It was Friday, the last day of the Conference. We had a Sanskrit Poets' meeting in the morning, followed by the general body meeting of the International Association of Sanskrit Studies, the hosts for the Conference. The event ended at 1 PM and we had a chance to move around the city. Prem Nagar was scheduled to return back to the US in the night. I stayed a couple of days more and return after touring Cambodia and India.
We had our usual routine of stopping over at the shrine of Shiva in the hotel lobby and then enter the breakfast hall. We had to announce our room numbers for the receptionist to note. In the hall, I noticed that most tables appeared to be occupied in a regular order like our own "reserved" table. Human beings choose a tree and take shelter under it. There possibly develops a latent psychological association. We get attached to objects that we do not wish to change. Such mania transcends to food, dress and habits. I have not understood our weakness to familiarity. I buy a certain type of tea even though the cost has gone up arbitrarily high!
We took our shuttle to the Conference hotel. People were slow in gathering for the poetry meeting. I was told that it is a "political" event and the participation is through "invitation." I had not seen a solicitation for the event. I thought that the creative writing is a good idea. We run a poets' group in Boston. I have interest in the expressive capacity of the words. I wanted to hear the renderings carefully. We took our seats near the front rows in order to facilitate clear hearing. Our other friends showed up. They were commenting on the arbitrariness of the event. Some were not respectful to the organizers.
The program was introduced in Sanskrit by the Chair and the poets were sequenced through some earlier process. The poems were more of arrangement of words than to convey the deeper sentiment that Sanskrit poetry is known for. The rhythm and the prosody were missing. Dr Kutumba Shastri, the Chair of the Conference, gave a relief by reciting his work in style and meter. His long poem took a lot more time than the three minutes allotted to a poet. All of the early readers went beyond the limit forcing the latter readers to a minute or elimination. Gradually it became chaotic and I could understand the criticism. I noticed Prof Ashok Aklujkar seated right behind our row. Prem Nagar helped to take a picture of me with the Professor.
After a short coffee break, we had the general body meeting. The organization only had a few hundred members and was weak in its economy. It operated on membership fees and had no patronage. The Conferences got supported through the local funding and charitable contributions. The Secretary General called on all to become members of the organization in order to lend voice in the management. The next Conference (17th WSC in 2018) was scheduled to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada, and the following Conference (18th in 2021) was scheduled to be held in Canberra, Australia. There were orientation speeches by the prospective organizers. The organization gives two "thesis" awards instituted by DK Printworld, the booksellers in Delhi. The awards were presented away. There was formal announcement of the new officers of the organization and the acceptance speeches by the individuals.
The lunch on the last day of the Conference was a time to give parting hugs. We had made quite a few friends and we wished well to as many as we could. We had a quick lunch. A Sanskrit scholar from Cambodia saw me and expressed appreciation to my work. I told her about my impending visit to Cambodia. She expressed her willingness to help me in my trip.
We moved from the hotel in our expedition to explore the city of Bangkok.