The Department of English and Modern European Languages, University of Lucknow launched the Volume II Issue I of it’s department journal, Rhetorica Quarterly on Sunday, 26th September, 2021 at 5:00 PM. Prof. Ranu Uniyal, the Head of the Department, heartily welcomed the guests and the audience and the show began on the Zoom platform. She set the tone of the event by reciting her own poem, “Betiyan kaisi hoti hain”, to mark the occasion of Daughter’s Day. The current issue of Rhetorica Quarterly is dedicated to Prof. Ashok Kumar, former Head and Professor of the Department of English and Modern European Languages, University of Lucknow. The theme of the issue was open to varied topics this time. The members of the Rhetorica Society put up an energetic show. The programme witnessed a reading session by the guest speakers who have contributed their works in the journal, namely Dr. Lakshmi Kannan, Prof. Dhananjay Singh, Sarita Jenamani, Dr. Nishi Pulugurtha and Dr. Rani Massey.
Dr. Lakshmi Kannan read out her story, “As Dapper as They make Them”. Her absolutely meticulous oration and riveting composition delighted the audience. Prof. Dhananjay Singh’s short and sweet reading from his story interested the listeners. Sarita Jenamani, the Austrian-based poet of Indian origin read out her poems, “Home for Immigrants”, “A Fictive Life Foretold” and “Being Bemused”. It was an enthralling experience for the audience to hear her compelling poetry. Nishi Pulugurtha read out from her memoir, Two Houses and a Wooden Spring which moved the listeners because of the cultural sensibility that it oozed! Dr. Rani Massey talked of her experiences and inspiration behind writing the article, Lucknow Revisited which she has contributed in the present issue and her account really interested all the listeners who are connected to Lucknow and are fascinated by its charm.
This was followed by enthusiastic presentations by the student contributors, namely Amrita Sharma, Shradha Gupta, Dibyashri Banerjee, Garima Yadav, Smriti Sneh, Kaumudi Singh and Bushra Fatima. They talked of their respective works. Bhavya Pant, the Fiction Editor of the Journal shared her experiences of being the Editor of the Fiction section and spoke on behalf of the entire editorial. Nikita Yadav proposed a vote of thanks on behalf of the Department and all the editors and co-editors. The programme came to fruitful end. It served as a joyful way of bringing together writers from different corners of the world to unite through the online portal and share their mutual love for poetry and Literature.