Symposium on Post-Truth @ Central
University of Tamil Nadu
Reflections | 25th March 2025
It was a cool and calm morning, and the little town of Tiruvarur was still sleeping, when our train chugged into the Tiruvarur Railway Station.
Well, Tiruvarur has claim to fame for any many reasons.
Firstly, it is the birthplace of the Carnatic music trinity - Thyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar, and Syama Sastri.
Secondly, Sundarar, an 8th-century Saivite saint, mentions “I am the slave of all those born in Thiruvarur” in his Thevaram.
Thirdly, there was large influx of the acumen of South Indian culture to the town during the 17th century due to the political unrest in Thanjavur and increased patronage of the Maratha kings to Thiruvarur, resulting in developments in music and dance.
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| A section of the audience |
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| Image source: Wikipedia |
Finally, the Central University of Tamil Nadu, that’s ensconced in a sylvan locale, a few kilometres away from the hustle of the town, the place I was heading to!
The moment I alighted at the railway station, my focus was on… er… um… you guessed it right… the coffee parlour. 😊
However, in the meantime, our driver had promptly called me and said that he’s waiting at the main entrance in a white Bolero, with the words “Govt of India” written on it.
I promised him of my prompt presence, but you see... the call of the heart is something that you can’t quite ignore! 😊
It’s something akin to the call of the wild!
And luckily, for me, Tiruvarur railway station had two filter-coffee outlets lined up, in quick succession - one after the other! Two strokes of luck, rather! - And the rarest of rarities for a railway station - since they usually sport those rarely-cleaned-canisters with high-sugar-loaded-coffee on them, that act a poor substitute for these freshly-brewed steamy hot cuppas that are warm and inviting to the coffee-lovers’ soul! 😊
That was my added tempt to step aside, to bracket, (but why-o-why does Husserl pop in here!) 😉 and to pause for the filter kaapi...
After my gentle sippa, the driver drove me to the Central University’s Faculty Quarters that also housed their Guest House.
The first chirps of the morning were obviously from the skylarks, and then followed the babblers and their entourage in quick succession. Rufous treepie for his part, chirped his high-octane husky calls, and then showed up the drongos, with their equally husky chirps. It was added delight to see a pride of peafowl of all hues strutting around our abode as well.
Now, let’s quick fast forward to the day’s delights.
I was so happy to see an exuberant crowd of students, research scholars and faculty members from across the neighbouring towns, (including a few scholars from Bishop Heber College, Trichy, who had come to listen to the speakers of the Symposium).
It felt so happy to share the dais with some of the legendary scholars of our times – Dr. Hariharan, Professor and Head, Institute of English, University of Kerala, Dr. Benet (my close friend and vibrant co-author of NET SET GO!), Dr. Prabhakar (MS University), and Dr. Selvam.
Hearty congratulations to Dr. B. J. Geetha, HoD, English Studies, CUT, for having come up with such a relevant theme for the Symposium, ‘Literary Trends in the Post-Truth Era”.
It was so heart-warming to see a lot of enthusiastic students and research scholars clarifying all their doubts during the time of interaction.
Yet another wonderful thing that I observed in the Symposium was the celebration of inclusivity!
The organisers acknowledged even their non-teaching staff in their Vote of Thanks. Even their Symposium brochure had mentioned and acknowledged their non-teaching staff under the banner of ‘Organising Committee’, that proved a great example in cultivating a sense of belonging amongst everyone in the Department.
Addressing the audience in her concluding remarks, Dr. Geetha observed –
The speakers I’ve invited for this Symposium – “I know their value and I know how erudite they are! I want you all to be immensely benefited by their lectures”.
And I’m sure all the speakers did full justice to her convictions.
On an added note, I was so happy to see our alumna Dr. Punnya Rajendran as a Faculty member with CUT. I also felt so happy to meet with Dr. Bhoopathy - junior to Prof. Udhayaraj at Presidency College, Chennai.
Since I had almost forgotten Punnya’s period of study in MCC, I just keyed in ‘Punnya Rajendran’ on the Search Box on this, our blog.
Hey presto! Promptly popped up the results!
Punnya was Secretary of the English Association, Dept of English, MCC, in December 2010. That means, she had studied here from 2008-11)! 😊
Documentation really helps you see! 😉
PS: You may want to read that past post from December 2010 HERE on our blog.
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