On November 1st, 2020, I went for a book launch cum poetry event hosted by Punjabi Sahit Sabha(Regd.) Bathinda. It was their first event after lockdown and was held in the seminar hall of DAV College, Bathinda. I was just there to attend the event but it inspired me to write this article too. The book launched at that event i.e. Por Di Joon is the main reason for my inspiration for this article.
The Book…
The book titled Por Di Joon where Por is a farming device to sow seeds. A poetry book written by Bhupinder Sandhu Bathinda who works at the electricity board. The language of the book is Punjabi and it is the 3rd book of the poet. The poet is said to be inspired by his life experiences for writing most of the poems in the book. The book launch was organized by Punjabi Sahit Sabha (Regd.) Bathinda.
According to sources, the book was completed before the COVID-19 lockdown started. But the poet took time to write two more poetries related to COVID for the same thinking of it as his duty towards the situations.
The Book Launch…
Stills from the Book Launch event 
Stills from the Book Launch event
The book launch happened on November 1st, 2020 in DAV college Bathinda organized by Punjabi Sahit Sabha(Regd.) Bathinda. As we can see in the image, various accomplished people reached in the event to launch the book. We can see the members of Punjabi Sahit Sabha, Painting artist, Professors, Publishers, etc. in these images. One of the things I liked in this event was that every person was treated equally and well when it came to launching. They had multiple images clicked for launch with different people just to honor every important person available there which we can see is going forgettable in a lot of places.
The Book Reviews…
Since I haven’t read this book yet. I will go with the book reviews for ‘Por Di Joon” that many accomplished people available at the launch event provided which eventually inspired me to write this article and buy the book. For the poet and most of the reviewers, POR has been a device that helps to sow seed but remains empty at the end itself. But one reviewer also said that it is a symbol of creation which I guess overall can be said as the poet is hopeful and tries to inspire people to face their struggles through the poems. “Por di Joon” is also the title of one of the poems in the book.
The poet Bhupinder Sandhu Bathinda has been called a realistic poet i.e. he writes the reality even if it is a bitter truth. This book can be called a multi-theme and multigenre poetry book according to the variety of writings in this book. The poetries are female-oriented, history related, for the struggles and hopes towards farmers, labor, and unemployed people. The poet talks about life, its various parts, and emotions related to it. He also talks about different angles to see the same thing in the relations i.e. empathy which we generally ignore. Thus, this book can relate to different kinds of people.
(In the frame: Bhupinder Sandhu Bathinda reciting one of the poems from his book ‘Por Di Joon’)
The book is inspirational and the poet seems hopeful for a better world through his formations. The poet doesn’t just talk about the struggles but also the solutions to them in this book. The poet explains the patience to wait and struggle for self in his poems.
Some Compliments…
Sometimes the long poetry formations tend to lose the interest of the reader but according to the reviews, the poet is able to retain the interest of the reader even in the long poetries which makes them harmonious throughout. The words used in the book to recite are very meaningful and relatable – was one of the compliments that the poet got. According to the reviews, the poetries are inspired by common life and the book is for common people and the language of the book is easy and simple to understand for common people. The poet feels people, their pain, and gives them a voice through this book. He also talks about how people have been affected by sudden government decisions like lockdown.
Each and every word is weighed according to the need and decorated to form the poem was one of the compliments that took my attention during the reviews.
Constructive Criticism is also necessary…
Since they say, not everything can be perfect or they say that not everyone agrees on what you agree. The book and poet also got some constructive criticism from the senior writers of Punjab. More Idioms could be used, some more elaborations were needed, words and language were more to be taken care of, etc. These are kind of the difference we can also see when we talk about poetry writing in the modern world and in old times. So, it comes in conflict sometimes due to the understanding of the language. The poet took them well as future learning and also new writers like I need to get such critical reviews too which I noted just by attending this event.
More happenings in the event…
To maintain interest, the event wasn’t limited to just the book launch of “Por Di Joon”. There were some other activities too.
Son of the poet Bhupinder Sandhu Bathinda i.e. Karan Sandhu along with his friend Tippu Sultan created a song using their talents from one of the poems from the book itself where Karan was on guitar and Tippu was singing.
You can reach them on Instagram:
Karan Sandhu
Tippu Sultan
Following the book launch event of Por Di Joon, A poetry event was also there in which 17 poets recited their poems on various concerns and issues which were very deep. The poems were based on historical events or people, females, criticizing the wrongdoings these days, romance, social issues, a voice for the farmers, etc.
Apart from that, the discussion was also held on the challenges been raised these days due to the technological advancement in human relations and emotions, the effect of the corporate world on other people who aren’t that big like small businesses, farmers, shops, etc. and how we people of literature can help or affect these situations and people for this was discussed.
The discussion was also held on the Punjabi literature world these days showing concerns on language, poetry world, literature world, etc in the event. The points like easy and simple language to be used, new idioms should be created according to the understanding of common people these days to provide more and more clarity were some of the key points in the discussion.
Overall the event experience was good. I recommend people to buy this book. The book will be sent by courier to you. Please mail us at buy@appreciationarte.com for the order.
Author’s Note…
bout the Write-Up:
“I attended this event as a writer since I heard about it as a poetry event and then also to create more links with the local artists. But when I heard about the book in the reviews, the more I heard the more I felt to write about it. I haven’t brought any pen-paper for the event like other artists there. So, I opened my memo on mobile and wrote pointers just to note the important points for this article. Furthermore, I was thinking to buy the book but by the end of the event, I went to buy it. This is how I call this event as a successful book launch event.” says Ar. Anjali Singla (Founder of Designer Association of Artists and Appreciation Arte)
Hey peeps,
Let us know about some of your similar experiences in the events. I am sure everyone is intrigued by something. CYA.
– Ar. Anjali Singla
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