Gulzar in discussion with Pawan Verma and Sukrita Paul Kumar, Writers' Festival, Mussoorie - Part 3
- 5 years ago
Gulzar is a renowned poet, filmmaker, lyricist and writer. He has written several collections of poetry including Jaanam, Kuch aur Nazme, Chand Pukhraj Ka, Triveni, and Autumn Moon, and collections of short stories, Chauras Raat, Dhuan, Ravi Paar, Splinter and Other Stories and Kharaashein.
Sukrita Paul Kumar, born in Kenya, lives currently in Delhi, writing poetry and teaching literature. An Honorary Fellow of the prestigious International Writing Programme, University of Iowa (USA), Cambridge Seminars and a former Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, she was also an invited poet in residence at Hong Kong Baptist University, China. Honorary faculty at the Durrell Centre at Corfu (Greece) and a recipient of many international fellowships and residencies, she has lectured and read poems in many institutions in India and abroad. She has published several collections of poems in English that include Without Margins, Apurna, Folds of Silence and Oscillations.
Writer-diplomat Pavan K. Varma is a graduate in History from St. Stephen's College, after which he took a degree in Law from the University of Delhi. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1976. He has been Press Secretary to the President of India, the Spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs, Joint Secretary for Africa, High Commissioner for India in Cyprus, Director of the Nehru Centre in London and Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi.
Mussoorie Writers' EXPERIENCE THE HIMALAYA: A MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL (Nov. 1-4, 2012) celebrated exploration, natural history and mountain culture. Events ranged from a photographic exhibition to a just-released film, The Old Breed, about Steve Swenson's recent ascent of the highest unclimbed summit in the world - Saser Kangri II. Swenson himself, one of America's toughest climbers, spoke about the adventure of this expedition, along with the values and philosophy that drives him to reach extreme heights. A large audience of students, teachers and visitors enjoyed the mountain poetry of Gulzar, accompanied by Pavan Varma and Sukrita Paul Kumar. Woodstock's Parker Hall was filled with the lyrical folksongs of Nagaland, performed by the Tetseo Sisters. Italian alpinists, Manolo and Herve Bermasse spoke of the challenges they overcome on the mountains and showed films about their perpendicular exploits, while Rekha Bhardwaj sang mountain lyrics together with Bollywood hits. Dr. Charles Clarke, one of Britain's most eminent mountaineers, discussed mountain literature as well as the important traditions of Tibetan medicine. Controversy , politics and intrigue are all a part of Himalayan history and Capt. M.S. Kohli, who led India's first successful ascent of Everest, revealed first-hand details about the joint CIA and Indian Intelligence operation on Nanda Devi during the 1960s. As part of the same panel, Prof. Shekhar Pathak discussed the legacy of Pandit Nain Singh Rawat, one of Uttarakhand's heroic surveyors, who mapped Tibet in the 19th Century. While an international gathering of climbers spoke of pushing themselves to the limits of endurance on vertical surfaces of ice and rock, Viraf Mehta unveiled prehistoric narratives and images etched on the stones of Ladakh, ancient petroglyphs of snow leopards and ibex. The festival brought together scholars, scientists, authors, artists and mountaineers, including chief guest Loveraj Singh Dharmshaktu, who has climbed Everest four times, as well as many other major Himalayan peaks. Conservation and responsible use of mountain environments was another theme, explored by eco-activist Ishita Khanna and wildlife biologists Pankaj Chandan and Rajarshi Chakraborty of WWF. On Sunday, Nov. 4, as part of the festival, more than 200 runners competed in the first Mussoorie Half-Marathon, along Mussoorie's Mall Road to a turnaround point at Everest House and a finish line at Woodstock School. Over the four days of the Mountain Festival, participants and audience members drew inspiration from a variety of presentations and performances, all of which emphasized the educational significance and opportunities of our Himalayan heritage.
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at wfi @ vsnl.com and admin@wildfilmsindia.com
Sukrita Paul Kumar, born in Kenya, lives currently in Delhi, writing poetry and teaching literature. An Honorary Fellow of the prestigious International Writing Programme, University of Iowa (USA), Cambridge Seminars and a former Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, she was also an invited poet in residence at Hong Kong Baptist University, China. Honorary faculty at the Durrell Centre at Corfu (Greece) and a recipient of many international fellowships and residencies, she has lectured and read poems in many institutions in India and abroad. She has published several collections of poems in English that include Without Margins, Apurna, Folds of Silence and Oscillations.
Writer-diplomat Pavan K. Varma is a graduate in History from St. Stephen's College, after which he took a degree in Law from the University of Delhi. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1976. He has been Press Secretary to the President of India, the Spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs, Joint Secretary for Africa, High Commissioner for India in Cyprus, Director of the Nehru Centre in London and Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi.
Mussoorie Writers' EXPERIENCE THE HIMALAYA: A MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL (Nov. 1-4, 2012) celebrated exploration, natural history and mountain culture. Events ranged from a photographic exhibition to a just-released film, The Old Breed, about Steve Swenson's recent ascent of the highest unclimbed summit in the world - Saser Kangri II. Swenson himself, one of America's toughest climbers, spoke about the adventure of this expedition, along with the values and philosophy that drives him to reach extreme heights. A large audience of students, teachers and visitors enjoyed the mountain poetry of Gulzar, accompanied by Pavan Varma and Sukrita Paul Kumar. Woodstock's Parker Hall was filled with the lyrical folksongs of Nagaland, performed by the Tetseo Sisters. Italian alpinists, Manolo and Herve Bermasse spoke of the challenges they overcome on the mountains and showed films about their perpendicular exploits, while Rekha Bhardwaj sang mountain lyrics together with Bollywood hits. Dr. Charles Clarke, one of Britain's most eminent mountaineers, discussed mountain literature as well as the important traditions of Tibetan medicine. Controversy , politics and intrigue are all a part of Himalayan history and Capt. M.S. Kohli, who led India's first successful ascent of Everest, revealed first-hand details about the joint CIA and Indian Intelligence operation on Nanda Devi during the 1960s. As part of the same panel, Prof. Shekhar Pathak discussed the legacy of Pandit Nain Singh Rawat, one of Uttarakhand's heroic surveyors, who mapped Tibet in the 19th Century. While an international gathering of climbers spoke of pushing themselves to the limits of endurance on vertical surfaces of ice and rock, Viraf Mehta unveiled prehistoric narratives and images etched on the stones of Ladakh, ancient petroglyphs of snow leopards and ibex. The festival brought together scholars, scientists, authors, artists and mountaineers, including chief guest Loveraj Singh Dharmshaktu, who has climbed Everest four times, as well as many other major Himalayan peaks. Conservation and responsible use of mountain environments was another theme, explored by eco-activist Ishita Khanna and wildlife biologists Pankaj Chandan and Rajarshi Chakraborty of WWF. On Sunday, Nov. 4, as part of the festival, more than 200 runners competed in the first Mussoorie Half-Marathon, along Mussoorie's Mall Road to a turnaround point at Everest House and a finish line at Woodstock School. Over the four days of the Mountain Festival, participants and audience members drew inspiration from a variety of presentations and performances, all of which emphasized the educational significance and opportunities of our Himalayan heritage.
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at wfi @ vsnl.com and admin@wildfilmsindia.com