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Dr.
Prem Prakash Singh Memorial Book Released in Surrey, British Columbia On
November 12, South Asian Review, Virasat Foundation and Punjabi Sath, Lambra,
Punjab organized a celebration to release the memorial book of
well-known Punjabi scholar Dr. Prem Prakash Singh. Bhupinder Malhi,
president of Virasat Foundation, welcomed everyone and informed the
audience about the many faceted personality of Dr. Prem Prakash Singh
and began the program.
After the welcoming remarks, Dr.
Karnail Singh Thind, editor of the memorial book and professor and
former registrar at the Guru Nanak Dev University, informed the
gathering about the memorial book and its contents. He pointed out that
more than 125 scholars contributed to this edition which contains
sections in Punjabi, Hindi and English.
Sandra L. Smith, director of research
at the Ideological Studies Centre, and Manzur Ejaz, national coordinator
of the Academy of Punjab in North America, then unveiled the second
edition of memorial book to the applause of more than 400 workers,
scholars, poets and writers who were present.
In her tribute to Dr. Prem Prakash
Singh, Sandra L. Smith pointed to his invaluable contribution to the
study of the Punjabi language and highlighted the need to propagate this
work so as to help provide the younger generation with the coherence it
seeks and to restore the dignity and honour of the Punjabi nation.
Manzur Ejaz compared Dr. Prem Prakash Singh to a banyan tree under which
many scholars had flourished. Dr. Swaraj Singh said in his tribute that
while other Punjabi scholars were looking towards the West, Dr. Prem
Prakash Singh looked deep into the Punjabi tradition.
More than a dozen scholars, writers,
poets and activists paid their tribute to Dr. Prem Prakash Singh on this
occasion and pointed out that his work was a great milestone in the
study of Punjabi language, philology and poetics. Bibi Sawran Kaur of
Punjabi Sath, Lambra informed the gathering that their organization had
instituted an annual award in memory of Dr. Prem Prakash Singh.
The audience was mesmerized by the
performance of Avinash Mehra who sang two of Dr. Prem Prakash Singh's
poems with melodies he composed himself and accompanied on tabla by
Amarjeet Singh.
Sucha Deepak, editor of South
Asian Review, concluded the first part of this program by
highlighting Dr. Prem Prakash Singh's contribution to the 2nd World
Punjabi Conference held in Prince George, British Columbia in 2003. He
informed the audience about plans to work together on the history of
Punjab and Punjabi darshan. He called the memorial book a historic
document.
On this occasion, the Vancouver
community also honoured Dr. Karnail Singh Thind with a gold medal for
his work on Punjabi folklore and his tireless efforts in editing the
memorial book.
The second session, a seminar
dedicated to Dr. Prem Prakash Singh, received a presentation by Manzur
Ejaz on Waris Shah, the famous Sufi poet-philosopher of Punjab. In his
presentation, Manzur Ejaz reflected on Waris Shah’s socio-economic
critique of the society of his times in Heer. He pointed out that Waris Shah makes his Ranjha, the
protagonist of his work, go through all the important institutions of
his time and reveals the inner contradictions of these institutions. A
lively discussion followed the presentation during which many questions
were raised from the audience.
Dr. Prem Prakash Singh's last work Punjabi
Bhasha Da Janam ate Vikas and Dr. Sukhpal Singh Thind's travelogue Canada
Ek Bahurangi Bagh were also released during the program. |