Inaugural Edition Of Mil Lit Fest Concludes, To Return With More In October-November

Lucknow, Sep 3 (TNA) The four episodes of the just concluded, Military Lit Fest were interestingly woven and sequenced : Freedom - Liberation -Sacrifice - Remembrance. Starting with a conversation on The National Flag with researcher Dr Sadan Jha And Vexillologist Sekhar Chakraborti aptly coinciding with the Independence Day, the Fest moved to the times of first liberation war with Dr Rosie Llewellyn Jones from UK presenting her book Lucknow 1857.

The destruction and loot by the British of this beautiful city was one of the most tragic stories. Some one hoped that the city will regain old glory and surpass all cities in India in times to come. Lt Gen Naidu dwelled into the times of Nizam-I- Bhopal bringing out fascinating facts . All this was wizardly weaved by Mehru Jaffer.

“Weight of Sacrifice: 1971” with three poignant stories won every ones heart and compelled the audience to reflect. The stories : Missing in Action, Displaced 20000 from Chhamb and PoW 1971 : A Soldier’s Account of Battle of Daruchhian were not only moving but also tragic. When Lakshmi, wife of Brigadier Hamir Singh narrated her experiences as young wife of a missing officer and later a prisoner of war for a year in various places in Pakistan, it was a pin drop silence with many moist eyes. That moment is absolutely unforgettable.

Culminating episode “A Way To Remember” brought us closer to the families of the Fallen . Message from Mohini Giri, who grew up in Lucknow , set the stage by highlighting the role of community and the state in taking care of the war widows. Majha House, Amritsar story of Lt SS Billoo Gill along with a snippet on this beautiful cultural space accompanied by a soulful music was indeed a creative at its best.

Remembrance of Lt Nawang Kapadia made us realise what loss at a young age means and how families cope positively. It was the courageous Cheryl Soggee from Perth, Australia who told us about her journey to India to pay homage to her father Capt John Albert Dalby of Bengaluru, 56 years after he was martyred in 1962 Indo-China War.

The episode closed with the audience learning about the herculean and noble efforts of Wing Commander MA Afraz in creating the biggest virtual memorial in the world - ‘Honour Point’ which has given an identity to the Fallen Soldiers . It was all so mesmerising.

Lucknow Military Literature Festival is taking a temporary break and comes back on October 3 with fresh colours and different hues of literary, film and other kind. Starting with the Lucknow and Lamarts' Boy Mukul Deva on 3 Oct, the Fest has a line up of mercurial authors and panelists like Ali Khan Mehmoodabad, Anuja Chauhan, Easterine Kire , Rashmi Saxena , Prof Biniwale, Dr Pratyay Nath, Dr Neelam Sharan Gour, Avijit Dasgupta, Sanjay Kapoor, Ajai Shukla, Chandan Lahiri, Maj AK Singh, Maj Gen Gadkari and Dr Azam Gill.

Besides books, there are sessions lined up on War Journalism, Adventures of High Magnitude, Success Through Madness and ‘Afganistan : A Geopolitical Mess or a Human Tragedy'.

The Fest indents to culminate with sessions in films, Bangladesh 1971 and a Live Kissa Goi on the 1971 Liberation War and Victory of Indian Forces for the citizens and youth of the city that would be live broadcasted on social media.

That is a handful to eagerly look forward to. Surely, the Military Lit Fest Lucknow has ushered in a much needed literary and cultural event of a different kind to the city which has greatest of the respects for our soldiers, Forces and patriotism.