Jamia Journal Independent Student-run News Website of Jamia Millia Islamia (a Central University)
The fourth Ahmed Ali memorial lecture was organized by the Department of English on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. The event was held at Edward W Said Hall, which was presided by Vice Chancellor Najeeb Jung.
According to Wikipedia: Ahmed Ali was born in the year 1910 in New Delhi and died in 1994 in Karachi. He was an Indian novelist who moved to Pakistan after independence in 1947.
Ali is famous for writing “Twilight in Delhi,” arguably the greatest novel ever written about Delhi and is considered to be a classic. Born in Delhi, he was involved in progressive literary movements as a young man.
His son, daughter and daughter-in-law were present as guest speakers for the event, who had flown in from Pakistan.
The head of the English department, Ms. Shyamala A. Narayan commenced the event by welcoming the guests and giving a brief description of the life and works of Ahmed Ali. She mentioned the important writings of the author and his contributions in Urdu and English literature.
Later the Vice Chancellor introduced the family members of the author and the keynote speaker for the event, Mr. Shamsur Rahman Faruqi.
The only daughter of the author, Ms. Shaheen Ahmed Ali thanked Jamia for the honor. She spoke to the audience by telling some personal aspects about her father’s life.
The son of Ahmed Ali, Ooroz Ahmed Ali, spoke about his father by enumerating the achievements of his father in Urdu and English literature. He quoted some lines and personal details about his father.
The keynote speaker, Faruqi, delivered a lecture titled “The Truth of Fiction.” He gave a short biography of Ahmed Ali and read out extracts from different works of fiction and defined some terms of literature.
The event came to an end with a vote of thanks by Saroj Kumar Mahananda, a professor in the Department of English.
Scenes From the Event
Pictures
