After a gap of almost one year, Ehsaas, a Non Government policy group organized a “Multilingual Art Seminar-Documenting Narratives Using Artistic Expressions” and a “Story telling session at Zone-By the Park Jammu, in which various renowned artists, including poets and story writers participated.
The event was organized by EHSAAS in collaboration with HWVO, with support from Women Mediators from Commonwealth (WMC) & Centre for Women, Peace and Security, London School of Economics and Political Science
Ezabir Ali, Founder/Secretary Ehsaas, while welcoming the guests stated that Art has healing powers, it forces a person to forge a connection between mind and body, unlike exercise, which works on our body, or meditation, which clears our mind- Art-making accesses both mind and body to promote healing
She shared that these particular events have been arranged to provide space to artists from various fields to use their creativity as an expression to help relieve stress and aid communication.
Various prominent female poets and writers who represented different areas of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh were part of these sessions. They presented their work in multiple languages.
Rukhsana Jabeen, senior member Ehsaas who presided over the function said this is a unique opportunity for artists from different backgrounds to narrate their thoughts on the contemporary geo-socio-political atmosphere, especially pertaining to gender experiences.
The seminar saw a blend of different artists, young and old from various backgrounds like literature, poetry, story writing, painting and sketching on a common platform.
Speaking on the occasion, another senior member EHSAAS, Indu Kilam said that this event has given a platform to artists from across the three regions to come together and present their valuable creations to refresh minds and hearts.
Fozia Moughal, a poet from Chinab Valley while lauding the effort of the group said it was for the first time, in many years such an event had been organized where people from different regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh were participating.
A veteran social activist and retired IAS officer, A.M.Mir, while sharing his experience said, “this was indeed a wonderfully refreshing and enlightening experience to listen and interact with the people of such an intellect”, adding “Women’s narratives need to be given space and importance. I appreciate the efforts of the organizers in arranging this platform.”
Among those who participated and spoke on the occasion included Dr Gurmeet Kaur, Dr Kavita Suri, Dr Kusum Dhar Bakshi, Usha Kiran, Dr Sehnaz Qadri, Phunsok Dolma, Naseeem Akhtar and few Research Scholars from Jammu University who also shared their work.
