Myself Only Writing This… 😉

Is it ok to say “My Mrs.”? (Vasu, Kakinada)

#newspaperinlearning  

From the Know Your English Column, The Hindu, dt 3rd Nov 2026

Is it ok to say “My Mrs.”? (Vasu, Kakinada)

And Prof. Upendran’s lovely reply –

In India it is fairly common for a man to refer to his wife as his “Mrs.” 

“My Mrs. is not feeling well,” is a sentence that one hears very often.

Friends often ask, “How is your Mrs.?” or “How is your family?”.

The word “family” is often used to refer to the wife as well. Indians use these expressions in both formal and informal contexts.

A native speaker of English does use the word “Mrs.” to refer to his wife, but he does so usually in informal contexts. He uses the word jocularly; and never in formal contexts. When talking about his wife, a native speaker refers to her as “my wife” or calls her by her name,

he observes.

Well, this rings a bell, especially in the context of a famous poem that we were discussing in our II MA English Class last month. It’s by Nissim Ezekiel and it’s titled, ‘Goodbye Party for Miss. T. S. Pushpa’.

We had a discussion on the topic of linguistic subversion, and the legitimisation of Indian English. (Because up until then, Indian English poetry very often relied on British mimicry).

In fact, Ezekiel’s poem was in a way a validation of the everyday raw realities of office life – or rather a vindication of the rights of Indian English! 😊

On an aside, to be honest, the grammatical subversions in the poem made us have a hearty laugh, but at the same time it also made us ruminate on the importance of grammatical subversions, and celebrate the quirks of native Indian tongues!

For example, the overuse of the present continuous tense in the poem –

“Miss Pushpa is coming,” “She is smiling and smiling”. “Why world is fighting, fighting”, or Literal translations like, “Two three days,” “Just now only,” which could be called examples of structural nativisation or L1-Interference.

Now coming to the main point -

This reminds me of yet another humorous book that was published almost two decades ago, on the subject of Indian English.

It’s titled, Entry from Backside Only, by Binoo K John, and it has all the essentials and the ingredients to make us have a hearty laugh, and to make us think as well!

In fact, the book looks at Indian-English not as a set of mistakes, but as a practical language cooked up by everyday users like roadside astrologers, babus, and quacks. It shows how we took the Queen’s English and fully localised it to suit our own daily logic and regional translations.

Sample a few of these lovely expressions from the book –

Carry out your own bag, put up at a Mother Dairy booth so customers remember to bring their own bags.

Home Late, a tea-stall owner’s completely logical spelling for an omelette.

One minute relax, one-day happy, painted outside a Cuddalore tea shop.

Under standing people will suffer, shouted by a professor at students making a ruckus.

Entry from backside only, a standard Indian sign board that completely misses the joke.

Myself in-charge here, the universal Indian way to introduce oneself.

Hopes Revives, Life Comes Again, printed in a 1921 advertisement for Amritdhara tonic.

Expose all my shocking to man and female women, from Okhil Chandra Sen’s 1909 railway complaint.

My belly is too much swelling with jackfruit, also from Okhilbabu’s legendary letter.

Avoid to use polythene bag - A stern, grammatically twisted warning pasted below a computer print-out at a Mother Dairy vegetable outlet in Delhi.

Meter jump to be paid by the customer - A creative disclaimer by a Srinagar telephone booth operator to cover business risks from his unpredictable digital meter.

Intensified pleasings to partner and happiness in marriage - The bold promise made by street-side sexologists selling ayurvedic tablets for “secret diseases”.

The cipher is set as ‘000’ in the factory and you can remain it: The baffling opening instruction on a tiny pamphlet explaining how to use a number lock.

I wand working women in any privte or govt, but mostly like beauty and honesty natures - An advocate and “businessman of granite” outlining his matrimonial demands.

Steam action will be taken against such driver - An Uttaranchal transport department advisory warning drivers against consuming “any intoxication like alcohol etc” on hill roads.

If escalators are closed or luggage has fallen don get panicky - A helpful railway instruction painted near the New Delhi station escalators.

We will continue to sapply profit to darling customers... and the vendor type people - A spoof in-house ad run by the Economic Times.

Could you please mind me and mend the torn hope? - A desperate plea from a reader who was on a “wild goose-chase” looking for a specific book.

My head is eating circles and circles over all this golmal - A literal translation of a Hindi idiom used by Jug Suraiya in a satirical letter about the Oxford dictionary adding Indian slang.

So… yup!

Next time someone asks you to “please do the needful”, don’t please give them a mouthful, but rather be mindful to appreciate the sheer genius of the way in which they have lifted the ‘Queen’s language, added their own native flavours and spices, and served it to you in such a way that is so perfectly localised to suit our our everyday lived realities.

As Chinua Achebe says –

Let no one be fooled by the fact that we may write in English, for we intend to do unheard of things with it! 🥳

“Unheard of things,” you see! 🥳😎

And yes, myself only writing this… 😉

Did You Know a “Companion” is Just a Bread-Sharer? ❤️

The Changing Lives of Words | Reflections

Gleaned from today’s Know Your English Column in The Hindu

3 November 2026 #newspaperinlearning

The “Know Your English” column is a popular weekly column in the pages of The Hindu that ardent and devoted readers of the newspaper would never fail to look out for!

The column, compiled by Prof. S. Upendran, a professor (now retired) at the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in Hyderabad, answers readers’ genuine queries about word meanings, pronunciation, common idioms, phrasal verbs, and frequently confused expressions.

In today’s The Hindu, there were some of these gleanings from the archives.

A well-meaning reader had asked this question –

What is the difference between “friend” and “companion”? (S. Sateesh, Bangalore)

To which Prof. Upendran so aptly replies - 

The meaning of the word “friend” has undergone several changes. I understand that during Shakespeare’s time the word was used to refer to one’s mistress! Nowadays, of course, the word “friend” is used to refer to someone whom you have known for some time and with whom you have a reasonably good relationship. The individual could be someone in whom you confide; a person to whom you tell your problems. In the case of a friend there is an emotional bonding, but there does not have to be physical proximity. You and your friend need not be together all the time.

A “companion”, on the other hand, is an ambiguous term. This individual could be like a friend in that he/she may be very close to you. For example, Dr. Watson was Holmes’ constant companion; he went wherever the great detective went. 

They got along famously and they were good friends. The word “companion” can also be used to refer to someone who accompanies you on a journey. You may talk to him, share food with him, but once you get off the train/bus, you may never see him again. 

While the word “friend” stresses the emotional bonding between individuals, “companion” stresses the physical presence of the individual being referred to, 

says Prof. Upendran!

Well, this blogger would like to just add to the lovely reply provided by Prof. Upendran.

It’s from the book titled, An Outline History of the English Language by F. T. Wood.

On an aside, one thing that I so like about this book is that, it’s jargon-free, and hence makes a highly engaging read for all and sundry. Particular mention should be made about the fact that, Wood treats linguistic changes that impact the meaning of a particular word, as direct consequences of historical events (e.g., Norman Conquest or Renaissance humanism or Scandinavian settlements or imperial expansion).

In Chapter VII of the book titled, ‘Change of Meaning’, he explains the reasons how and why words undergo a change of meaning over time. (Now you know why Saussure prefers a synchronic over a diachronic study of language – wherein he sees language as a complete, self-contained system of interrelated signs at a specific point in time (ignoring historical changes) 😊

Says Wood –

One of the first things that the student of literature comes to realise, perhaps at first with a little surprise, is that many words have not always had the same meaning that they bear today. 

He may, for instance, set himself to study a few plays of Shakespeare, and soon he learns that a fool, to Shakespeare, meant something different from what it means to us, that a battle could be used to signify not only a fight but also a company of soldiers (equivalent to our modern word battalion), that fond implied ‘foolish’ more often than ‘loving’, and that when a character says’ I’ll be with you presently ‘he does not mean soon, or later on, but immediately.

Countless words in the English language have changed or modified their meaning in this way; and it is quite natural that they should have done.

For words are not static, despite a very widespread belief to the contrary even amongst intelligent and educated people. No less a person than Dr. Johnson, when he first began to collect the material for his dictionary, supposed that they were and that he could fix them for all time; but before he had completed his task he had altered his mind.

Actually, of course, words have no independent and intrinsic meaning; they have, in fact, no meaning at all apart from that given them by the human mind and by their context; for they are essentially vehicles for the expression of thoughts and ideas on the one hand and for their evocation on the other.

That is why it is a fallacy, to which the academic mentality too often falls a victim, to suppose that a word can properly be used only in its ‘root’ or etymological sense.

Quite clearly, a particular word may evoke different ideas, or have different associations, for different persons or different ages.

Thus the word pipe means one thing to the smoker, another to the plumber and something else to the organ-builder, while the mention of the word plane will call up three distinct and widely divergent ideas in the minds of the geometrician, the carpenter and the aeronaut respectively.

In the same way when an Englishman in the early days of the manorial system heard the word villein he merely thought of a very lowly labourer; but two hundred years later it brought to mind primarily not the social position or the occupation of such a person but his uncouth manners and behaviour, and later still it suggested an evil-doer, possibly because of a curious human tendency to identify social respectability and ‘gentlemanly’ behaviour with moral integrity, and to look upon their opposites with suspicion.

1. Generalisation. A very frequent means by which a change of meaning occurs in a word is by the process which we may call generalisation; that is to say, a term which at one time had a specialised and restricted meaning comes, in course of time, to have a wider application.

A typical example here is the word box, today one of the commonest and most generalised of nouns in the English language.

Originally, however, it was the name of a tree and the wood from it. In Twelfth Night, it will be recalled, Sir Toby Belch and his cronies hide behind a box tree when they lie in wait to enjoy Malvolio’s discovery of the forged letter. Being rare and expensive, box wood was used almost exclusively for making small caskets for the reception of jewellery, which receptacle, became known, in its turn, as a box.

For many years, then, a box was always made of a particular kind of wood, after which it was named, and was of quite small dimensions.

Gradually, however, less insistence was laid on the material and more on the object, so that one could speak of a box of cedar wood, of oak or of walnut; but right up to the year 1700 or thereabouts the idea of smallness still attached to it. A bigger kind of receptacle was called a chest.

So already the process of generalisation had started. But since the eighteenth century it has gone much farther, with the result that today a box may be of any material (not only wood) and of any size. And we can even speak of a horse-box on the railway or a box at the theatre, while a verb to box (to put or to pack into boxes) has been coined.

Similarly with the words journey and journal. Both are derived from the French noun jour (day). The root meaning of journey is a day’s walk or ride, and of journal a daily record of events, and in the case of this latter the literal sense is still retained in the specialised use to denote (a) a diary, and (b) a book in which a business firm records its daily transactions. But for long now, in their more ordinary acceptation, both have lost this restricted meaning, so that we may speak, without any seeming incongruity, of ‘a journey of several weeks’ or of ‘a monthly journal’.

A similar extension or generalisation is to be seen in the two words companion and comrade. Literally the former means ‘one who eats bread with another person’ (Lat. con=with, panis=bread; cf. Fr. pain); just as the latter means ‘one who shares a room’ (It. camera=a room); but since those with whom we eat bread or share a room are likely to become our close friends for the time being, the inevitable shifting of emphasis took place and the modern signification of these words was evolved. In both cases, of course, the root meaning has been entirely lost and it will probably come as a revelation to most people to learn of it,

says Wood.

To conclude then, in the words of the ‘Great Dissenter’ Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr –

A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged; it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in colour and content according to the circumstances and the time in which it is used.

So yes! the next time you introduce someone as a companion, remember that, diachronically speaking, 😉 you are indeed continuing a centuries-old tradition of simply sharing your bread with them!

What is the True Call of an Academic? ❤️

Teaching or Research?

Awakening Human Consciousness in Higher Education

#newspaperinlearning

I was so happy to read two insightful articles by two passionate literarians, in today’s The Hindu, Chennai Edition.

And that’s where The Hindu stands tall, I guess – wherein legendary academics of great repute find a space to air their thoughts and ideas in featured OpEd/Opinion Columns.

Now let’s go to the first article from The Opinion Page of The Hindu by Ms. Mini Krishnan.

Ms. Mini opines that, literature education is essential for building empathy and bridging deep societal divides across caste, class and gender.

Rather than simply lamenting the decline of the humanities, Mini argues that ignoring literature results in systemic inequality by shielding students from the lived realities of people! She also gives out a shocking statement that, educational institutions often sanitise their curriculums just to avoid local discomfort!

As a solution she suggests that, integrating translated regional works and culture studies into curriculums exposes students to uncomfortable local realities, such as gender oppression and caste-based slavery. 

Studying such diverse literature and translations can help in building the invisible bridges necessary for future generations to break all kinds of social barriers.

In this regard, she highlights on the importance of writers and translators who act as crucial bridge-builders, helping students connect across linguistic barriers to challenge ingrained prejudices that are still practised across generations.

The second article is by my very good friend Dr. Joseph Dorairaj, Professor Emeritus, Gandhigram University.

This article examines the long-standing conflict in higher education between classroom teaching and academic research, analysing how global rankings, career incentives, and institutional frameworks have always favoured research over teaching.

Dr. Joe questions whether higher education institutions (HEIs) can realistically balance both teaching and research mandates and elaborates on the reasons why research commands greater prestige than classroom teaching!

Tracing the modern research university back to Wilhelm von Humboldt, Dr. Joe observes that, senior professors in both Western and Indian universities frequently delegate undergraduate teaching to teaching assistants and junior faculty, thereby missing out on precious opportunities to mentor younger students.

Added, even institutional evaluation metrics - such as NAAC and NIRF in India, alongside global QS and THE rankings - heavily favour research output, publications, and citations over pedagogical quality, driving the academic trade-off firmly toward research.

And Dr. Joe concludes this article by stating that, while the tension between teaching and research will permanently persist, the institutional and global stakes now definitively favour research.

And that’s mainly because of the urgency in the field of innovation!

The urgency in academia is that, we need quality academic work that can push the frontiers of knowledge by generating new insights and theories. Furthermore, valuable research should constantly redefine our understanding of the world by developing and disseminating new concepts and paradigms to address unprecedented global challenges, he signs off.

On an aside, I wish to add that, for more than three decades now, Dr. Joseph Dorairaj has been writing consistently in journals and newspapers alike on the need and the importance of enhancing the standard and quality of research. You may want to read one such past article by Dr. Joe on our past blogpost from 13 years ago, HERE on our blog, when we had invited him to MCC to talk about Research in Higher Education.

So what then is the true call of the academic today?

To Dr. Joe, the true call of an academic is not just to merely transfer knowledge, but to awaken human consciousness!

I’m quite reminded of one of my most favourite lines from all of literature –

From Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson –

To follow knowledge like a sinking star,

Beyond the utmost bound of human thought…

So beautifully penned, ain’t it? 😊

And therein lies the importance of these two articles from today’s The Hindu for academia!

PS: I would like to take a minute to acknowledge and to appreciate Prof. Sundhar from Theni Kammavar Sangam College of Arts and Science, for so consistently sharing from the Educational Supplement in the pages of The Hindu, for more than 80 days now. Today is the 88th sharing! By sharing what we read, we are growing indeed! And that is the noble call of an academic. Hats off to you Prof. Sundhar. We academics are so proud of you. Keep shining. Stop not! 

And even as I am writing this post, I receive the happiest news that our illustrious alumnus Mr. Hudson's research article on Blue Humanities has been published in the International Journal of Maritime History, a Q2 journal, indexed in Scopus and published by SAGE. We are so proud of you dear Mathew Hudson. Keep shining. Stop not! 

Eco-Fencing the Wild | MCC’s Massive Deer Restoration Project 💚

MCC plans to restore wildlife corridors to protect spotted deer

Today’s The Times of India, Chennai Edition

2nd November 2026

Madras Christian College is taking efforts to restore wildlife corridors on its 320-acre campus to prevent spotted deer from venturing into academic areas, including canteens, in search of food. The pilot project will use geoinformatics, native plants and plant-based biofencing. Plants such as fimbristylis, Asian bushbeech, prostrate justicia and Chinese violet will be grown in the core scrub area to provide forage for the deer.

The campus, which has one of the largest scrub-jungle patches in the country, is home to more than 100 spotted deer, as well as several other species, including snakes, birds, porcupines, civets and bats. Professors said students often feed the deer, which could affect their health.

“Restoring these corridors is aimed at reducing the deer’s dependence on food provided by humans and its encounters with people,” said Paul Wilson, principal of the college and also the president of the Wildlife Conservation Club.

As part of the Wildlife Conservation Club’s initiative, the study will use Geographic Information Systems (GIS), including GPS field surveys, satellite imagery and camera traps, to map vegetation patches, identify gaps in the habitat and trace the deer’s movement paths. Spatial analysis will then be used to identify the safest routes linking habitat patches.

“Based on these maps, native plants will be planted as a ‘living fence’, or biofence,” said S Saranya, vice-president of the Wildlife Conservation Club.

“We have identified 17 plant species preferred by deer inside the campus. The plantation will reconnect fragmented habitat and provide forage, giving the deer food in natural zones,” said M Kumar, a faculty member in the botany department. Following the pilot study, the college is likely to approach its alumni and companies for funds to restore the wildlife corridors.

Arise, Awake, and Ask Why: Cultivating the Spirit of Inquiry ❤️

Scientific Temper or Sleepwalker? The Choice is…

#newspaperinlearning

This morning, while reading through the day’s newspapers, over my double-strong espresso, 😊I came across a highly insightful news report in The Hindu and The Times of India on the recent Convocation Address at the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya, delivered by Justice Ujjal Bhuyan.

His convocation address intrigued me for two key reasons.

Firstly, his exhortation to society to face questions rather than fear them. As he rightly noted,

“A society that fears questions becomes vulnerable to authoritarianism. A society that treats tradition as beyond scrutiny may fail to reform unjust practices.”

Secondly, his strong advocacy for a ‘scientific temper’. Highlighting Article 51A of the Constitution, which casts a duty on every citizen to develop a scientific temperament, Justice Bhuyan says –

I believe scientific temperament lays the foundation for the rule of law. This has to take place in the University. This is because arbitrary power thrives on ignorance, fear, and unexamined belief. A society that accepts claims without evidence is susceptible to superstitious beliefs and becomes vulnerable to misinformation.

In fact, these observations by Justice Bhuya beautifully echo the aspirations of millions of teachers and parents. 

So what exactly is a scientific temper and spirit of inquiry in everyday life?

Simple! It is the habit of asking “why?” and demanding proof before accepting a claim. When we continuously train our minds to look for evidence, we are applying the principles of this scientific temper.

I see this regularly while evaluating my students’ answer sheets. Recently, I noticed a few students giving vague generalisations as answers, without offering any textual evidence to back their claims. I had to leave a remark –

Vague generalisations do not merit the academic spirit or the spirit of intellectual inquiry! Where is the evidence for your claims and statements?

In fact, the academic spirit is simply a branch office of the scientific spirit - it demands evidence for all your claims within a logical, coherent structure.

For example, a student of mine had written, “John Donne is known for his metaphysical conceits. He was also known for his abrupt opening lines, and his wit…”.

Without examples (evidence supporting the claim) from Donne’s poems, these are just sweeping statements and vague generalisations.

“The proof of the pudding is in the eating”, and similarly, the proof of reading a text shows in how you use evidence to back your claims.

The academic spirit, much akin to the scientific one, simply does not trust unverified assumptions.

Coming back to Justice Bhuyan’s address, we can see why this mindset is very much the need of the hour today.

Imagine receiving a classic “WhatsApp University” forward claiming, ‘Tomorrow is a holiday for schools and colleges.’

Well, without a scientific mindset, you might react purely out of emotion or blind belief. A society with a scientific temper, however, pauses to ask for evidence and verify the source.

And that exactly is the scientific temper at work! 

This is exactly what the great Socrates advocated almost 24 centuries ago. He compares himself to a gadfly stinging a sluggish horse, because he believed it was his civic duty to disturb the complacent citizens of Athens, waking them from their slumber of ignorance and urging them to cultivate a questioning mind.

He once famously remarked that a human life without the scientific temper (rational enquiry) is reduced to the level of a sleepwalker.

This philosophy aligns perfectly with Swami Vivekananda’s famous exhortation –

“Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.”

To arise then, is to shake off our lethargy;

To awake is to break free from the slumber of ignorance and limiting beliefs!

And to stop not is a call for commitment, resisting the pull of smaller desires and distractions along the way!

Scientific temper or sleepwalker? The difference is like chalk and cheese.

I’m sure that this spirit of inquiry is the greatest takeaway that Justice Bhuyan has passed on to the graduating students.

You can watch the full Convocation Address by Justic Bhuyan [HERE].

PS: You may also want to read our past blog post on ‘The Unexamined Life’ from seven years ago, [HERE] on our blog.

The Power of TEA in Action ❤️

Some Strong TEA for Academics! 😊

Celebrating the Disciplined Prose Style of a 92-Year-Old MCC Legend

#newspaperinlearning

Today’s The Hindu Editorial Article

It’s indeed quite rare today to find writers of Shri M. K. Narayanan’s acumen and calibre. He’s been such a consistent and dedicated writer, wielding the pen for more then seven decades now.

I should confess that, I’ve been an ardent fan of Mr. Narayanan’s articles in the columns of The Hindu for more than three decades now. 😊 He regularly writes for some of the prominent Indian newspapers including The Hindu, and his articles usually focus on foreign policy, regional security, strategic affairs, and cross-border dialogues.

Well, this illustrious alumnus of MCC and MCC School (my alma mater) 😊 – Shri M. K. Narayanan IPS, is now 92 years old! He joined the IPS in 1955, and went on to serve as Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), National Security Advisor (NSA), and then as Governor of West Bengal.

This post is not only meant to shower encomiums on the legendary writer, but also to appreciate this article that he’s written in today’s The Hindu, for its highly structured argument and the nuanced way in which he puts forth his 11 core ideas systematically, in 11 distinct paragraphs.

Well, before we go ahead, let me reiterate the fact that, an editorial article is much akin to an academic article. Authors usually do not use the first person while writing such essays. Moreover, both articles have an introduction, a clear thesis statement, body paragraphs with factual support, the acknowledgment of counterarguments, and a conclusion. However, editorial articles are short and punchy whereas academic essays discuss ideas in a more graded and elaborate manner.

And as we academics are fully aware, every paragraph in an academic essay should contain ONE IDEA!

So the structure of a paragraph should be based on the TEA rubric for academics!

Topic Sentence

Evidence to support the Topic Sentence

Analysis based on the ideas presented in the topic sentence and evidence.

And this is exactly the structure of this beautiful editorial article by our illustrious MCC alumnus – the legendary 92-year old Shri M. K. Narayanan, IPS, in The Hindu newspaper today.

The first paragraph is based on the idea of “Managed Coexistence”. The current state of Sino-Indian relations is defined by frequent border face-offs, raising questions about the viability of long-term peace.

The second paragraph is based on the idea of “The 1962 Legacy” - the historical 1962 conflict and the loss of territory in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh which remain a permanent sore!

The third paragraph discusses the idea of highlighting the need to demystify underlying tensions.

The fourth paragraph is based on the idea of “Improper Border Demarcation”. He states that, improperly delineated terrain in Ladakh and the McMahon Line in Arunachal Pradesh are frequently cited by experts as the primary roadblocks to a bilateral solution.

The fifth paragraph is based on the idea of “Diplomatic Thaws”, giving historical evidence from the past. Past initiatives, notably Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s 1988 visit, successfully separated the border dispute to allow for military confidence-building measures.

The sixth paragraph is built on the idea of “Zero-Sum Game” where he states that, recent bilateral initiatives feel like a zero-sum game, worsened by Chinese strategists misinterpreting India’s involvement in the US-sponsored QUAD.

The seventh paragraph focusses on the idea of “rejecting China as an existential threat for India”. Both nations should instead pursue a constructive relationship of strategic stability, he says.

The eighth paragraph is built on the idea of “Mutual Deterrence”. Direct conflict would derail China’s 2049 global leadership targets and India has no inclination for war, making avoidance of inadvertent action essential, he observes.

The ninth paragraph is based on the idea of “The Military Myth of China”. Narayanan observes that the narrative of an overwhelming Chinese military edge is a myth, as India remains a formidable match in the high Himalayas.

The tenth paragraph reflects on the idea that, “India must accurately interpret China’s intentions” and adhere to frameworks like the 2005 Agreement, which prohibits the use of force.

The final paragraph focusses on the idea of “Historical Vulnerabilities”. China's national identity has historical frailties, and misreading its elastic boundaries would be costly, but the two nations are not destined for permanent war, he signs off.

Shri M. K. Narayanan’s editorial indeed serves as a powerful inspiration for all of us aspiring writers. In addition, it also helps us understand the intricate mechanics of formal writing.

Especially for students and research scholars striving to perfect the TEA rubric, this piece I am sure would be a guiding light for y’all. The discipline in his prose style is awe-inspiring!

Witnessing such an illustrious alumnus of our very own Madras Christian College who still continues to shape national discourse with such intellectual vitality at 92 years, is both humbling and profoundly inspiring for all of us.

Viva la MCC!

PS: You may want to read this blogger’s analysis of yet another editorial by Shri M. K. Narayanan, HERE on our blog, from exactly three years ago, 11 October 2023.

Paper Tiger vs Real Tiger ❤️

While Others Catch Up, We’ve Been Leading!

The MCC Language Legacy

#newspaperinlearning

25th July 2026

I happened to read an article in today’s Times of India, Chennai Edition, on a paradigm shift across academia, especially in Chennai’s renowned Engineering colleges, urging their students to completely drop regular academic courses in their seventh semester if they clear three levels of a foreign language certification!

The article highlights the four famous foreign languages that are being prioritised by Chennai’s Higher Educational Institutions.

German and Japanese, are prioritised explicitly because those countries have ageing populations and hence there’s a desperate need for young immigrant workers.

Similarly, RMK and Anna University are introducing Mandarin and Korean with an aim to capture upcoming jobs in the VLSI-based chip manufacturing sector, targeting Taiwanese and South Korean tech giants.

The reasons are not far to seek!

Mastering a foreign language gives Indian graduates a significant edge in the global job market. For example, knowing Japanese helped a civil engineering graduate secure a ₹30 lakh per annum job, which is vastly higher than standard domestic offers.

Engineering colleges and universities in Chennai (such as VIT, Anna University, HITS, and SRM Easwari) have been integrating foreign languages into their official curricula. Surprisingly, some have even made it a mandatory credit course!

Beyond just classroom teaching, institutions are encouraging students to form foreign language clubs and host cultural events. Some colleges are even collaborating with foreign embassies to bring in native teachers and establish dedicated language centres.

So what about Arts & Science Colleges in Chennai?

Since the report doesn’t feature Arts & Science Colleges, this blogger thought of filling in the missing gap. 😊

Well, MCC has been hosting native Korean Professors for the past 12 years, to teach Korean language skills for our students. The next batch starts in early August 2026.

Moreover, more than 1100 students have been trained in the Korean language over these years and a sizeable many amongst them have also found openings in the Korean job market / higher education sector and /or research, over the years.

Also, MCC has been offering German and French for more than five decades now.

As eminent critic Scupin Richard rightly points out,

Chasing a degree makes a student a timid ‘Paper Tiger’. On the other hand, chasing skills – like language skills make them a real tiger in flesh and blood, capable of confidently facing the job market, - a philosophy that MCC has stood for, even many decades ago, before they could make into the morning headlines today!

In short, we are not just participating in the ‘language-focus’ trend; we’ve been quietly leading it!

And how! 😊

Degrees Without Destinations | The Looming Gen Z Labour Crisis?

Why Higher Education is Failing Our Youth

#newspaperinlearning

I happened to read a very insightful article in today’s Editorial Section of The Hindu.

The article focusses on three cardinal issues facing society today, namely, youth unemployment, lack of skilling, and the gender divide, and frames them as a systemic failure in the transition from education to the workforce.

What alarmed me the most was the article’s focus on the crisis facing Generation Z (born 1997–2012) compared to Millennials.

Firstly, the statistics presented by the authors point towards a shocking reality – that higher education today is not currently functioning as a reliable gateway to employment.

Among Gen Z males with graduate-level education or above, unemployment stands at a staggering 29%.

For educated Gen Z females, it is an even more alarming 36.9%.

Secondly, the authors also highlight the fact that the economy is producing educated youth faster than it can create suitable jobs, leading to profound frustration and inefficiency on the part of the youngsters.

Thirdly, the article shows the disproportionate burden placed on young women. While 41.7% of Gen Z males are in the labour force, a massive 27.1% of Gen Z females are engaged exclusively in domestic duties (compared to a mere 0.32% of males).

Fourthly, the quality of employment is also quite poor. Only 20.1% of Gen Z workers are covered by social security, and an overwhelming 79.9% lack it. Which means, most young people are entering the workforce without basic protections or formal job contracts.

Finally, to sum it all up, the article is an urgent warning that without stronger college-to-work pathways - such as vibrant apprenticeships, better formal hiring incentives, and structural support for women – the problem can translate into a huge social and economic crisis, the writers opine! 

A Historic Step for Indigenous Heritage | MSSW Launches Tamil Nadu’s First Certificate Programme in Toda Language & Culture ❤️

Certificate Programme in Toda Language & Culture

First of Its Kind Initiative in the State ❤️

#newspaperinlearning

I was so happy to read a lovely news article in today’s The New Indian Express, that the Madras School of Social Work (MSSW) is introducing a certificate programme dedicated to the Toda language and culture, - the first programme of its kind in Tamil Nadu to focus on this specific endangered indigenous language.

The proposed certificate course has a duration of four months. Additionally, the curriculum is structured as a 90-hour programme.

The course aims to teach a language that possesses no native script. The Toda language has survived solely through a rich oral tradition passed down through generations, making a formalised 90-hour academic syllabus a unique initiative in academia.

Moreover, the initiative is paired with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Computational Resource for South Asian Languages (CoRSAL) at Indiana University, USA. This partnership provides the technical infrastructure to train local researchers in digitally documenting, ethically collecting, and permanently archiving the endangered dialect.

One unique aspect of the course is that, rather than relying solely on external academic observation, the course curriculum has been designed by experts deeply connected to the community, including eminent Toda writer and poet Vasamalli, as well as Tarun Chhabra, who was instrumental in securing the GI tag for Toda embroidery.

Beyond just teaching the language, the programme uniquely emphasises on the technical expertise required to safeguard the language.

In addition, a parallel certificate course on the documentation of tribal languages is also being introduced to ensure that there are trained individuals capable of preserving indigenous knowledge systems for future generations.

A highly commendable and a unique academic initiative in cultural preservation! ❤️

At Last! A Fitting Tribute to MCC's Own Braveheart ❤️

At last! Honoured in his Own Soil!

Major Mukund Varadarajan Road

Felt so happy to know that the Velachery-Tambaram High Road in Chennai is set to be officially renamed as Major Mukund Varadarajan Road.

Long delayed, but often expected!

The Tambaram Corporation Council has recently passed a resolution to rename the 16-km arterial road to honor the sacrifice of the Indian Army officer, who was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra for his bravery during a 2014 counter-terrorism operation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Major Mukund Varadarajan’s life and military career were marked by a profound dedication to his country, culminating in the supreme sacrifice during a counter-terrorism operation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Coming from a family with a strong military tradition - his grandfather and two uncles had served in the armed forces - Major Mukund was inspired to join the Indian Army, quite early in his life.

Major Mukund Varadarajan met his life partner, Indhu Rebecca Varghese, during their college days at Madras Christian College (MCC) in Chennai.

Mukund was pursuing a diploma in journalism and was Indhu’s senior, while she was completing her Master’s in Mass Communication. They initially started as friends, but the connection gradually deepened into a relationship. Their courtship lasted about five years and when they finally decided to marry, they faced hesitation from their respective families as both were from different religious backgrounds.

However Mukund’s unwavering commitment eventually won over Indhu’s family, and with the blessings of both families, the couple married on 28th August 2009. They later welcomed a daughter, Arsheya, in March 2011.

Their love story recently gained wider recognition after being portrayed in the 2024 Tamil biographical film Amaran, which chronicles Major Mukund’s life, military service, and his deeply supportive relationship with Indhu.

PS: You may want to read our past post on my experience of watching Amaran on the very first day of its release, HERE on our blog.

Rewriting Our Earth | Connecting the Climate Crisis to Cultural Studies 💚💚💚

Reading the Rain | A Literary Response to Climate Anxiety

#newspaperinlearning

Why-o-Why is it getting delayed?

4th June 2026

Just this morning I happened to read a news article in today’s The Times of India, that Chennai’s southern suburbs were the hottest in the state yesterday. But respite from the harsh summer heat may be round the corner. Meteorologists said the southwest monsoon, expected to set in over Kerala around 4th June, though unlikely to bring direct rainfall to the city, may bring cloud cover and steady southwesterly winds that could reduce daytime temperatures.

When the monsoon is active over Kerala, Chennai is unlikely to experience harsh summer heat,” said V R Durai, director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, RMC Chennai. “There is also a possibility of widespread rainfall across the state on Thursday”, says the article.

IMD’s initial forecast was for 26th May. Then it was postponed to 1st June, and now it’s said to hit Kerala on 4th June.

Why this delay? Why this extraordinary heat in India this year?

IMD attributes it to the weak moisture-laden winds blowing in from the Arabian Sea and hence they didn't extend deep enough into the atmosphere to meet the IMD's strict scientific thresholds.

What is the reason for this disruption of the Winds?

The delay in these winds and the subsequent weakness of these winds, is caused by competing weather systems.

Firstly, competing cyclones pulled significant moisture away from the Arabian Sea, disrupting the wind flow that the monsoon heavily relies on to push inland.

Secondly, and most importantly, the emerging El Niño has been a major reason.

What is El Nino?

Simply put, El Nino is an abnormal warming or an unusual warming!

And how is it caused?

The world’s oceans are nature’s huge and blessed sponges that absorb about 90% of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases. However, during an El Niño event, the ocean essentially exhales, releasing a massive amount of that stored heat into the atmosphere.

As a result, the weather disruptions caused by El Niño have become harsher on the land and its people.

So how is it connected with global warming?

Global warming is the unusually rapid increase in Earth’s average surface temperature over the past century primarily due to the greenhouse gases released as a result of burning fossil fuels.

For example, burning coal, oil, and natural gas for electricity, transportation, and industrial processes is the single largest contributor to the increase in atmospheric Carbon Dioxide.

Trees naturally absorb Carbon Dioxide. However, sadly at that, when forests are destroyed, and reforestation doesn’t happen at all, that carbon is released back into the atmosphere, and the planet loses its natural mechanism for sequestering carbon.

In short, if El Nino is the spark, global warming is the extra fuel that makes the resulting fire burn much hotter!

So how do we, as practitioners of literature, tackle this crisis through a literary and cultural studies framework?

An article in today’s The Hindu by Soma Basu, provides a part-literary solution to tackle this crisis of alarming proportions.

The article titled, “Reading for a warming world: books that rethink nature, development and survival”, foregrounds literature as a way to rethink our relationship with nature, by an analysis of book reviews to process the concept of “climate anxiety.”

As heatwaves intensify and climate anxiety grows, a new set of books critiques the belief in technological fixes, highlights projects that risk ecological damage, and reimagines forests as spaces shaped by power, conflict and care, urging readers to rethink their relationship with nature and development.

The severe heatwave this year has pushed temperatures beyond normal highs across some regions. The warming caused by human activity is not surprising as scientists have warned about it for decades.

What is more concerning is the lack of adequate collective action to address this crisis.

Some powerful books deepen our understanding of sustainability. Ghosts on Peepal Trees: My Journey From Folk Tales to Forests (Ebury Press, to be released on June 5) is the memoir of environmentalist Peepal Baba alias Swami Prem Parivartan.

The book evokes memories of shade and green spaces, clean rivers, forests and natural resources, singing birds, and fertile soil. It shows how these landscapes teach coexistence and help us understand the architecture of forests, the politics of ecosystem management, the economics of the environment, and even ecotheology. It urges us “to listen to the Earth and believe in our ability to care about the natural world.”

It is a fact that every city today is a story of concretisation, forgotten rivers, and vanished greens. In his latest book, Island on Edge: The Great Nicobar Crisis (2026, Westland), Pankaj Sekhsaria lifts the veil off the ₹82,000 crore mega infrastructure development project planned for the Great Nicobar Island cautioning how it will irreversibly damage not only the fragile biodiversity of the region, but also the culture of indigenous communities and their languages.

The project, which includes the clearing of 130 sq. km of pristine tropical evergreen forest, is one of the many continued betrayals of the island. That is why, the author says, he has compiled this collection of research-based, data-driven articles to help readers understand the legal, ethical, and on-ground realities of Great Nicobar.

Echoing Peepal Baba’s concerns about the “strange arrogance attached to development projects”, Sekhsaria critiques the pitfalls of building an airport, transshipment terminal, power plant, and new township on the island. Both authors point to actions detrimental to the environment and to culture. Instead of aligning with climate sensitivity, such development initiatives heavily deplete nature’s ecological balance.

India’s Forests: Revisiting Nature and History (Vintage Books, 2026), co-edited by Mahesh Rangarajan and Arupjyoti Saikia, is a reappraisal of forests as living contested spaces across the country. The authors refer to forests shaped by power, culture, and society, and redefined through conflict, negotiation, and care, and why they mean different things to different people.

The book is an interesting critique and also a tribute to Ramachandra Guha’s 1989 study of colonial and post-colonial forestry, The Unquiet Woods, that establishes the centrality of forests in our lives.

The ten essays cover a wide range of forest-related issues, tracing the history of forest management from the past to the present while looking ahead to more just and sustainable uses of natural resources.

The more forests belong to communities, the greater their protection will be. Afforestation is no longer a luxury or merely a government policy; it is a matter of survival and a way of making amends with nature. The future can be secured only if everyone participates in healing the soil and, in turn, the climate.

The article teaches us the important fact that the urgent need of the hour is to have a re-look at our curricula, to include books that rethink our relationship with nature, development and the environment, which can thereby help us to rewire and rewrite our relationship with the earth.