MELOW CONFERENCE, 2022

ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF T.S. ELIOT’S THE WASTE LAND

Report – Day 1

The 22^nd MELOW International conference on One Hundred Years of T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land was inaugurated in the beautiful state of Goa on the 23^rd of September 2022. The guests and the speakers of the conference were welcomed by Prof. Manpreet Kang, Secretary, MELOW. She also introduced the audience to the theme and the twentieth-century poet, critic and essayist, T. S. Eliot. Prof. Manju Jaidka, President, MELOW, gave the presidential address and formally introduced the chief guest, the Vice-Chancellor of Shoolini University, Prof. Atul Khosla. Prof. Jaidka then familiarized the delegates with the history of the society which has been holding conferences for the past twenty-five years.

In her Presidential Address titled, 'Many People, Many Tongues: The Plurality of Perspectives in The Waste Land.' Prof. Manju Jaidka, President MELOW, traced the critical reception of The Waste Land to when it was written. She observed that the many voices in the poem may be seen as different personas of the poet. She also welcomed Professor Sripad Bhat, Department of English, University of Goa, Goa to the conference. Professor Roshan Sharma, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Dharamshala proposed the vote of thanks and gave a detailed account of the contributions made by MELOW. He described MELOW as a dynamic and evolving body that has been shaping scholars and students. Professor Manpreet Kang, Indraprastha University, New Delhi, compered the inaugural session.

The chief guest Prof. Atul Khosla then addressed the delegates. He stressed the importance of poetry and bringing it back into our lives. He spoke about his strong belief in the amalgam of creativity and science and how creativity powers output. He appreciated the efforts of MELOW in pushing the frontiers of literature.

In the plenary session chaired by Prof. Roshan Lal Sharma, the first speaker of the session- Sanjay Mukherjee, Prof. Department of English and CLS, Saurastra University, Rajkot, Gujrat, gave his insights on The Sense of ‘Shantih’ in The Waste Land. He started his paper with “The end is where we start from” and he talked about Eliot’s use of Buddhist philosophy and Sanskrit words. Jason Wiens, Department of English, Associate Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Calgary, discussed the Appropriative Poetics in The Waste Land and the multiplicity of voices which enter the poem.

Kalpana Purohit, Professor and Head, Department of English, Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur, made a presentation on Traversing Through Eliot’s The Waste Land: A Cultural and Philosophical Kaleidoscopic Views. Her paper reconstructed Eliot’s The Waste Land from the cultural and philosophical point of view. She also dwelt on the Buddhist philosophy with relation to the five sections of the poem.

The afternoon session of the first day of the conference was chaired by Prof. Roshan Lal Sharma. It was focused on the Isaac Sequeira Memorial Lecture and presented by K. Narayana Chandran, Department of English, University of Hyderabad. He spoke on Shoring Fragments of the Waste Land Centennial and approached The Waste Land as a post-modern poem written in the Modernist era. The ISM Lecture was in the memory of Prof. Isaac Sequeira who was a great support in the initial years of MELOW. Every year MELOW awards a cash prize and a certificate to the best paper presented by a young scholar at the conference.

The ISM session or the last session of the day was chaired by Kalpana Purohit where the speaker Ashish Kumar Pathak, Assistant professor, Department of English, BHU discussed the contemporary Environmental Crisis and The Ecological Wisdom in The Waste Land. The second speaker, Sayantani Sengupta, Department of English, The Bhawanipur Education Society College examined Eliot’s Detective and Rowson’s The Waste Land. The third presenter, Deeksha Vats, presented a paper on “The Waste Land” and the stage; relevance of Art in a Dilapidating world.  The last presenter Sreejit Datta made an interesting discussion on “The Waste Land” as a cross-civilizational Dialogue. The Isaac Sequeira Memorial (ISM) prize was awarded to Sreejit Datta, Assistant Professor, Rishihood University, Sonipat for his paper titled 'Reading T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land as a Cross-Civilizational Dialogue. 

Day – 2 (24^th September 2022)

There were parallel sessions on the second day in halls Zuari and Sal.

The following sessions were held in Sal:

A session was chaired by Prof. Sanjay Mukherjee. The two presenters in this session were Bipasha and Navreet. The first presenter, Bipasha, presented a paper titled “Vision of Tiresias: Desire and Disability in The Waste Land.  She discussed the intellectual and psychological disabilities that surface in the reading of the poem. The second presenter, Navreet Sahi, presented a paper titled “Journeying into the Mental Waste Land: A Psychopathological Reading of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land. She delved into the psychological realm of the fragmentation of the society at large and the poet in specific which reflects in the fragmented form of the poem.

The second session was chaired by Dr. Navreet Sahi and it had four presentations. Pia Bakshi, the first presenter, suggested that the presence of dead characters in The Waste Land alludes to the impossibility of a return to the past in her paper titled “Nostalgia and Spectrality in The Waste Land. Rajguru Santosh, the second presenter explored the aesthetic aspect of the poem in his paper titled “Aesthetics in T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land: A Dantean Approach.” Sree Prasad presented his paper “Human Stage of Musical Noises: The Waste Land as a Rhyme of Shambolic Modernity” in which he focused on the significance of musicality taking into account Eliot’s thoughtful and pragmatic metrical composition. The last presenter of the session, Subham Dutta, presented a paper titled “Spatiality, Narrative and the Poetics of Representation in The Waste Land” where he explored the relationship between narrative and spatiality focusing on the fluid representation of “I” narrator. The session was followed by a lunch break.

The third session was chaired by Dr. Brian Mendonca. There were four presenters in this session. The first presenter, Vaishali Sharma, presented a detailed account of the relevance of the notes in the poem to make the reader aware of the satire in the work in her paper titled “Hollow and Ignored Voices in the Unattended and Plaintive Waste Land.” The second presenter, Sukriti, presented her paper titled “Fragments of Past and Present: Use of Allusions and Mythologyin T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land in which she examined the various temporal and cultural contexts that are woven together in the poem. She also talked about the importance of history in understanding the context of the poem. The third presenter Surabhi Chandan, made a comparative study of Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake and Eliot’s The Waste Land, in her paper titled “Environmental Apathy and Denial to Change: A Comparative Study of Oryx and Crake and Eliot’s The Waste Land. The last presenter of the session Dr. Vandana Sharma, presented her paper titled “What does the Thunder Say? 3 Da’s to Shanti Paath in The Waste Land.  She explored the Vedic connection of the poem also examining Eliot’s antidote to spiritual bleakness for the restoration of the individual. The session was followed by a tea break.

The last session of the day was chaired by Prof. Jap Preet. The session had two presenters. The first presenter, Tarika’s paper titled “Antiquated Indian Voices in European Modern Cities: The Uses of Planetarity in The Waste Land” explored the postcolonial and planetary engagement of the Western and Oriental landscapes. The last presentation of the day was made by Sumegha. Her paper titled “Mapping the Contours of Changing Social Spaces in The Waste Land” dealt with the concept of social spaces and how it relates to the images of transforming social spaces in The Waste Land.

Sessions held in ZUARI hall, on 24^th September:

The first session was Chaired by Neela Sarkar. First presentation was made by Amitrajeet Mukherjee, "Trenches in the Mind: The Waste Land and T. S. Eliot's Legacy as a Wartime Poet." It drew parallels between Eliot's The Waste Land’s fragmentary explication of modernity and the inability of expressing the incomprehensibility of war thereby providing a deeper and greater and deeper perspective on the wartime experiences. The second speaker, Brian Mendonca's "The Waste Land as a Palimpsest of the Pandemic" posited that The Waste Land was a poem written during the pandemic and drawing examples from the text itself established a coherent thesis on the same. Referring to The Waste Land as a Janus-faced text it connected the experiences of the Spanish Influenza pandemic with the current Covid pandemic, including the cruelty of April, the separation of lovers, the insistence on following a routine to retain one's sanity and the bodies meandering down the Ganga. Eliot's text has continued to be a beacon of hope providing healing and comfort. It was followed by an engaging Q&A session delving into Eliot's political inclinations, the apathy of his characters and how The Waste Land with its multifacetedness can be interpreted both as a poem depicting wartime anguish to a glimmer of hope.

The second session chaired by Vandana Sharma had four speakers. Hariom Singh's “Modernity as 'Other': Technology and Gender in T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land” paper sought to elucidate "the impact of the industrial revolution on the female sex. Depicting the poem as a paradox of unity and disunity it highlighted the adverse impact of science on women and how the nameless typist fails to lose the external identity of her profession even inside the four walls of her home and how this is a result of the industrial revolution following the latest scientific and technological advancements. Ishita Sareen, the second speaker, presented a paper titled "Topophrenic Spatiotemporalities in The Waste Land: Revisiting Eliot's Poem as a Produced Space." Her Topophrenic study of the poem highlighted how the poem depicts both real spaces and unreal ones, and how the unreality of the spaces is established and heightened by the temporal disconnect and simultaneously, the juxtaposition of spaces geographically distinct but temporally connected. In doing so she established the poem as a commentary on the ubiquity of the waste land in the cosmopolitan world. Jap Preet Kaur Bhangu was the third speaker. Her paper titled "T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land. A Metaphor for the Contemporary World" analyzed the poem as an attempt to find a sense of a multicultural creation. Referring to Eliot's inclusion of Hindu and Buddhist scriptures she suggested that Eliot was incorporating the cultural experience of colonies, thereby painting a global and universal picture. His return to the past. she believed, was not born out of nostalgia but out of a desire to recover a meaning that can be understood universally. Manika Ahuja was the final presenter. Her paper was titled, "Allusions to Illusions: The Influence of Indian Thought on T.S. Eliot" examined the intent of Eliot's Indian connection from an Orientalist perspective. It was followed by an engaging discussion on the relevance of literature, the significance of literary allusions and the relevance of Eliot in the modem world and the need for a Dalit interpretation of the poem.

The third session and was chaired by Professor Roshan Lal Sharma. It started with a lucid presentation by Neela Sarkar and Bulu Mukhopadhay. Their paper "Traversing The Waste Land with T. S. Eliot and Bishnu Dey" drew incredibly insightful parallels between the British-American poet and the Bengali poet. Borrowing from Eliot's idea of Tradition it also foregrounded how Bishnu Dey's poetry is not just a simplistic adaptation of the Bard but more. The second paper was presented by Nitika Gulati. Her paper "Mapping the Modem Mind: Mental Health Echoes in The Waste Land" drew relevant examples from the poem to show how the poem can be read as an indirect and a direct reflection on and of mental health issues afflicting humanity both in the past and the present. The third speaker, Rajesh Williams, through his paper "Echoes of The Waste Land in Literature, Popular Culture and Art highlighted the relevance of Eliot's imagery in the modem world and how echoes of it may be seen in contemporary literature, art as well as popular culture across the globe. The session was followed by a discussion on capitalism and schizophrenia in Eliot's poem, its shock value and the nuances of mental illness and their depiction.

The final session had two speakers and was chaired by Santosh Rajguru. Shehreen Ataur Khan’s novel presentation titled "Reading Banksy's Street art through the verses of The Waste Land" included the print outs of the paintings being handed out. It highlighted a chilling undercurrent of violence that connects the two artists, a violence spawned by Capitalism. Mary Mohanty, the second speaker, in her paper "Impact of The Waste Land on Odia Literature: Revisiting Guru Prasad Mohanty’s Kalapurusha" gave us a glimpse into Odia literature, specifically Kalapurusha. Her thesis was, while Eliot's text might have been responsible for the ushering of the modernist inclination in Odia Literature, the poets did not blindly parrot Eliot's words. She highlighted the same using Guru Prasad Mohanty’s Kalapurusha as an example. The session ended with a scholarly conversation and discussion regarding the relevance of Shantih and the connotation of its presence and absence in the various adaptation and appropriations of The Waste Land and the assumed impotence of Tiresias in the context of The Waste Land.

Day 3.

The first session was chaired by  Prof. Anil Raina. It had three presenters. Shimi Moni Doley presented a paper on  “Eliot’s The Wasteland: Deconstructing the Morality of Mankind.” She spoke about Eliot’s call to transcend the limitations of linear time and space, parsing the meaning of historical and literary allusions. The paper also intended to explore the modern wasteland and past wastelands looking for directions, for spiritual enlightenment and eternal salvation. The next paper was presented jointly by Srishti Sharma and Sakshi Sundaram titled “The Waste Land and its Cinematic Afterlives: Critical Analysis of Select Diegetic Readings of the Poem”The speakers used the narratological tool: the narrative voice and the editing technique of montage for analysis of the same. They critically examined the ways in which a diegetic reading of the poem inside a cinematic universe changes and defines the overall narrative of the film.

During the tea break, there was a surprise awaiting the delegates. Interestingly, Eliot’s 134^th birth anniversary was celebrated by the delegates with cake, song and dance. Prof. Brian Mendonca enthralled the delegates with his guitar and extraordinary melodious voice. While this was a surprise for everyone, it became a memorable and cherishable moment for everyone attending the conference.

The final session was chaired by Dr.  Jason Wiens. The first presenter, Prof. Manpreet Kaur Kang, presented her paper titled “Madame Sosostris and Her Tribe: A Study of the Women in The Waste Land.” The speaker aimed to take a re-look at The Waste Land from the lens of contemporary feminist debates to study the women in the poem who have been used by Eliot to portray the agony, horror and decay of the modern world. The next presenter Prof. Roshan Sharma presented his paper “Upanishadic Notions of Datta, Dayadhvam and Damyata as Antidotes to Varied Waste Lands.” The speaker intended to analyse Upnishadic notions of Datta, Dayadhvam and Damyata as antidotes to diverse kinds of desolate and hopeless wastelands as depicted in the poem, He further delved into the ‘why’ of Eliot’s considered choice of them as the only viable and sustainable correctives.

The last or the concluding session of the conference was the valedictory session. The report of the three days of the conference proceedings was read by Dr. Navreet Sahi. Thereafter, the certificates were handed over to all the participants and their feedback was sought. Prof. Manpreet Kaur Kang announced that the selected papers would be published in the journal MEJO after a double-blind peer review. Prof. Manju Jaidka, president, MELOW, thanked everyone for their participation and cooperation in making the conference a success.

Report compiled by Navreet Sahi with inputs from Surbhi Chandan and Sayantani Sengupta