Our Weekly
‘Literary Rendezvous’ for this week was at Dr. K. Elango’s house in
Nungambakkam. Aunty welcomed us all with her usual cheerful and pleasant smile,
and made us feel at home the very instant
we stepped in.
After our
customary poetry reading sessions, and sharing of anecdotal jokes that had us
all in splits, Dr. Elango proceeded to
share a few thoughts on his latest endeavors in the field of ELT.
As Secretary of
India’s oldest ELT Organisation ELTAI, Professor Elango retired this past year
as Head, Department of English, Anna University, Chennai, and coincidentally
this was our first meeting with him post-retirement.
Professor Elango
was all enthusiasm when he shared his experiences on his pilot project with a
Corporation Middle School in Chennai. The project titled ‘Read and Lead’ was
meant to inculcate the habit of reading in the 6th, 7th and 8th grade students.
As a prequel, the
Std VI, & Std VII text books were completely audio recorded in a
recording studio at Mylapore, with volunteered ‘voice-over’ from students of
Ethiraj College.
Then, student
volunteers from city colleges including Loyola (which have a mandated
requirement, that involves all the 2nd year students of the college, in the
integrated empowerment of the community, labeled LOP – Loyola Outreach
Programme) do activities that will inculcate and instill the habit of reading
amongst the VI and VII graders.
In concurrence
with Dr. Kalam’s vision of setting up a home library in every house, parents of
the VI & VII grade students were invited to meet up with the team
members, and they were persuaded to set up Home Libraries that would encourage
reading habit among family members.
Dr. Elango
lamented the fact that the art of reading is on the wane among students, and
it’s time we did something about it.
He said, they
have come out with the concept of a Reading Journal and a Word Journal, that
systematically chronicles the practice and hard work put in by each and every
student.
Student
volunteers do a graded assessment over a period of time, and then give them
their scores.
Although we had
initially planned this rendezvous over a Coffee, Dr. Elango, was so bowled over
by the insightful insights, lively discussions and meaningful interactions,
that he gently persuaded us all to a wonderful dinner in his honour for all his
literary friends.
Dr. Elango also
gave offers on Library/Journal access to Institutions. ‘Now, it’s just Rs.
3000/- for a ten year subscription for Institutions to access their awesome
library repertoire’, he said.
Well, our next
weekly ‘Literary Rendezvous’ will be held as per the original schedule in Ms.
Rebecca Mathew’s house on 24 August 2016.
Agenda of a
Literary Rendezvous includes,
Debate/Discussion
on a given topic,
Reading your
creative work,
Sharing your
thoughts on any aspect of Literature that interests you,
Announcement on
Literary Events,
Book reviews,
Books that
interested you, which you would also recommend members to read,
Group activities,
Games, and a host of impromptu programmes, etc.
PG Students and
Professors/Teachers of English, are welcome to be a part of this wonderful
literary rendezvous. Just mail me at rufusonline@gmail.com with your
designation and mobile number, to be a part of our WhatsApp group which will
give you regular literary updates on Book/Journal publications, Conferences,
Seminars, Debates, Discussions, etc.
If you are
interested in hosting a Literary Rendezvous, [preferably within city limits],
mail us your willingness rightaway! We shall get in touch with you soon!
Regards,
Rufus
Convenor,
'Literary
Rendezvous'
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