Quilluminati, the English Creative Writing Society of Gargi College, is a home for budding writers who come together to hone their flair for creative expression.   Apart from helping foster the creative spirit of its members, Quilluminati works towards a wide variety of surrounding causes such as promoting inclusivity and gender sensitivity, increasing political awareness, teaching important professional skills and contributing towards a sustainable environment.  We are a diverse crew where writers across genres connect to help each other improve and grow through workshops, competitions and constructive feedback. Quilluminati is not only known for its writers but also for the warm space we all build together to embrace an art form as intimate as writing.

• Convener : Riddhi Roy : B.A. (Hons.) Political Science
• Co-convener : Disha Arora : B.A. (Hons.) Business Economics

Language is so inseparably soldered with every sphere of our lives that it assumes a sense of agency in all that we think, in all that we do and in all that we think of doing. Being a society that bases its existence on the craft of understanding and using words, Quilluminati aims to have writers on board that will not only engage but also empower people who are otherwise removed from linguistic discourses. 

Quilluminati aims to create a collective space for people who are sensitive to the nuances of language and who value their craft and the power it holds.

Quilluminati aims to empower people, both within the literary circles and beyond, to grasp the weight that words have in shaping how we the contemporary society and how we imagine the future to be like.

PENORAMA 2024

Penorama, the annual flagship fest of Quilluminati, the English Creative Writing Society of Gargi College, unveiled its 2024 installment featuring a kaleidoscope of events, from "What's Past Is Prologue" a creative writing competition traversing eras and perspectives, a slam poetry contest themed "History Repeats," and finally an enlightening panel called "Stories Inherited"  moderated by the Quill student union with the renowned oral historian, Aanchal Malhotra that shed light on the literary footprints of the Partition of India.

MUKHTALIF 2023

Gargi College's Quilluminati held 'Mukhtalif 2023' on Nov 1, focusing on 'Linguistic Diversity.' It featured a panel discussion 'unkahi ya unsuni' with esteemed professors. An on-the-spot writing competition 'Lost in Translation' used prompts from various languages. A 'Wall of Free Speech' and a literary board, 'Mirror Mirror on the Wall.' The event concluded with 'Upon My Word,' a slam poetry competition centered on 'language.' It featured exceptional performances and wrapped up beautifully.

PENORAMA 2023
Quill hosted its flagship event ‘Penorama’ on March 27 during which it had the honour of inviting the renowned author Dr. Nivedita Menon to talk about Constitutional Morality and the Classroom. Under the aegis of this event, the members organized a slam poetry competition, a creative writing relay, a comic dialogue writing competition and an alternate mythology competition to suggest alternate plots to established mythological tales.

ACHIEVEMENTS
In addition to hosting events and inviting participants from different colleges, the members of Quill also went to the literary festivals of other colleges, both in and outside Delhi, and won multiple awards across different forms of writing and performative poetry. Some of the colleges where Quill members have bagged the top positions this year include IIT Delhi, IIT Roorkee, Miranda House, IHE, Sri Venkateswara College and NIFT Delhi amongst many others. The works of Quill members have also been published on platforms like LiveWire, The Remnant Archive and Ayaskala Magazine among others. They have also contributed to the literary magazines of other colleges like Siyasat (Hindu College), BlueQuill (Miranda House College), Abhivyanjana (Motilal Nehru College), Principia (Sri Venkateswara College) etc.

IN-CITY TRIPS

In addition to focusing on events that pertain to writing, we also visit places of literary and historical significance with the entire team. These experiences help foster a spirit of belongingness within the team as well as a sense of connection with places and people that hold sway in literary circles. In September 2023, we visited the Partition Museum in Kashmere Gate which was an enriching experience. Upon looking at the various exhibits in the complex, the members sparked conversations about how the Partition tainted our literature while discussing the writings of writers like Manto and Khushwant Singh.

INKING INDIA

Under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Quilluminati set up a literary display within the college premises which reflected how the idea of 'freedom' is constructed in the popular imagination of the masses, especially the student community in contemporary times.