Blogger

The 'Chautauqua intercollegiate poetry workshop conducted on the 30th of January in the Assembly and Conference Halls of Block 2, Christ University campus began with a formal inaugural ceremony, at 9:15 am soon after the registrations for participants closed. The dignitaries on the dais were Dr.Kennedy, dean of Humanities and Social sciences, Professor Shobana P. Mathews Coordinator of MA English and Father Joseph from the Mathematics department, Coordinator of the department of English and Media Studies.      Dr. Kenndy spoke about how we are all poets without poems and also shared a poem by a transgender poet, Kalki Subramanyam addressing transgender issues in his poetry. Father Joseph wrote a poem in response to section 377 that deals with gay rights while madam Abhaya sang a song for us to wish the gathering a productive day. Shobhana talked to us about how poetry isn’t something intimidating and how in fact, the reckless use of dead words and canons can...

Dr. V. Shivaraman, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the Department of English, Presidency College (Autonomous), Chennai.   His doctoral research was centred on the plays of renowned Kannada playwright Girish Karnad, and he has published several scholarly articles and books on Indian theatre.   Dr.Shivaraman is also visually challenged and has held several honorary positions with organisations working for the welfare of the differently abled. Overview: Dr. Shivaraman primarilyargued that certain playwrights in post-independent India made an “earnest attempt” to “nativise” Indian theatre.   While making a special reference toKarnad, he also noted playwrights such asHabib Tanveer, Chandrashekhar Kambar, Vijay Tendulkar, Mohan Rakesh, Mahesh Elkunchwar and K. N. Panikkar for their endeavour to nativise both theatrical content and form by wresting them from colonial influences.He excluded certain figures from this distinctioneither on ...

The 3rd semester MTech Students (3MTPS, 3MTSE, 3MTCN, 3MTMD, 3MTCS/IT) presented different posters as a part of cyber security awareness program. Cyber Security is a subject offered by the Dept. of CSE.  The posters were displayed on the notice boards in the foyer II Block, Christ University, Kengeri campus on September 15th 2014. The topics displayed by the students were Information Technology Acts 2000 and 2008, different sections available in it under cyber laws, India and also showcased various cyber-attacks with corresponding counter measures. This event received a good appreciation from all the departments’ students as well as faculty. The coordinators for the event were Prof. K Pradeep Kumar and Prof. M Moses.

A lecture on Revisiting Indian Epics was held for the Honours in English Studies as well as 3 MA English students in Room no. 613 in the Central Block of the University on Saturday, the 5th of July with Prof. Gaana J. of the English Department as the facilitator. The speaker was Dr. Meera Baindur, Associate professor, MCPH, Manipal University. The Mahabharata, Ramayana and the characters in them are household names for almost every Indian. In this, Dr. Meera Baindur was no exception. However, her interest in the epics led her to read the Sanskrit classical versions. After the brief introduction to her engagement with the epics, Dr. Baindur spoke about the difference between an Itihasa and a Purana. ‘Iti’ ‘ha’ ‘asa’ literally translates to ‘thus indeed (it) was whereas a Purana means old/ revealed. Till sixth century, the epics were transmitted through oral literature. The Indian Epics are so intertwined with Indian culture that they are seen as history by many while others see the...

History, as Benedict Anderson puts it, is the necessary basis of the national narrative. However, the history constructed by the British for the Indians and the one constructed by the Indians for themselves are vastly different and this is where art comes in. Art has always served more than an aesthetic function. It is also a means of expression, of constructing identities and ‘imagined communities’. It is interesting to note how often the British brought to the fore either religious or highly sensuous depictions in art, completely ignoring everything else, constructing India as the promised exotic land – the land of mysteries, of elephants and snake-charmers, of a thousand tongues and even more gods. Theirs was an India where a much married Radha frolicked with an unmarried Krishna, where a Brahma with five heads ruled the heavens from his lotus seat, where kings lived in their forts that were almost magically carved out of stone and where tigers seemed to outnumber men. However...

An ornate culmination, a ruthless history, an eradication of many Alexandrias and the resurrection of power – a power, much benevolent bestowed with the wand to frame the ‘other’ has lurked within our nation. But more than a vehicle that merely lurked, it has shrouded itself against our civilized backs and redefined the structure of equality. Within this very mirage of etiquettes thrust upon our culture by Colonization, much has been gained and much lost too. Dr. Maya from the Sociology department, shed light on a grotesque reality that one was aware of but could not relate to instantly. The almost taxonomic creation of a minority within our democratic nation was highlighted. The idea of a minority being a social construct differentiated and plausibly discriminated by a higher social power gave rise to the term ‘Tribes’ or ‘Adivasi’. Within a series of discussions, the blanket term that defined a heterogeneous community romanticized and exoticized as the indigenous folk thriving by...

There are some people who sit and talk about the problems which are out there, and then there are some who actually go out and do something about it. The latter are the people the English Department honours us with for our guest lectures. The class of English Honours 2015 started the session on Friday by watching a documentary prepared by Ms. Priya Ramasubban, the guest lecturer for the day. The documentary introduced the class to Kaikondarahalli Lake and the struggles as well as success of the project initiated by a small group of individuals in saving the lake. What really shook the class was the fact that an interdisciplinary group of common people could accomplish so much. More than that, it restored their faith in the government and administrative systems to a large extent, as posing a possible solution seems to go a long way in garnering support instead of just discussing problems.  Ms. PriyaRamasubban spoke to the class briefly about her experience in saving the l...