By Hardam Maan
Gazal Manch Surrey and Vancouver Vichaar Manch hosted a gathering to remember and honor a well-known poet late Gurcharan Singh Mansoor on December 13 in Surrey.
Generally, when poets pass away the gatherings are somber and subdued. But this event was unique. Since the poet’s family is of progressive thought, it was a celebration of life event for Gurcharan Singh Mansoor.
Novelist Jarnail Singh Sekha shared his professional and personal connection of 50 years with Late Gurcharan Singh Mansoor. Poet and Novelist Rajwant Raj recalled the vocal support of Mansoor Sahib for him. He said that the poetry community has lost a someone who was not shy to appreciate each poet unconditionally.
Ghazal poet Dashmesh Gill Firoze shared his experiences about his father Mansoor Sahib and he shared how proud his father was of him and his poetry.
A well-known media personality and granddaughter of Mansoor Sahib, Taranum recounted how her grandfather corrected her when she would mispronounce Punjabi terminology on the radio. Mansoor Sahib’s daughter Kamal Thind stated that her father was a feminist long before the word feminist was created as he supported women of the family to afford equal opportunities. The women of the family are proud to be descendants of Gurcharan Singh Mansoor.
Ghazal manch president Jaswinder, Mohan Gill, Devinder Gautam, Krishan Bhanot, Hardam Maan, Preet Manpreet, Gurmeet Sidhu, Sukhjeet Kaur, Parminder Swaich, Angrez Brar, Jarnail Singh Artist, Srinath Parsad Devedi, Ajmer Rode, Gurdeep Bhullar, Mohinderpal Singh Pal, Narinder Bahia, Inderjit Dhami, Kavinder Chaand shared their experiences with and about Mansoor Sahib with light humor.
