'She's read the latest on Tom Stoppard unless he's not published anything this morning' ❤️

‘To become a doctor she had to be patient for a long time’

Iswarya’s Viva Voce | @ MCC Today

Ms. Iswarya defended her thesis today at the IGH Seminar Hall, MCC. Dr. D. Venkataramanan, Professor of English, University of Madras, was the External Examiner for her viva voce.

What interested me the most today was, the sight of a cheerful gentleman, probably in his early seventies, happily welcoming all of us to Iswarya’s viva voce.

Iswarya defending her thesis

Dr. Ganesh introduced him as her school teacher Mr. Mohan, who had taught English for Ms. Iswarya.

Quite excited, I had a lovely conversation with him for some time, and he said that, he had taught her English from her ninth up until her 12th Standard, in Chettinad School.

He fondly recollected that memorable incident when he was teaching a particular portion from Wordsworth’s Prelude to her ninth standard class, when, right after her class got over, she had come up to him and told him that she wanted to opt for literature.

He had thought - back then - that she was saying it on an emotional spur of the moment resolve!

But then, true to her words, and to the surprise of everyone of us, she enrolled herself for her BA English Literature Programme, he said, with a teacher’s pride and joy on him.

Dr. Ganesh, in his introductory remarks, said - 

Iswarya was simply ‘one of the best research students I've had in my life’.

Usually Research Supervisors would say of their wards - 

‘My ward has come’.

But it was the other way round for me. I used to say - 

‘My guide has come’.

That’s because she gave me assignments. So it was a reverse process. It was Iswarya who guided me through Tom Stoppard, he observed, with such delight.

She's read the latest on Tom Stoppard unless he's not published anything this morning.

Iswarya is a dedicated scholar who never gets convinced that she's done a good job.

You’ll say, ‘It’s enough’. But she’d say, ‘It’s not enough’.

Such an amazing research journey it was.

She also had the rare opportunity of interacting with Tom Stoppard almost a decade ago, when he had come to the Jaipur Literary Festival.

He had approved of the trajectory to her arguments which gave authenticity and credibility to her thesis.

[Tom Stoppard has also written the screenplay for some of the greatest movies of our time, including Shakespeare in Love, Anna Karenina, Enigma, Tulip Fever, and many such films].

One of the Indian examiners who valued her thesis had also remarked that, it was a benchmark of good research.

‘To become a doctor she had to be patient for a long time’, he quipped in his own inimitable style, adding, the greatness of this thesis work is that it’s exhaustive and profound as well.

he said. 

Interestingly, Dr. Venkatramanan, in his opening remarks said that, his father was also a student of MCC, back during the time when Mr. Palanivel Rajan studied here.

He added to say that, Dr. John Varghese, who is now the Principal of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, was his classmate. He also remembered legendary past stalwarts of MCC like Dr. J. Vasanthan, Mr. A. V. Thomas, Mr. Balu Ramanan, up until Dr. Latha, who presently heads the Dept of English at Stella Maris College, Chennai.

Coming back - 

Iswarya’s research was on ‘The Idea of Consciousness’ in Tom Stoppard.

Giving an overview of Consciousness Studies, she also highlighted the growing interest in the field since the 1990s.

The Research Problem: Tom Stoppard’s response to the important contemporary debates on consciousness. Can his ‘vision’ of consciousness provide any resolution to these unanswered questions?

Finding: Stoppard’s insights continue in the anti-materialist tradition of British romanticism, and his concepts ultimately evolve towards an Advaita belief.

Students from II MA English were in full attendance for the viva, and it proved quite a rewarding day for everyone who had participated in the viva.

Ms. Iswarya, flanked by her Research Supervisor and her School Teacher

Dr. Mekala Rajan, Dr. Venkatramanan & Dr. Ganesh

Here’s wishing Iswarya the best, in all her literary endeavours and scholarly pursuits as well.