14 JANUARY 2024 at Hotel Akbari, Cuttack

The Researchers' Association, Odisha organised a one day National Seminar on " Rethinking William Shakespeare, W.B.Yeats and T.S. Eliot in the Twenty-first Century" on 14 January 2024 at Hotel Akbari, Cuttack. After the registration of the Delegates and Resource persons, the Seminar began with Goddess Saraswati Bandana.

Dr Sonali Das, Associate Professor of English, F.M. University, Balasore, Dr Dolon Ray, Asst. Professor of English, Chandidas Chetna College, Bankura (West Bengal), and Dr Susmita Mohanty, Cuttack introduced the Guests. Professor Bijay Kumar Das, the President of the Researchers' Association delivered the Welcome Address. Mr Braja Kishore Pall, Reader in English, Oupada College, Balasore read out the Proceedings of the last Seminar held on first October 2023. Prof. R.W.Desai, former Professor of English, Delhi University, Prof. C.R.V. Rao, former Vice Chancellor, Vikram Shimapuri University, Andhra Pradesh, and Prof. Rajiva Verma, Delhi University lighted the lamps. Prof. R.W. Desai delivered the Inaugural Address.

Then came the most important event of the day : Book Launch.
"Revisiting William Shakespeare, W.B. Yeats and T.S. Eliot"; Festschrift in Honour of Professor Rupin W. Desai, edited by Prof. Bijay Kumar Das with Prof. Rajnath, Prof. C.R.V. Rao and Dr Sonali Das as Co-editors, published by Authors Press, New Delhi was lanched by Prof. C.R.V. Rao and Prof. Rajiva Verma in the presence of Prof. R.W. Desai. This event was followed by Felicitations to Prof. Desai and Mrs Desai (Dr Jyoti Bajaj) with Shawls and Bouquets accompanied by Cake cutting organised by Dr Sonali Das. Dr Jnan Ranjan Padhi, Associate Professor and HOD English, Dera Natung Govt. College, Itanagar, (Arunachal Pradesh) conducted the online programme.

Online Participation
Prof. Rajnath, Prof. Mohan Ramanan, Prof. Prashanta Sinha, Prof. C.T. Indra, and Prof. Shayamala joined online and participated in the deliberations. Prof. Rajnath spoke at some length on Prof. Desai and the Festschrift brought out in his honour.

Plenary Session 1
Prof. C.R.V. Rao delivered the first Plenary Lecture under the caption, "Shakespeare in Eliot's Poetry". The session was Chaired by Prof. Rajiva Verma.. The Lecture was well received by the delegates. Dr Ujjwal Dutta, (Burdwan) proposed a vote of Thanks.

Plenary Session 2
Prof. Bijay Kumar Das delivered the 2nd Plenary Lecture under the Caption, "T.S. Eliot on Shakespeare and W.B. Yeats". A Booklet of his Lecture was distributed among the delegates. A Vote of Thanks was proposed by Dr Premalata Rout, Principal, Jagannath Higher Secondary School , Keonjhar.

Journal Launch
The thirtieth volume of "The Critical Endeavour" (January 2024) was launched by Prof. R.W. Desai, Prof. C.R.V.Rao and Prof. Rajiva Verma. This Volume is dedicated to the memory of Nissim Ezekiel (1924-2024) in his Birth Centnary Year.

Paper Reading Session 1 (2:30 PM)
Chair: Dr Satya Sindhu Ghosh, Former Associate Professor of English, Khandra College, Burdwan University, (W.B.)
Paper Presenters:

Prof. Ashok Kumar Mohanty: "Othello: A Racial Discourse"

Dr Sonali Das: "Echoes of Bhagavad Gita in Eliot's Poetry"

Mr. Laxmidhar Panda: "Shakespeare and the English Language"

All the papers were well received. Professor R. W. Desai highly appreciated Dr Sonali Das's Paper for clarity of thought and felicity of expression. Dr Susmita Mohanty Proposed a Vote of Thanks.

Paper Reading Session 2 (3:25 PM)
Chair: Prof. Ashok Kumar Mohanty
Paper Presenters:

Dr Rima Ghosh: Reading Shakespeare: A Critical Exploration of Consciousness and Cognition"

Dr Dolon Ray: Shakespearean Influence on Bengali Comedy Movies

Dr Satya Sindhu Ghosh: King Lear and a Bengali Play: A Comparative Study

All the three papers were well received. A Vote of Thanks was proposed by Dr Bilkesh Parveen.

Workshop on Shakespeare, Yeats and Eliot:
The Workshop was conducted by Bijay Kumar Das. It was well participated by the delegates.

Valedictory Function
Dr Jnan Ranjan Padhi, Dr Satya Sindhu Ghosh and Prof. Rajiva Verma spoke about their impressions of ths oneday Semnar. Prof. C R.V. Rao gave away the participation certificates to the participants. Dr Pravat Kumar Mishra proposed the concluding Vote of Thanks.

Cultural Function
Odishi Dance was performed in the evening . Dr Bilkesh Parrveen compered the programme.

Felicitations to Professor Bijay Kumar Das
Professor Bijay Kumar Das was felicitated at the National Seminar for being chosen as the Conferenece President of 66th All India English Teachers' Conference and delivering his Presidential Address under the caption, "The Interplay between Literature and Criticism" at Chaudhury Charan Singh University, Meerut (UP) on 20 December 2023. His Lecture was distributed in the form of a Booklet among the delegates of the Seminar.

Images from Seminar