. Surviving winners of wars decide what factors legitimize leaders while determining rules and destinies for the losers who become the subordinate population. Pre and Post the Shakespearian era, the dynamics of Predatory Leadership often determined who leaders of nations became. Leaders who had enough power, who had earned or bought the loyalty of their armies tended to have long careers unless they were betrayed by someone close to them. In a dialectical sense, the Predatory Leadership environment affected who became leaders; in turn, those leaders contributed their influence to the Predatory Leadership environment. These factors are valid today as we can see how Shakespeare’s webs of intrigue apply to corporate environments and power struggles between managers and departments in those corporations.
Prof. H.S.Chandalia, Vice President of RASE in his address welcomed the guests and dwelt upon the conference theme. He said that William Shakespeare is available to the audience of 21st century in several forms. The new technology has made it possible to watch enactments of the plays, read Elizbethan, Restoration, Romantic, Victorian and Modern criticism of Shakespearean drama. The cinematic adaptation of Shakespearean plays, comics, translations and contemporary theatrical presentations bring Shakespeare to the contemporary world in several avtars.
Prof. Devendra Pathak, Vice Chancellor of Dr. K.N.Modi University, Newai , in his presidential remarks described the event as a historical one in the annals of the university. He said that even those scholars who are not in the discipline of English Literature are aware of the marvelous plays of William Shakespeare. He shared his own reading of Shakespeares plays and said that as an expert in management he found the plays of Shakespeare immensely helpful in understanding the concepts of management. He said that the professional courses should also have some ingredients of literature and social sciences so that they become socially conscious technocrats, not just machines.
Prof. Sunil Bhargava, General Secretary of RASE presented the annual report of the conference. He said that the Association has successfully organized thirteen conferences in thirteen years without a break.
Felicitation
The Association has a tradition of felicitating writers, poets, artists and eminent professors in its conferences. This year Prof. P.C.Kar was felicitated for his outstanding contribution to the world of letters and critical thought. He was offered a shawl, a citation and a memento by the guests.
It is a tradition of the Association to felicitate the organizing secretary of the last conference in the current conference. Prof. Supriya Agarwal, Prof. and Head, Department of English, Central University of Rajasthan, Kishangarh, who was the organizing secretary of the XII conference was felicitated with a shawl and a memento by the guests.
Releases
In the inaugural function the souvenir of the conference edited by Saikat Bannerjee was released. In addition to it the Journal of the Association edited by Prof. Supriya Agarwal, a book written by Dr. Manoj Kumar titled Exploring Folk Literature and another book written by Dr. Mehzbeen Sadriwala and Dr. Pankaj Vyas titled English Language Teaching in India : Problems and Innovations were released.
Plenary Sessions
Two plenary sessions were held in the conference. On 5th Nov. Dr. Lata Mishra, Editor of the Journal Labyrinth from Gwalior, M.P. delivered the plenary address. This session was chaired by Prof. Sudha Rai, Professor and Head, Department of English, Manipal University, Jaipur. The second plenary address was delivered by Prof. N.K.Jain, Dean, Faculty of Humanities , IIGS University, Jaipur. This session was chaired by Prof. P.C.Kar.
Technical Sessions
In all fourteen technical sessions were held in which fifty nine delegates from all over the country presented their research papers. The delegates came from Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamilnadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. The scholars made some theatrical presentations also.
Creative writing session: Interface with creative writers
A session on creative writing was organized in the evening of the 5th Nov. In this session story writers Aditya Ganguli from Kolkata, K.V. Raghupati, poet and story writer from Tamilnadu, story writers Saikat Bannerjee and Ms. Lopamudra Bannerjee interacted with the audience and talked about their creative processes. They read out their poems and parts of their stories as well. This session was chaired by poet and short story writer Prof. Hemendra Chandalia.
Valedictory Session
The valedictory session was held in the afternoon of 6th Nov. Prof. P.C. Kar. Prof. N.K.Jain, Prof. Devendra Pathak and Prof. H.S.Chandalia were the guests in this session. Dr. S.C.Hajela , editor of Dialogue from Lucknow made his presentation in this session. He made a strong plea to take into account the contribution of Indian critics on Shakespeare for a proper study of William Shakespeare in the present century. Mr. Saikat Bannerjee, organizing secretary of the conference presented a report of the conference and Dr. Manvijay Singh, convener of the conference offered a vote of thanks.
Source :
