Wednesday 30 December 2015

International Convention @ Theosophical Society

The 140th International Convention of the Theosophical Society
will be held at the International Headquarters, Adyar,
from 31 December 2015 to 05 January 2016.
A modest sum of Rupees 300/- will be levied as Regn Fee for non-members.
The Convention will be webcasted and the link will be published on homepage.
Main Lecturers
Honorable Mr Justice V. Ramasubramanian, India
Mr Tim Boyd, International President, Adyar
Mrs Linda Oliveira, General Secretary, Australia
Mr José Foglia, Neurologist, TS Uruguay
Mr Vic Hao Chin Jr, TS in the Philippines
For more details click on the link HERE


Saturday 26 December 2015

Visualising memories of Shank Monk...

He calls himself Shank Monk...

The 'then' Air Force Station Road, E. Tambaram 
You can never miss out on his amazing philosophical speculations, if you are a regular at the Nayar tea shop at Air Force Road Junction, East Tambaram, Chennai. Especially for those of you who naturally ‘come alive each morning’ at the stroke of five, with or without your Labrador Retriever for company, you can find in all certainty, a lanky man with a soberly gringo mustache on him, collecting all the rubbish in and around Air Force Station Road into one big heap and making a camp fire out of it, welcoming in the process, the ritualistic morning walkers who are so used to his idiosyncrasies or ‘way of life’!

For those of us, [around eight in number] from Professors' Colony, adjacent to MCC Campus, it was a delight to watch [usually in awe!] at Shank Monk’s non-stop enthusiasm in doling out by the dozen his unique brand of philosophy and his one-liners which were his real ‘USPs’!

Shank Monk cuts across any divide – rich or poor, old or young, pious or impious, and reaches out to the 'little groups of humanity' that have cluttered around the tea shop, in his own enviable style! By doing so, he will give you a clarion call to come and be a part of his petty gang (or fans?) into talking 'some motivational philosophy' to begin your day! Once he has his way with the crowd, and he has a sizeable number at his disposal - to listen to him, he would strut across to the tea shop, give a royal salute to Nayarji and order - in his seasoned and cultivated (over the years!) tone, "one cup of of strong chaai."

Now, over a cuppa chaai, near the mounds of the neatly made-up 'camp-fire', the ramblings start. The discussions range anywhere from your paani poori to philosophy, without any let up of any sort whatsoever! The astounding jump from a philosophical tone to one of subliminal bathos, surprises any on-looker who inevitably want to listen to more and more of this tagorean wonder of sorts!

Sometimes, just to appreciate Nayar, Shank Monk goes and stands beside Nayar ji and watches him make tea! Then he eulogises Nayar in the fittest of words for his remarkable way with making tea and his endearing way with his customers like him, that has gotten him lorry-loads of addicted customers, taste-bound to his corner-shop!

When once Shank saw a young man gulping down his tea in a ‘panicky’ kinda speed, he strode towards him, and touching him by his shoulders said, 'thambi, (brother) don't ever gulp down your tea this fast.. Tea is meant to be enjoyed sip by sip! A Robin Sharma (Monk!!) at that!!!

the 'then' compound walls of MCC
Shank Monk makes a 'quiet and comfortable' living on the streets off Air Force road, by offering his expertise to all and sundry, by doing any house hold work that came his way - the hobson’s way! Right from plumbing to painting, to washing your car, or doing your plumbing, he has every skill at his disposal. He also flaunts a mobile number on his 'advertisement' (in pic). One can see his ‘fanciful’ ads crafted in his own hands, adorning the walls / placards in and around the little streets that criss-cross the Air Force Road.

Around ten days ago, as we were having our morning tea at Nayar shop, we found Shank Monk in a frantic state. He was seen transferring his mobile-tent that doubled up as his house, to yet another pavement in the vicinity. This time, it was not the rains, but the air force men who wanted the area cleaned up as they could never have this junk of 'dirt' (yes! within quotes) on their streets!

It was very sad to see Shank Monk lift his belongings to another place from his usual ‘tent-jaunt’, and one could hear him cursing the men for their inhumane treatment towards him and his belongings. Some of us went to his new tent-house to console him on the sad misfortune that had befallen him by offering him some money to meet his bare expenses! But Shank Monk refused to take a pie from any of us. He said, “bhagwan [God] is always there. HE has given me good hands and good legs, and I know my skills well enough. I am confident of my abilities. I can earn this money all by myself, he said. How would Shank Monk ever have known the invaluable transformational lessons he was giving us all in self-integrity, self-motivation and self-confidence, living exemplarily to the dictum of Wordsworth ‘Plain living and high thinking’.

Two days ago, when we saw him in the morning, he was there, his usual self, beedi in hand, as usual, camp fire in progress, his fan-followers intact, with the same gusto, the same enthusiasm of yore, and the same joi de vivre, doling out one-liners by the dozen, quite spontaneously, without an iota of grief over the huge setback of the previous days! He was back with a double bang!! - with yet another philosophical treatise to the 'Alexanders' in  waiting.

Friday 25 December 2015

Workshop on Public Speaking @ Anna Nagar on 27 Dec.

Are you naturally talkative or quiet as a mouse? Either way does the idea of standing up in front of a crowd and delivering a speech make you break out in a cold sweat?

Then this workshop is for YOU!

Speaking to an entire class is very different from casually conversing with your friends. Likewise, formally addressing a roomful of your coworkers has no resemblance to talking with the same people one-on-one.

If you find it intimidating, don't worry... YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

Research shows that public speaking is the #1 fear for people all over the world, cutting across race, gender, and nationality. More people find getting up on a stage scary than snakes, sharks, or even death!

Monday 21 December 2015

Join us for the 'Chennai Clean-up' Camp...!

Come & be a part of the Chennai Trekking Club & Chennai Beach Clean-up Op!
On Sunday, 27 December 2015 at 06:00 am
Register yourself on this link HERE to be a part of this transformational campaign!

The recent rains in Chennai have flushed out tonnes of garbage from the city's rivers and other water bodies into the ocean, which got thrown back by the Sea, onto our once beautiful beach shores.

Not only the streets of Chennai but the beaches are also now filled with tonnes of garbage. This garbage will slowly mix into the ocean and affect the lives of thousands of sea animals and birds, which have a direct impact on our eco-system. What goes around comes around. Also it will significantly affect the coming turtle nesting season, if our shores aren't cleaned up by that time.

Chennai Trekking Club is planning a major beach cleanup drive on Sunday, Dec 27, 2015, from 6 am - 9 am.

This is a call to volunteers to join forces with us to restore the beauty of Chennai's beaches and give a helping hand to those beautiful Ridley Turtles which return every year to our coast to breed.

Both individuals and Groups/NGOs/Corporates are welcome to join us.
Gloves and other necessary materials will be provided to Individuals and NGO's.

Corporates have to procure the necessary materials for their employees. Details of things that need to be procured will be shared with registered corporates.

As a initial step we are planning to conduct this cleanup in two beaches, viz: Broken Bridge and Foreshore Estate. Both these beaches are piled with tonnes of garbage.

Spread the word with your friends & colleagues and make them join forces.

Lets show the true spirit of Chennai to the whole world once again.

Pandi Selvam's Art Exhibit

The art exponent and versatile artist Pandi Selvam will be showcasing an art exhibition called Black Markings featuring some of his best sketch works. 

Born on 6th January 1985 at Nemam, Pandi Selvam joined his friends and completed a course in art. From childhood he was wonder-amazed as he watched the architected houses with 1000 windows at Karaikudi. 

Currently, he is also teaching art lovers of all ages at Art Expressions, Chennai.
Date, Time & Venue
9th December 2015 to 20th January 2016
from 10:00am - 06:00 pm
@ DakshinaChitra, East Coast Road, Near MGM Dizee World, Muttukadu, South, Chennai

Saturday 19 December 2015

An 'Ungadgeted' 'enthu-guru' of sorts!

 The famed, yet ‘small’ish Corner Parotta Shop in Central Bus Stand, Trichy (quite close to Rajasugam Hotel!) is one place I've never ever missed out on, whenever I go to, or via trichy. That for a very special purpose!

15th of December - was my day out at this Corner Shop in Trichy!

A Waiter of Sorts!
Last time I got him missed by a 'narrow margin' and wistfully rued the costly 'miss' seeing him serve at my ‘neighbouring’ table, and this time, hey presto!!! I thanked my stars - because I was doubly lucky.

YES! my favourite hon’ble ‘server’ Sundaram was there to serve me this time.!!! Why should I be this excited in describing a waiter at a ‘small’ish restaurant? And why am I tempted to call him ‘hon’ble Server Sundaram? What’s so special about such an enigmatic ‘server’ [or ‘waiter’!] of sorts?

For some special things in life, the ‘felt-experience’ is much more profound and enjoyable than the written, watered-down version! Yet I would love to jot them down in this post, for posterity sake, and also for celebration-sake!

Hon’ble ‘Sundaram’ might’ve surely forgotten me or my band of ‘happy-go-lucky’ friends who used to frequent this shop almost every weekend, long long back, pepped up after the filling, and finishing it up with a cuppa tea and a longggg discussion on any ‘current event’ of our choice! ;-)

Indeed time has rolled us by like ‘an ever-rolling stream!’

Coming back, yes! the moment we seated ourselves comfortably in this ‘small yet contented’ table of ours, he placidly placed a plantain leaf in front of me, and also poured water into a tumbler (to start with!) Then, a motivating song from an evergreen ‘MGR hit’ springs from his famed voice – which pauses, when he proceeds to ask his usual and ‘unique’ enquiries in his own enigmatic style, to his customer! – a chore that he adored as a celebrated and enjoyable routine!

Now, after getting his order, the ‘MGR number’ resumes, and he also makes sure that your order is right there in front of you in a jiffy! You indeed will be made to feel ‘the luxury of a motivating pep-song to pep-in the parottas’!!!

And wait! the ‘real’ service from ‘hon’ble server sundaram starts only from now on!

Friday 18 December 2015

Professor Dorairaj's Hermeneutical Sweep!

Professor Joseph Dorairaj gave the Key-Note Address in the fourth edition of the TG Narayanan Endowment Series today at 10 am in the Media Studies Auditorium, MCC. 

Professor Joe spoke on 'Myth, Literature and Hermeneutics' to a vibrant and receptive audience of 200, comprising faculty, research scholars and students from various Departments in MCC, and also from the various city colleges. Dr. S. Armstrong, Head, Dept of English, University of Madras was our special guest for the day. Dr. Stephen Jebanesan, Former Head, Dept of English, MCC was also present on the occasion.

Thursday 17 December 2015

Last Date Extended

Dear Students & Friends, 
The last date for the International Conference on 'English Language and Literature: Retrospects and Prospects' has been extended to 20 December 2015. For the concept note, kindly click HERE
Regards, 
Rufus

Monday 14 December 2015

Contours of Postcolonial Studies - International Conference

Dear Students and Friends, 

Get a lovely chance to listen to, and interact with eminent scholar Professor Gauri Viswanathan among a host of other great minds, at the Two-Day International Conference on Postcolonial Literature, organised by St. Xavier's College, Tirunelveli, on 19, 20 January 2016. Please find attached the brochure. 

This invite is on behalf of an illustrious and committed scholar and our very good friend Dr. Joseph Albert, Deputy Principal, St. Xavier's College, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu.


Click to enlarge...
Click to enlarge...

Friday 11 December 2015

Dilemmas and Delights in Halwa Land...!

To give halwa to someone is an idiomatic expression that comes from Tamil, which according to samosapedia dot com (yes literally samosapedia.com!) means to con or deceive at monumental proportions!

Kolkatta – ke rasagullava ???
Mumbai – ke vadapaava ???
Tirunelveli – ke halwava ???

are examples of tautological rhetoric for emphasizing that the action is foolhardy or pointless!

In English, a similar expression would go something like ‘Are you trying to sell Coal to Newcastle!’

But that was more or less the case when we stepped onto the land of halwa!

It was raining hard (on Friday, 11 December) and the streets were glistening in the early 'dawn'ing lights that gleamed through the rain-water-stagnated streets leading up to the Tirunelveli Railway Station.

The moment we alighted at around 3.40 in the morning, Dr. Ramachandra Pillai & I were on the lookout for a good tea shop in the vicinity.

a daring cross-over of sorts...

Tea ah ve? asked a little ‘Master’!, the altervoice of his ‘big’ Master! [an expert tea-maker in tea-stalls is called a Master in Tamil Nadu] Indeed the Master’s eyes sparkled with verve and enthu as he saw a dozen passengers-now-turned-customers come crowding around his corner shop! Once the throng was to the brim, the cooing ceased and the Master took over.

‘Special tea potrava Ve?’

Aama Anney! we chorused back with a mischief twinkling in our eyes, satisfied that our Tirunelveli slang succeeded amazingly even in our very first encounter with the dialect! and how!

‘InthaHa ney’! came forth a pleasing voice, that gently stuck out an elaichi-flavoured tea in comparatively bigger tea-glasses, (like the ones you get opp American College in Goripalayam, Madurai, or like the ones you get in Malligai Tea Stall, Madurai!). ‘These tea-glasses are geo-specific!’ or so, I had once thought, since in Chennai you don’t get such big tea glasses. If you get half that cuppa tea here in Chennai for that price, you should be grateful enough to go on a long pilgrimage thanking Heavens all the way!

Thursday 10 December 2015

Musings on the Town of the Banana Boon!

The Land of Bananas – is the fascinating sobriquet of Thottiyam, a small town located quite close to the River Cauvery. Legend also has it that, Kannagi, one of the most illustrious Tamil women whom people still ‘hold in reverence and awe’, and the central character of the South Indian epic Silapathikaram, after taking revenge on the king of Madurai, for “a mistaken death penalty imposed on her husband Kovalan, by cursing the city with disaster”  came over to Thottiyam. She is considered a goddess in the area and also has a temple on her behalf. Even today, hundreds from in and around the town come in hordes to offer their prayers to her.

The little town is also famous for its banana-chocolates and dried banana fruits (processed through govt-subsidised solar-dryers). These banana by-products are in great demand in many parts of India, said one of the Professors in a College here - Mr. Kannan. They indeed have an Association which is called the Thottiyam Banana Producers Group with a cultivation area of 5000 acres in town. ‘Sometimes forced-ripening of bananas becomes inevitable because of various reasons – be it the wind, or the floods, or the lack of water, or excess heat, etc. In such situations, the farmers suffer huge losses. To prevent such huge and recurrent losses, this idea was conceived and it has received excellent recognition along with a very good reception from distributors over the years’, he added.

Wednesday 9 December 2015

Cogitations & Colligates on a Catastrophe!

When Chennai started receiving her first spell of 'November rains' in the first week of November, little did Chennaiites imagine in the faintest of their imaginations that these torrential rains are bound to make an indelible impact on the history and geography of their City. It indeed did!

I was in Trichy, on the fateful day on 13 November 2015, on the invite of my beloved Professor Dr. C. Dhanabal to conduct a workshop for school teachers, when my courteous neighbor of two years Mr. Dhanaraj called me up from Chennai and said that the water levels are rising up, and ‘It looks like your bike will soon go under water. Please take it out and leave it at some safer place’, he exhorted. My hands were tied, as I was 320 kms away from namma Chennai, and so I asked my friend Deva to help me out. He promptly went there amidst the torrential rains, and soon retrieved the bike to safety. But he also added that the water level is slowly rising, and asked me to come back asap!

The barely visible balcony of our friend's house gone completely under water
I didn’t realize the intensity of the situation until he took photos of the same and sent it via whatsapp. So after finishing my morning session for the teachers, I rushed back to Chennai by my car, not being able to spend quality time with my good friend Dr. Benet, who had driven all the way to Heber just to meet up with me!

By the time I reached home, it was an incessant downpour, and water had seeped in through the main doors of the house, and things were looking really really bad! With the help of my good friends and relatives (help-in-time-of-need), managed to shift [in order of priority!], most of the important things to the first floor, and by the time we finished half the work and came downstairs, the water level had risen to four feet! It was indeed a great shock for us, as we’ve never witnessed these torrential rains in a long long time and never had water come anywhere near the main doors as well!
Our friend's Car - barely visible!

Now, we literally waded through the ‘by now hip-deep waters’ to reach our car, and somehow managed to come to safety!

We thought that the flood waters would come down in a couple of weeks, but we were wrong!

Flood waters indeed run deep!

The remaining three weeks were really really horrible to say the least! Rains only increased by the day, and by December 1, (when the second spell of torrential rains hit the city) the city was in complete disarray.

Tuesday 8 December 2015

Panel Discussion on 'Chennai Floods'

Floods in Tamil Nadu - A Panel Discussion
Chaired by Mr. Shashanka Bhide, Director, MIDS
Panelists:
Prof. S. Janakarajan, MIDS
MG. Devasagayam, IAS (Retd)
Prof. L. Venkatachalam, MIDS
Jaishankar, Metrowater
G. Sundarrajan, Poovulagin Nanbargal
Nityanand Jeyaraman
Date: 15.12.2015 (Tuesday)
Time: 3.00 PM
Place:  Dr. Malcolm S Adiseshiah Auditorium
Madras Institute of Development Studies
79, Second Main Road, Gandhinagar, Adyar
Chennai

For contact: 9841031730 (Sundar)

Tuesday 1 December 2015

The Little Theatre presents their 21st Christmas Pantomime or musical comedy

Prince of Persia

From 4 to 9 December 2015, 07:00pm - 09:00pm
@ Museum Theatre, Egmore, Central, Chennai

P.S: On Dec 5 and 6, there will be two shows from 3 pm and from 7 pm.
On Dec 9, there will be one show starting from 6 pm.
The other days will only have one show from 7 pm.
Tickets are available on Explara for Rs 100 and Rs 300.
Directed by: Krishnakumar Balasubramanian | Duration: 2 hours