Asian Literary Society organized its 4th Asian Literary Confluence with great fanfare on 30th October 2021.
Manoj Krishnan (Author and Founder, Asian Literary Society) delivered the Keynote Address touching upon the new initiatives and innovative programs conducted by ALS during the year. He officially declared the results of ALS’ annual 2021 Wordsmith Awards, Sagar Memorial Award, Gitesh Biva Memorial Award, and Photography Contest, and announced the names of all the winners.
A series of interesting and interactive ‘live’ sessions covering varied aspects of literature, photography, and ALS’ social initiatives were organized during the day as a part of the 4th Asian Literary Confluence.
The morning session included an interactive session entitled “Addressing Special Needs Families” with Ms. Nishath Kirmani Ali (Joint Secretary, Autism Society of India) that was moderated by Ms. Zeba Tabassum (Administrator, ALS).
The first post-lunch session was entitled “Stories – Expressions Beyond the Enclave of Time”, Ms. Archana Ranjan (Writer & Former Indian Bureaucrat). This session was moderated by Ms. Neha Gupta and Ms. Ankurita Khajanchi (Program Co-ordinators, ALS). The second session of the afternoon was a Panel Discussion on the thought-provoking topic: “Nurturing the Poet Within You” in which the Panelists included some of the Jurors of ALS’ annual contests – Ms. Shubha Sagar (Writer & Poet), Dr. Aparna Bagwe (Writer, Poet, & Administrator, ALS), and Dr. Vimla Gupta (Writer & Poet). The session was moderated by Ms. Sheela Iyer and Ms. Vandana Bhasin (Program Co-ordinators, ALS). In the evening, there was a Panel Discussion on the topic “Literature Mirrors the Multiplicity of Asian Culture and Heritage” with panelists Mr. Daya Dissanayake (Bilingual Author, Poet, and Critic, Sri Lanka) and Ms. Kadambari Kaul (Author & Poet, India). This session was moderated by Dr. Bishakha Sarma (Administrator, ALS) and Ms. Neeti Parti (Program Co-ordinator, ALS).
A highlight of the Confluence was “Melody Night” with singers Mr. Sameer Ansari and Ms. Priyanshu Saxena; the session was conducted by Ms. Anita Chand and Ms. Mani Saxena (Moderators, ALS Performing Arts). The last session of the well-attended event was an interactive session entitled “Life through a Lens” with Mr. Rohit Suri (Eminent Photographer and Juror of this year’s Photography contest). The session was moderated by Ms. Nisha Tandon (Program Co-ordinator, ALS).
It was very heartening to note the enthusiastic response from the invitees, panelists, and the virtual audience comprising of members of the ALS family (ALS, ALS-Arts & Crafts, ALS-Performing Arts, and ALS-Photography) to the Asian Literary Society’s 4th Asian Literary Confluence 2021.
The Asian Literary Society (ALS), a 16,000 plus member Facebook community that organizes events to promote and popularize Asian Literature, Art, and Culture within India and across the world, and has recently been selected for the 2021 Facebook Community Accelerator program. Due to the present scenario of the Covid-19 pandemic, this event was conducted online.
