Today happens to be the second day of Deepwoods 2025. As usual, we all – colleagues - gathered together at the BBQ River, for our share of the pie. It was such a lovely time of fellowship in a long time!
For reports on past editions of Deepwoods, you may want to read them all, HERE
Think Tank @ Writers’ Nook
The Ideators’ Rendezvous
25th February 2025
Session Summary
By Ms. Shannon Patricia
Topic: Should Undergraduate students involve themselves in research?
The session started off with the staff-student dialogue.
Dr. Hans Freddy was the first one to express his ideas. He stated that research has substantial value to it. He also defined research as “A unique interpretation to an already existing problem.” It is about trying to interpret things in one’s own way. The more convincing the statement, the more chances of it getting published thereby adding substantial value to the existing source of knowledge. He also presented the steps of research which are listed below.
1. Good understanding of what is already available. This forms the agenda in literature review.
2. Identifying the gap in
research
3. To be able to tune
one’s mind to a particular idea.
In research, one is constantly striving to strengthen the limited availability of research which already exists.
Additionally one must possess the ability to expand your ideas. William Shakespeare’s quote in his play ‘Macbeth’ was also cited.
Dr. Tabitha Durai started her talk with her personal experience and orientation towards research. She also added that with regard to research, there’s always room to learn more. Additionally it is associated with developing new skills which in turn open up your stream of thought. Researching can also be related to the idea of ‘connecting the dots’.
Research at undergraduate level proves to be an advantage where students can identify potential mentors thereby they can travel “with someone who’s already been there”.
Dr. Vijay Solomon emphasised the Indian problem of failing to document the rich repository of research that exists in the academia. He also stated that research is inevitable and added that “the world expects us to document it”. He also suggested the evolving trend in research which lays emphasis on research articles over books. Adding something new to the existing body of knowledge was the definition of research that was presented by him. He also emphasised the significance of reading which gradually paves way to writing. Finally, he also stressed the importance of data in research as well.
Professor Adarsh Vijay also cited that Undergraduate degrees are fundamentals of building conceptual knowledge. He also cited that publications aren’t necessary at an undergraduate level but it is always better to have one. He delineated the challenges in incorporating research at undergraduate levels as follows -
1. Student’s background and interest can effectively alter the process of research
2. The mentoring system
may prove to be time-consuming and the idea of labour cannot be ignored.
3. In case of field work,
safety issues form a stern concern which further adds to the complexity of the
issue.
4. The crisis in finding
research experts with a common area of interest serves to a steep task in
qualitative challenges.
5. Knowledge of the
discipline plays a vital role as undergraduates are still in the process of
building their fundamental understanding.
Professor Christina also emphasised the dire need or the ‘thirst’ to get better which in turn fuels students towards the realm of research. It kindles their spirits to ‘learn something new’ she added. She insisted that allowing oneself to be what he or she is, coupled with consistency forms the road to success which is also hardly acknowledged.
Finally Dr. Nirmal Thyagu presented the bifurcated challenges in both denying and approving to implement research at undergraduate levels. He underlined the significance of summer internships in fostering research acumen in students. He also cited the pitfalls that are involved in implementing this idea as he added that the territory is still unclear. He also added that research is all about finding “time to channelise one’s thoughts”.
The session also included contributions from students including Mr. Althameez and Ms. Lakshmi Ramaswami. While the former highlighted the need for structuring one’s thoughts which can effectively be achieved by mentoring, the latter emphasised the need to cultivate the idea of research in schools. Additionally Mr. Rishikesh also stressed about the growing need to cultivate the research mindset in students.
The session also witnessed the poetic talents of the members of the poetryX team who presented a wide array of poems which belonged to the theme of ‘The Poesy of Ordinary Things’. This was then followed by the Newspaper Quiz by Mr. Ben Francis Abi, which then culminated in a vote of thanks by Ms. Shannon Patricia.
A Rewarding Day | @ Kristu Jayanti College, Bengaluru Today
24th February 2025 | Talestra 2025
This morning at 5.30 I was up for my usual coffee-stroll in Narayanapura, Bengaluru. While walking down the road, I was surprised to see many bikers and walkers draped in woolen wear. Indeed the chill morning breeze of Bengaluru had enveloped us full-time! So for once, instead of having my regular coffee, today I took to chai to beat the chilly weather.
At 8.30 am, Dr. Santhosh came to my room to invite me for breakfast. We walked across the main gate to the staff rooms, where Dr. Santhosh showed me around his cabin.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Dr. Ben Milton, Dr. Tejas, Dr. Brighton among others who were there to welcome me. We all had breakfast together in the Staff Canteen.
Then, we headed straight to the auditorium.
Kristu Jayanti College is an architectural marvel in itself.
Even Fr. Principal’s room was so pleasing to the eyes, and invigorating to the mind, as it was adorned all over with indoor plants of all hues and shades.
Fr. Joshy Mathew who heads the department, is commitment-personified. We had a lovely time of interaction over coffee as well. I was pleasantly surprised to know that, the Department of English has a staff strength of 53 faculty members, in a College strength of 15,000 students.
Talestra 2025, saw students from many city Colleges turning up with such enthusiasm on them. I was happy to give the Key-Note Address, as part of the activities of the Writers’ Association. Then, I was taken to the grand auditorium of Kristu Jayanti College, where the II MA English Literature students were about to perform a play. Entry to the play was free but students had to register in advance. To my surprise the entire auditorium with a seating capacity of 1,200 was filled to the brim.
When I asked the faculty members about student behaviour during a play performance, they said that, students always maintained the Jayantian Code of Conduct, and never disturbed their fellow audience when a play is performed.
True to his words, the audience was glued to their seats, applauding and cheering the players at the appropriate times.
It was indeed a mind-blowing performance by the students of II MA English.
I was so happy to be invited by Fr. Principal Dr. Augustine George to sit with him in the front row, along with Fr. Joshy Mathew, HoD, Dept of English to watch the stellar performance of the players.
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| With Fr. Principal and the HoD, Dept of English Fr. Mathew |
The fact that the members of the audience gave a standing ovation to the cast and crew is testimony to the success of the performance. Interestingly, the play was directed by a student of II MA, under the supervision of a faculty coordinator Dr. Steffi. Everything about the play was impeccable, and everything went like clockwork, with no odd, jarring pauses, or noisome squealings from the microphones at any point of time.
I was glad to take a snap with Fr. Principal and the HoD along with a host of vibrant faculty members of the Dept, Dr. Santhosh, Dr. Brighton, Dr. Ben Milton and Dr. Tejas.
I was delightfully surprised to meet the architect of the College, a very simple, cool and calm personality, Fr. Som Zacharia, Director Infrastructure Planning and Development, who is the brain behind the brilliant architectural design of each of the buildings of Kristu Jayanti College. The best of all is the design of the Humanities block.
I told him, ‘Father, not even a single square feet of space has been unutilized or under-utilized here. Every space has been put to the best use’.
One has to see the architecture to believe it.
It is 10 pm now, and just now, got back from Bengaluru, by car. It was a long journey, of about six hours, 😊 that too, driving through the busy Bengaluru highways and byways was a challenging experience.
But at the end of the day, it was a rewarding one!
Hope to write more on this day’s memories, sometime soon.
For now, attaching a few memorable snaps of the day, thanks to Dr. Santhosh.
Dr. Santhosh, is our past student, an illutrious alumnus of our Dept who is doing so well in KJC. His dedication to his vocation is phenomenal.
And so are Dr. Ben, Dr. Brighton and Dr. Tejas, all our vibrant past students. I told them that I was thrilled beyond words to see them shine and making an impact, in such a blessed and wonderful college.
MCC-ians rock wherever they are! So happy to see this in action today at KJC! 😊
Viva la MCC! Viva la KJC!!
You may want to follow their Official Instagram Handle -
The stage is set, the vibes are electric—welcome to Talestra 2025! The madness has begun 🔥
#Talestra2025 #UnleashTheMagic #KristuJayanti #Writersassociation
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGcoXYcJ8bN/?igsh=MWxqZTY1cXg3YWZpYw==
So happy and delighted to see the
wonderful work done by the Writers’ Association of Kristu Jayanti College,
Bengaluru.
The purpose of the Writers' Association is to offer a platform for cultivating creative and critical literary expressions among its members. It offers a space for the young writers to hone their writing skills, challenge their creative minds, and engage with a community of fellow writers, says their preamble on their official website.
Hats off to Dr. Santhosh Kumar and his dedicated team of fellow faculty members who are fully committed to raising the bar for budding writers.
CHRISTIANE RECHENMACHER
(A) CHRISTL MTH. CHRISTL MTH. is an artist from Austria who cannot be framed.
Her music, paintings and lyrics are uncompromising, critical and confrontational.
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She creates spaces where the presence of anger and love, fragility and strength are equally justified.
In 2021, she released her first EP A Room for her own as CHRISTL.
I think I hate myself is her debut.
Three-year study maps rich snake diversity on city college campus
MCC | In Today’s Times of India
11th February 2025 | Chennai City Edition
In 1999, researchers mapped 19 different species of snakes in areas bordering Chennai, the highest number reported in a study in and around the city.
Fifteen years later, a study in the nearly two-century-old Madras Christian College (MCC) recorded 23 species and a total of 132 snake sightings, making the bustling campus a hotspot for these solitary creatures.
The three-year-long study mapped medically important venomous snakes such as the cobra, common krait, Russell’s viper, and saw-scaled viper, as well as the rarely sighted Vellore bridal snake, trinket snake, banded racer or Merrem’s racer, Indian sand boa, and slender coral snake.
Most of them were sighted during the monsoon and post-monsoon seasons in vegetation belts near fallen logs, leaf litter, and trees. The study was conducted by MCC, Chennai, and Kalinga Foundation, Karnataka.
“The stable vegetation belts have sustained the snake population on campus for years. Simply put, the snakes were allowed to live.
Being a closed area, only college-associated individuals access it, and there can be practices in place to not harm wildlife, ensuring a safe habitat for these reptiles,” said S R Ganesh from Kalinga Foundation, who is also the corresponding author of the study.
A 1968 study at the campus mapped 18 species. Snake sightings peaked during the monsoon (17 species, 37 snakes) and post-monsoon (18 species, 35 snakes) compared to pre-monsoon (14 species, 33 snakes).
This is likely due to floods forcing snakes out of burrows seeking shelter, the researchers said. In summer, despite fewer snake sightings (27), species diversity was highest (18).
The snakes were spotted in 12 different kinds of microhabitats, with the highest found under logs, trees, leaf litter, bare ground, and water bodies.
“That is where they live, and that may coincide with activity like the breeding for most of the snakes because they are solitary animals that are otherwise harder to spot, unlike birds or butterflies. Snakes seek one another only in a short window of time within their life stages.
Whenever that happens, the chances of finding them are high,” Ganesh said. Amid the live sightings, the researchers also found 11 dead snakes due to roadkill.
PS: You may want to read a similar feature on the Deer in MCC, by the Times of India, on our past blogpost HERE.
10th February 2025
Think Tank | Invite
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Think Tank, the Ideational Wing of our College, invites you for the 12th Edition of its Rendezvous @ Writers’ Nook, MCC-MRF Innovation Park, MCC on Wednesday, 12th February 2025 at 3 pm.
The Rendezvous would feature a Staff-Student Debate on the topic, ‘Re-discovering the Tertiary Education Space’.
Dr. Nirmal Thyagu, Dept of Physics,
Dr. Samuel Moses Srinivas,
Dept of English (SFS)
Dr. Chinnamuthu, Dept of
Commerce
will be representing the staff.
We also have an exciting student-ideation on the topic, ‘Nature-Trail Initiative’ by Ms. Pooja Ramesh and Ms. Vasupradhaa, S.
All present and past ideators are welcome!
Best regards,
Dr. Samuel Rufus
Coordinator
Ms. Chandrika Tandon wins her First Grammy Today!
“When you don’t look at
boundaries, everything seems connected. Everything seems possible”.
Is it a sheer stroke of coincidence or shall we call it serendipity? 😊
Airtel’s top honcho Mr. Gopal Vittal, an illustrious alumnus visited us in MCC on 25th October 2024, to dedicate an AirTel Tower in Campus, and paid glowing tributes to his alma mater. The very next week, we heard the delightful news that, he was promoted and elevated to the second role of the company.
In like fashion, just last week, we had Ms. Chandrika Tandon, our illustrious alumna, spending an entire week in MCC, and inaugurating the MCC Boyd-Tandon School of Business in Campus. On that occasion, she had paid glowing tributes to her alma mater. And, the very next week, (i.e., today,) we hear the delightful news that, she’s made India proud by winning the prestigious Grammy Awards today.
Her mantra album Triveni bagged her the Grammy - an album which blends ancient chants with world music.
“Music is love, music ignites the light within all of us, and, even in our darkest days, music spreads joy and laughter,” she said while receiving the coveted award in Los Angeles.
Giving us a lovely quote by Ms. Chandrika from an interview she had given to her friend Ms. Meenakshi Ahamed, for the latter’s book titled, Indian Genius.
“When you don’t look at boundaries, everything seems connected. Everything seems possible”.
Testifies to the fusion of ancient chants with world music in her album that won her the Grammy!
You may want to read more on Ms. Chandrika @ MCC, on our past post HERE.
