Jaipur : Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) Litfest ‘Abhivyakti Season 2’ was inaugurated on 12 November at Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur by Mrs Archana Pande, President AWWA. Abhivyakti aims to showcase and promote the literary talents and artistic skills of Army wives to the world at large.
The inaugural day of the three day Lit Fest was an eventful one lined up with interactive sessions with the authors, poetry recitals, workshops, panel discussions and book launches. Few mesmerising cultural and musical performances added colour to the events of the day.
President AWWA Mrs Archana Pande, inaugurated the event with the customary ribbon cutting and lighting of diyas. Thereafter, she launched the book’Amaltas’ written by Mrs Nidhi Khali Dhyani. The AWWA President also took a tour of the venue and appreciated the efforts put in for the conduct of the event.
Addressing the gathering thereafter, she spoke on the important role of AWWA in supporting Army wives in all their endeavours. She also spoke about the journey of ‘Abhivyakti’ and its role towards women empowerment.
Acclaimed writer Mrs Swapnil Pandey, author of ‘Force Behind The Forces’ was part of a heartwarming panel discussion with Veer Naris wherein the latter shared their inspiring and touching stories. At ‘Rangayan’ auditorium, the morning session of ‘Naghma – E – Zindagi’brought forth awe evoking poems to the audience while at ‘Madhyavarti’ auditorium, the session ‘Safarnama – Kaagaz Se Kitab Tak’ was about the writers, editors and publishers sharing their literary journeys. The next two sessions at Rangayan were’Role of Army Wives as Role Models – Chhotey Kadam’and ‘Kavyadhara-The Universe In Verse’.’Chhotey Kadam’ was an absorbing panel discussion with brave women officers of the Indian Army who have set high benchmarks in their respective fields. These officers included first gallantry awardee Lt Col Madhumita, first War Widow to join Indian Army, Lt Col R J Randhawa, first Lady Instructor at Officers Training Academy, Capt Reenu Khurana and first woman paratrooper of the Indian Army, Capt Ruchi Sharma. ‘Kavyadhara’ was another mesmerising session at Rangayan which witnessed poets sharing their composition with the audience.
The post lunch events were equally absorbing. Mrs Veena Naravane launched the books ‘Nal To Theek Hai’ and ‘Kab Tak’ written by Mrs Meenu Tripathi. At Rangayan the session ‘Meri Kahani Meri Zubani – Walk Through The Wall’covered the stories of Army wives who emerged as successful entrepreneurs against all odds. At ‘Madhyavarti’, the session ‘Roobaroo Part I – Meet Your Author’ was an interactive session wherein the authors discussed their work with the book lovers.
The day also included few workshops on varied subjects of interest. ‘Build Your Own Bussiness’was a workshop for budding entrepreneurs by Mrs Usha Goswami. Another interesting workshop on ‘Social Influencing’ was conducted by Mrs Sapna Agrawal & Mrs Sonia Handa.
As the day progressed, the cultural shows and musical performances added colour to the event .Stand up comedy by celebrated artists Mrs Harpriya Bains and Lt Col Ankita Srivastava had the audience in splits. A musical performance by the famous Army Symphony Band ended the day on a high. Going by the adage ‘morning shows the day’ one can only expect greater fun and excitement as the fest progresses.