Remembering Tagore: Celebrating 155th year of Rabindranath Tagore's Birthday

Quills Literary Club remembers Guru Rabindranath Tagore on his 155th birthday. It was on May 7, 2016.

In Bengal, the bard's special day is celebrated on 25 th Baishak also known as Ponchishe Baishakh.

Tagore has written songs and poems on almost every possible human  emotion. Although reluctant initially, Tagore allowed his students to use the song "He Nutan, Dekha Dik Abar" as his Birthday song. Much of Tagore's work is inspired by nature and love. Thus to remember and honour the poet, we bring you our very popular poet, Hari Priya.

The Tale of a Tree

Hari Priya 

And there she stood, tall and strong,

Yet, the way she swayed back and forth,

Wavering, with each gust of wind

Brought in a sense of fragility.

She stood there, braving the wind,

At times winning, at times losing

I think she knew she might lose,

And maybe the fear of losing made her determined to win.

I think she made up her mind

For now she was stronger

Braving the wind and

Standing up against it

And suddenly it started

From a slight drizzle to a mighty shower

She faced it all, brave hearted.

And gradually it was over

The clouds parted, the sun shone

The birds chirped, for the rain was gone

And there she stood, tall and strong,

Swaying back and forth with each gust of wind

The fragility was long gone

And so was her fear of the wind.

When Tim Came to Town: A Delightful Afternoon with Dr. Timothy Cadman, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia

On a hot summer afternoon, as we debated over the power and water crises in Telangana, came a dashing and charismatic scholar from Australia. We were privileged to hear him speak and offer solutions to the present energy crises in our state. In this post, we share Dr. Tim Cadman's talk on climate change, creative writing, Eco-feminism, his visit to COP 21, Paris, 2015 and his solutions to some of the  most serious climate threats in the developing nations.

Dr. Tim Cadman is currently working  as a University Research Fellow with the Key center for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance  and the Institute for Ethic, Governance and Law at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.

Dr. Tim Cadman with Mr. Reddy at R.B.V.R.R Women's College, Hyderabad

Climate Change and Third World Nations
The COP  21, Paris, 2015 was an insightful experience for Dr. Cadman. He shared with us the major ideas and issues of the conference. On a different note, he also observed that developing nations like India should not repeat the mistakes made by the West during the Industrial Age. India, like Australia is a land of sunshine, thus it could develop a major solar power based commercial venture. In nations like India, the youth  could play a major role in saving the environmental system. They must question every activity of the government and ask for answers from the leaders. The youth of India is the fountainhead of its future progress and success.

Dr. Cadman sharing his ideas

Eco-Feminism
Dr. Cadman has long since been aware of the work done by Indian Eco-feminists, like Vandana Shiva. He believes that Eco-feminism is an incredible lens through which the power relation between man and nature can be understood. It can also help us understand the power equation between developed and developing nations. In the vicious cycle of struggle for power, developed countries always manage to control growing nations and this sort of one way control needs to be changed.


Cli-Fi
Dr. Tim Cadman is not only an academic but also a creative writer. When we asked him about how he managed both, he very happily answered that, "one is work and one is pleasure" 
 and he thoroughly enjoyed doing both. Citing the example of J.R.R. Tolkien, Dr. Cadman meticulously illustrated how it is possible for him to write academic monographs and creative novels as well. He recently made a contribution to the emerging genre of climate fiction.  He has been an ardent follower of writers like Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov. He loves the way science fiction has the ability to preempt the reality that lies before us.  Dr. Cadman's book is called The Changes, Part One and Two 

Jhilam.C

To know more about Dr. Cadman and his work, visit: https://www.griffith.edu.au/professional-page/tim-cadman