Doon Library & Research Centre holds discussion on Amit Srivastava’s book ‘Covid Blues’
By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 4 Sep: A deeply interactive discussion was held at Doon Library & Research Centre here on Sunday on Amit Srivastava’s book, ‘Covid Blues’. Many senior writers and literature lovers participated in the discussion. The discussion was moderated by Dr Nitin Upadhyay, Deputy Director, Information, who gave a brief introduction of the book. He also sought to know from the author about the creative process behind this particular book.
Senior IPS officer and the author of the book, Amit Srivastava stated that he had not drawn out a plan while writing the book. The book has been written in the form of entries in a diary and it includes his Facebook posts during the Covid days when life was tortuous.
When senior author Ashok Pandey was asked about the relevance of this book, he said that very little has been written earlier about any epidemic like this. In this informal discussion, writers and the audience also made serious interventions. Dr Tushar, who came from Lucknow, observed that this book very clearly underlines the chaos, fear and mood that prevailed during the pandemic period. Young author Manoj Pandey, who came from Delhi, described the book as a mirror of human behaviour and social psychology during the pandemic and said that it has preserved the essence of the collective consciousness. In the coming times, this book would be an important reference point.
Devesh, the author of another famous book written on the Covid period, Puddan Katha, read several excerpts from the book and also discussed the subject matter.
Senior poet Rahul Dwivedi, who had come from Ghaziabad, while discussing the subject matter and craft of the book, said that it is a tribute to the people who died during Covid. Discussing the craft and theme of the book in detail, Dr Sushil Upadhyay said that Covid has contributed about six hundred words in the dictionaries of various languages and that this book discusses Covid in such a comprehensive manner that it comes as a pleasant surprise for its readers. He also mentioned that the new words that have come up during the Covid pandemic also find mention in this book.
Senior IAS officer Ranveer Singh Chauhan in his poetic style commented meaningfully on Srivastava’s entire creative work within a short time and wished him all the best to keep writing. Taking the discussion forward, senior IAS officer and writer Lalit Mohan Rayal said that Srivastava is the creator of continuous, spontaneous and conscious movement between genres. He brings challenges and opportunities to the readers in each of his creations.
Rajnikant Pandey, a senior commentator and a deep connoisseur of literary psychology, who came from Noida, recalled the terrible period citing the difficulties faced during Covid and the events recorded in the book, and also expressed great satisfaction over the “fact that a responsible writer such as Amit Srivastava has given the tragedy of this era a departure point to make the next generation aware and ready for it”.
Eminent story writer Shrikant, referring to the poignant stories in the book, said that these stories are -touching and their literary value is unquestionable, but they refer to such dark times to which no one would like to return. Dr Savita Mohan, Gambhir Singh Palni, Sudha Rani Pandey, Ruchita Tiwari, Naveen Naithani along with many others made meaningful interventions in this discussion and congratulated the author for a wonderful book.
