The Sindh University’s (SU) Bureau of Students Tutorial Guidance/ Counseling Services and Co-Curricular Activities (STAGS) on Tuesday organised a programme in collaboration with the Institute of English Language and Literature (IELL) under a shared cause to promote literature at the varsity’s Shaikh Ayaz auditorium, under the aegis of Prof Amina Khamisani lecture series.
Reportedly, SU Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Dr Fateh Muhammad Burfat participated as the chief guest in the event where the renowned poet, intellectual writer, academician, television host and motivational speaker Prof KS Nagpal gave a motivational speech to students in the audience. Dr Burfat expressed his gratitude to Prof KS Nagpal for his outstanding efforts of introducing significance of literary to students in terms of improving their understanding at interpreting innovative and imaginative forms of literature.
He said that literature and life have possessed an ultra-fine and ‘apparently’ imperceptible link as literature mirrors life’s incidents, happenings, accidents, sentiments, pains, passions, experiences, and portrays moods in a universal frame, and thus embraces entire mankind without any distinction of colour, caste, creed, country and continent. He further illustrated that literature have been serving as a rich and adequate source of wisdom, sagacity and insight development because it has a capability to encompass all people of all places at a time.
Prof Nagpal said that literature and information could enable people to unfold themselves, and thus explore divinity. “It serves as an effective apparatus to unlock mysteries of life through its delightful discourses. It instructs, entertains and teaches us in an imperceptible manner while we do not acknowledge that it has educated us,” he said, adding that literature could demystify ‘deepest secrets of one’s own being, relationship to society and God, and the purpose of one’s brief sojourn on earth. Referring to the contents of the historical resources, especially citing Greek Philosophers Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and western thinkers including Nietzsche, Schoepenhaur, Shakespeare, Albert Camus, British statesman Winston Churchill, Shah Latif, Sachal Sarmast, Rumi and other mystic poets, he maintained that literature was the most liberating form of experiences available to humankind.
“Man remains incarcerated in hundreds of different personal, social, political, cultural and religious cocoons. These self-created and socially-imposed shells can blur our vision, colour our insight, limit our experiences and restrict our quest for truth,” he added. He said that literature could shatter all these taboos and territorial bindings.
Published in Daily Times, September 12th 2018.