Tuesday, March 1, 2011

of Creative writings and More...


Unkept promise is almost always the reason for cynicisms, doubts and discontentment in young people. This became quite clear to us when we posted our invitation calling for articles to be published in the first edition of the Literary Society’s magazine Sherubtse Spectrum. Very few, if any, articles were handed over in the first week. And those who did were the freshers who were still new to Sherubtse’s ways.

We almost gave up the idea of Sherubtse Spectrum then; it seemed like it was only us who were interested. Some of the more honest said outright that they will not waste any more time writing another article when nothing came out of the many they have written already. However, after much coaxing and cajoling, we did have our entries. Sherubtse’s creative energy has not run dry after all. It was only that it had lost its ways somewhere in the chasm between the tall claims and indifferent actions.
Old timers cry foul over the recent brigade of Sherubtseans. There was indeed a time when the national newspaper, Kuensel, brimmed with works by our students. Hardly any us make it there today. However, if it so, the reason is mainly that a-boy-meets-a-girl story does not have the same charm over the youngsters. Blatant patriotism also seems to make much less sense today. Creative writing requires a lot more creativity nowadays. The Literary Club members knew that all eyes will be on us to bring in this creativity. We were not sure how the standard of English could deteriorate with all the exposure we have. It could be just that students find it much harder to express the thoughts which they think can make a difference.
So, we came up with the idea of Sherubtse Spectrum to give an outlet to all our thoughts. It is a publication that has some news of the college, and more importantly, an amazing assortment of creative writings by the students in different genres. It also contains a few tips on writing English better. Ofcourse, we thought it worth the space. Through this publication, we wanted to show that Sherubtseans could still be competitive in this age when challenges abound. Spectrum celebrates the spirit of our college in all its diversity. We chose this appellation because we thought the word ‘spectrum’ manifests the reach of the human potential and the positive energy that it evokes in a beautiful mix which is at once creative. Our effort has been to make a learning an memorable experience.
With precious little resources at our disposal, it all depended on how well we improvised. Under the circumstance, our technical team has done a great job in designing and laying out the pages in inexpensive formats. We toyed with some ideas-some remained mere ideas, others that came through are here for all to see.
The second issue will be published in the next semester and we are convinced that we have laid the road ahead. Even if nothing else comes through, our spirits will.
The Literary Society
PS. This piece of editorial was written for the first edition of the ‘Sherubtse Spectrum’ that the Literary Society of Sherubtse College published in 2006 while I was in my 2nd Year. I have a feeling that if finding a literary expression was hard then, it still remains so. I am personally finding myself torn between the professional compulsions of job and my literary inclinations in this adamantly nihilistic world. By the way, I am no longer privy to the Society and I am not sure if its members still work to the keep the promises that we made to inspire creativity. I just hope that we have been successful in instituting the tradition of literary excellence that we looked forward to so that they can build on it now.

3 comments:

  1. 'If finding a literary expression was hard then, it still remains so' is still my take on creative writing. It is so difficult to find anything interesting to read about other than the said boy-love-girl story and every one is tired of happy endings,atleast I am. I loved your posts,I could relate to most of it. Good to know you guys started the Sherubtse Spectrum. I haven't read an issue but you made me want to.

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  2. Lop Dendup, for your kind information, we are trying our best to revive the faltering Spectrum journal after a gap of almost two years.

    Cheers!

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