The International Francophonie Day was joyfully celebrated in Lovely Professional University on 25th March 2019 in the Shanti Devi Mittal Auditorium with the presence of students and faculty of Foreign Languages all over the University. The International Francophonie Day is celebrated on March 20 every year to recognize the power of language and culture in uniting people all over the world. It celebrates the signing of the Niamey Convention in Niger on 20 March 1970. This celebration was hosted by the Department of Foreign Languages, under the aegis of one of the Centres of Professional Enhancement in association with Alliance Française to promote French culture among LPU students.
Students were enlightened by Dr. Faizullah Khan, Senior Assistant Professor in the Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi. Having achieved great milestones in the French language, Dr. Faizullah discussed the importance of language in human lives and informed the students about some significant career aspects of the French language. Following the guest lecture, a student from the School of Hotel Management, LPU delighted the audience by singing a melodious French Song.
Directed by the famous Indian theatre artist Varun Kapoor, the dramatization of world-renowned French playwright Molière’s farcical comedy “L’Avare (The Miser)” was then staged in the auditorium. The theme of the show highlighted “Independence-Seeking Youth” and “Generation Gap in Thinking”. The French classic L’Avare by Charles-Antoine Coypel Molière is a 5-act comedy, which means ‘Kanjoos’ in its Hindustani adaptation and ‘The Miser’ in English. It is a farcical comedy about a miser and his family members, servants and acquaintances. A lot of fun follows when the plot brings some classic conflicts of love and money. The central character, the widower miser and a tyrannical father, being over sixty years of age, has huge debts to pay, yet he is keen to marry a teen girl with the power of wealth, who is found to be in love with the miser’s son. He keeps forcing his daughter to marry an old man to save himself from the clutches of dowry. As the story proceeds, the wishes of his son and daughter are fulfilled and the complications are resolved. The audience was left rolling in the aisles because of the humorous dialogues, situations, and expressions.
The whole cast of the play, including the director of the theatre group, Dr. S. Somasundaram was felicitated by Mr. Ankur Aggarwal, HOS of Centre of Professional Enhancement 3. The performers were overwhelmed to receive loud applause and a standing ovation from the audience, saying that this was the best response they have ever received from any audience.
Alliance Française (recognized by the French Ministry of Education), which has collaboration with LPU had helped in bringing the artists from its center in Delhi. It also keeps on providing necessary guidelines to LPU French faculty about the courses, official French exams, and French cultural activities. This proves to be a great endeavor for students who want to pursue further studies in the French language.
