Friday 30 October 2015

Rasipuram Reflections - I

The name Rasipuram immediately brings to mind the legendary Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan (R.K.Narayan) and his memorable oeuvre. Yes, how can one ever forget the young and mischievous Swami, and his ‘mighty good-for-nothing’ friends who have been our childhood reads for years and years!

Ambassadors - they still rule the roost in Rasipuram...
Well, it was for the first time I stepped on the soil where R K Narayan was born – Rasipuram! Lucky that I was able to take a direct train from Chennai to Rasipuram, and only after I alighted in Rasipuram, I was told by my ushering friends here that the new broad gauge line was opened for traffic only in May 2013. Well, the train was indeed overflowing with passengers, which was greatly suggestive of the massive surge in demand for this route! Kudos to this largesse of the Southern Railways!

After my programme at Paavai Engineering College was over for the day, had an equally refreshing rendezvous with faculty friends here who gave me tips on the various tourist locations in and around Rasipuram.

 ‘What is Rasipuram famous for?’ I asked one of the faculty friends, rather unduly curious!

‘GHEE’ came voices in varying vocal ranges – [SATB? ;-) ] exemplifying the local pride in all its magnificence, in their happy voices!

Such is the name Rasipuram has earned for herself over the ages for her ghee and butter. Then I asked him for shops where I can get good ghee, and he directed me to one famous Veerappa Chettiar Shop down the busy market street, where he said, you should ask them to give you the ‘first quality ghee’!

Okay! I nodded, and prodded him again, ‘What else is the town famous for?’

Thursday 29 October 2015

Monkey and the Mobile

Perch Theatre with the support of Alliance Française of Madras, India Foundation for the Arts, The Heterotopian Design Group (A division of Human Factors International Inc.),
Sundaram Finance Group & Z Enviro Industries
presents
MONKEY AND THE MOBILE
a play by Perch Theatre
October 31st – 7 pm
November 1st – 3 pm & 7 pm
at Edouard Michelin Auditorium
24, College Road (Opp Good Shepherd School)
Nungambakkam, Chennai
Duration – 75 minutes
Language – English, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi
Free passes available on eventjini.com
 *****
Synopsis –‘Monkey and the Mobile’ uses the mobile phone and technology as a theme and explores their impact on our lives through stories – some real, some imagined.

Wednesday 28 October 2015

Personally with my I MA Students...

Dear Students of I MA English,

I am so happy and delighted to have read all your book reviews that you’ve submitted to me via email. I’ve posted them all on the MA weblog separately. Can’t wait to give you all my comments and feedback for each and every review of yours. However, due to lack of time, I am not able to write to you all personally. In case you need an elaboration/analysis on your style, your manner of articulation, your presentation, etc., feel free to drop in a line via e-mail, to rufusonline@gmail.com and I shall reply in right earnest.

Moreover, now that you’ve become an expert on one good & precious book, go ahead and start reading your next one rightaway!

In case, you want to do a revision of your book review that has already been posted, please do submit a revised review of the same, so that I shall upload the revised one on our blog. But do it before the semester reopens!

Next semester you’ve got to read two good books and give me your wonderful impressions aka personal reviews on the same. So sift through landmark / starmark / higginbothams / bcl / Anna centenary / Connemara etc during the weekends or during the holidays and grab your pick at the earliest possible.

I am uploading your model QPs too at the earliest possible. By the way, i've uploaded all your reviews without editing, on 'as-is-where-is' condition :-)

Here's wishing you all great success in your maiden tryst with exams @ MCC! Go ahead! Conquer! Shine!

God bless.

Best and regards,
Rufus

Tuesday 27 October 2015

Dr. Seshasayee on Linguistics

Dr. Seshasayee was in his elements throughout his phenomenal elucidation on the nuances of linguistics for our I MA Students. Linguistics is, for many the achilles heel, and for some, the very mention of the term sends alarm bells ringing, especially if you've gotta write half of your Question Paper devoted to this 'back to the wall' subject. Of course, help wasn't far behind!

Guest Lecture by an Eminent Linguist
In fact, the moment I contacted Prof. Dinesh (a vibrant alumnus of ours) to get Dr. Sesha's number, he promptly obliged, and very soon I got in touch with our good ol' friend Dr. Seshasayee. The moment I asked him for his help in this 'hour of crisis', he immediately obliged, and also gave me a long mail detailing at length about the specifics that he would deal with, the strategies he will use in broaching issues, and added that, although he was excited to come over to MCC, at the same time he was also slightly nervous, as he 'had lost touch with his subject ever since his retirement, a couple of years back'!, he said.

But...! his lectures on both the eventful days proved otherwise! Phenomenal by all means, to say the least! Well, Initially Dr. Sesha told us that he would give a two-hour lecture on both the days (26, 27 Oct). But the very first day he helped our students to break the back of the beast, albeit with alacrity and ease, and in no time the students were as keen as mustards listening to the wizard in rapt attention. Mid-way through his lecture, I strategically pit stopped him, (concerned about his health), and asked him to wind up for the day if he found the going tough. But Dr. Sesha, by all means, is made of sterner stuff. In fact, it was only after the midway break, when we had tea with him, that he put the pedal to the metal and there was no stopping this legend after that.

On Day 2, Dr. Sesha talked the students into the nuances of Morphology and Syntax. At the end of the day, the students were, - bright-eyed and bushy-tailed - raring to go - and heaved a great sigh of relief at having got a wonderful elucidation on an otherwise 'ball and chain' subject! We're glad that the lectures have had a great and salutary effect on their LQ, going by the very vibrant feedback we've got at day's end!

In short, 

Thank you Sesha Sir. You made our day! [both days inclusive] ;-)

Monday 26 October 2015

Dear Students of I MA English, 
As I had promised you today, I'm uploading your earnest and vibrant book reviews HERE. 
Regards and all best wishes, 
Rufus

MIDS Monthly Lecture Series


Saturday 24 October 2015

Serampore Musings

When Dr. Thomas asked me if we could make it to one of the oldest Arts & Science Institutions in India, at Kolkata, for a Conference on ‘Multiple Shakespeares’, I was thrilled to bits, and gave a big ‘YES’ rightaway! Well, Thomas Sir was talking about Serampore College, Hooghly, Kolkata, which was founded by William Carey, Marshman and William Ward, way way back in 1818.

My great fascination for all things Bengal was the second impulse which spurred me on to go ahead!
The Scenic River Hooghly viewed from Serampore College

Indeed, it had taken us a month’s patient planning to chart out our itinerary for the course of the week.

Now, over to Didi's land: 

The moment we alighted in Calcutta, at Dum Dum Airport, I promptly (and instinctively!?) turned on my ola app to browse for cars in the vicinity and happily ‘confirmed’ one. Mr.* will pick you up in 17 minutes from now, said ola! We waited and waited! More than 25 minutes flitted us by with no signs of the promised ‘ola’. 

In the meantime, with a sense of curiosity writ large on our visage, we wanted to take a look around the precincts of Dum Dum, and our eyes rested on a pre-paid taxi service run and managed by the Calcutta Traffic Police, where passengers were queuing in. We rightaway booked a prepaid cum regulated taxi with them, (cancelling the belated ola, which must have been tottering in on of the byways of yet another corner of Bally, by then, we presume!) and in no time we were blissfully striding along the alleys and byways and highways of Calcutta in an old 1999 model (I guess) amby (ambassador). Thank God the brakes were still at work! The driver was at his rashy wishy washy best and we had to slow him down periodically, enticing him with a cuppa tea, that made his tattered Amby come to a rugged and screeching halt in one of the immediate tea jaunts that adorned the NH. Yet, our driver was a pleasant fellow, and the first thing he asked us on our stopover was, ‘saab, do you know Bengali?’ “mujhe nahi maloom!” we replied, and he was glad to offer his own bengalish hindi-ized commentary on life and society in Bengal and in New Delhi!!! which spanned a huge realm from local ‘Mamata didi’ to ‘Modi ji’ to the local body elections that had recently concluded! Our 22 km-long adventurous journey in this amby was interrupted only by this brief stopover for a cuppa chai (and guess what, for a mere Rs.5 in 2015!!!) He was well-read, going by his panoramic sweep of current affairs! Way to go bhaiya!

Wednesday 21 October 2015

Dr. Seshasayee is back!

Dear Students of I MA English,

Don't miss out on this once-in-a-life-time opportunity to listen to Dr. Seshasayee, the veteran linguist on Monday, 26 October 2015 in the III BA English Classroom, Selaiyur Hall.

We have had the pleasant privilege of having Dr.Sesha with us five years back on Saturday, 24 July 2010, to give our students an overview on Language, Grammar and Structural Linguistics from a UGC-NET perspective. 

This time, Dr. Seshasayee will talk to you entirely from your examination point of view, and we have given him your past question papers along with the Syllabus for the Linguistics part of your Paper. He will be there to answer all your queries on Linguistics. Dr. K. Ganesh, our HoD will introduce the speaker and preside over the session.

Be there!

Best and regards, 

Rufus

Sunday 18 October 2015

Clean-Green Initiative

It took weeks of intensive planning and careful coordination over coffee and whatsapp to bring to reality an amazing event such as this!

Indeed, this edition of APJ Vision 2020, going by day-end output, was a great success by all means!

The events of the day included cleaning up the two bus stands, sprucing up the compound walls by cleaning and white washing them, planting tree saplings (my favourite hobby), and clearing garbage in the vicinity.

committed to the core :-)
We gathered sharp at 7 am at the Mogappair West Bus Terminus and were surprised to find more than 200 volunteers from apartments and avenues in the vicinity, vibed up in elegantly-uniformed tees, geared up in gloves and smoke masks, and cleaning, scrubbing, washing and painting implements in hand!  It was indeed a great motivating sight to behold!

young and old
Yes, even the by-standers, on-lookers and passengers were one curious lot, trying to come to terms with the this ‘hullaballoo of sorts’ within their bus terminus.

As time passed by, the volunteers gathered in strength. Obviously, today being a Sunday, many would have wanted an extra hour’s harmless dozing off, we presume! And, we were all on our mark… get… set… and there we go!

Well, well, well, it took just a matter of one hour flat (unbelievable to the core!) to white wash the entire stretch of the compound wall that bulwarks the huge bus terminus.

entrance to bus stand
Paint brushes and distemper buckets of all hues and shades were seen all around the place and girls and boys, men and women of all cultures, languages and states exhibited a spirit of camaraderie and a joie de vivre that propelled and motivated all of us to further move on! 

Even as we moved on cleaning up the vicinity, we realized that there is great happiness in keeping our surrounding clean, and still greater joy when we step outside from our ‘narrow divisive walls’ and come together with ‘one goal-one aim’ in the interests of society, with the bonhomie, the camaraderie and the spirit of unity that pervaded the hearts and minds of all of us gathered over here!


Well, on the lighter side,
how can we forget the tea/coffee that came in at the right time (with sugarless/sugarfree for the oldies too!!!) and the other food items that gave us the gastronomical prop and the much needed respite from work!


The neatly-cemented bus stand had loads of dust accumulated on its surface down the days (ages?!) and it took nearly 50 of us to clean up the platforms much to the joy of the passengers and satisfaction of the MTC staff!

The conductors and drivers also chipped in at times with their ideas and suggestions!

One episode that added a little shock to the event was the mysterious disappearance of a young and mischievous boy who was part of our group. 

This little lad was happily whiling away his sweet time trying his little hands at wielding the brooms and the mopsticks and also taking turns to play within the buses that were  lounging in the bus stand. In one such instance, he comfortably perched himself in the corner seat of a bus in the terminus. (77 J) 

Expecting an added amusement ride in the bus, he was overjoyed to see the bus driver start the bus and drive down the road towards Guindy. (Well, we assume that this little guy must have been all along under the impression that kids were given joy rides in buses on Cleaning Days!!!) 

The bus was on its way - more than three kms - when the parents realized their ‘missing son’. 

Soon, the members of our group swung into action, and the staff at the MTC terminus contacted the conductor of 77 J who, confirmed the presence of this mischievous little imp of a lad, and promptly handed him over to the nearest police station!

The kid was quickly ‘retrieved’ (rescued) and brought back! He, unmindful of the perturbed look on his parents’ faces, took a broom and started his quota of ‘cleaning’ the bus stand!

Mid way through his ‘cleaning’ work, he asked, (albeit with innocence-writ-large on his little visage) to one of the members, "Uncle! Why did the conductor take me out of the bus midway???"

He had us all there!!!

We couldn’t find a possible cure for our belly cramps that followed ;-)

Slideshow on the Great Transformation wrought!

Saturday 17 October 2015

Free Workshop on 'How to Crack Bank Exams'

FREE WORKSHOP
On
How to Crack Bank Exams
The event covers math short tricks, time saving techniques by experts.
All exam-related queries answered.
Date: 22 October 2015
Time: 10 am
Venue: 83/14, Arcot Road, Vadapalani, Chennai, Tamil Nadu – 26

Contact: 70921 91000 or @ coursee.co

Thursday 15 October 2015

ICELLRP – International Conference on 
“English Language and Literature: 
Retrospect and Prospects”
@
Bishop Heber College (Autonomous), Trichy, Tamil Nadu
On
4 & 5 February 2016
For concept note and registration details, click HERE

Wednesday 14 October 2015

There's always a new way...

PC: British Library
When Ben Okri, the Booker prize-winning writer was called a genius by Jeremy Corbyn, (in his Labour Party conference speech), Okri responds with a wonderful poem. I loved reading it. Worth reading a hundred times over!

They say there is only one way for politics
That it looks with hard eyes at the hard world
And shapes it with a rulers edge,
Measuring what is possible against
Acclaim, support, and votes.

They say there is only one way to dream
For the people, to give them not what they need
But food for their fears.
We measure the deeds of politicians
By their time in power.

But in ancient times they had another way.
They measured greatness by the gold
Of contentment, by the enduring arts,
The laughter at the hearths,
The length of silence when the bards
Told of what was done by those who
Had the courage to make their lands
Happy, away from war, spreading justice
And fostering health,
The most precious of the arts
Of governance.

Tuesday 13 October 2015

Condolence Meeting to the memory of Veteran War Hero, Group Captain J. S. Jeyasingh at Hotel Abu Sarovar, Egmore, today at 6.30 pm. We salute your indomitable spirit, your courage and your ability to lead from the forefront without fear or favour. May your Soul rest in peace. We miss you dear Uncle.
Dear Students of I MA, 

For Henry Vaughan's poem 'Affliction' kindly click HERE

Monday 12 October 2015

Do you wanna set up a library? Here's help

Bhumi invites volunteers to sign up on its website for various programmes that it is supporting. Help create audio books for the visually-challenged by lending your voice, help set up libraries at shelter homes, experience the joy of farming or join hands to make the city’s walls beautiful. The exact details of the date, venue and time for these events are available at http://volunteers.org/tag/chennai/

Thursday 8 October 2015

KOVALAM LITERARY FEST RETURNS:
10 OCTOBER 2015, VJT HALL, TRIVANDRUM

Well known writer, thinker and former civil servant Gopalkrishna Gandhi who was also governor of Bengal from 2004 to 2009 will deliver the eighth K.C John memorial lecture at the Kovalam Literary festival , in VJT hall on October 10, Saturday.

Mr Gandhi is the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and son of Devdas Gandhi and Lakshmi Gandhi, daughter of C. Rajagoplachari.

He will be speaking on Punishing By Death, on the folly of the death penalty. He was one of the anti-death penalty campaigners who appeared before the Law Commission which recently recommended taking away the death penalty apart from terrorism related cases. 

Thursday 1 October 2015

N S Madhavan's Take on 'False concreteness' and Writers'

Listening to N S Madhavan is indeed a refreshing experience in itself. I've always wanted to listen to him talk, more so, after reading his debut novel Litanies of Dutch Battery, a wonderful piece of historical fiction on the 'bridge islanders'. His legacy continues in Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan, his writer-daughter - who has got the proverbial mantle of her father (two-fold? One needs to see!) saddled on to her heart! Her blog titled ‘compulsive confessions’ is a delight to bloggers, and, it’s not a surprise though - that she has one of the largest ‘follower’-base amongst bloggers in the Indian subcontinent.

Modest, unassuming and at the same time very forthright in his observations, Madhavan has always been a writer and critic who, leaves behind the beaten track, and attempts to redraw the contours with a deep passion and commitment for an alternative society built on equality and respect for life. The last time I heard him talk was exactly a year ago, at the Kochi Biennale Foundation’s “Let’s Talk” event titled “Another Cosmopolitanism” on 29 July 2014 in Kochi. For a quick update on their interactive talk, click on our past post HERE

Indeed, we had gone all the way to Thrissur only to listen to this great writer, and he did not let us down. Also, there was never a dull moment throughout his ninety-minute talk.

N S Madhavan  spoke at length on “Marginalisation and Issues of Representation with respect to Malayalam Literature”. Well, here, I was taken aback, because my knowledge of Malayalam literature was