She said, “First listen to the condition; then think it over. It’s not an ordinary condition!"

The Day's Newspaper in Language Learning | A Report

Since today happened to be a Saturday, and the air was filled with festive cheer, with the Inter-Hall Sports Meet just hours away, I had informed our II MA English class a wee bit in advance, [through the Class Rep Dinesh], that we would be having a Newspaper Quiz today, based on the day's Newspaper.

In this regard, I had also brought along copies of the day’s Times of India, for each and every student.

Students were very enthusiastic and vibrant in their responses right from the start.

One of the questions was –

Find out the typographical errors in page six of today’s Times of India.

Gladson came up with the right answer in no time.

Similarly, Gayathri, Jean and Angela also came up with quick successive answers.

The quiz was however getting heated up with Princy, Alan and Fanny giving a tight tug to the finish, with Fanny bagging the honours at the end of a rewarding photo finish.

Well, today we had the opportunity to learn a lot of amazing words in the process as well!

Some of them are –

Ostrich-like attitude – A person who refuses to face reality or recognize the truth. A reference to the popular notion that the ostrich hides from danger by burying its head in the sand.

Madventure – An adventure of an extreme nature, that can be applied to any adventure whereby a normal person would consider you to be mad for partaking in the said activity.

Road milling – Milling is the process of removing the top layer of asphalt to a specified and even depth without disturbing the underlying subbase. This allows new asphalt to be laid down without increasing the height of the road and saves you time if the subbase doesn't need to be fixed.

Goof up – a stupid mistake.

Gaffe – A gaffe is a stupid, embarrassing or careless mistake.

Bedlam – “A scene of uproar and mad confusion”. It takes its origin from the colloquial pronunciation of Bethlehem, [lunatic asylum] short for "Hospital of Saint Mary of Bethlehem" in London, which was founded 1247 as a priory, mentioned as a hospital by 1330 and as a lunatic hospital by 1402.

Bloodbath Nation – An intimate and powerful rumination on American gun violence by Paul Auster.

amongst a host of other interesting vocabulary as well.

There were a host of other intriguing articles, like the Bachelors’ Padayatra in which –

Around 200 bachelors from Mandya district had resolved to undertake a unique padayatra to MM Hills temple in Chamrajanagar district seeking divine intervention to find brides for themselves. Men in the district, especially those involved in agricultural activities, have been finding it difficult to find brides.

"The district was once notorious for female foeticide and we are paying the price today," said a woman farmer leader.

Mandya district, which is witnessing an acute shortage of brides for youths who are into farming and those living in villages, will witness a unique padayatra to the famous MM Hills temple in neighbouring Chamarajanagar district this month.

Yet another article on the ‘One condition in Love’ was equally intriguing.

This Speaking Tree post by Sumit Paul roots for “A little distance is needed in love/ This is the only key to survival of love”. It goes thus -

I read somewhere that a young woman and man fell in love and, as it happens, immediately wanted to get married.

The woman said, “Only on one condition.” She was very cultured, sophisticated and rich.

The man said, “Any condition is acceptable, but I cannot live without you.”

She said, “First listen to the condition; then think it over. It’s not an ordinary condition. The condition is that we will not live in the same house. I’ve a vast land, a beautiful lake surrounded by beautiful trees, gardens and lawns. I’ll make you a house on the other side, just opposite where I live.”

He said, “Then what’s the point of marriage?”

She replied, “Marriage is not destroying each other. I’m giving you your space. I’ve my own space. Once in a while, walking in the garden we may meet. Once in a while, boating in the lake, we may meet accidentally. Or sometimes, I can invite you to have tea with me, or you can invite me.”

The man said, “This idea is simply absurd.”

The woman said, “Then forget all about marriage. This is the only right idea — only then can our love go on growing, because we always remain fresh and new. We never take each other for granted. I’ve every right to refuse your invitation, just as you have every right to refuse my invitation; in no way are our freedoms disturbed. Between these two freedoms grows the beautiful phenomenon of love.”

Of course, the man couldn’t understand and dropped the idea.

But Rabindranath Tagore had the same insight, as did Kahlil Gibran, who wrote: ‘If this is possible, to have both space and togetherness, then…The winds of heaven dance between you.’

Yet another intense read, was on Google Doodle honouring the first female lead in Malayalam Cinema – P. K. Rosy on her 120th birth anniversary.

The article goes like this -

Less than a century after Nangeli, the eponymous subaltern woman, chopped off her breasts in protest against the Travancore kingdom’s ‘mulakkaram’ (lower caste women were not allowed to cover their breasts then) P K Rosy, a Dalit, became the heroine of first Malayalam movie ever made. 

She ironically played the role of an upper caste woman, and the movie's release led to widespread rioting. On Friday, Google celebrated Rosy's 120th birth anniversary with a doodle.

On the whole, it was a very rewarding time with the day’s Newspaper for all of us in class today. Keep up the spirit, class.

PS: You may want to read our past post on our Newspaper Club HERE