The Pleasures Of Indolence

I just webpublished 'The Pleasures Of Indolence' comprising two long poems of mine:

https://www.angelfire.com/nd/nirmaldasan/tpoi.html

Last year I webpublished 'A Season Of Mischief' (selected essays):

https://www.angelfire.com/nd/nirmaldasan/asom.html

Green Density Measure

I periodically do a bit of egosurfing on google. Usually, the results for 'Nirmaldasan' are not very flattering. But recently I came across an article that uses my green density measure. The article by Archana Dahiya is titled 'Ecological Aspects in the Selected Poems of Toru Dutt, Sarojini Naidu and Kamala Das and Green Density Measure', published in Language in India, www.languageinindia.com ISSN 1930-2940 Vol. 13:5 May 2013. And here's the link:

"http://www.languageinindia.com/may2013/archananaturepoetsfinal.pdf" 

My original article titled 'Green Density Measure Of A Literary Text' appeared in Essays In Ecocriticism, 2007. A google search will fetch you the book.

john milton's paradise lost

My retelling of John Milton's Paradise Lost in plain English is now available online: https://www.angelfire.com/nd/nirmaldasan/jmpl.html

 

E-Book: Write Like A Pro
Dr. Marcia Riley's e-book 'Write Like A Pro' includes my PFS rule for the technical text. This free e-book may be downloaded from: http://bookboon.com/en/textbooks/career-job-search/write-like-a-pro

E-Content: Environmental Ethics

Borrowed Robes

I brought out a collection of my translations titled Borrowed Robes in May 2012. The online version may be read at https://www.angelfire.com/nd/nirmaldasan/robes.html

V. Mariappan's review of this book appeared in the August 2012 issue of the Journalism Online newsletter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/journalismonline/message/150 

 

 

Book Review: Treading On Gnarled Sand

By Nirmaldasan

(nirmaldasan@hotmail.com)

-- appeared in the November 2011 issue of the Journalism Online newsletter -- 

Poetry, according to K.S. Subramanian, is a vocal representative of the trends of a period. To measure up to this task of reflecting reality, a poet may have to tread on gnarled sand where the past and the present clash revealing a very bleak future. The mythic Aswathama gives a piece of his mind and one can hear the groans of a city. One also meets with masked gunmen in a Silicon Hub that ‘flourishes in the bay of its mantra’.

But even as trends change, language changes too. In a preface to his second book of verse titled Treading on Gnarled Sand, Subramanian writes: “I have produced a reluctant ensemble of free verse and traditional meter and tried assiduously to follow the conservative track. If there are deviations they are unintentional. But it must be stated that I would rather deviate a little to bring out the emotion than camouflage it in form. After all lucidity matters as much as dexterity of language.”

Interestingly, the poet is most lucid whenever there is a display of linguistic dexterity. Here are a few examples. In ‘The Changing Face of Bangalore’, there is this stunning paradox: “Death catches up with age! / But a city ages even in death.” And in the ‘Rain’, the final quatrain drops a nugget of ecological wisdom:

“Be it placing the day of the Bang,

building dams or space sentries;

Man is still not master of his day,

a quake or monsoon ruins his peace.”

Most of the poems in this volume under review are in free verse. One such verse is titled ‘On the Fine Thin Sand of Goa’. But more than the irregular lines, it is the concluding, near-metrical quatrain that touches the heartstrings of the reader:

“Foreigners sink a fortune to

Discover happiness here;

Goans sink their happiness

To strike a fortune abroad.”

All reviewers have their personal likes and dislikes. The poem that most appealed to me is titled ‘An Incantation’. Here are the concluding lines:

“‘Veerabahu! Veera Mahendra!’

The voice trails off too soon

As lids close for the night.”

Treading On Gnarled Sand is K.S. Subramanian’s second volume of poetry, published by the Calcutta-based Writers Workshop. The hardback limited edition is priced Rs. 150.

Planet In Peril: A Call For Ethical Action

By Nirmaldasan

-- appeared in the October 2010 issue of the OSLE-India newsletter --

A new book titled Moral Ground and subtitled ‘Ethical Action For A Planet In Peril’ has been published by the Trinity University Press. The Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu, in is foreword, comments that all ‘the articles in this book tell us the oral ground we stand on.' He writes: “They are a clear call to action. We are called to understand that climate change is a moral challenge, not simply an economic or technological problem. We are called to honor our duties of justice, to prevent the enormities of climate change, as the price of the lifestyles of the privileged is paid by millions of poor people, in the loss of their livelihoods and their lives. We are called to honor our duties of compassion, to prevent the suffering of millions of innocent people, especially the hungry children.”

Edited by Kathleen Dean Moore, Professor of Philosophy at Oregon State University, and Michael P. Nelson, Associate Professor of Environmental Ethics at Lyman Briggs College at Michigan State
University, ‘Moral Ground brings together the testimony of over 80
visionaries — theologians and religious leaders, scientists, elected
officials, business leaders, naturists, activists, and writers — to present a diverse and compelling call to honor our individual and collective moral
responsibilities to our planet.' The President of OSLE-India, Dr. Nirmal
Selvamony, has contributed to this tome an article titled ‘Sacred Ancestors, Sacred Homes.'

There is a special 40% discount price of $15, excluding shipping at the rate of $6 for the first book and $1 for each additional copy. The 504-page hardback book’s original price is $24.95. A good beginning to combating climate change is to own a copy of this book. ISBN 13: 978-1-59534-066-5.

For further details, check out tupress.org.

Book Review: Water For The Roots
By Nirmaldasan
(nirmaldasan@hotmail.com)

Rajam Krishnan’s Verukku Neer is a Sahitya Akademi award-winning Tamil novel that has been rendered into English under the title Water For The Roots by Pattu M. Bhoopathi.

It is an undeniable fact that something is always lost in translation. No translator has ever succeeded in capturing the flavours of the original text. There are ways translators can wittingly or unwittingly do injustice. One way is trying to improve the original; another way is being too faithful to it. So if it be granted that all translators err, what has Bhoopathi done? Does his translation fall short of or exceed the quality of the original?

This reviewer, though he has read four of Rajam Krishnan’s novels and has appreciated her style and thoughts, would like to confess that he hasn’t read Verukku Neer. And though he has read Bhoopathi’s English version twice, his remark on the quality of the translation would obviously lack authenticity.

This translation – excuse my saying again that I have read it twice – has sowed in me a desire to read Verukku Neer. And I will do so at the first opportunity.

The protagonist Yamuna, soaked in Gandhian idealism, seems to succeed where Gandhi himself, as critics say, has failed – on the domestic front. Her uncle Joseph had told her, even if one is the wife of a ruffian, to ‘try to live up to the grand ideal of truth and ahimsa and find your fulfillment in such a life’.

Yamuna loved Sudhir. But he was against Gandhi. He tells her: “Non-violence is sheer hypocrisy and love is mere duplicity.” Though Yamuna doesn’t agree with him, she realizes that Sudhir is not a hypocrite.

Yamuna liked Indunath. He is a Youth Congress leader. But it doesn’t take long for Yamuna to find out that he is a sheer hypocrite and an opportunist who pays only lip service to Gandhian principles.

Yamuna married Durai. He belonged to a lower caste and was brought up in an ashram supported by her parents. By his own confession: “I am a very ordinary man. I have all the likes and preferences of an average individual.” Has she made the wrong choice?

Yamuna’s married life is full of compromises. She submits to the will of her husband and wears a non-khadi saree to a party and even removes a portrait of Gandhi from the wall. But she continues to hold on to Gandhi in her heart. And the result: Sudhir tells Yamuna that the biggest mistake of his life was marrying her.

The novel with its interplay of ideologies, however, ends on a hopeful note. The Sahitya Akademi published the translation in 2010 and the book is priced Rs. 100.

Bhoopathi, it may be noted, won the Nalli-Thisai Ettum Literary Award for 2009 for his English translation of the Tamil classic Muttollayiram under the title Pearls Of Passion And Fury. He may be reached by email: bhoopathim@yahoo.com

Counselling: Journalism After Plus Two

By Nirmaldasan

(nirmaldasan@hotmail.com)

A seasoned journalist says that journalism can be taught in six months. Yet another experienced editor opines that it is premature to do journalism after +2. A professor of journalism asserts that a basic degree in the arts or sciences followed by Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism is the ideal mix for those who wish to choose journalism for a career. And my views are in complete agreement with theirs.

However, for those who are eager to straight away join B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication, I think some guidance is necessary on some key factors.

First, choose the right educational institution. Any institute worth its salt will have a navigation-friendly website that is updated at regular intervals. The older the institution, the better it is; and if journalism is the only course taught there, it must be really good. Check the website for accreditation details, especially its validity period. According to newspaper reports, many top institutions have not applied to NAAC for re-accreditation and have been advertising their courses with an expired accreditation certificate.

Parents and prospective students of journalism have a right to know the curriculum and syllabus before they join the course. Therefore, these documents must be on the website; if not, it is better for the applicants to go elsewhere. Equally important is infrastructure. Is there a television studio? A campus newspaper? A campus radio? A multimedia laboratory?

If you find that all these are fine, then you need to look at the faculty. Do they have industry experience? What are their qualifications? They may even have a doctoral degree. One must be cautious here because the Ph.D may not be in journalism. Since the media industry pays very well, it is quite difficult to get staff having both industry and academic experience. Find out whether the staff members have a masters degree in journalism. A newspaper report in the Times of India has revealed that the Department of Media Sciences is strangely headed by a mechanical engineer.

Today’s world is driven by a media economy; therefore, it is not surprising if the candidates are carried away by the glossy promotional material. Think and think again. And ask this most important question: “Is this an academic institution or a business organization?” It may be a hard fact that privatized education is a business, yet you must insist on getting every rupee’s worth. I hope you get high marks in +2 so that you do not have to bargain for a seat in any institution.   

An institution may fail many of these tests and yet be Number One because of its illustrious alumni. If the alumni of an institution have won recognition in journalism, then that institution is certainly the right place for you to do journalism after +2.