“Each ending is a step towards a new beginning”; This is the philosophy of life and the Writers’ Forum Kuwait celebrated this thought whist bidding farewell to their Vice President Mrs Chhaya Athavle and Mr Rajiv Athavle who are leaving Kuwait for good.
Due to the ongoing social distancing norms, the Farewell meeting was conducted on the virtual platform Zoom on Friday 23rd October 2020.
The meeting incepted with beautiful farewell quotes of famous poets recited by the General Secretary Mrs. Nazneen Ali, who welcomed everyone and invited Mrs. Chhaya Athavle to preside over the meeting and Mr Rajiv Athavle as the Chief Guest for the evening.
In her opening speech the President of the Forum Mrs. Maimuna Chougle shared her memories and reminisced the beautiful time spent together with Mrs Chhaya and appreciated the couple’s contribution to the Forum.
The other members who attended the meeting were Umesh Sharma, Sunil Sonsi, Sabir Omer, Mohan Singh, Aamir Diwan, Biswa Ranjan, Ammeruddin Ameer, Mrs Sabiha Bilgrami , Mrs. Kalpana Shah, Dr (Mrs.) Radhika Guleri Bhardwaj, Mrs. Madhulika Mohta, Mrs. Pallavi Nithin, Mrs. Anupama Chaturvedi and Mrs. Kavita Sarvesh. Forum’s members Sayeed Nazar Kadpawi, Shakeel Jamshedpuri and Parul Chaturvedi also extended their good wishes though could not be present in the meeting.
All the members expressed their gratitude towards Mrs. and Mr. Athavle. They all wished them a good future, health and life ahead. While everyone appreciated Mrs. Chhaya’s talent and command on three languages Marathi, Gujrati and Hindi…. More was spoken about the positivity and caring attitude that Mr Rajiv showcased always. Everyone unanimously agreed that Mrs Chhaya was a mentor and guide who always supported the young members of the Forum. It was said they both are like flowers the fragrance of which will be smelt in the Forum for years to come.
In his remarks as the Chief Guest, Mr Rajiv Athavle said that he was deeply touched by the affection that the Forum’s members expressed towards them and mentioned that poets and writers are magnetic personalities that attract everyone and this compelled him to be associated with the Forum as a listener mainly. He mentioned that writers are good listeners who have the patience to listen, understand, analyze and appreciate the view point of others; which is an art in itself.
In her Presidential remarks Mrs Chhaya Athavle expressed gratitude to each and every member of the Forum, specially the President Mrs. Maimuna Chougle who has always provided her support and guidance. She further said that she always felt proud to be associated with this Multilingual Forum that is serving as a bond between different languages and is a platform of National Unity and Integration. Mrs. Chhaya Athavle said that each meeting of the Forum was an opportunity to nourish her writing skills by witnessing the talent of other members and would treasure this experience of being associated with such a great platform and loving personalities.
She wished the Forum a long and successful journey to serve the Nation, communities and literature.
The meeting was ended with Mrs. Nazneen Ali thanking everyone for their presence particularly Mrs Sabiha Bilgrami for her technical support.