Authors Bernhard, Tahmina speak at Majha literary session

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Amritsar, December 10

The Majha House hosted two literary sessions today with Germany-based writer Bernhard Moestl and Pakistani author Tahmina Aziz Ayub. They were at the Majha House to talk about their books ‘Shaolin: How to Win Without Fighting’ and ‘Forgotten Legacies of Sir Ganga Ram ndash; 1851 ndash; 1927’, respectively. Both, quite different in choosing their subjects, but similar in their craft, were introduced by Preeti Gill, the founder of the Majha House.

“Bernhard and Tahmina are not just writers, they are artists who have spent their lives in the quest of art and its origins. How our lives are affected and shaped by art and different philosophies is also the purview of their art,” she said.

In his session, Moestl, whose book is an exploration of the ancient Shaolin way of life, opined that we don’t need to win, but that we do need to fight all through our lives. “Many people live all their lives trying to prove to other people that they are the best. But in the Shaolin way of life, we do not need to prove that we are stronger than others; we just know and, in this realisation lies the win. The question is not what we can do, but what we think we can do. It is all about harnessing and realising the power of the mind,” he said. Bernhard, who learnt from Shaolin monks and is a practitioner himself, differentiated between ‘mindfulness’ and ‘meditation’. “To me, ‘Mindful’ means being aware and conscious of actions and reactions. If a person does not act according to our expectations, that person controls us. We react to that behavior. But if we rise above this expectation that is meditation.” He has been travelling through Asia to collect insights about Shaolin philosophies.

In the second session, Tahmina, who is fondly called Poonam by her friends and family, discussed her biographical book on Sir Ganga Ram, beyond the renowned Ganga Ram Hospitals. The Lahore-based author, said that, to her, Sir Ganga Ram is an unsung hero, a civil engineer, who served during the British Raj, and is known to have made an extensive contribution to the urban structure of Lahore. She said that she was delighted that her book was being launched in Amritsar, a city which has strong ties with both her and Sir Ganga Ram.

“Not many people know that Sir Ganga Ram was born in Amritsar in Katra Ahluwalia. After attending Lahore College, he pursued engineering from the Roorkee Engineering College. His first major project was in Dera Ghazi Khan,” she said.

Dwelling on the importance of Lahore in his life, Tahmina said, “If Lahore changed him, he too, shaped Lahore in a way. DAV College of Lahore was designed by him, as were Atchinson College, the Hailey College of Commerce, Lahore Museum, among others. His intelligence and vision went beyond architecture.” She noted that he was dedicated to the cause of education as he was the one to introduce the subject of Commerce in Lahore. He was a philanthropist; many projects conceived by him are still on, she stressed, while noting that work for jail inmates, the novel concept of lift irrigation, hydro-electric power and the agro industry all came from his visionary mind.