TODAY IN THE CITY...!

Free Music Workshop: Kunnakkudy School of Music is conducting a free music workshop on Pancharathna Kriti on Thursday, November 29, 2007, from 6:00 pm.,
VENUE:
Kunnakkudy School of Music ,No 14/65, Rajaji Nagar 1st Street, Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai.
Contact:
Kunnakkudy School of Music at 9884086060, 9840507415

A Polish film festival in collaboration with the Indian Cine Appreciation Forum, Chennai presents Supplement by Krzysztofa Zanussiego, Thursday, 29 November 2007 @ 6.15 pm
VENUE:
South Indian Film Chamber Theatre, No 605, Anna Salai, Thousand Lights, Chennai.
Contact:
Indian Cine Appreciation Forum at 9840151956

BOOK FAIR 2007 - Muthuchidambaranar Pathippagam is organising Book Fair 2007, an exhibition of books, CDs, stationeries, fancy items, gift articles & many more and also offering 10% discount on all products.
VENUE: Muthuchidambaranar Pathippagam,
No AG-66, 3rd Street, River View Colony,
Anna Nagar ,Chennai
TIME:
Nov 5 2007 to Nov 30 2007
CONTACT:
Muthuchidambaranar Pathippagam, at 9840554385, 30535533

Book fest @ Chennai - Plethora of popular and old literary works...!

CROSSWORD is offering booklovers with a selection of popular works at its book fest, "Must Reads", which is on till December 9. The book fest will showcase books in a variety of genres. In the fiction category, readers can enjoy the complete collection of Ernest Hemingway, Italo Morrison, Milan Kundera, Haruki Murakami and many more eminent authors. The non-fiction category includes acclaimed titles such as "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor E.Frankl (Psychology) etc. There are also books on Philosophy, politics and history.

In addition, there are special offers on classic titles such as "The Catcher in the Rye", "To Kill a Mocking Bird", and on collectors' packs such as "The Ramachandra Guha Omnibus".

The fest is on at CROSSWORD STORE in T.Nagar. For details, call 42641850 - 55

On Leave..!

Dear Students, I'm on leave for two days - 29, 30 November, (Thursday and Friday) and so you won't be having my classes during these days. Keep up the spirit and i'll meet up with you again on Monday.
Stay happy, stay DYNAMICCC...!
Regards,
Rufus

Dear Pbt/Zoo Students

Dear I Pbt/Zoo students, In continuation of the discussion we had on the main yardsticks of diversity between man and beast, we will have an interactive session on the Present Civilization, how it has improved or degenerated compared to the good old past. Your thoughts and ideas are welcome.
Regards,
Rufus

Papers handled by me this semester for II BA & III BA English Litt;

Dear Students of II BA English Lit & III BA English Lit.,
The following is the syllabus that I will be handling this semester for your classes. It is albeit imperative that you get a copy of the Texts as early as possible. If possible, you can also read these texts at home for yourselves before class starts, to facilitate better interaction.
Regards and all best wishes,
Rufus
II BA English:
Modern Period - Fiction:
E.M.Forster : A Passage to India, Graham Greene : The Power and the Glory;

Prosody and Rhetoric:
1) Definition: Elements of Rhetoric-Style-Figures of Speech- Composition
2) Style: Definition-Qualities-Diction-Characteristics of Poetic Diction-Characteristics of Prose Diction- Diction as determined by Object and Occasion
3) Figures of Speech: Definition-Classification
a) Figures that promote clearness: Synecdoche and Metonymy-Simile-Metaphor-Personification-AllegoryFigures that promote Emphasis: Exclamation-Interrogation-Apostrophe-Hperbole-Irony-Antithesis-Epigram-Climax

III BA English:
New Writing - Fiction:
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart; Shyam Selvadurai's Funny Boy;

A DIWALI WISH FOR MY DEAR STUDENTS - PAST AND PRESENT

May This Diwali be as bright as ever.
May this Diwali bring joy, health and wealth to you.
May the festival of lights brighten up you and your near and dear ones lives.
May this Diwali bring in u the most brightest and choicest happiness and love you have ever Wished for.
May this Diwali bring you the utmost in peace and prosperity.
May lights triumph over darkness.
May peace transcend the earth.
May the spirit of light illuminate the world.
May the light that we celebrate at Diwali show us the way and lead us together on the path of peace and social harmony
"WISH U A VERY HAPPY DIWALI"
Regards and wishing you all the goodness of the season,
Rufus

On Examinations

Dear Students, With the odd semester coming to an end, you might have had a fairly interesting tryst with the examinations. As regards the Papers handled by me, I would like to get your comments and feedbacks, with your suggestions included, on how easy or tough the questions were, and the strategies you had used to tackle them. This, I sincerely hope will help me introspect on things still to be done on the examinations front on my part. You can write to me at rufusmcc@gmail.com

Wishing you all happy holidays and a very Joyous Happy Diwali,

Regards,

Rufus

PS: Our blog will give you holiday special programmes on a day to day basis starting tomorrow.

THE THOUGHT-FOX

Introduction:

THE ‘Thought-Fox’ HAS often been acknowledged as one of the most completely realised and artistically satisfying of the poems in Ted Hughes’s first collection, The Hawk in the Rain. At the same time it is one of the most frequently anthologised of all Hughes’s poems. It is a poem of twenty-four lines divided into six stanzas. The title tells the reader that the poet is drawing an analogy between a thought—specifically, in this case, a poetic composition—and a fox.

A Poem about Writing a Poem:

The thought-fox’ is a poem about writing a poem. Its external action takes place in a room late at night where the poet is sitting alone at his desk. Outside the night is starless, silent, and totally black. But the poet senses a presence which disturbs him:

Through the window I see no star:
Something more near
Though deeper within darkness
Is entering the loneliness.

Night as a Metaphor for the Poet’s Imagination:

The disturbance is not in the external darkness of the night, for the night is itself a metaphor for the deeper and more intimate darkness of the poet’s imagination in whose depths an idea is mysteriously stirring.

The midnight is chosen at the time as it is without any addition to the day, as blank as the poet's mind itself. The time is unmarked and yet mature. The clock is alone as it is devoid of minutes and seconds, it being midnight. Further, the clock is alive as it is lonely. And there is something else that accompanies the loneliness of the clock-that is the poet's creative conciousness. The metaphor for the poet's fresh poetic perception is the "blank paper" where his fingers move.

The Composition of the Poem:

The image is first formless and can only be a professed feeling formless as the poetic vision of the poet itself, until it assumes concreteshape. It does not enter in a strained and enforced manner but as delicately as snow falls in. The fox's nose touches deftly against the twig, leaf. The nose feels its way through the darkness. At once the fox transforms itself to the concrete and persistent image of the poet's creative working progress. By utilizing an animal as the reflection for his thought process, one wonders whether Ted Hughes writes primarily through instinct.

The Fox is the Poem and the Poem is the Fox:

The fox is no longer a formless stirring somewhere in the dark depths of the bodily imagination; it has been coaxed out of the darkness and into full consciousness. It is no longer nervous and vulnerable, but at home in the lair of the head, safe from extinction, perfectly created, its being caught for ever on the page. And all this has been done purely by the imagination. For in reality there is no fox at all, and outside, in the external darkness, nothing has changed:

The fox is the poem, and the poem is the fox. ‘And I suppose,’ Ted Hughes has written, ‘that long after I am gone, as long as a copy of the poem exists, every time anyone reads it the fox will get up somewhere out of the darkness and come walking towards them.’

Conclusion:

Thus Ted Hughes emphasizes how important the imagination is, when creating a picture with words. The fact that he calls it a ‘thought-fox’ reveals that the fox is not real, it is imaginary. The poet at had first set eyes outside the window, for inspiration. Nevertheless, towards the end of the poem he comes to recognize that inspiration comes from within, and not outside. The window is starless still, yet-"the page is printed" Intuition reigns over inspiration here, and instinct over reason.

[With due acknowledgements to Prof. Richard Webster and Ms.Rukhaya Mk.]

*****

Monday - declared a govt holiday cos of the floods

Dear Students, Today has been declared a govt holiday across Tamil Nadu owing to the incessant rains and floods. So today's exams stand postponed. You are however, requested to counter check the same with the college authorities. Regards, Rufus

All the best..!

Dear Students, One more semester is coming to an end, manifest in the form of examinations. Wish you all the best. God bless!
Regards and all best wishes,
Rufus

Internal Mark Statement of II BA TAM/PHIL Students

Dear Students of II BA Tamil & Philosophy, For an e-version of your grand Internals Aggregate for Semester - I in Part II English, CLICK HERE. A hard copy of the same will be displayed in the English Dept Notice Board by 9 am tomorrow - Friday, 19 October, and clarifications, corrections, if any, can be done then and there. I shall be available in the Dept till 1.30 pm on all working days. Regards and all best wishes for your upcoming exams,Rufus

Internal Mark Statement of I BSc Pbt/Zoo Students

Dear Students of I BSc Pbt/Zoo, For an e-version of your grand Internals Aggregate for Semester - I in Part II English, CLICK HERE. A hard copy of the same will be displayed in the English Dept Notice Board by 9 am tomorrow - Friday, 19 October, and clarifications, corrections, if any, can be done then and there. I shall be available in the Dept till 1.30 pm on all working days.
Regards and all best wishes for your upcoming exams,
Rufus

Results of III CIA - III BA English [Women's Writing (Indian)]

Dear Students of III BA English, Please click HERE for your III CIA Marks for Women's Writing (Indian).
Regards, Rufus

THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS for II BA English

Dear Students of II BA English, Please click HERE for an overview of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

Announcement

Dear Students, Your internal marks will be uploaded shortly. So please check back soon for updates and lesson summaries.
Regards and best wishes in your preparations for your exams.

On Keeping a Stealth Bomber at Bay...!

It's been two weeks now, since the red letter day when I decided to do away with my mobile phone once and for all... a gadget which is ummistakenly the latest gift of science bestowed upon an already burdended mankind! Of course, the reasons for dispensing with my mobile phone are not far to seek.!

for more on this article of mine, read HERE

Results of the III CIA for II BA English - Pract.Intro to Literature

The following are your marks (to be converted to FIFTY) for my part of the Paper - Pract. Intro to Literature

Sam Benjamin - 74
Dhanasekar, P - 70
Vanlalropuia - 76
Ashem Sanjoy Singh - 68
Satchin Joseph - 80
Shyam Gopal - 80
Thomas Varghese - 78
Sherine Allena - 77
Mercy Mary - 78
Gifty Varghese - 80
Stella, P - 76
Karan, F.K - 68
Christina Susan Sonny - 76
Smitha Susan Zachariah - 78
Aadithyan Mohan - 78
Jennita Queeny - 50
Kalaiarasi, C - 66
Shipporah Jayaseeli, G - 66
Cleeta, S.J - 72

PS:Clarifications, corrections, if any, can be made to me in the Dept before 1.30 pm, on all working days.

Results of the III CIA for II BA English - Pract.Intro to Literature

The following are your marks (to be converted to FIFTY) for my part of the Paper - Pract. Intro to Literature

Sam Benjamin - 74
Dhanasekar, P - 70
Vanlalropuia - 76
Ashem Sanjoy Singh - 68
Satchin Joseph - 80
Shyam Gopal - 80
Thomas Varghese - 78
Sherine Allena - 77

Announcements for II BA English

Dear Students of II BA English, Your III CIA marks will be uploaded by 10 pm tonight. I shall try to meet your class for a lecture on Lincoln's Address at Gettysburg, or else an analysis of the same will be uploaded shortly on this, our web blog. Regards, Rufus

Results of the Elocution as part of the III CIA for II BA English

A total of eleven students opted for the Elocution part of the III CIA which is valued for 50 marks. Students were evaluated based on the Conviction with which they presented their Revolution, its social relevance, its emotional appeal to the audience, and effective tackling of questions.

1. Jayanthi- 40/50
2. Irene- 37/50
3. Sayujya - 40/50
4. Rinila - 40/50
5. Noeline - 40/50
6. Bestin - 40/50
7. Daniel Jesudoss - 40/50
8. Adlin - 40/50
9. Richard - 37/50
10. Ashish - 38/50
11. Sreekanth - 41/50

PS: Students who've opted for Elocution, need not necessarily sit for their III CIA in my portions. However, it is imperative that you sit for the remaining fifty marks for the portions of Prof.RS

Dear Students - Internals reg:

Dear Students, Your Internal Marks are being worked out, and it will be made available to you on or before Wednesday, 10 October. As regards the lesson summaries, it should be uploaded on or before Friday, 12 October.

Dear Students of II BA English, Results of the Elocution conducted last week as part of your III CIA will be uploaded on or before 10.00 pm tonight.
Regards, Rufus

ONE-DAY MATCH IN LITERATURE..!

Today (Saturday), enthused by last week's reception that students gave to the conduct of special classes, I had specially and personally invited Prof.Bennet Sundersingh from National College to give a lecture on Poetry to our students. Though the class was meant to be for I BA and II BA English Students, many from other classes had also turned up.

Received him at the Railway Station and he started at 9.45 am and went on till about 1.15 pm. Then, had lunch with him and Dany sir. Nirmal sir popped in during the lecture to meet Prof.Bennet for a 'hello'. Students from all the five classes in Lit had turned up, and Bennet sir was in his elements, just enjoying himself, as he said later. Coffee and snacks were served to all the students.

The response from the students was so good that, almost the entire lot sat for the afternoon session of Prof.Dany on the NOVEL. It all ended by 4 pm.

I, on behalf of the students, take this opportunity to thank Prof.Bennet Sundersingh who took time off to be with us today amidst his busy schedule.

Contests in the City...!

Online Essay Contest - A nationwide online essay contest in English for College students on the theme, "Integrity and Good Governance." The contest is being organised as part of the 132nd birthday celebrations of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Details of the contest are available at http://www.siv-g.org/

A Contest for Camera phone users - DREAMS DAY is organising a contest for camera phone users. Participants have to send in a one minute video to Sree Lalitha Kalakshetra, No.9, K R Koil Street, West Mambalam.
For details, call 09884344514

Kind Attention of Part - II English students - Thursday - Oct 11 Reminder

Dear Students of Part - II English (I BSc Pbt/Zoo & II BA Phil/Tam), Kindly don't absent yourself to class on Thursday, 11 October 2007, the last day with you this current semester, wherein your Internal Mark Statement for the current semester will be shown to you for your confirmation, clarifications etc. A review on the exam pattern will also be discussed, along with an academic review of the past one semester.

If on any account you are not able to make it on the 11th, kindly report to me well in advance and verify your internal mark statement, failing which whatever marks are entered or omitted against your name will automatically be binding on you.

Regards and all best wishes,

Rufus

ONE-DAY MATCH ON LITERATURE from an examination perspective.!

Dear Students of English Literature,

You've got the last special class of this semester - coming up this Saturday, October 06, 2007, at Selaiyur Hall Indoor Stage premises, (forenoon and afternoon inclusive) and you are invited for these two thought-provoking lectures, stimulating your intellect, and sharpening your wits, on two of the major genres in Literature - POETRY and the NOVEL.

The lecture on Poetry will be given by a very great scholar (more a friend than a scholar) from a prestigious College, and he has confirmed his participation today. In addition, we shall also have with us Dr.Nirmal Selvamony, our own great scholar, who has consented to be with us and interact with you, after the lecture. Make the best use of it.

The second lecture on NOVEL will be given by another great scholar, who has literally cast a literary spell on you last week. After the lecture, it's hoped that you will become a scholar in your own right, and your perspective of these two genres, it is sincerely hoped, will undergo a greater transformation, thus giving you enormous confidence and resolve to face your exams with double the amount of enthusiasm.

PS: I wish to emphasise that attendance will not be taken and participation is not mandatory. But participants make sure that you are present at least five minutes before the start of the class.Time: 9:30 am SHARP till 12.30 pm (approx). Please bring pen and a good note book for taking down unforgettable notes and quotes.

While Games and VLRefreshment will form part of the agenda, (both forenoon and afternoon), students are expected to make their own arrangements for lunch alone.

THE SCHEDULE

9.30 SHARP - Lecture on POETRY begins.

10.40 - 11.00 - Break - Tea, snacks and Games

11 - 12.30 - POETRY lecture ends.

12.30 - 1.00 - Question time and fruitful interactions between teachers and students.

1.00 - 1.45 - Lunch

1.45 - 2.00 - Games

2.00 - 2.50 - Lecture on NOVEL begins.

2.50 - 3.00 - Tea and snacks

3.00 - 4.00 - Lecture on NOVEL ends.

4.00 - 4.15 - Question time and interactions.

4.30 SHARP - THE END -