The
Confy on Postcolonial Studies in Tirunelveli, was by default on my confy itinerary
and an added attraction to be a part of, not because of the fact that the spa
of the south was barely a 50 odd kms from there, or because it was the land of
authentic Tirunelveli Halwah, or because I was invited to be a chairperson for
a session, or because Gauri Viswanathan, the world-renowned postcolonial
theorist was there to grace the function; well, what attracted me the most
about the confy, and impelled nay compelled me to book my train ticket well
well well in advance for the Confy was the fact that Dr. Joseph Albert was organizing
it. Impeccability – thy name is Joseph Albert!
Indeed,
Dr. Albert belongs to that rare breed of elegant academicians who do not carry
their scholarship on their shoulders. He is the Deputy Principal of the
College, and heads a lot of committees in St. Xavier’s, but at the same time,
he is an unyielding stickler to academic propriety and punctuality. A decade
ago, when I was part of a paper-presentation session chaired by him, he made
this opening observation on the dais: ‘Participants, please do not read your
Papers. We know the research you’ve done on the subject. Just present the key
points for discussion. That’s enough!” He had us all there! Since then, I’ve
had a great fascination and admiration for this gentleman which continues till
date! On both the days of the Confy I was dazed to see the way he structured
the events in such a way that everything went like clockwork.
Even
before the Chief Guest of the day Dr. Gauri Viswanathan could proceed to the
podium and take to the dais, he stood up with a gentle smile and told the audience:
“Friends, Dr. Gauri Viswanathan will start her speech at 10.45 am and finish it
at 11. 30 am. Thank you”. And she did! Before she could wind up on her talk,
she said thus: I know about Dr. Albert’s commitment to punctuality, and so I shall
be punctual. I shall wind it up in five minutes!!!
Secondly, Dr. A. S. Dasan’s interface with Dr. Gauri Viswanathan was a great treat to all and sundry, especially to the researchers, who were not able to relate to Dr.Gauri during her talk. She was very cordial and interacted with ease, to all the questions posed to her.
Dr.
Dasan belongs to yet another category of renowned academicians who have the
verve, the enthu, the spirit, the joi de vivre and the tenacity to come out
with such elegance, such lustre, such brilliance in his amazing way of
delivery! His passion for his subject and the way he comes out with equal gusto
when asked to talk on a particular theme is indeed a delight to watch! Some of
the terms like ‘You are being agencified with or without your knowledge’, are
typical ‘Dasian’ structures that evoke laughter and curiosity at the same time!
Dr.
Dasan was one among the first Professors from the University of Mysore, who had
sent me a 'bolt from the blue' mail appreciating the ‘NET SET GO: ENGLISH’ book, many many
months ago, and had words of appreciation for the flawless presentation and the
vibrant layout of the book. [Waiting
to meet you in Chennai in the second week of February! Welcome to Chennai dear
Sir!]
Even
before Dr. Magdalene,took to
the dais, I told her, ‘A long and patient wait is over!’ Even then she told me
that she couldn’t stand some tenets of the new breed feminists which go against
some of the basic rubrics of what 'we as women stand for'! And then, it was a streak of lightning followed by a torrid thunder for a -
well – over – One hour. Interestingly, for those of you who still don’t know Dr.
Maggie, she is, the much-renowned scholar Dr. Joe’s [Professor of English,
Gandhigram University or Dr. Joseph Dorairaj’s] beloved wife!
Dr.
Bhaskaran, a wonderful friend of more than a decade, from Gandhigram University, spoke at
length on Indian theatre with specific reference to the concept of the Other.
Comparing Lacan’s concept of Other, with Bhabha’s concept of Otherness, he
outlined through many interesting plays, especially through an analysis of
Mahesh Dattani’s plays, on the concept of the Third Space.
Dr.
V. John, the HoD of St. Xavier’s Dept of English, gave a convincing talk on
Multiplicity and Plurality, with reference to Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s
Children.
Dr. T. Marx, who has always been a great source of support to us at the Dept of English, MCC, an unassuming gentleman-scholar-par-excellence, with an ever-present
smile, was the last but one-of-the-most effective speakers whose talk was a
wonderful summing up to the Conference proceedings. His view of histories as
narratives was an eye-opener of sorts which brought out the visible absences in
Indian writings in English that need to be revisited, revived and even resuscitated
in order to bring the truth to light.
As
Dr. Dasan later acknowledged in his Note of thanks, this conference, even if it
were to be held in any other part of the world would have still had this
stature, and would have been such a wonderful delight for igniting and moulding
academicians and research scholars of all hues and shades. Such a confluence of
myriad minds and hospitable hosts is a double delight, he added.
Indeed it WAS!
No comments:
Post a Comment