"My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me" 💜

On Katie Fforde and Her ‘Spunky’ Heroines

#onherbirthdaytoday #inspirational

The Archetype of the “Spunky Heroine”

27 September

A ‘spunky heroine’ is a character who is high-spirited and brave, with a ‘can-do’ attitude, eager to tackle problems rather than giving up. They have a cheerful outlook to life, and can uplift the mood of others.

This archetype of the ‘spunky heroine’ – female lead characters who don’t shy away from challenges and are proactive in pursuing their goals, even in the face of societal pressures or personal hardships – is found in various literatures across various time periods. We shall just take two for ensamples!

Firstly, let’s take the case of Elizabeth Bennet from Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

Elizabeth is known for her intelligence, wit, and strong will. She is a ‘spunky’ character who boldly stands up to societal expectations and refuses to marry for financial security, instead insisting on a marriage based on love and mutual respect.

And I quote –

Elizabeth saw what he was doing, and at the first convenient pause turned to him with an arch smile, and said, -

You mean to frighten me, Mr. Darcy, by coming in all this state to hear me. But I will not be alarmed though your sister does play so well.

There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me.

Bronte’s Jane Eyre is yet another example to the spunky heroine archetype, who boldly stands up to injustice from a young age and is determined to maintain her independence and integrity, even when it means making difficult choices.

Secondly, sample this from Jane Eyre –

I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.

I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will!

Do you think I am an automaton? — a machine without feelings? and can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup?

Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! — I have as much soul as you — and full as much heart!

And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you. I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh; - it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal,- as we are!”... therefore I am better than you - let me go!

In like manner, Katie Fforde’s heroines lend themselves to the ‘spunky heroine’ archetype. They are are known for being resourceful and proactive, often facing a personal setback and choosing to rebuild their lives in a positive way.

Instead of passively waiting for a man to solve their problems, they embark on new ventures and pursue their own passions.

So finally, let’s consider the ‘spunky’ character Polly from Katie Fforde’s Living Dangerously for an example.

When her friends and mother are trying to set her up with a husband, Polly is content to be single and focusses on her job and her passion for pottery. She is an independent character who resists pressure to conform to others’ expectations.

Here goes the text –

Oh, stuff the family unit. I admit there are times when it would be nice to have a man about the place, but once you’ve got the hang of a Black and Decker, those times are very few and far between. And think what you give up. Just because the ballcock on the loo needs replacing from time to time. I couldn’t make the compromises, not at my age.

‘Thirty-five is not old.’

Bridget was forty-one.

‘I know, but it is mature. I’ve lived on my own since I was twenty-five. I have my little ways – you might even say I’m a touch sluttish . . .’

PS: You may want to read on the Spunky Characters in Literature, with reference to the ‘Concept of Self’ Series, in our past blogposts, from January 2019, HERE.

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" ❤️🐶

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

II MA English Class | 26th September 2025

#classdebate #onhisbirthdaytoday

Well, just today in the II MA Class, we had an exciting debate on the topic,

‘Street Dogs should be kept in Containment Zones: Agree? Disagree? It was quite a memorable debate with the class equally split in their affinities – 50% on either side.

Topic for today’s Debate suggested by: Mr. Milind

The Official Timer for today’s debate – Ms. Terese

The Group Leader for ‘Agree’ (Black Mic) – Ms. Sivasankari

The Group Leader for ‘Disagree’ (Red Mic) – Mr. Milind

Official Photographer: Ms. Safa

Mic Coordinators: Black Mic – Ms. Ann Mariah | Red Mic: Ms. Lindsay

Official Transcriber of the Debate: Ms. Nivedhaa (awaiting!)

[Black Mic for ‘Agree’ | Red Mic – ‘Disagree’]

Many from either side have expressed their desire to continue on the debate the next week as well. So we hope to! 😊

Coincidentally, and ‘curiously,’ Mark Haddon – whose birthday falls today – has written his award-winning masterpiece titled, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a mystery novel that talks about the death of a dog, and the subsequent ‘awakenings’.

Well, two literary giants were born on this day.

T. S. Eliot and Mark Haddon!

#onhisbirthdaytoday

26 September

For today’s post, let’s do Haddon, Mark Haddon!

Mark Haddon is a British novelist, illustrator, and writer, best known for his novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which was published in the year 2003.

Quite interestingly, the year 2003 has been a very eventful year for literature, as most of the novels published in this year, soon became bestsellers winning major awards and becoming cult classics in the process.

Some of these bestsellers are -

Dan Brown’s alternative religious history, The Da Vinci Code

Rowling’s fantasy novel, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Khaled Hosseini’s debut novel, The Kite Runner

Jhumpa Lahiri’s debut novel, The Namesake

Margaret Atwood’s speculative fiction, Oryx and Crake

Lauren Weisberger’s chick-lit fiction, The Devil Wears Prada

Mark Haddon’s first novel for adults, The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time

are some of the bestsellers that were published in the year 2003.

Coming back to Mark Haddon’s The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time –

This mystery novel is narrated from the perspective of Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old boy, who discovers that, his neighbour’s dog, Wellington, has been killed with a garden fork.

Interestingly, Christopher is a mathematical genius who prefers logic, facts, and order. Hence the novel’s tone is very clinical and detached, even when describing traumatic events. One reason why, he struggles with understanding human emotions, social cues, and metaphors, which he sees as ‘lies’.

Moreover, the book is structured in a highly unusual way!

The chapters in the novel are numbered using prime numbers (e.g., 2, 3, 5, 7, 11), including diagrams, maps, drawings, and mathematical problems that are crucial to understanding how he processes information and makes sense of his chaotic world. 😊

Giving us all a few interesting snippets gleaned from the novel –

Just to help us engage with the text, which I personally feel, is so gripping right from the beginning –

It was 7 minutes after midnight.

The dog was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs. Shears’s house. Its eyes were closed. It looked as if it was running on its side, the way dogs run when they think they are chasing a cat in a dream. But the dog was not running or asleep.

The dog was dead. There was a garden fork sticking out of the dog.

The points of the fork must have gone all the way through the dog and into the ground because the fork had not fallen over.

I decided that the dog was probably killed with the fork because I could not see any other wounds in the dog and I do not think you would stick a garden fork into a dog after it had died for some other reason, like cancer, for example, or a road accident. But I could not be certain about this.

I went through Mrs. Shears’s gate, closing it behind me. I walked onto her lawn and knelt beside the dog. I put my hand on the muzzle of the dog. It was still warm.

The dog was called Wellington. It belonged to Mrs. Shears, who was our friend. She lived on the opposite side of the road, two houses to the left.

Wellington was a poodle. Not one of the small poodles that have hairstyles but a big poodle. It had curly black fur, but when you got close you could see that the skin underneath the fur was a very pale yellow, like chicken. I stroked Wellington and wondered who had killed him, and why.

My name is Christopher John Francis Boone. I know all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,057.

Then the police arrived. I like the police. They have uniforms and numbers and you know what they are meant to be doing.

There was a policewoman and a policeman. The policewoman had a little hole in her tights on her left ankle and a red scratch in the middle of the hole. The policeman had a big orange leaf stuck to the bottom of his shoe which was poking out from one side.

The policewoman put her arms round Mrs. Shears and led her back toward the house.

I lifted my head off the grass. The policeman squatted down beside me and said,

“Would you like to tell me what’s going on here, young man?”

I sat up and said, “The dog is dead.”

“I’d got that far,” he said.

I said, “I think someone killed the dog.”

“How old are you?” he asked.

I replied, “I am 15 years and 3 months and 2 days.”

“And what, precisely, were you doing in the garden?” he asked.

“I was holding the dog,” I replied.

“And why were you holding the dog?” he asked.

This was a difficult question. It was something I wanted to do. I like dogs. It made me sad to see that the dog was dead.

I like policemen, too, and I wanted to answer the question properly, but the policeman did not give me enough time to work out the correct answer.

“Why were you holding the dog?” he asked again.

“I like dogs,” I said.

“Did you kill the dog?” he asked.

I said, “I did not kill the dog.”

“Is this your fork?” he asked.

I said, “No.”

“You seem very upset about this,” he said.

He was asking too many questions and he was asking them too quickly. They were stacking up in my head like loaves in the factory where Uncle Terry works.

Chapters in books are usually given the cardinal numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and so on. But I have decided to give my chapters prime numbers 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13 and so on because I like prime numbers.

This is how you work out what prime numbers are.

First you write down all the positive whole numbers in the world.

Then you take away all the numbers that are multiples of 2. Then you take away all the numbers that are multiples of 3. Then you take away all the numbers that are multiples of 4 and 5 and 6 and 7 and so on. The numbers that are left are the prime numbers.

The rule for working out prime numbers is really simple, but no one has ever worked out a simple formula for telling you whether a very big number is a prime number or what the next one will be. If a number is really, really big, it can take a computer years to work out whether it is a prime number.

Prime numbers are useful for writing codes and in America they are classed as Military Material and if you find one over 100 digits long you have to tell the CIA and they buy it off you for $10,000. But it would not be a very good way of making a living.

Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.

I’m sure this is added tempt for the reader to take to the book rightaway!

Here’s wishing you a Happy Haddon Time! 😊 

"To boldly speak about one’s life was in mama's eyes, an act of betrayal" ❤️

On bell hooks and William Faulkner

#onhisbirthdaytoday #onherbirthdaytoday

25 September

hooks (sic) and Faulkner are two legendary literarians celebrating their birthdays today.

Both hooks (sic) and Faulkner are known for their deep and critical engagement with the American South, exploring the region’s complex and often painful legacy, particularly the intertwined issues of race, class, and history.

Both authors used their art to confront the same fundamental subject: the American South and its enduring legacy of racial and social hierarchy.

While hooks (sic) approached the topic through a critical, and theoretical lens, Faulkner engaged with the subject of racism through a complex, fictional narrative.

Faulkner was particularly more focused in engaging with what he called, the South's “original sin” of slavery and its long-lasting, corrupting effects on both Black and white families. He calls it as a ‘sin’ because it represents a deep moral and ethical transgression!

Well, I came across this insightful book on Faulkner titled, Critical Companion to William Faulkner: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work published in the year 2008 by A. Nicholas Fargnoli, et al.

It is a must-read book on all things Faulkner from A to Z!

Giving us all a few brilliant gleanings on Faulkner from the book –

William Faulkner - Novelist, author of The Sound and the Fury, Light In August, Absalom, Absalom!, Go Down, Moses, The Hamlet, and other works, winner of the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature, and by critical consensus a leading literary artist of the 20th century.

The novelist’s mythic Yoknapatawpha has become a permanent feature of the world’s literary geography, a suffering, defeated place, a haunt of grotesque and villainous Snopeses and Sutpens, with a troubled heritage of slavery and war. But it is an enduring and timeless place too, peopled with ordinary men and women such as Dilsey Gibson, V. K. Ratliff, and Isaac (Ike) McCaslin who rise to heroic stature and in whom hope has not died.

There were the immemorial pastimes of smalltown boyhood: pickup games of football and baseball, explorations of the nearby woods and fields with Mammy Callie, hit-and-run raids on enemy neighbourhoods.

Black-white relations were easy, often affectionate, so long as blacks made no bid to breach the racial barrier. Whites reacted fiercely to any attempt to cross the line. Race and racial identity would become major themes of Faulkner’s mature

Faulkner’s published writings span a period of more than 40 years and include poems, short stories, novels, essays, speeches, screenplays, and letters. His literary works contain well in excess of a thousand named characters, some of whom appear in several different works.

Coming to bell hooks,

Bell hooks, a Black feminist, scholar, and social critic, used her writing to analyze the social, economic, and political structures that perpetuate oppression.

Born and raised in Kentucky, her work is heavily influenced by her experiences as a Black woman from the South. She focused on the intersectionality of race, gender, and class, arguing that these systems of oppression are deeply interconnected and cannot be understood in isolation.

Her memoir titled, Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood, delves into the personal and collective trauma of growing up Black in the South, and she often wrote about the importance of “homeplace” as both a site of pain and a source of strength and community for Black women.

There’s this lovely book she’s written, titled, talking back thinking feminist, thinking black. It’s a collection of essays that explores the intersections of race, class, and gender. The book critiques mainstream feminist theory for its exclusion of the experiences of women of colour and challenges the patriarchal structures within Black communities.

The title “Talking Back” itself becomes a powerful metaphor for resisting oppression. hooks discusses how Black women have historically been silenced and how reclaiming their voice is a crucial act of resistance and self-empoweration.

Some gleanings from the book by hooks –

Among her discoveries is that moving from silence into speech is for the oppressed, the colonized, the exploited, and those who stand and struggle side by side, a gesture of defiance that heals, making new life and new growth possible.

More often than not racist, sexist stereotypes characterized black females as loud, rude, overbearing, and in relationship to black males dominating and castrating. Positive studies of girlhood patterns attempt to link being outspoken as a girl with healthy self-esteem.

Unfortunately because many black girls speak out unenlightened feminist thinkers have seen these speech acts as performances of power when they may more accurately simply be a reflection of different cultural values. 

Even when critical thinkers, like myself, have called attention to the reality that in black communities across class, girls being talkative cannot be interpreted as an accurate indication of strong self-esteem.

Black girls continue to be judged by sociological and political standards that are first and foremost informed by perceptions of white girls (i.e. if silence among white girls indicates obedience and self-effacement it must follow that speaking out among girls of colour, especially black girls, can be read as a sign of positive power).

In contrast to privileged white girls who are marked as socialized into silence and therefore taught to be female subordinates, lower class black girls who speak out are then coded as defi ant.

If one group is seen as quiet and self-eff acing then it follows that girls who are loud and aggressive are seen as more powerful. Yet in many non-white ethnic groups female speaking out is not seen as a gesture of power.

In these cultures, speaking out is deemed as much a fulfillment of a sexist defi ned female role as female silence in other cultures. It should not surprise anyone that girls who are loud and outspoken see themselves as strong and/ or powerful. However this rarely corresponds with the actual reality of their lives. When the issue is speaking out, the content of what is spoken is more important than the speech acts.

Rather than making the act of speaking a sign of assertive power for girls, focusing on content provides a more accurate means of making the connection between speaking and healthy self-esteem. Who is speaking is never as important as what is being said, even though who speaks is crucial to our understanding of any politics of gender.

Confronting the fear of speaking out and, with courage, speaking truth to power continues to be a vital agenda of all females.

My elder female ancestors gave me the important gift of bold speech. They were courageous women of vision and purpose.

Longing to fit in with more conventional sexist defined notions of a woman’s proper role in life, Rosa Bell, my mother, was not a woman of bold speech. She endeavoured to be seen and not heard, when speaking to say the right words. When it became clear that I, her third daughter, wanted to become a woman of bold speech, mama tried hard to silence me. When I “talked back” I was punished.

Like the southern women of her time mama believed in the cult of privacy, especially as it related to family and domestic life. No matter what was happening in families, we were all taught that it was tantamount to treason to break the code of silence and speak openly and honestly.

To boldly speak about one’s life and to dare to make that speaking a critique was in mama’s eyes and in the eyes of the middle-class culture of true womanhood a betrayal. And of course it was indeed one of the first ways young females, like myself, challenged patriarchal thinking.

Whether writing in diaries (my older sister always read my thoughts and reported to our mother my secrets) or speaking out, clearly I understood early that talking back was a form of conscious rebellion against dominating authority.

From the start my engagement with contemporary feminist movement demanded that I have the courage to talk back if I wanted to share my perspective on being black and feminist.

It seemed fitting then that I should call this second book “talking back” as it was the first published work wherein I linked telling my story to the writing of theory.

Talking Back has been and continues to be a work that encourages readers to find and/or celebrate coming to voice, especially folks from exploited and oppressed groups who struggle with breaking silences.

Finding our voice and using it, especially in acts of critical rebellion and resistance, pushing past fear, continues to be one of the most powerful ways feminist thinking and practice changes life.

When readers apply the theory of coming to voice to their lives, especially in relation to understanding domination and creating an aware critical consciousness, meaningful transformation takes place for self and society.

When the discussion of coming to voice first began in feminist circles everyone thought it would just be commonly understood as a necessary aspect of feminist self-actualization, so much so that it would become an automatic process. That did not happen.

Many readers still need to have the foundation laid for them by those of us who have been working for feminist change for decades. We will always need to promote and encourage talking back,

signs off bell hooks, in her prefatory to her book. 

Invitation for Seminar on Opportunities for Higher Education in France ❤️

24th September 2025

Dear All,

Sub: Invitation for Seminar on Opportunities for Higher Education in France, tomorrow, Wednesday, 25 Sept 2025 at 9.30 am – Reg.

Ms. Shruthi Miriam Joseph, Manager, Campus France (Tamil Nadu & Pondicherry), will be giving an Orientation followed by a Q & A Session on Higher Education Opportunities in France, at 9.30 am, Thursday, 25th September 2025 in the Chemistry Seminar Hall, MCC.

Since the seating capacity of the Hall is 80, kindly be seated in the Chemistry Seminar Hall by 9.25 am.

Campus France is the official French government agency responsible for promoting French higher education abroad and welcoming international students and researchers to France.

Kindly forward this information to students who are interested in pursuing their Higher Studies in France.

Office of International Programmes

MCC

"In the golden age of Asia, Korea was one of its lamp bearers, And that lamp is waiting to be lighted once again!" ❤️

Korean Foundation Day Celebrations

22nd September 2025 | 6.45 pm

The Leela Palace, Chennai

This evening at 6.45, our Principal Dr. Paul Wilson and myself – we were part of the Korea Foundation Day Celebrations at The Leela Palace, Chennai.

A host of other dignitaries including Mr. Venu Srinivasan, the Chairman Emeritus of TVS Motor Company, Mr. Kalanidhi Veerasamy, Member of Parliament, Senior IAS officers, Ms. Mallika Srinivasan, the Prince of Arcot, among others, were part of the celebrations.

The Korean Consul General welcomed the gathering. This was followed by the playing of the National Anthem of both the countries.

Speaking on the occasion, the Korean Consul General Mr. Chang-nyun Kim said –

It’s been two years since I arrived in India, and I’ve been able to see the way in which both our nations – India and South Korea – two of the world’s leading markets - are expanding on our bilateral ties as strategic partners for mutual prosperity. Be it our collaborations in semi-conductors, batteries, or body building, we have been able to progress together with great success.

In June 2025, at the G7 summit held in Kananaskis, Canada, the President of the Republic of Korea, Lee Jae-myung, and the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, held a bilateral meeting. It was President Lee Jae-myung’s first foreign trip after assuming office. The two leaders discussed a range of issues aimed at strengthening the “Special Strategic Partnership” between our two countries.

Areas of cooperation included - Trade and Commerce, Technology, Energy, Shipbuilding, Defence, People-to-people exchanges, etc.

During the meeting, the Indian Prime Minister Modi also reiterated his invitation for President Lee to visit India. In deference to the invitation of the Indian Prime Minister, the Korean President is expected to visit India early next year.

The legendary story of Princess Suriratna of Ayuta, also known as Queen Heo Hwang-ok, is chronicled in the 13th-century Korean historical text, Samguk Yusa.

In 48 CE, Princess Suriratna, who was 16 years old, embarked on a sea journey with her entourage. Upon her arrival in Gaya, King Suro was waiting for her, as he had also been divinely informed of her coming. He married the princess and gave her the new name Queen Heo Hwang-ok.

The royal couple had ten sons. The legend states that Queen Heo requested King Suro to allow two of their sons to bear her maiden surname, Heo. The descendants of Queen Heo and King Suro form a significant portion of the Korean population, with almost seven million of Koreans tracing their lineage back to them.

Today, interestingly, we see a new wave of connection between South Korea and India – through K Drama, K pop, K Culture, K Language, etc. For this I am truly thankful,

he signed off.

Mr. Venu Srinivasan, of TVS Motors, then said that –

Both of us – India and Korea have gone through the colonial rule. Korea is a great country of inspiration. The reason is, Korea was once a very poor, feudal nation with agricultural economy, unlike other industrially advanced countries.

However, from the 1960s, they built the highest levels of technology.

In 1929, Rabindranath Tagore wrote a famous poem where he observes that, Korea will rise to be the ‘Lamp of the East’.

In the golden age of Asia,

Korea was one of its lamp bearers,

And that lamp is waiting

To be lighted once again

For the illumination of the East.

In fact, this poem was a message of hope to Koreans suffering under Japanese rule, foretelling Korea’s future resurgence and illumination of the East. The poem is a revered text in South Korea, where it is included in school textbooks and celebrated for linking Korea's historical legacy to its future as a prominent nation,

he said.

This was followed by a fusion music. As a prelude to the musical performance, the MC had this to say -

In ancient Korea, people placed their wishes in songs – prayers for a bountiful harvest, melodies of love and strength to endure challenges.

Manpasikjeok became the music of life, a resonance that united hearts as one.

It is a legendary flute from the Silla period of Korean history. The name literally translates to “Flute That Soothes Ten Thousand Troubles.”

According to the legend, it was a divine instrument that could solve all of the nation’s problems, from dispelling enemies to bringing rain during a drought. While the original flute doesn't exist today, the legend is a significant part of Korean mythology and is referenced in various forms of art and literature.

This was followed by a divine musical rendition on the Manpasikjeok, with a host of accompanying instruments by Korean musicians, enthralling the audience.

Our Principal Dr. Paul Wilson along with the Korean Consul General

A Memorable Day in Every Way | Seminar @ Anna Adarsh College for Women, Chennai❤️

Seminar at Anna Adarsh College for Women, Anna Nagar, Chennai

A Report

22nd September 2025

#lovelymemories #rewardingday #AnnaAdarsh

I was so happy when Dr. Aparna Suresh, my very good friend, and an accomplished poet, invited me to give a Talk in the Seminar hosted by their Department. I gladly accepted the Invite. 

The Head of the Department, Dr. Soupraja also called me up soon after, extending a cordial invite to me. Last evening, the Vice Principal Dr. Meena Kumari had also called me up for courtesy, just to say a ‘hi’ and formally invite me.

I was touched by the courtesy, the cordiality and the camaraderie shown by the Department of English. It was so nice of them to call me up personally to invite me.

And this morning, - the red-letter day - sharp at 9.15 am, as promised, I was at Anna Adarsh College for Women.

The sprawling streets that lead to Anna Adarsh College are so elegantly adorned on either side with such sylvan avenue trees, that give the Anna Nagar streets their unique aura.

In fact, on an aside, Anna Nagar is one among the posh and elegant localities in the whole of Chennai, with well-maintained parks, huge streets, high-end houses, and neatly designed sidewalks.

It was such a joyous festive spirit in the Department. The entrance to the Seminar Venue was so beautifully decorated in pink. The organising team was also gracefully attired in pink.

Added, the entire vicinity was adorned with such beautiful decorations, balloons, rangoli and the ceremonial decorative trays at the Reception Desk.

What arrested our attention and struck us all bigtime was the beautiful rangoli, at the entrance to the Seminar Hall. It was so beautifully done, that we all stopped to take a few pictures with the rangoli.

After the ceremonial lighting of the kuthuvilakku, and the inaugural ceremony, we were all entertained with a lovely Mime performance by the students of III BA English Literature.

After the Mime, we had my Talk on the topic, Textual Praxis: Gender, Justice and Resistance in Literature.

I spoke on the importance of Textual Praxis and its importance to literary studies, giving the students a simple formula on Textual Praxis, with gleanings drawn from Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Paulo Freire etc, as follows –

Praxis = Reflection + Action + Transformation

Dr. Meena Kumari, the Vice Principal, a long-time friend and a wonderful human being, gave the Conference prologue. The HoD Dr. Soupraja then gave a very insightful introduction to the theme of the Seminar, following which Dr. Aparna introduced the Speaker of the Day. I felt so happy when Dr. Aparna said a few lovely words about our academic blog – a space for deep living!

Extremely happy to note that, my talk was followed by a lot of insightful questions from students. We had almost six questions in quick succession. Bespeaks to how well the students had keenly followed my Talk.

After the Talk, we had a theatrical performance on ‘Bayen’ by Mahaswetha Devi, a powerful play about Chandidasi, a woman from the Dom (cremation attendant) community who is wrongly accused of witchcraft, or “Bayen”. The play explores themes of social exclusion, gender inequality, and the oppression of marginalized women in a patriarchal society.

It was a mind-blowing performance that the students had aced with such passionate acting.

So happy to note that Dr. Aparna had directed the Mime and the Play. So proud of you Dr. Aparna.

After the Q & A, we had the Certificate and the Prize distribution ceremony.

Hearty congratulations to the organisers on hosting such a memorable and rewarding Seminar. 

A memorable day in every way!