Natl poetess body’s 2020 conference to be held in city
By Uma Purkayastha
A poem can express the deepest angst, the greatest grief or heartfelt love using minimum words. And when the words are expressed by a poetess, they become the essence of life.
The All India Poetess Conference (AIPC) was formed in the beginning of the century to nurture that essence. It is a non-governmental organisation having its headquarters in New Delhi. AIPC organises poetic sessions, national symposiums, multilingual discussions on women’s problems and international cultural exchange programme.
The main aim of AIPC is to give recognition to the unsung talented women so that they can reach their destination in the field of Arts and Culture. Awards from and recognition by AIPC help in boosting the morale of young talents from across the country.
The AIPC Foundation Session was held on April 13, 2000, at Khurja in Uttar Pradesh. After that session, its popularity grew by leaps and bounds and AIPC started a glorious journey. Some Indian poetesses staying abroad extended their support to the noble venture and showed interest to hold conference in their respective places.
The first AIPC International Congress was held in Mauritius on July 27, 2007, and the second one was held in Birmingham the following year with the same notion of literary and cultural exchange. The congress was held in other countries like the US, South Africa, Sri Lanka, China, Russia and Malaysia.
So AIPC may be called a global organisation with the aims and objectives of social and cultural awakening of women along with lingual harmony and international integrity. At present, AIPC has a good number of nominated and patron members from the US, Canada and Europe.
Language is usually a hindrance to unity. The diversity often distances people from each other as there is a lack of understanding. But it is observed that poetry, drama and music have an extraordinary capacity to bring oneness. Here is the success of organisations like AIPC which amalgamate different tribes of people with different religions, languages and attire on the same platform.
The AIPC Meghalaya with its headquarters in Shillong is also a grand combination of different tribes of people with different languages and attire but voicing the same tune of international integrity.
The 16th AIPC Mega National Convention, hosted by the Meghalaya unit in Shillong in February 2016, was indeed a remarkable conference with hundreds of delegates from different states like Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Odisha, Delhi, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Bengal, Nagaland and Tripura. The conference continued for three days with colourful multilingual cultural programmes and constructive educational discussions. It was interesting and enthralling that the delegates from different states with different languages and attire could develop a cordial relation. Language was not at all a barrier.
Prof. (Dr) Lari Azad, the founder of the AIPC, graced the celebration. The then governor of Meghalaya, V Shanmuganathan, had equalled the women’s organisation with a ladder to international integrity. To mark the celebration, the AIPC Meghalaya branch published a souvenir named ‘XVIth AIPC Mega National Convention, All India Poetess Conference’ edited by Christina Wanniang, which is a valuable document of the organisation in the North East.
Dr Streamlet Dkhar, the Secretary General of AIPC National and Meghalaya state in-charge, deserves credit and applause for her dynamic and democratic administrative capacity to lead the organisation successfully. Each member of the state unit is smart, sincere, active and co-operating to make the organisation vibrant.
This year, AIPC Meghalaya has taken the great responsibility of hosting the 20th AIPC Convention (National) in Shillong in October. Such literary national conventions carry the eternal message of peace, harmony and fraternity, which is the need of the hour. The emotion in poetry is universal that touches and moulds human heart with feelings of oneness. The All India Poetess Conference is very much successful in spreading message of international integrity.
(The author is an
educationist)