Cultural and Literary Symposium ahead of
Sikhlens India 2023 held at GGDSD College
The 4th edition of Sikhlens: Sikh Arts and Film Festival 2023 organized a dedicated pre-event cultural and literary symposium curated by the Festival Director Ojaswwee Sharma, which featured as many as 25 speakers at Goswami Ganesh Dutta Sanatan Dharma College, Sector 32, Chandigarh here today, one day before the red-carpet event and screening of films at Tagore theatre on 25th February covering diverse topics related to Communication, Representation, and Expressional matters Sikh Diaspora across the globe through various forms of media.
Dr Ajay Sharma Principal, GGDSD College Chandigarh in his keynote address appreciated the initiative of Sikhlens for holding the Symposium in their college. He wished for fruitful deliberations and urged the students to be interactive for maximum benefit.
Session 1: Karen Dosanjh, author of Untold Stories, the South Asian Pioneer Experience in British Columbia-curator of Sikhlens Production Film for this year – Hidden Histories: The Sikh Migration Path to Canada in conversation with Swaran Singh Kalhon, a veteran researcher and author of several books on Sikh migration to non-English speaking countries shared that her book is dedicated to her parents to honor their immigrant story to help preserve South Asian history for other early settler families in the broader community. It is a collection of stories from 32 pioneer families in Canada dating back to the early 1900s. It’s the book that has now been developed into a film by Sikhlens, which she hopes will fill a gap and connect the older generation with today’s youth. It’s important for youth now to see how the earliest settlers lost a lot of their identity and who they were to develop the community as it is now,” said Dosanjh, adding that she hopes these youth don’t take anything for granted.
Session 2: The communication challenges faced in writing and reporting about Sikhs in mainstream journalism for the Punjabi Diaspora abroad were threadbare discussed and CJ Singh, a veteran Public Relations expert with four decades of experience, suggested strategies for effective communications. The conversation was moderated by Renuka Salwan, PR and Communication Professional with more than 3 decades of experience. Effective communication with communities ensures they have access to timely, accurate, and relevant information in languages, formats, and via the relevant channels that are culturally appropriate and accessible for different groups. It’s important to include historical, cultural, political, geographic, and economic context shaping the communication so that it helps the audience understand the context in which it’s taking place.
Session 3: Roopinder Singh, author of Guru Nanak: His Life and Teachings and a Senior Associate Editor of The Tribune shared the book’s insights and the role of legacy writing on philosophy, teachings, and tenets in conversation with Col. Daljit Singh Cheema, author and motivational speaker.
Session 4: A session on the social responsibilities of actors-choosing wisely and living the role responsibly was discussed in detail by Diljott, actress, and founder of Dream Buds Foundation, Kanwalpreet Singh, actor and Singer, Aneesha Madhok, known for her Hollywood film Bully High movie. Deepak Sharma Chanarthal, poet and author coordinated the session.
Session 5: A session on Sanjha Punjab highlighting the need for saving the language and expression with poetry beyond borders had a panel of Jatin Salwan, Lawyer and Poet, Amy Singh, Poet and Writer, and Lily Swarn, a multilateral poet, and author. The discussion was moderated by Deepak Sharma Chanarthal. The session highlighted that the two Punjabs are one as far as history and language are concerned and shall always remain conjoined due to these shared aspects of rich cultures. It highlighted how Punjabiyat celebrates the common cultural and literary values that both the Eastern and Western Punjab continue to share irrespective of the territorial divisions and the trauma of the Partition. The session also experienced how poetry still acts as a bridge for the two Punjabs and the panelists recited their poetry too.
Session 6: A session on ExpressionAble, Expressions and Communications Strategies for rising beyond challenges of disabilities and abilities included the panel of Navjot Siaan, Music Composer, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Disability Activist, Sehaj Amrinder, Lyricist and Chaitanya Mukund, Disability Advocate, Researcher, and Writer in conversation with Deepak Sharma Chanarthal. The major takeaway from this was focused on reporting disability with utmost care focusing on their artistic and literary abilities. It was stressed that empathetic reporting be chosen over sympathetic reporting.
Session 7: A panel on Communication of Philanthropy included Rashpal Singh Dhindsa, Philanthropist, Chairman – of United Sikh Mission, Bahadur Singh, Philanthropist, Chairman – One Beat Group, the man behind the upliftment of rural area of Bhira, Uttar Pradesh with a free Multi-speciality Hospital and Diljott, Actress, Founder Dream Buds Foundation in conversation with Dr KDS Bedi, Internationally acclaimed Sales and Marketing Coach deliberated that media and production tools play an important role in highlighting stories and case studies of philanthropic work. Discussions stated that responsible writing on various modes such as films, documentaries, articles in newspapers and the internet, and the use of social media for the tools is important for the dissemination of the information to the grass- root level.
Session 8: The journey of Sikhlens till now was shared by Bicky Singh and Gurpreet Kaur, Founders of Sikhlens which was coordinated by Param Kalra, Founder of Starthub Nation, the biggest managed office space company in Chandigarh region.
Session 9: Ojaswwee Sharma, – India Head & Festival Director of Sikhlens (India), in conversation with Sarvpriya Nirmohishared the insights of the journey of Sikhlens in India so far, the roadmap for the Film Festival 2023 and future perspectives.
