Jain Spirit 2003 02 No 13

SR No.: 528993
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains
Publication Year: 2003
Total Pages: 68
Language: English
Classification: Magazine, UK_Jain Spirit, & UK
File Size: 17 MB

Page 16

GLOBAL NEWS
Mira Kamdar, author of Motiba's Tattoos, enthralled Canada's Shabdasetu literary group
Mira Kamdar, the author of Motiba's Tatoos: A Granddaughter's Journey into her Indian Family's Past, impressed 75 Gujarati language lovers at a meeting of Canada's Gujarati literary group Shabdasetu (meaning: literary bridge), as she compared her grandmother's (Motiba's) early 20th
During the period 26 May 16 June 2002, BLII (Bhogilal Leherchand Institute of Indology) of Delhi, India held three sucessful summer schools in Prakrit Language and Literature, Jain Religion and Philosophy. and Manuscriptology and Research Methodology. The schools were inaugurated on 26 May 2002. Dr. V. Kutumba Sastry, Director of Rashtriya Sanskrit Samsthan, N. Delhi presided over the proceedings. Dr. Prem Singh, a retired Professor of Delhi University, was the chief guest.
Thirty-six teachers and research scholars from universities and colleges all over the country participated in the event. Dr. Prem Singh, associated with the BLII since its inception, informed the audience of the literary, research and publication activities of the Institute, and talked about the interdisciplinary relationship between the three summer school themes. He also spoke of the
A GUJARATI JOURNEY INTO THE PAST
century life with her own generation's fin-de-siècle situation.
Mira described her family's historical background and her own upbringing. She vividly explained different situations and her childhood memories. The audience felt as if she was conveying their own feelings for their grandmothers!
Shabdasetu. Local immigrant writer, Mr. M. G. Vassanji, who chaired the meeting, narrated his own experiences of moving from Africa to Canada. Ms. Debby de Groot of Penguin Canada, the publishers of Motiba's Tattoos, introduced Mira and shed some light on Canadian book publishing.
Mira selected three interesting portions from her book and read them. The first part was the description of how the book was written. Then she explained in detail her visit to Kuldevi, her own clan goddess, mentioning the social customs and traditions of weddings then and now. She also spoke briefly about her forthcoming novel.
DELHI SUMMER SCHOOLS
The organiser, Prakash Mody thanked the guests on behalf of
value of critical and comparative studies | between the Vedic-Brahmanic and the Buddhist-Jain Sramanic traditions of India. Dr. V. Kutumba Sastry threw light on the influence of Jain Acharyas on the development of dialectic, linguistic, lexicographical, literary and cultural heritage of India from ancient times through to the modern era. From his discourse it emerged that their contribution to the literary, cultural and architectural wealth of southern India is so great that it is essential to any comparative and critical study of the development of the Indian subcontinent.
The approach of the summer schools was uniquely rewarding: the highly disciplined educational and training system under Acharyas in the ancient gurukulas was combined with the comparative and critical methodology of the Western university tradition.
At the valedictory function, Dr.
14 Jain Spirit December 2002 - February 2003
Multicultural Toronto welcomed Mira Kamdar with open arms. Judging from the number of interviews Mira had with the press, radio and broadcast media during her two-day visit, and from the number of books autographed at the book-reading venue, there was a keen interest in Gujarati social customs and traditions.
As we go to press, Mira Kamdar is arriving in the UK to launch her book at a special event on 21st October at the London School of Economics.
Sompal Shastri delivered a thoughtprovoking speech on the value of both the Vedico-Upanashadic thought and the Jain-Sramanic ideas in the modern world. The Vedic Rishis advocated reverence towards nature in all its forms. They established an intimate relationship between mankind and nature as different aspects of the Divine. Mahavir preached existence of life in all forms of nature their oneness, their dignity and their equality. He emphasised non-violence, nonpossession and non-absolutism in order that all could live, develop and attain divinity by their own efforts. Dr. Shastri urged it was high time that the world understood the universality of life principle and the unity between ourselves and the world around us. The programme thus ended in an atmosphere charged with spirituality and the inspiration to preserve India's cultural wealth and heritage.