Keekli Reporter, 18th August, 2018, Shimla
30 Writers to Participate in this Journey!
A unique literary meet will be held on August 19, 2018 in World Heritage Shimla-Kalka Toy Train, perhaps a first of its kind in the history of Railways, which is being organized jointly by Himalaya Literature, Culture and Environment Forum and Naval Prayas Shimla that has been dedicated to the memory and honour of Bhalku. He was a resident of a remote village Jhaza near Chail, a shepherd titled as an illiterate Engineer by H. S. Harington, the Chief Engineer of KSR, who helped and guided the British engineers during the construction of the Kalka Shimla Railway from 1898 to 1903. This information was shared by S R Harnot, an eminent author and Chairperson of the Himalaya Munch.
Harnot said that a full coach with a seating capacity of 30 writers has been reserved for a to and fro journey. The lyricists will assemble at Shimla Railway Station at 9.30 a.m. on 19th August. They will be welcomed with a cup of tea of arrival that will be followed by a short briefing session about the journey. The train departs at 10.25 a.m. The journey has been divided into different sessions named after the prominent railway stations like Shimla, Summer Hill, Taradevi, Kaithlighat Kandaghat, Kanoh and Barog.
During these sessions, the writers will recite their poetry, gazals, stories and memoirs. Each session will be chaired by young and budding creators. This creation dialogue will include 30 senior and young writers. The train arrives at Barog at 1.34 pm where lunch has been organized for the participants. After lunch the group will board the up train from Barog to Shimla at 2.30 p.m. The compartment shall be fitted with a speaker and a mike for the poets.
Harnot stated that the idea is to carry literature activities to different fields. Before this a Kavi Sammelan in an open jail near Kanda was also organized under the guidance of Somesh Goyal, the Director General of Police (Jails) – Himachal Pradesh. Goyal himself is a poet and is going to accompany the poets on this railway journey. In this sequence, there is a plan to get the next events in the village, which will soon be started from the birthplace of Bhalku. Like the rail travel, these literary programmes will jointly be collaborated with mutual cooperation.
