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When Ornithological Specimens of Identical Plumage Congregated Concurrently 😊

Myriad Madurai Musings Today!

6th January 2024

Today was a high-octane day - in every sense of the word - filled with such wonderful memories.

Madurai Kamaraj University broke records today for any many reasons. Almost all the bright stars of literature were present today at Madurai Kamaraj University for the National Level Externship.

Birds of the Same Feather

We were all accommodated in the same hotel, thanks to our beloved friend Dr. Ramasubbiah, Principal, MTN College, Madurai, whose love and hospitality is unrivalled in its ambit. 

With Dr. Ramasubbiah, Principal, MTN College, Madurai

After we all had our breakfast this morning, we had a quick photo session, just outside the main entrance to our hotel.

Reproducing here below, a few memorable pics for memory’s sake! 😊

In pic - 

Dr. Nagaraj, HoD, English, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore

Dr. Armstrong, HoD, English, University of Madras, Chennai

Dr. Prabhakar, HoD, English, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli

Dr. Marx, HoD, English, Pondicherry University, Puducherry.

Dr. Ramasubbiah, Principal, MTN College, Madurai.

Dr. Thirunavukkarasu, HoD, English, Muthurangam Government Arts College, Vellore.

With the Secretary of MTN College, Madurai

After the snap time, we all went to Mannar Thirumalai Naicker College, where we were introduced to the College Secretary.

Then, we proceeded to the University.

Dr. Dhayalakrishnan had done phenomenal work in organizing the event, with the able support of Dr. Ramasubbiah.

The Vice Chancellor had a special word of appreciation for Dr. Dhayalakrishnan for having been sanctioned this amount for his project.

Dr. Armstrong gave the inaugural address, followed by felicitations done by Dr. Nagaraj, among others.

I was blessed to give the first plenary of the day. Thanks to the galaxy of literary stars adorning the venue today, the APJ Abdul Kalam Auditorium was packed to capacity, with almost 30 students not able to get their seats. 

At the Abdul Kalam Auditorium

There was tremendous reception from students for the Externship. Around 400 students had turned up for the event. [15 students had turned up for the externship from Pondicherry University, and 30 from Bharathiar University, five from University of Madras, ten from MS University etc.] 

Students from as far as West Bengal, Kerala and other parts of the nation too participated in the externship in large numbers. 

Such was the huge response to this National-Level Externship organized by the Department of English, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai.

Ms. Anthea Isaac, did an amazing job as MC, which was highly appreciated by everyone. On an added note, Ms. Anthea is an avid blogger and an inspiring vlogger as well. So delighted to know that she is doing her doctoral programme under Subbu Anna!

You may want to follow Anthea’s blog at https://www.antheaisaac.blog/

And Anthea’s Vlogs at https://www.youtube.com/c/antheaisaactalks

I was so happy with the genuine bonhomie and camaraderie amongst friends from across the State, who were at their witty best, on and off the dais. 😊

As they say - 

Ornithological Specimens of Identical Plumage Congregate Concurrently! 

In other words, birds of the same feather, flock together! 😊

A rewarding day in every sense of the word with birds of the same feather! 😊

"Sometimes we tend to ignore the General Knowledge component in toto!"

‘Jaya vs Reddy’ Tussle | Burman and Indipop

[This day, thirty years ago from my personal diaries]

05th January 1994

#memoriesfromdiaries #newspaperinlearning

#musingsfrommadurai

Well, I’m writing this blog post from a lovely hotel room in Madurai, at 7.30 pm today, after having listened to the lovely speakers on Google Meet, in today’s In Tandem Symposium.

In this evening's In Tandem Symposium [on Google Meet], Dr. Anne Samuel, Head & Associate Professor, Department of Fine Arts, Stella Maris College, Chennai spoke on ‘Literature & Art’, which was followed by some engaging discussions as well.

Ms. Jaysudha N, from II MA English, MCC, presented her paper on ‘Unveiling the Concealed: Women in Pre-Raphaelite Art &  Poetry’.

Ms. Snowlin J, II MA English, Queen Mary's College, presented her paper on the topic, ‘The Baroque Period: Italian Influence on Art, Architecture, Music & Poetry’.

Added memories today, when we had a lovely rendezvous over lunch at Jayaram’s, Madurai, with my good friends, Dr. Ramasubbiah, Principal, Mannar Thirumalai Naicker College, Dr. Dhayalakrishnan, HoD, Madurai Kamaraj University, and Dr. Udhayakumar, from MKU. Joining us was Dr. Ramasubbiah’s vibrant research scholar Anthea.

Madurai, as they say, is known for its admirable hospitality. Today I got to experience it yet again at the hands of Dr. Ramasubbiah and Dr. Dhayalakrishnan. Cannot thank them enough! 

Felt so happy when Dr. Udayakumar referred to Dr. Subbu Anna and Dr. Dhayalan, as the ‘literary faces’ of Madurai. Indeed, having known them for more than two decades now, I gladly second Dr. Udhayakumar on this! Interestingly, Dr. Dhayalakrishnan had quite recently received his second doctorate as well.

More on Dr. Anne Samuel’s vibrant talk, and our rendezvous today at MKU, in our next post. That’s because this post wishes to take you down the lane of memory – ‘to ‘disturb the dust on a bowl of rose-leaves!’

My personal diary entry on 5th January 1994

So come dear reader, let me take you - 

Down the passage which we did not take 

Towards the door we never opened 

Into the rose-garden!

Well, back then, in the year 1994, as a school boy, I’d divided my diary entry of the day into just three parts – personal, academic & general!

Three aspects that require our attention every day.

The Personal Component

The Academic Component

& The General Knowledge Component

Sometimes we tend to ignore the General Knowledge component in toto!

As teachers, we would strongly suggest that you give equal emphasis to all three components, this new year! 😊

Coming back –

Let me take you on a time-travel to exactly 30 years ago, on this very same day, for a peek into the day’s newspaper.

From the General Knowledge component, five note-worthy news in today’s English daily -

Firstly, on this particular day - on 5th January 1994 - the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed two Bills to pave the way for the removal of the Governor as Chancellor of State universities and make the Chief Minister as the Chancellor instead!

The issue has once again hogged the limelight of late, with ‘history repeating itself’, when in April 2022, the TN Assembly passed a bill to replace the Governor with the Chief Minister. Interestingly, in very quick succession, West Bengal and Kerala also followed suit.

While those who are in favour of the Governor claim that, ‘too much political interference in the administration of the universities’ can be avoided if the Governor is appointed as Chancellor of State Universities, the State and its Chief Ministers present a different picture.

Since they’re state-funded universities, states can implement the aspirations of the people, and award honorary doctorates to eminent personalities in their respective fields, they claim.

Interestingly, the present CM Mr. Stalin had a rare word of appreciation for his political bete noire, for her ‘bold move’ on 5th January 1994. The Bills were introduced by the then Education Minister K Ponnusamy.

Secondly, Rahul Dev Burman popularly called the ‘Music Scientist’ and the ‘King of Bollywood Music’, and credited with having brought pop to India, passed away on 4th January 1994. [mentioned in the day’s newspaper on 5th Jan 1994].

Thirdly, as regards the Ayodhya dispute, dubbed to be India’s longest-running property dispute, the Supreme Court said today [4th Jan 1994] that it will begin hearing the arguments from 22nd February 1994.

On an aside, the first recorded FIR relating to the Ayodhya dispute dates back to 30th November 1858!

Fourthly, come January, it’s customary for the TN Govt to announce its annual Pongal bonus for its employees and pensioners. On this day, Dr. J. Jayalalithaa announced a higher bonus for govt staff.

And finally, a survey finds rich deposits of lignite in Mannargudi. Mannargudi is part of the lignite basin along the eastern coast of Tamil Nadu. This survey was instrumental in many ways, as the central government, on the basis of this survey, years later, gave its clearance for coal bed methane exploration in Mannargudi.

Let me end this post with a lovely question - 

Did you read your newspaper today? If not, start reading it... rightaway!

Externship on Ecological Concerns @ Madurai Kamaraj University 💚

 

For the PDF Version of the full brochure, click HERE

"To Grandpa's Alma Mater: With Love" ❤️

A Grandson’s Gratitude

Towards His Grandpa’s Alma Mater

19th December 2023 | Council Room

Today was a momentous day for MCC.

The grandson of late Shri Nageswara Rao Pantulu, Shri S. Sambhu Prasad, had endowed the College with the Amrutanjan Scholarships, in honour of his grandfather who had graduated from Madras Christian College in the year 1891.

Today the scholarships were given to 44 meritorious and deserving students in the presence of Mr. S. Muralidharan, Non-Executive Independent Director, Amrutanjan Healthcare Limited, and Mr. M. Srinivasan, Company Secretary and Compliance Officer, Amrutanjan Healthcare Limited in the Council Room, Madras Christian College.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Muralidharan said that, Mr. Sambu Prasad was very particular about MCC, since his great grandfather, Late Shri Nageswara Rao, founder of Amrutanjan, had graduated from MCC in the year 1891.

He had founded and patented Amrutanjan two years later, in 1893. He also founded the famous weekly Andhra Patrika, in 1909 in Bombay, which went on to become a famous daily newspaper.

About Shri Nageswara Rao, our illustrious alumnus, 1891

Mr. Muralidharan also offered to assist our students with their internships and placements with Amrutanjan.

Our Principal Dr. P. Wilson welcomed the gathering, after the ceremonial reading of the college prayer by the Dean of Women Students, Dr. Huldah Samuel. Dr. Annet Pearl, Dean of Student Affairs gave an introductory note on the scholarships. Prof. R. Sridhar, Vice Principal [Admin] gave the vote of thanks, followed by the benediction by our Bursar Mr. Cyrus Kallupurackal.

Special Congratulations! 💜

Special Congrats & Blessings | II MA Class

To the Vibrant Eighteen in Class Today

#consistency #admiration

19th December 2023

I wish to specially appreciate and congratulate the following students of the II MA English class, who have been consistently regular to my classes, especially today.

I also told them in my class today how proud and happy I was to see them in class, how they showed their respect to their teacher, and made sure that they used their freedom with responsibility.

These students also made sure that they regularly met with me, to get guidance regarding their studies, their paper presentations, their future academic life, etc.

So proud of you dear students. Keep up the spirit.

You would always remain special to me! 💜

1. Beera Rajan
2. Dhanavaishnavi M
3. Harini A P
4. Jaysudha N
5. Joanna Obed
6. Lakshmi Padmakumar
7. Lalitha J
8. Leelavinothini R
9. Shruthi R
10. Sindhu M
11. Sneka M
12. Snigdha Roshini R
13. Theresa Thomas
14. Vinaya Mary
15. Vivilia D
16. Yasindhra R S
17. Yovanna Merlin S
18. Abhishek Rajeev

Special Love and blessings for you our dear students.

Love and regards,

Dr. Rufus

Course Teacher

'She's read the latest on Tom Stoppard unless he's not published anything this morning' ❤️

‘To become a doctor she had to be patient for a long time’

Iswarya’s Viva Voce | @ MCC Today

Ms. Iswarya defended her thesis today at the IGH Seminar Hall, MCC. Dr. D. Venkataramanan, Professor of English, University of Madras, was the External Examiner for her viva voce.

What interested me the most today was, the sight of a cheerful gentleman, probably in his early seventies, happily welcoming all of us to Iswarya’s viva voce.

Iswarya defending her thesis

Dr. Ganesh introduced him as her school teacher Mr. Mohan, who had taught English for Ms. Iswarya.

Quite excited, I had a lovely conversation with him for some time, and he said that, he had taught her English from her ninth up until her 12th Standard, in Chettinad School.

He fondly recollected that memorable incident when he was teaching a particular portion from Wordsworth’s Prelude to her ninth standard class, when, right after her class got over, she had come up to him and told him that she wanted to opt for literature.

He had thought - back then - that she was saying it on an emotional spur of the moment resolve!

But then, true to her words, and to the surprise of everyone of us, she enrolled herself for her BA English Literature Programme, he said, with a teacher’s pride and joy on him.

Dr. Ganesh, in his introductory remarks, said - 

Iswarya was simply ‘one of the best research students I've had in my life’.

Usually Research Supervisors would say of their wards - 

‘My ward has come’.

But it was the other way round for me. I used to say - 

‘My guide has come’.

That’s because she gave me assignments. So it was a reverse process. It was Iswarya who guided me through Tom Stoppard, he observed, with such delight.

She's read the latest on Tom Stoppard unless he's not published anything this morning.

Iswarya is a dedicated scholar who never gets convinced that she's done a good job.

You’ll say, ‘It’s enough’. But she’d say, ‘It’s not enough’.

Such an amazing research journey it was.

She also had the rare opportunity of interacting with Tom Stoppard almost a decade ago, when he had come to the Jaipur Literary Festival.

He had approved of the trajectory to her arguments which gave authenticity and credibility to her thesis.

[Tom Stoppard has also written the screenplay for some of the greatest movies of our time, including Shakespeare in Love, Anna Karenina, Enigma, Tulip Fever, and many such films].

One of the Indian examiners who valued her thesis had also remarked that, it was a benchmark of good research.

‘To become a doctor she had to be patient for a long time’, he quipped in his own inimitable style, adding, the greatness of this thesis work is that it’s exhaustive and profound as well.

he said. 

Interestingly, Dr. Venkatramanan, in his opening remarks said that, his father was also a student of MCC, back during the time when Mr. Palanivel Rajan studied here.

He added to say that, Dr. John Varghese, who is now the Principal of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, was his classmate. He also remembered legendary past stalwarts of MCC like Dr. J. Vasanthan, Mr. A. V. Thomas, Mr. Balu Ramanan, up until Dr. Latha, who presently heads the Dept of English at Stella Maris College, Chennai.

Coming back - 

Iswarya’s research was on ‘The Idea of Consciousness’ in Tom Stoppard.

Giving an overview of Consciousness Studies, she also highlighted the growing interest in the field since the 1990s.

The Research Problem: Tom Stoppard’s response to the important contemporary debates on consciousness. Can his ‘vision’ of consciousness provide any resolution to these unanswered questions?

Finding: Stoppard’s insights continue in the anti-materialist tradition of British romanticism, and his concepts ultimately evolve towards an Advaita belief.

Students from II MA English were in full attendance for the viva, and it proved quite a rewarding day for everyone who had participated in the viva.

Ms. Iswarya, flanked by her Research Supervisor and her School Teacher

Dr. Mekala Rajan, Dr. Venkatramanan & Dr. Ganesh

Here’s wishing Iswarya the best, in all her literary endeavours and scholarly pursuits as well.

'With a heavy heart, but with a firm resolve, I said Yes!'

The Real Secret Behind the Australian World Cup Win!

A Difficult Decision | Pat Cummins

21 November 2000 ❤️

#memoriesfromdiaries #inspirational

In the first week of November 2000, I had made a difficult decision!

To stop reading magazines and comics and to completely stop watching TV, until the time I cleared my UGC-NET/JRF!

My personal diary entry dated 21st November 2000

It was such a difficult decision you see!

Since magazines, comics and TV were the only modes of entertainment for us back then! 😊

Dad, who was Professor in Government service, had already told me about how UGC-NET has been made mandatory for teaching in Colleges/Universities across India, and clearing NET requires a lot of dedication and commitment, he had so lovingly advised me!

Now, I had to take a call! I had to take a resolve!

I was doing my MA in English at that point of time. So I resolved to take the difficult decision of requesting dad to sell off our Television, until I cleared my NET/JRF!

Back then, one of my major visual distractions was the TV, you see! 

And well, Dad was quite happy with my decision and in fact he was highly supportive and appreciative of it as well.

It so happened, that, even while I was excitedly watching the Test series on TV, Francis, [our family friend] rang me up to convey the news that, he’d got a person who was interested in purchasing our TV.

And with a heavy heart, but with a firm resolve, I said YES! 

That’s how we dispensed with our TV Set for Rs. 2000/- in November 2000!

Well, to be honest, it was one of the most difficult decisions of my life! 

But the next one year saw me highly focussed in my studies. I had a kinda NET war room, which had books of all hues for my NET preparation.

And exactly a year later, in December 2001, I was rewarded! 

Yes! I had cleared my NET in my very first attempt!

And in a few months from then, I got into my dream vocation - Teaching in College!

Well, initially, I thought this diary entry jotted down exactly 23 years ago, on this self-same November, ain’t gonna prove to be of much value today. So I didn’t want to make a post out of it.

But then, the inspiration for this post, is a past tweet by Australian Men’s Cricket Team Captain Pat Cummins, that he had made exactly a year ago, on 15th November 2022, in which he states that - 

he had made a difficult decision in November 2022.

Pat's Tweet on 15th November 2022

The decision to miss next year’s (2023 season) IPL, since his focus from henceforth was on the Ashes Series and the World Cup!

And in an interview quite soon after, he had also defined the year ahead - 2023 - as a ‘career-defining’ year for him and his players!

Fast forward to exactly a year later – November 2023 – Pat is now basking in the glory of having won a World Test championship, a successful Ashes series in the UK and now an awesome ODI World Cup triumph against hot-favourites India!

‘You don’t want to look back at the end of your cricket career to think you didn’t give it your best crack,’ he had observed, last year. 

What a beautiful line, ain’t it?

Yes! Giving it your best crack, requires a few difficult decisions on our part.

The decisions might seem difficult now! But the rewards will be immense in exactly a year from now!

James Clear, author of the inspirational Atomic Habits, says –

It doesn’t matter how successful or unsuccessful you are right now. What matters is whether your habits are putting you on the path toward success.

How true!

Like Pat Cummins, whose difficult decision was rewarded three-fold, I’m sure your difficult decision will fetch you three-fold returns, in exactly a year from now!

You bet!

PS: You may want to read more on James Clear’s motivational read titled, Atomic Habits in our past post HERE.

Screenshot: cricket.com.au

'If you whip a dog while a violin is played...'

Jimmy bites Jumbo | Jumbo Whimpers

#memoriesfromdiaries

22 November 1996

Since the second week of November 1996, I had enrolled myself for my driving lessons, with a good driving school in town.

The Standard Gazel

The driving school’s proprietor - being a family friend - took that extra care to teach me well, the nuances and the intricacies of driving.

On this particular day, he taught us how to apply the reverse gear. I tried it out twice, and met with some degree of success!

Back then, our driving instructor, had the good ol’ Standard Gazel, in which we’d learnt the basics of driving!

Manufactured in Chennai’s own car manufacturing hub at Perungalathur, the Standard Car company’s Chennai plant was operational from 1951 to 1988.

The ‘Standard’ Herald company competed with the likes of Hindustan Ambassador (which had a cult following, and also the prestige of being a status symbol in the 1960s up until the 1990s). And then there was the Premier Padmini as well.

Interestingly, the Ambassador alone sported the unique, one-of-its-kind column shift [wherein the gear shift lever is mounted to the left of the steering column], while other cars usually had the floor shift.

The column shift was preferred in cars, as it gave more space in the front seat for ‘added passengers’ as well. 😊

However, for ‘L’ boards like me, we preferred the floor shifts, as they were easier to learn, and had faster response time while driving.

On an aside, there’s some good news for all ye Ambassador lovers – Good ol’ Amby is being relaunched in India next year. Ravi Saare.. are you listening? 😊

Coming back to a sentimental incident on sentient beings, that had happened on this fateful day –

Our pet dog Jumbo was such a sensation with everyone in our street, you see! However, there was another dog in the neighbourhood, which never got along well with Jumbo. He was Jimmy. 🐕

On this particular day, Jimmy badly bit Jumbo, to such an extent that Jumbo couldn’t even walk properly for a few days after that!

The words ‘whimper’ and ‘dog’ (that I’ve used to jot down this incident), immediately bring to mind, the Father of Modern Philosophy – Rene Descartes and his weird observations on animals, with particular reference to dogs!

To Descartes, one has to be human in order to enjoy experiences and feelings.

Shocking, ain’t it?

Animals, to Descartes, are really machines, or biological robots, without any mind. [Often referred to, as the Bête-machine doctrine].

According to his famous mind-body dualism hypothesis, the mind is a non-physical, non-spatial substance in itself. Moreover, the mind is conscious, not the body!

The human self - the person - is essentially the mind, and NOT the body.

The mind has free will, the ability to control and to cause the human body to act the way it wills!

To Descartes then, since human minds [oops… beings] 😊 are capable of thought and reasoning, we must have minds, while animals don’t!

He tells us that –

If you whip a dog while a violin is played, in course of time, it will whimper and whine to the music!

That’s hence, in his Discourse on Method (1637), Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am.” [a human].

It is also said that, Descartes had once kicked a pregnant dog and explained its whimpers as mere automatic expressions of a machine.

In another legend, he “nailed his wife’s dog to a board plank for vivisection” in order to prove to her that it was just a machine!

One doesn’t know how true these anecdotes are! However, Descartes stands quite disproved in some of his reductionist propositions or rather presuppositions, for sure!

Pic. courtesy for Standard Gazel: teambhp