Author Appreciation Day Celebration (Creative Writing Workshop)

The Department of English and Cultural Studies hosted a Creative Writing workshop on 10th December 2025 from 11 AM to 1 PM. The session was hosted by Ms Sucharita Dutta-Asane, a Sahitya Akademi Award Nominee, the Managing Editor at Red River Story and an esteemed member of the Department’s Advisory Board. The workshop was held in honour of both the author Mulk Raj Anand as well as Gender Sensitivity Week and focused on Anand’s portrayal of women, gender identities and roles in his works. This thematic convergence allowed the workshop to explore creative writing not merely as an artistic act but also as a reflective and socially conscious practice. Anand’s literary contributions, especially his empathetic portrayal of women and marginalized identities, provided a meaningful foundation for the discussions and activities planned for the day. His works, widely recognized for their humanistic appeal, opened up avenues for examining gender, social inequality, and emotional interiority through a literary and creative lens. Ms Asane’s session explored Anand’s works and provided students with a hands-on experience with writing physicality and the ‘body’ in their works.

Ms. Asane began the session with an engaging overview of Anand’s treatment of women in his fiction, highlighting the nuanced ways in which he foregrounded gender-based struggles, embedded resistance, and questioned patriarchal norms. She underscored the relevance of Anand’s narrative strategies in contemporary contexts, particularly in conversations about representation, the politics of the body, and the complexities of gender identity. Her reflections framed the workshop as both an homage to Anand’s legacy and an invitation to students to reimagine similar themes through their own creative voices.

A central component of the workshop focused on writing physicality and the ‘body’ in literature—a theme Ms. Asane explored with thoughtful clarity. She emphasized how the body, often overlooked in early-stage writing, can serve as a powerful expressive tool that grounds characters, emotions, and experiences in vivid, relatable ways. Through interactive exercises, students were asked to observe, describe, and inhabit the physicality of their characters, paying attention to gestures, posture, sensory detail, and embodied emotion. These activities encouraged participants to reflect on how bodies carry stories—of identity, trauma, resilience, gender, and desire—and how such narratives can be conveyed effectively in creative writing.

Students responded enthusiastically to the hands-on component of the workshop. They engaged in short writing tasks that required them to integrate bodily awareness into their narratives, experiment with sensory-rich language, and consider how gender shapes the bodily experiences of their characters. These exercises challenged students to think beyond conventional descriptive techniques and to explore the deeper emotional and symbolic dimensions that physicality can bring to storytelling.

The workshop concluded with an open discussion, where participants shared their reflections, insights, and newly drafted pieces. Ms. Asane offered personalized feedback, encouraging students to trust their creative instincts while remaining attentive to nuance, empathy, and intentionality in their writing.

Overall, the Creative Writing Workshop was a resounding success. It not only strengthened students’ writing abilities but also deepened their understanding of gender representation in literature, aligning seamlessly with the Department’s academic and cultural objectives.