The Enriching Essence of Vidhi Utsav by Ms Shilpa Bhasin

Vidhi Utsav - The Legal Literature festival is a brilliant initiative by OakBridge Publishers. Literature can only enhance the skills of lawyers and of advocacy.

Have you noticed how lawyers introduce themselves?

I am Advocate ABC. Is that all? We are so much more, than our black coats and law books. We work for 8 or 10 or even 12 hours a day. What about the remaining hours? We have family, hobbies, interests, likes and dislikes. Why is that we completely overlook everything besides our work?

I have heard the Late Mr Fali S Nariman speak on numerous occasions. He was such a brilliant orator besides a legal legend. He could remember and recite quotes verbatim even in his 90s. This only added flair and charm to his legal knowledge which knew no end.

There are so many aspects of a person. That’s what makes us a complete person. We may like music, sports (be it golf or cricket), cinema, travel and the list can go on. We all work, but it is the finer things like literature or music that add meaning and leisure to our lives, giving our logical and analytical mind a much-needed rest.

Have you seen a diamond, the various facets of it add to its shine and value. Same is the case with any profession. A multi-facetted personality is a pleasure to meet and most interesting to interact. Lawyers who know and enjoy other streams only enrichen their advocacy and interpersonal skills. In the day of networking, PR and social media that we live in, lawyers shall only benefit from knowing more than what the law says.

Just like the Cricket matches organized by SILF, are such fun filled events, where the lawyers are playing in whites, abandoning their black coats. It is so refreshing to see them laughing and enjoy jokes at each other. Vidhi Utsav is a fresh concept that will only add light, stories and humor for the legal fraternity.

The connection between Law and Literature is not new and it has fascinated many authors. If law and literature are compared, the idea of law is to regulate human relationships and peace. Literature documents human experiences and relationships and articulates them. Law and Literature put into perspective the complexity that we live with every day, and aids in comprehending the maze that is the human mind and subsequent actions.

It’s not surprising how many quotes about the legal system end up in literature.

Just to quote a few-

"Lawyers hold that there are two kinds of particularly bad witnesses--a reluctant witness, and a too-willing witness."
~ The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

"The law will argue anything, with anybody who will pay the law for the use of its brains and its time."
~ Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins

"Do as adversaries do in law,
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends."
~ The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

May Vidhi Utsav flourish and add life, light and color to the lives of us lawyers.

Author: Shilpa Bhasin Mehra

Lawyer, Author #legal #writing #womenempowerment #diversityandinclusion