The fifth edition of World Theatre Day in Chennai 

featuring KICHADI THEATRE performances 

at

Elliot's Beach, Besant Nagar

Tuesday, March 31, @ 7.30 pm

Entry FREE

Meet for the Visually Impaired

Rotaract Club of Dhristi and KVTC

[Empowerment through Employment for the Visually Impaired]

Invite you for their

Annual Get-together on

Sunday, 29 March 2015 at 3 pm

Contact

Mr.Raghu, (alumnus of MCC)

Coordinator, Karna Vidya Technology Centre

RR Towers III, Thiru-Vi-Ka Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai – 32

Ph: 98400 18012

Dr.Nirmal Rocks in Delhi..!

Dr. Nirmal Selvamony, [formerly with MCC] currently Professor with Central University of Tiruvarur, gave a talk on "Performability of CAGKAM Compositions" at the famous Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, on 19 March 2015 at 5.30 pm.

The essence of his talk is as follows: 

Although regarded as 'literature' per se, cagkam compositions, according to Dr. Selvamony, are performable musical compositions. He dwelt on their compositions, their performing practice and some basic conventions governing them. Dividing the composition into two basic domains, the akam (Inner) and puRam (Outer), he classified the former based on a master 'home narrative', and the latter, based on the various stages of combat, praise of patrons and the transience of life. 

The presentation brought out the dramatic nature of the Inner texts, by dwelling on two things—emoting, and addressorial conventions. 

The next segment of his presentation discussed the types of performers, dance, drama and music, and the musical modes. 

For more details, and for the rules & regulations, click HERE

Congrats Manoj...!

The MCC family joins me in congratulating Mr. R. Manoj, of II BA Tamil, for having achieved a stupendous success in the World Silambam Championship 2015.

The third World Silambam Championship was held at Johor Bahru, Malaysia between 5 and 9 February 2015. The Indian contingent won more than 200 medals at the championship. 

Mr.R.Manoj, (II yr BA Tamil) of MCC, won a total of 7 medals [4 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze]. He is the disciple of Mr.Power Pandian, a renowned Silambam exponent and stunt master who has trained many celebrity actors in the film industry.

We take pride in congratulating Mr. R. Manoj, for having accomplished this feat, and we also wish him many more laurels in the years to come.

Viva la MCC...!!!

Francophonie Day @ AF, Chennai

You are invited for a special screening of the famous comedy-drama Mobile Home

on the eve of Francophonie Day, @ AF, Chennai

on 20 March 2015 at 7 pm

Venue: Edouard Michelin Auditorium, Alliance Francaise of Madras

Mobile Home

 1 hr 35 min.

Leaving his job and girlfriend behind in the city, Simon returns to his native village where he reconnects with Julien, his old friend. The two unemployed thirty-year olds decide to revive an adolescent dream: set out on the road and take up seasonal jobs. They buy a caravan and are ready to set out but end up not leaving after all.  Yet somehow, a journey takes place even as they stay in one place, a journey that leads them to different destinations.!!!

World Storytelling Day in Chennai

World Storytelling Institute, Chennai

Invites you for 

A Storytelling Session

on 

World Storytelling Day

Friday, 20 March 2015 6pm to 7.30 pm

Venue: University of Madras (Campus at Wallajah Road and Marina)

Hall – F-50

Theme for this year: "Wishes"

Over 15 stories by Chennai Storytellers

- For people of all ages - 

Admission is free!

About World Storytelling Institute: Dr. Eric Miller, Director & co-founder of the World Storytelling 

Spring Fever 2015 - Event Line-up..!

MIDS INSTITUTE SEMINAR SERIES, MARCH 2015

Invites you for a lecture on The Political Ecology of Palk Bay Fisheries: Geographies of Capital, Fisher Conflict, Ethnicity, and the Nation State

By Ajit Menon, Associate Professor, MIDS

On 09 March 2015, 3:30 pm @ Adiseshiah Auditorium, MIDS.

'What Will People Say?' - A (P)review..:

When the lights were switched off at 7:15 pm this evening at the Museum Theatre, the announcer (who also happens to be the director Vaishwath Shankar), asked the audience to keep their mobiles in silent mode, and to laugh their hearts out!!!

Indeed, he really had meant what he said!!! The play was a laugh riot, by all means. The guy who got the most laughs was obviously Kamal Bose, who is mistaken for a producer by the kids in the apartment. Janaki Sabesh, a well-known name in Tamil and Telugu movies, plays Janu Aunty, and her English with the Tamil lingo intact, left the audience in splits. For once, almost all the characters played their own namesakes in the comedy too, making it much easier to gel at ease with the cast. While Vaidhya Sundar plays Vaidhya, Prasanna Venkatesh plays Prasanna, Shevaun Da Costa as Shevaun herself, (who performed her role with gusto), Amrithavarshini as Amritha also has a key role in the comedy and did it with elan! The guys literally gave us all huge belly cramps, by making us laugh our hearts out!!!

Choose the 'Right Fit' University...

The United States – India Educational Foundation is organising an informative session on “Choosing the ‘Right Fit’ Universities” On Saturday, 14 March 2015. 

This session will help aspiring students to understand the process of selecting universities that best fit them. 

Register HERE on or before 11 March 2015. 

Rendezvous with Nalan..!

There are movies that make us forget reality. Movies that live in our minds forever. Movies that we can describe shot by shot. Movies we can term as eye-openers. There are film makers who have stolen our hearts. Directors who have changed our ways of thinking and expressions. There are silver screen moments that define our day for us and shake our faith in reality. There are scenes that words fail to help us express.

Cinema Rendezvous is a date! A date to share such personal experiences, to debate our likes & dislikes and to stoke our romance with cinema.

Cinema Rendezvous also has workshops on Film Appreciation.  Prominent film personalities like Suhasini Maniratnam, Rohini, Sripriya, K.S.Ravikumar, Vettrimaran, Ram, Atlee, Samuthirakani, Bijoy Nambiar, Hariharan, Naga, Sudhish Kamath, Baradwaj Rangan, Anuradha Sriram and others are some of the special invitees for the Dates..!

click on pic to enlarge

Eshareh - Fusion Music

On 06 March 2015 @ The Ballroom – THE PARK, CHENNAI, 7 pm

Eshareh, (meaning allusion in Farsi – Persian Language), combines Indian sounds, chants of the Arab world and the Persian percussions, re-interpreting the musical and linguistic heritage of oral traditional songs from the Upper Brittany Countryside. Using the cultural heritage of an oral tradition, the group re-establishes a possible link between the Eastern and Western cultures.

Essay Writing Contest - 2015

click on pic to enlarge

Janani in and as 'Amrapali'

Theatre Nisha presents Janani Narasimhan in and as Amrapali. Directed, designed and scripted by V. Balakrishnan, the show narrates the story of Amrapali, one of the most famous women of her times. She was a state’s courtesan who entertained men at her house with dance, music and poetry. The story is based at a time when Magadha, Vaishali, Kaushambi, Gandhara and Kosala were fighting for supremacy while Gautama Buddha and Mahavira were advocating a fresh path of life. 

Tickets are priced at Rs.150/- 

Contact info: 9677172897

Laugh-out-Loud...:-) :-) :-)

“What will people say?” is a situational comedy set in Mumbai, revolving around the lives of six young aspiring actors living together in a studio apartment. In all innocence, they are doing this for economic security. They believe their apartment is immediately above that of an influential producer Kamal Bose, who, they believe, is about to cast a road company. They rehearse the play but how can they get him upstairs to see it? It happens that the so-called producer is a chef, and, right in the middle of  a culinary concoction, he runs out of oil. He comes upstairs to borrow some. At last the kids have him and they aren’t going to let him go until he sees some evidence of their ability so they stage a M**der. Having a knack for improvisation, they will stop at no end to convince him. It is so realistic that police swarm into the scene with hilarious results. A clean, bristling and outright laugh-out-loud comedy that has the kids asking themselves that very Indian question, “What will people say?!”

About ‘The Madras Players’

The oldest theatre group in India, The Madras Players celebrates its 60^th anniversary this year. Having staged more than 250 productions, they have performed the works of playwrights from India & abroad. The focus of the group is now more on Indian writing & Indian playwrights.

For more info, contact: Gopi Nair: 93819 11977

MCC's Theatre No.59 Presents 'The Pillowman'

MCC’s Theatre No.59 

presents 

The Pillowman by Martin McDonough

Write-up:

Here’s a story about a simple writer and his short stories. 

But what if they were not stories anymore? 

What if what’s put to paper is put to practice as well?

What if the surreal is real?

Martin McDonough’s The Pillowman captures the sinister 

in the traditional act of story-telling.

Theatre No.59 from Madras Christian College, brings to stage

blood, coffins, apples, pigs – a perfect recipe of Black Comedy. 

You may giggle but you’ll cringe.

Day and Date: Saturday, 7 March 2015

Time: 2:30 pm

Venue: Music Academy Mini Hall

Tickets: Rs.200/-

For tickets, call: 96002 23456

Keeping the BeeGees Mania Alive..!

Come & be a part of Bee Geez!

As boys and girls, we all would have grown up with the beegees, and i'm sure almost all aspects of our lives would've had the colour and influence of the beegees almost 
every other day. Well, can we ever forget "It's only words.." or their famous 
albums like 'Monday's Rain', or 'Horizontal' or 'Ideas'... indeed... 
butterflies flutter all over when you're glued to them...
Yes, the band is sure to take you on a trip down 
memory lane, through all the greatest hits 
and more..! Come & Immerse yourself in 
the eternally classic & soulistic songs 
at Phoenix Market City. 
[and yes, i'll be there, too]

Date: Saturday, 28 February 2015

Time: 7 pm onwards

Venue: The Courtyard @ Phoenix MarketCity, 

142, Velachery Main Road, Velachery, Chennai – 42.

Moon City Poetry Award for budding poets…:

The Moon City Poetry Award is for an original, full-length collection of poetry composed in English by a single or collaborative author. Individual poems in the collection may be published in periodicals, online, or in a chapbook, but not yet collected and published in full-length manuscript form.

Open to all writers not associated with Moon City Press or its judges, past or present.

Manuscript should include a table of contents and acknowledgements page. Submissions need not be left anonymous. Manuscripts should be at least 48 pages long.

First Prize: $1000, publication by Moon City Press, (including international distribution through the University of Chicago Press, via the University of Arkansas Press), and a standard royalty contract. Ten additional finalists will be named and considered for publication.

Deadline: 01 May 2015. For more details on the guidelines, click HERE

Essay Writing Competition

The Royal Commonwealth Society is inviting young people to share their hopes and concerns for the future, thereby generating an important youth perspective and Commonwealth wide dialogue as the international community gathers to set development goals for the next 15 years.

The competition is open to young writers aged 18 and younger, who are living in, or a national of, a Commonwealth country or territory. All entries must be in English and are to be submitted online.

For more details on the competition, visit their guidelines page HERE

Ibsen in Town..!!!

It indeed is quite heartening to see hordes of spectators making a beeline for one of the well-renowned theatre spaces in the city at Chetpet, well ahead of the scheduled time of 7 pm, for a German rendition of the popular playwright Henrik Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People”. Well, the early birds [this blogger included :-)] were catching up with their long-lost literary pals, cappuchino in hand, at the Coffee-Day joint in Campus, and around the shades of the huge banyan tree - that gives the venue its fascinating aura.

Thomas Ostermeier, the director of the play, and one of the most influential theatre directors worldwide, said that, when he first discovered Ibsen’s drama “Enemy of the People”, he didn’t really like it. But the subject made him direct it despite of that. So, together with his dramaturg Florian Borchmeyer he seems to have reworked the play to suit a contemporary audience with a contemporary context. “We also made the main character about 20 years younger – so it’s about the young generation of Berlin. A generation that seems to be politically engaged. They’re mostly vegetarian, they ride bikes instead of driving cars, and they all support various causes. But when it comes to political action or demanding change – it is getting obvious that this is not a strong generation”, he avers.

This is one of Ibsen’s prominent realistic plays, in which an individual’s hopes and dreams for his society are ostracised by the very society which he is trying to help.

Everything about the play was phenomenal. Be it the intricately made up stage design, or the aesthetic appeal of the costume design, or the foot-tapping music (which the characters played literally on stage, to perfection and to aplomb from the audience), or the role of the dramaturg in bringing out an awesome dramaturgy of the text, or the wall paintings which were so realistic, adding to the enhanced visual appeal, or the light designs, or the acting of the main characters Christoph Gawenda as Dr. Stockmann, Eva as Mrs.Stockmann, or the gentlemanly Hovstad, or Morten Kill, or Billing - the impact was immense..!

"Education and Discipline" - Critical Summary

Introduction

The essay “Education and Discipline” by the Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell, was first published in his collection of essays titled, In Praise of Idleness, in 1935. Educational theories generally focus on how learning occurs, and they seek to understand, analyse, and prescribe educational practices. 

According to Bertrand Russell, the real purpose of education is civilisation, which includes both individual and social aspects. On the individual front, it consists of intellectual and moral qualities, and, on the moral front, it consists of the virtues of impartiality, kindliness, and self-control. Moreover, civilisation also demands respect for the law, and the intelligent adaptation of means to the ends. If this is the purpose of education, then psychologists should consider how to realise them, and analyse the degree of freedom that is essential to make it more effective.

Three Main Schools of Thought on Freedom

As far as the question of freedom in education is concerned, there are three main schools of thought. The first school of thought says that children should be completely free, however bad they may be. 

The second school of thought says that children should be completely subject to authority.

The third school of thought says that children should be free, but in spite of freedom, they should be always good. According to Russell, complete liberty to the child, ignores the importance of knowledge to the child, and also the positive purpose of education.

At the same time, he also believes that, authoritative education turns the students into timid tyrants, incapable of either claiming or tolerating originality in word or deed. Too much authoritarianism can also lead to over-submissive and timid children or it can also make them rebels. Thus there is danger in both the extremes of liberty and authority.

The Need of the Hour in Education

Hence, what is wanted is neither submissiveness nor rebellion, but good nature and general friendliness both to people and to new ideas. By developing children with “good nature” Russell stresses on the importance of raising students who can be well-adapted and self-content in their later life. This requires a balance between cultivating the child’s individuality and preparing him/her to be a social being.

Educationists all over the world rarely recognise this conflict. While the famous educationist John Dewey overemphasised socialisation, Montessori, overemphasised on individualisation. The more individualised you are, the less socialised you become, and vice versa. But, according to Russell, ideally, individuality and sociality can and should peacefully coexist in the same individual.

Individual and Social function of the Child

Educational theorists should strive to give an education that teaches children to be independent but also carry the wisdom to know how to do this as a social being. Hence, it is important to recognise that being a well-functioning adult requires individual authenticity and an ability to function in society.

Conclusion

To achieve this fine balance, as far as children’s education is concerned, we require teachers who develop spontaneous pleasure in the presence of children, without any ulterior purpose. Unfortunately, it is utterly impossible for over-worked teachers to preserve an instinctive liking for children. 

Hence, education should be undertaken for at most two hours a day by teachers, whose remaining hours should be spent away from children. Spontaneous love for children, produces the right impulse to treat naughty children, and the child feels easy to respond, if they feel that you like them. Hence, Russell concludes by saying that, no rule, however wise, can be a substitute for affection and tact, while dealing with children.

* Special thanks to Kevin Currie Knight, for his five thoughtful inputs on Russell.

Free NLP Session for College Students..!

Join the experts in NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) for a free session exclusively for school and college students (till 28 February 2015).

Wanna stop bad habits? Stop addictions? Get over your phobias? Achieve your goals? Peak your performance? Get over depression? Forget unpleasant memories? Sleep well every night? Get over interview fears?

What addiction would you like to change now? Sweets? Chocolates? Watching TV, or Playing games for too long, Obsessive SMS/Whatsapp/FB checking, etc?

Choose some simple and powerful changes that will make a Big Difference in your Life…

What is NLP? NLP is something like an 'users manual' to use your brain! It has been variously described as the technology of the mind, the science of achievement and the study of success, by identifying the ingredients of

Ibsen's Play in Chennai

Goethe-Institut Chennai /Max Mueller Bhavan

in association with Prakriti Foundation & Vivanta by Taj Connemara

presents

GERMAN THEATRE from SCHAUBÜHNE, BERLIN

An Enemy of the People 

by Henrik Ibsen

Version by: Florian Borchmeyer

Direction: Thomas Ostermeier 24 February 2015 | 7.00 p.m.

Venue: Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall, 

13/1 Shenstone Park, Harrington Road, Chennai 600 031

With Schaubühne Berlin the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan brings one of the most reclaimed and innovative places for contemporary German theatre to Chennai.

About the Production: Dr. Stockmann discovers that the source of drinking and spa water is riddled with pathogenic micro-organisms caused by industrial effluence. Stockmann wants to publish the findings in the newspaper and demands that the city council re-route the water pipes. Influential citizens and local journalists promise their support. However, his