National Conference @ Kanyakumari St. Jerome's

ELT Workshop @ Koyilandy, Kerala

National Seminar on English Studies in India

Seminar on Visual Arts of Kerala

For once, A Counterpoint... ;-)

The moment I stepped into the salubrious portals of the 'techno-campus' of the mighty Saveetha University on Saturday, 20 February 2016, I was in awe – [like every visitor is, I guess], - at the gigantic analogous clock that must be at least 30 feet in diameter, with a wonderful garden ensconced within its two huge hands – made exclusively of diverse yet real species of crotons that give a peculiar beauty to the clock, and also an element of awe to the entrance to the second best private university in India. I was here for a forenoon of deliberations and interactions with the faculty of the Engineering College, and by all means, the faculty at Saveetha are a distinct lot – cordial in temperament, dignified in hospitality and highly efficient in their communication capabilities. Thanks to Dr. Rosalia Bonjour, Professor & Head of the Dept of Humanities, who was there right from the start, with her endearing nature! She scored full brownie points when she asked,

‘Sir, was coffee served to you?’

No, mam ;-)

Shall I get some for you?

Sure. With pleasure ;-)

That was my first cuppa though!

Later, when we met up with the principal of Saveetha Engineering College, Dr. Ganesan – a cordial and dynamic personality - I was doubly overjoyed, when he, for the second time, ordered for a cuppa hot coffee! *My bad! Me and my coffee ;-)*

Dr. E. N. Ganesan was very proud of the achievements of his staff and said that an investment in good and committed staff is equally important because it adds to the enhancement of the learning experience and benefits the ‘product-consumer’ - the student! ‘In fact the student should be the recipient of all the efforts that we the teachers invest on improving their prospects in communication skills amongst a host of other skills!’ he quipped.

In fact, this set my thought-process wandering… nay wondering!!!

And the article that follows has no connection whatsoever with my visit to Saveetha!

The views expressed are purely personal and I stand by it too J

YES, I was quite interested in the observation that he made on students as ‘product consumers’!

Honouring a Teacher! and How....!!!

Eighty years of age, and still in the company of the love of his life – Literature!!!

Well, that’s KC!

K. Chellapan! (Formerly Head, Department of English, Bharathidasan University, Trichy)

And yes!!! Not everyday does a student get the honour of being honoured by his own teacher, on his retirement day! And so what a joyous moment it is, when a teacher’s teacher is there at the ripe old age of 80, to grace the function that honours his first PhD Ward Dr. N. Natarajan!

NN, as we all know him, is the Head, Department of English, Pondicherry University. After forty meritorious years of distinguished service, NN is putting in his papers this month.

And what a way to honour him!

Full credits to our beloved friend and Professor Dr. T. Marx, Associate Professor of English, Pondicherry University, who thought about such a wonderful idea, of hosting an International Seminar to Dr. NN's honour!

Even when Dr. T. Marx gave his introductory words, he had an immense pride that adorned his choked voice, when he said that, ‘this is the first farewell seminar ever to be held in this University, in honour of an eminent Professor! Dr. Natarajan was always a teacher. He never accepted any administrative assignments nor was he into administration as he was of the firm belief that his priorities were only to his students, which was his ‘vocation’, he added!

The audience of more than five hundred delegates, staff and students, was in rapt attention throughout the morning session which saw Dr. K C enthrall the audience with his sonorous voice with excerpts from the lengths and breadths and depths and heights of literature!

Excerpts from Dr. KC’s pearls

Dr. KC, who has the unique claim to fame for introducing Canadian Studies in South India, said that, Dr. NN was his first PhD ward, and Dr. S. Armstrong was his last PhD ward in an astounding list of 56 wards he has guided thus far.

“The fact that the Chief Minister of Puducherry Dr. N. Rangasamy agreed to come for this programme, and has also agreed to sponsor the lunch for the two days of the programme in honour of Natarajan itself speaks highly of the eminence of NN,” he quipped.

Artist Talk

Come! Let’s welcome the Iron lady of Nepal's photographic community - NayanTara Gurung Kashapati, for an Artist Talk at Chennai Photo Biennale!

Sunday, 28 Feb 2016, 02:30 PM onwards @ Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Chennai 4, Rutland Gate, 5th Street Chennai India 600 006

NayanTara is a photographer and curator based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Her work seeks to embrace themes such as change, identity, gender, and history within the context of ‘the New Nepal’. She enjoys working across platforms to connect visuals, sound, research, education, activism; using storytelling as an underlying approach. In 2007, she co-founded photo.circle, a photography platform that has facilitated learning, networking, publishing, marketing and other opportunities for Nepali photographers. In 2010, she co-founded the Nepal Picture Library; a digital photo archive that strives to document a ground-up history of the Nepali people. She is co-founder of Photo Kathmandu - Nepal's first international photography festival, which launched in November 2015. Photo © Kevin Bubriski

Cultural Carnival for Corporates, Colleges and Kids

This is Epic...!

Six Characters In Search Of An Author

26 - 28 February 2016

07:15 pm - 09:00 pm

@

Museum Theatre, Egmore, Chennai
Directed by: Michael Muthu

Cast: Namitha Krishnamurthi, Mike Muthu, Sarvesh Sridhar, Shaan Katari Libby, Sabnam Gafoor, Thomas Philip, Kiran Naig, Shravan Ramakrisnan, Tehzeeb Katari

Written by Luigi Pirandello, the play is a thought about books that are written but never completed and then forgotten. It deals with a hypothetical scenario where six characters that were created by a writer, but his work was never completed, come to life. It talks about their desperate bid for survival, as they commence their search, for an author who will complete their story and thus give them the immortality they long for.

Duration: 100 mins.

Price: Rs 200, 300, 500. Tickets are available on Bookmyshow.

Be there! Yes, I'm there! :-)

Candles that light other candles never lose their brightness...!

What are these lights? Why are they burning even after eventide in a College that houses one of the best libraries in Tamil Nadu?

As I was taking a stroll by night after having been accommodated in the International Guest House at Bishop Heber, Trichy, I was both delighted and curious at the same time to see lights in three of the four floors of the magnificent library at Bishop Heber!

Even as I was gazing at this spectacle, I saw a student coming down the stairs, and I stopped him on his tracks and asked him,

‘Is the library still open at this time of the night?’

Yes, sir. It’s open till 9.30 in the night, especially for hostellers like us; we find it easy to access the books at our own pace and do our study in the quiet precincts of the library. It’s open from early in the morning till 9.30 pm!

Still curious, I decided to walk up the stairs, and see for myself what’s up!

I couldn’t believe my eyes!

Around fifty to sixty students were sitting in comfortable chairs, at beautiful tables, books in hand and doing their studies.

The Asst Librarian, Mr. Reuben welcomed me with the same old delightful smile, and I asked him,

‘What is this wonderful thing I see?’

Yes Rufus. Now we have the library open till 9:30 in the nights, and hostellers find it quite convenient to be here. Many day scholars too who decide to stay back for the night for studies also make use of the facilities and we provide even dinner for those who cant afford it!

I asked him, ‘Is our librarian Sir around?’

‘He just left at around 9.15 pm. He was here all this while, with Dr. Dhanabal of the English Dept!’

I was sooo overjoyed to see this commitment from my role-model that I called him up at around the same time. He was delighted to hear my voice, and quite taken by surprise when I told him I had made a surprise flying visit to Heber for a programme for the staff!

‘I just now left campus, rufus. You do one thing. Please come home and stay with us. We have a wonderful guest room all geared up!’

‘thank you soo much dear Sir. But they’ve given me the accommodation. Just felt so happy on seeing students come by night for studies, and I thought I’d call you up rightaway!’

And the delightful talk went on and on…

Homage to Tamil Women: An Exhibition

Homage To Tamil Women

@

DakshinaChitra, East Coast Road, 

Near MGM Dizee World, Muttukadu, South, Chennai

13th February 2016 - 20th March 2016

Daily from 10:00 am to 06:00 pm

The French photographer, lecturer and Kathakali dancer Chantal Jumel will pay a homage to Tamil Women through her photo exhibition called 'Inward journey through graphical India'. She came to South India to learn the traditional dance-drama Kathakali and the classical dance Mohini-Attam. During that stint, she learnt from the Tamil women the repertory and symbolism of kolam and from Sri Parameswara Kurup, a ritual painter attached to the prestigious temple of Ambalapuzha in Kerala, the technique and spirit of kalam ground painting. 

Check out the unique Kolam designs by Tamil women captured beautifully through her lens.

PS: I'm there on 26 February 2016 :-)

Congrats Amala! You made us all proud @ MCC...!

Congratulations Amala Rani, on representing MCC as part of the Tamil Nadu contingent in the RD Parade and for having been a part of the grand tea party hosted by the President of India on 26 January 2016.

We wish you many more laurels in the years to come! 

We are soo proud of you. God bless you.

UGC Sponsored National Seminar @ Berchmans, Changanacherry

All geared up for 'Chennai's Own' Literary Festival 2016

Chennai’s literati are all geared up with gusto for the third edition of the Chennai Literary Festival, which be held at various locations including the University of Madras campus from 17 February 2016. Students from over 50 colleges in the city would be participating in the three-day fete.

Organisers of the Chennai Literary Festival

On the first day there would be a debate in English on 'Education Today and Tomorrow' with school students from different academic streams taking part. Tamil scholar Ramalingam would be addressing students at Anna Adarsh College for a discussion on 'Navil Thorum Nool Nayam' in Tamil.

The second day would have Tamil Oratorical Competition held at Loyola College. Pavannan and Manushi would receive award for best literary works for the year along with cash prizes.

During the festival, workshops on topics such as Social Media, Storytelling, Copy Editing, Publishing, Dalit literature, Smayamum Sanga Ilakkiyangalil Oppanai and Sanga Ilakkiyam Kaattum Manidham would be held in different colleges spread across the city.

Workshops Exclusively for students!

Click on image to enlarge

Assignment Topics for European Drama and Fiction

Topics for Assignment on European Drama and Fiction

'Problematising Identity' in Nineteenth Century European Drama with reference to any One Dramatist Prescribed for Study

OR

'Problematising the Concept of Family' in Nineteenth Century European Drama with special reference to any One Dramatist Prescribed for Study

A Website dedicated to a Legend...

At last! A website dedicated to the great Professor J. Vasanthan, (Formerly Faculty, Department of English, MCC & American College, Madurai).

The Site features glimpses into the various facets of this multifaceted personality through his visual works, cartoons, writings, caricatures, etc.

And forgive my immodesty, it also features my testimonial on this great legend on their main page ;-)

Click on the link HERE

Assignment Topic for I MA Students on 'The Romantic Age'

The literature of the British Romantic Age, according to Adeline Johns-Putra, has been shaped by a number of forces.

Give a critical overview of the Romantic Age with special reference to any five of the following critical concepts and topics that shaped the literature of the Romantic Age.

·         Canon (Canonizing Forces)

·         Class (Class Barriers)

·         Gender (the canonical Romantic poets are all men!?)

·         Nature (one of the central preoccupations of Romantic Poetry)

·         Imagination (The positive energy of the imagination)

·         Orientalism (How the Orient exerted a considerable allure over Romantic literature)

·         Revolution (The age of Romanticism as an Age of Revolution)

·         Science (the Romantic Age has sometimes been called ‘the second scientific revolution’)

·         Slavery (Debates around the question of slavery and slave trade)

·         The Sublime (as ‘sense super-sensible’ that had the grandeur and magnitude to inspire transcendence of mind).

C

CChecklist for your Assignment - 

                             Check if you have included an abstract in about 150 words.

•           Check if key words have also been included along with your abstract. (words, and not sentences!)

              •           Check if you have given a minimum of at least TEN print sources.

Saunders & Daruwalla on Writing et alia...

Yesterday, as I was wistfully flipping through the pages of The Sunday Magazine of The Hindu, (which has  - sad to say - obviously degenerated from its prestigious, coveted pride of place it once used to hold for a long long time to becoming an Arnoldian ‘beautiful and ineffectual angel beating in the void his luminous wings in vain!’

And yes oh yes! To quote Wordsworth: ‘whither is fled the visionary gleam? Where is it now, the glory and the dream’?

Dearth of writers, or writers having a writer’s block! Or a crises staring at the stakes? God knows!

Yet inspite of this Barthean ‘glissement’, two redeeming features on this week’s edition were -

First: George Saunders’ candid cut for Tishani. The MacArthur Genius Fellow, ‘considered one of the most inventive writers in the English language today’, opens up to Tishani Doshi in a freewheeling kinda chat…

Three essentials that he outlined where -

George Saunders

1. He feels nothing less than nausea at the possibility of Trump becoming the next U.S President. 
2. On writers engaging politically in their poetry or fiction, he says that one needs to be careful and exercise restraint! Propaganda is not literature. The primary stance of the artist, in my view, is one of curiosity and openness — not just “deciding” on an issue and then “demonstrating” it. So my approach is to try to feel my stories deeply — to come (through revision) to really care about the people in my stories, and wish the best for them (even if they are stinkers) and, in this way, try to generate some moral-ethical heft.
3. When Tishani asks him on the ‘terrific loneliness’ syndrome that besets some of his characters, and if there is a loneliness in America unique from other kinds of lonelinesses in the world, Sanders admits to it full well, and says -

Yes, I think there is, and it’s a loneliness particularly inspired by how harshly we punish anyone who is not “making it” financially. People work so hard and tend to get very task-obsessed. We are generally a pretty affluent country, lots of opportunity — but our ethos means that if you do fail or falter, it is a very long drop to a very hard surface. So our sense of community suffers, I think. Americans tend to feel alone. Hence (maybe) all the shooting.
But also, ultimately, I think life is lonely. Lonely in the sense that we, many of us feel, deep down, that we are not good enough, not essentially loveable…Also, we are suffering all of the time… so that makes for a sort of existential loneliness. I hope my stories are about that type of loneliness too — a type of loneliness that is exacerbated by the kinds of competition that capitalism inspires and requires.

Secondly, Keki Daruwalla’s take on writers who’ve ‘crossed the floor’ and ‘lapsed into verse’.

Chennai Photo Biennale

in cooperation with Travelling Lens

invites you for a one-of-its-kind

EXHIBITION | SYMPOSIUM | WORKSHOP

26 February 2016 to 13 March 2016

@

Goethe-Institut Auditorium

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Chennai Photo Biennale - an exciting and significant community public-art project, bringing together world-renowned photographers from India and abroad.

A collaboration between the Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavanand Travelling Lens, Chennai Photo Biennale is focused on public engagement, this 2-week long festival from February 26th to March 13th 2016,  will attract more than a hundred thousand visitors across the city’s streets, train stations, galleries and parks in the city of Chennai, India.

A Cut above the Rest... as Alwaysss...!

Early morning walks were a routine for many of us in Professors’ Colony, East Tambaram. And still is!

Once you finish your walk, in the company of a good few, an august few, a chosen few – the few who could stare their eyes with astonishing success through the clearing darkness  of the pre-dawn hours – then you contently move ahead, on to your next schedule for the morning – to wipe your car and/or bike clean! J

Well, it was yet another relaxed Saturday morning. A day when the mind slows down its pace to a lethargic ‘lullaby’ish pace! I had just finished my walk, a wee bit early to be able to start quite ahead of time on a weekend sojourn!

So once back at home I take my hose tubing and start in all earnest - my car-cleaning chore!

Cleaning my car is something that I enjoy doing all of the time – what with a wonderful nylonish flexi-tubey for company, and water - water - water - all the way – I do relish and enjoy to the utmost the sheer delight in being ‘water-sportive’ when cleaning my car, and well, yes! it was my first car, a brand new car, a Santro XO car, a precious car, ha ha and what not!

Happily humming away a tune that rhymes to the spray of the shower of the tubey – I was shaken from the stupeficated-world-of-my-own’ by a neatly-dressed gentleman who taps gently on my shoulder!

With a startled surprise, and a bated sigh, I wish him, ‘Good morning Sir!!!’

He was just finishing his morning walk, and was on his way home, when either something about me or my car, bid him stop right on his tracks!!

He stood his gentle ground and asked in his usual inimitable style, 

‘How are you rufus?’

‘Doing fine, Sir. How are you? Please come home Sir!’

I request him as part of the cultural protocol ;-)

Having politely declined my impulsive ‘offer of the day’, he gently persuaded me to first turn off the water from the hose-tubey on a ‘priority-basis’!!!

I did.

He now asked me to quickly fetch him a pail of water and some soft cloth wipes.

I did.

Guidelines for Oral Presentations of Book Reviews (used with permission)

1.       Begin with the author, title, and date of publication.

2.       Speak clearly, and look directly at your audience (not just at the Prof.!)

3.   Showing the cover of the book is a nice way to capture the attention of the audience, and to quickly

demonstrate the book’s length, size, and appearance.

4.      Summarize the thesis or main idea (s) of the book in 2-4 sentences.

5.    Mention at least one memorable aspect of the book, so that at the end of class we will remember

something distinctive about your book.

6.      Limit the presentation to less than 5 minutes.  You should time yourself at least once in advance so you

have some sense of how much can be said in five minutes.

7.      You may stand or sit as you prefer.

8.   Give the book a thumbs-up or thumbs-down for inclusion in a future iteration of our class, and briefly

explain why it should (or should not) be included for future students.

9.     Audio-Visual aids (e.g., Powerpoint slides, Web sites, use of chalk-board, posters, costumes, etc.) are always welcome but are not required for this assignment.

My grateful thanks to Professor Chris Carlsmith, University of Massachusetts-Lowell for immediately obliging me, when I asked for permission to use his ideas, and also for wishing us the best, on the Oral Book Review Sessions. Thank you Professor. The original link is HERE

the bliss that taught my heart...

My impish little niece is such a bratty fairy of a girlie, that I discreetly steal time - as much as i could - from the winged charioteer, and surprise her with my presence every once in a while, although for a very brief while, just to get to be with her! To enjoy the prattle and the chuckle! the care and the cuddle! and what not!!!

And the moment she sees me from yonder, - in a longgg time - say two weeks ;-) - this little elf of a girlie all of four years, gets so excited that she strides at a rapid pace or rather  ‘racewalks’ towards her maama (uncle), holds out her hands in a ‘carry me please’ gesture, and when done, just hugs my shoulders as tight as she could, and leans gracefully on me, - a regal recline of sorts - without lifting up her head. Silence becomes her effective prayer from now on, even as she begins to go into a trance to feel the secure solace and the comfort of her beloved ‘rooofi’ maama. I hug her tight and ask her, -

‘How are you paapa (little girl)?’

‘Did you go to school today?’

‘Have you done your homework?’

‘Did you have your dinner?’ etc.

The more the questions from her maama, the more her silence.

Then I tell her, ‘Maama has bought something for you chellam. Do you wanna open your eyes to see it???’

Again, a passive and a faint nod that forebodes a stern ‘No’!

Distractions couldn’t distract her!

Five minutes flit us by.

Fifteen minutes fly by.

Still, our fairy girlie is ‘resolutely determined’.

Like a warrior holding on to his National Flag, and says, I shall not leave hold of the flag of my nation, ‘come what may’, our pretty little snowflake was clinging on to her maama, ‘come what may’!

Coaxings of all hues, and goadings of all colours could only add more vehemence to her cling!

Each tried his/her luck to bring paapa down, but ended up in a ‘disastrous deposit-losing’ debacle!

Proud of y'all... Kudos dear Kiddoes...!

The CIA Tests were on in full swing. So it was a sudden and sweet surprise when today, for their CAs - the class was brimming over with enthused and ignited minds swarming to crouch in their seats to have a go at the ‘English Challenge’ today as part of their first CA with me this semester.

I had just one word of caution for the class. “You guys won’t be able to rise to the challenge of an Internal test, unless you made yourself available in at least fifty per cent of the teaching classes!”

After I gave them their Questions and the classes were almost ten minutes into their test, something unexpected happened.

A girl from Class B stands up from her seat and comes straight to the invigilator (me) and says teary-eyed, 

‘Sir, I need to talk to you. Can I?’

“Sure. Please go ahead”, I calm her.

“Sir, I couldn’t write even my name on the answer sheet, after I saw you ‘taking to task’ some students from Class A for absenting themselves for more than 50 per cent of their classes!”

 “Yes. But what’s it to you?” I ask her, quite puzzled.

“Sir, but even I didn’t attend your classes this past month, as I was, for most of the time into rigorous training as an NCC cadet! But you have allowed me to write, sir!”.

“Great! I’m so happy that you are an NCC cadet! And service to NCC is like service to the nation. I’m so proud of you”.

‘Thank you sir’. And sir, I represented Tamil Nadu in the NCC contingent at the RD parade in New Delhi this January and we also had the pleasant surprise of having tea with the Rashtrapati himself (President of India), she quips.

‘Woww! Congrats’

“Among nine cadets from Chennai, I was the only girl who represented the Madras group, and it was like, a great honour for me to be a part of this prestigious group, sir”

“So proud of you! I’m so happy that you have a good conscience. Just go ahead. Write what you can. I can give you a bit of a relaxation in time too," I said.

‘No sir. I’ve come prepared. I will write well sir,’ she added, and she did!!!

As the test was drawing to a close, and most of the students had gradually made their way out, a couple of her friends came up to me and said, ‘Sir, the moment you took some of those students to task, she felt very unnerved. 

She kept on saying, “I’m not able to write… I have a feeling of guilt and remorse that I’m cheating on my teacher. I can’t write... And she was all tears…”

Then after the test was up, I called her up, and asked her if she had any clicks from the RD parade and tea time with the President (hoping to put em up on the blog).

She said, ‘Yes, sir. The Principal’s Office has also asked for it. I shall give you a copy once I take copies of it from this CD’. 

And yes, she did! 

This incident made me go back to more of such sweet restorative therapeutic anecdotal variants from the past, to be precise, more than a dozen years into the past, in good ol’ MCC.

Muthu, (a Thomasian) from Pbt Class, (2004-07) is an athlete who represented his Hall as well as the College! During his first internal test, he was quite visibly perturbed. Then, after five minutes into the test, he comes straight up to me and says, ‘Sir, I didn’t prepare well for this CA. I’m so sorry at having disappointed you. Please pardon me sir. I shall do my next CA well!’

Such moral courage requires a lot of guts indeed!

There was yet another student of ours, Vidya Venkat (2003-06). She was indeed a topper in class from day one. But one fine day, after her CA, she walks straight up to me, with a melancholic face and says, ‘Sir, I didn’t do my CA well. I’m sorry! Shall do well in my next CA'

Hopeland (2007-10) was a student of Zoology. He had us transfixed even in the very second month of his first year with us, when he dazzled the part II English class with a live and poisonous snake. I almost had the shudders when the snake slithered across my bag, on the table in that huge class. Click HERE for that episode.

After I gave the students their marks for their Internals, Hopeland comes up to me and says, ‘Sir, may I have a word with you?’

Yes!

‘Sir, I don’t think I deserve these marks!’

For the first time I was taken aback!

‘Oh!’ But why do you think so?’

‘Sir, I didn’t do much of a preparation for this test, and hence, the marks you have given me don’t agree with my conscience. Could you please reduce it sir??? Please???’

For once, I was sooo proud of my student!

Prince Shadrack, from BSc Chemistry (2003 – 04). Hope he reads this one! After one of my classes with them, he walks up to me and says, Sir, I found this gold chain (should be around five sovereign) on Campus, and I don’t know how to go about restoring it to its rightful owner!”

I appreciated him for his integrity, and asked him to hand it over to the Dean of Student Affairs, who will then do the needful, I said.

Ramnath Chandrasekhar (2008-11) was again a Zoology student. An avid photographer too! Even as I gave the class their Question Paper, Ramnath, had a look at the questions, and said, “Sir, I think, I can't do justice to the questions, as I haven’t attended many of your classes. I was busy doing wildlife photography out in the jungles. Please pardon me this once, Sir. Shall compensate it by doing well in my next CA,” he said. More on Ramnath and his passion HERE

And the list is only indicative. It goes on… Time is not highly favourable enough to me to wax eloquent on the integrity of my students. Vidya is now with The Hindu as Senior Correspondent, Ramnath is now a professional Wildlife Photographer, Muthu is a Govt School Teacher in Salem, Hopeland does what he loves doing, being a Zoologist! And I earnestly wish, pray and hope that this wonderful NCC cadet would surely make it big one day! Kudos!!!

This takes me back to the year 2007, in this very same February, when Dr. Kalam, the legend was with us here at MCC. After his brilliant speech on Scientific Magnanimity at MCC, when he spoke at length about the integrity of a few great minds like Dr. C. V. Raman, Prof. Norman E. Borlaug, etc, he said:

Friends, if we aspire to achieve great things in life, we need Scientific Magnanimity to focus on the young achievers. It is my experience that a great mind and a great heart go together.

 This Scientific Magnanimity will motivate the scientific community and nurture team spirit. With this background of unique traits of great minds, dear young friends, now it is time for all of you to have a great dream in life, dream transforms into thoughts and thoughts result into action. 

Now I would like to administer an oath on courage: (students please repeat after me, the legend says!) 

“COURAGE to think different, 

Courage to invent, 

Courage to discover the impossible, 

Courage to travel into an unexplored path, 

Courage to share the knowledge, 

Courage to remove the pain, 

Courage to reach the unreached, 

Courage to combat the problems and succeed, are the unique qualities of the youth. As a youth of my nation, I will work and work with courage to achieve success in all my missions. 

My congratulations to all the graduates who are passing out from Madras Christian College. My best wishes to all the members of Madras Christian College in their mission of providing quality education and capacity building among the youth of Chennai and the adjoining districts. Thank you.”

Dear MCC-ians, you’ve proved true the words of this Great Legend. As long as you have the courage to do the right, courage to think different, courage to excel, courage to stand up for what is right, courage to act according to your conscience, and the courage to walk with integrity, a glorious future is indeed assured for our Motherland India!

Viva la MCC!