English.Sahityapost
Dhulikhel, September 29
A three-day-long MELOW (The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the World) conference that started on September 27 at Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel, ended today. The conference rounded off with a closing panel discussion, “Vision of Nature: Space, Landscape, and Forests in Sacred and Literary Traditions.” The session was chaired by Prof. Ram Chandra Poudel, and the speakers were Prof. Krishna Chandra Sharma, Prof. Anand Sharma, and Prof. Jib Lal Sapkota.
Prof. Krishna Chandra Sharma highlighted the significance of the environment and human civilization in the Vedas. Talking about the significance of fire in human-nature relationships, he said, “The fire is the leader of human civilization. It is the symbol of energy, intelligence, spirit, and existence.” Similarly, Prof. Ananda Sharma elaborated on the significance of trees in the maintenance of the ecosystem and storytelling traditions. Taking the reference from Silko’s book Ceremony, Prof. Sharma shared, “You don’t have anything if you don’t have stories.” He then added to this quote and stated, “You don’t have stories if you don’t have trees.” Prof. Jib Lal Sapkota emphasized the significance of space in the ecosystem. He emphasized that development should not be the cause of domination and destruction of nature with reference to eco-criticism and several scholars and literatures.
Prof. Dr. Bhola Thapa, the Vice-Chancellor of Kathmandu University (KU), emphasized that KU has been launching new courses and programs in the areas of humanities and wellbeing at higher levels. He stated that KU is prioritizing to empower the School of Arts, strengthening its programs in fine arts, literature, heritage, and languages. Offering a warm invitation to all scholars to revisit Kathmandu University in the future, he handed over the token of appreciation to the panelists.
Prof. Dr. Manju Jaidka, President of MELOW, showed her appreciation to Dr. Thapa for hosting the first-ever international MELOW conference in Nepal. Ritu Varghese, Assistant Professor, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vellore Institute of Technology, Andhra Pradesh, won the ISM Award for her research “Miramais in Vrindavan: Reading Bhakti, Spatiality, and Trauma in K.R. Meera’s The Poison of Love.” She was awarded a certificate and a cash prize of INR. 5000.
Toward the end of the session, Prof. Jaidka shared, “Hurdles make stories and experiences, whether they are good or bad, teach us a lot.”. She added that when we move on in full throttle, nothing stops us. The conference had 33 sessions, including 125 paper presentations, two keynote speeches, one special lecture, and a panel discussion. MELOW, established in 1997, connects young scholars and researchers to the senior ones.
Prof. Khagendra Acharya, Associate Dean of the School of Management Kathmandu University, concluded the event, highlighting the contribution of Prof. Dr. Kashi Raj Pandey for publishing and broadcasting news about MELOW in more than 50 media and initiating a newsletter for the conference. He was thankful to the organizing committee members, namely Mr. Narayan Niraula and Punya Koirala, along with rapporteurs, photographers, volunteers, and support staff. Dr. Acharya joyfully shared all the clouds of doubt disappeared as they reached this stage of unconscious heroism with the support from senior professors, delegates, volunteers, and team leaders.
