As it is aptly said, "productivity …is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning and focused effort", Literati, the English Literary Association organised a plethora of events and activities throughout the year 2022-23 to hone the innate talents of the students.

The Freshers’ party was organised in a delightfully successful manner. The talent of the newcomers exhibited through various activities impressed us all. The following students were bestowed the titles:

Miss Freshers: Priyanshi

Miss Well Dressed: Manushka Garg

Miss Talented: Medha Bhardwaj

Keeping the departmental endeavours for excellence alive, several academic events were organised throughout the year. The most of August proved most exciting and insightful beginning with the film screening of Mrs. Dalloway on 17th August, 2022 which the students could attend online.

A Two Day Poetry Writing Workshop was held on 29th-30th August 2022, with Dr. Akhil Katyal of the School of Culture and Creative Expressions, Ambedkar University and Ms.Ridhi Bhutani, Fellow at Teach For India, Founder of the Project Pehli Baat and an alumna of the department as the Resource Persons. The students also got an opportunity to visit the Partition Exhibition on 31st August, 2022.

September brought more cheer for the Department as the 3rd year Literati students organised the Teachers’ Day celebration with a lot of fun games and activities like word puzzles and tongue twisters on September 5th, 2022.

An Academic Reading and Writing event was also organised on 30th November 2022.

The year 2023 began with another significant initiative of the English Department, that is, the Distinguished Lecture Series. Two of the most prominent academicians in the field of literature were invited for lectures.

The inaugural lecture of the English Department Distinguished Lecture Series was delivered by Professor Emeritus Amritjit Singh, the Langston Hughes Professor of English and African American Studies at Ohio University. Prof. Singh highlighted the notion of ‘Long Partition’ and the necessity to imbibe a new and more accommodating mind-set. A very productive interaction followed the comprehensive talk, held on 22nd February 2023.

The next lecture was delivered by Professor Christel Rashmi Devadawson, Professor, Department of English, University of Delhi and a prominent name in the international intellectual fraternity. The topic of her lecture was “The (Dis)Enchantments of Postcolonialism”, delivered on 22nd March 2023.

Literati organised a grand departmental fest, Novella 23, with lots of excitement and enthusiasm, on 25th March 2023. With ‘Nav Rasas’ as the theme for the fest, fervent activities marked it as a memorable event. Young creative talent Manan Kathuria conquered the hearts of the participants, whereas Col. Jiten Hazarika enriched the mental horizons of the audience about Nav Rasas with his vast knowledge in the fields of Sanskrit, painting and art and aesthetics in general.

The students of the department presented an outstanding theatrical performance titled “Four Characters in Search of an Author” inspired by Luigi Pirandello’s classic “Sei Personaggi in Cerca D’autore”. The music competition, the quiz competition as well as all other events created a gratifying experience for everyone present.

The Departmental magazine, Expressions:2022-2023 was released on the Annual Day of the college and it showcased the creative, imaginative and academic strivings of our students.

In May 2023, the Department bid farewell to its outgoing batch with best wishes for their future endeavours and a hope that they continue to make their department and college proud.

More recently, a Creative Writing Workshop was orgainsed by the department on June 20th, 2023. The resource speaker for the same was the eminent writer Dr. Iva Yates who holds a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Limerick, Ireland. Entire faculty of the department as well as students from various departments of the college benefitted immensely through this interaction.

In today’s world of unprecedented changes happening in every sphere of life, the process of adapting oneself to learning and unlearning itself is becoming a hugely challenging task. As Alvin Toffler highlights:

“The illiterate of the 20th Century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and re-learn”

The Department of English, DRC, DU also goes ahead together in the process of learning, un-learning, re-learning!