Readers

Pain


For Rishik-IV
Image Courtesy: Google
When I see you look at me,
I become a word that mean,
Depth, love, and life.
But when I cause your eyes blur,
With tears, I fade,
In a saline testimony-
Of meaninglessness.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

About my Race: A Song by Poykayil Appachan : Essay Questions

Updated Kannur University Common Course Readings on Kerala (1A02ENG) 1. Poykayil Appachan's poem "About my Race: A Song" is a criticism of written histories. Elucidate. & 2. Poykayil Appachan's poem "About my Race: A Song" attempts to locate the intricacies of Dalit life in Kerala. Explain. & 3. How does Poykayil Appachan's poem "About my Race: A Song" represent the people belonging to his race?             In his poem "About my Race: A Song", Poykayil Appachan foregrounds the question of race.   The poem is translated into English from Malayalam by Jessica Sudhir M.  The concept of "race" refers to the evicted and marginalized first people of Kerala. Poykayil Appachan was also known as Sree Kumara Gurudevan. He was a revolutionary Dalit leader and social reformer hailing from Central Travancore. His parents worked for a rich Christian family as slaves. He started his work as a preac...
Read more

LOVE STORY

Image
Writing mentality is a state of mind as well as a state of being. State of mind can be reached by taking the route to reach the state of being. Physically and psychologically, one writes. Both physical and psychological energies wane on long hours of work. Sometimes, writing is easy. Writing is hard on other times. One must understand when it goes through rough days. The smooth days must also be learnt. This will be helpful in the future. This means, you are going to do the same process in the future, no matter what. This is what makes a writer. The tendency to repeat the processes of writing to say the unsaid marks the genesis of a writer. Repetition is part of the process. Saying is part of the process too. Outward expressions of inner realities depend on the writer’s act. The act of penning words does not alone contribute to writing. Writing involves love. Writing involves passion too. Passion is not just the love for new events. Repetitions must ...
Read more

Eri by Pradeepan Pampirikkunnu: Essay Questions

Readings on Kerala Readings on Kerala (1A02ENG) I Semester UG Common Course Essay Questions: Updated 1. How does Eri question mainstream notions of scholarship and knowledge? & 2. Why is the narrator doubtful about finding sources for writing the history of Eri? Is it because mainstream histories do not document the lives of lower caste communities? Explain. Eri is a novel written by Pradeepan Pampirikkunnu and published posthumously in 2017. Eri, the character represents the historically downtrodden people in the Parayan community in Kerala. Pradeepan Pampirikkunnu uses the medium of the novel to establish the prehistory of the Parayan Caste. The narrator of the story is a research scholar, who uses memories, memoirs, oral histories, ritualistic performances, gossips, books, and other oral/literary sources. The novel attempts to historicize the making of a Paraya community in its transit to modernity and retells the renaissance of Kerala from a Paraya male per...
Read more

The Kuttippuram Bridge (Kuttippuram Paalam) by Edasseri Govindan Nair: Essay Questions

Kannur University Common Course Readings on Kerala (1A02ENG) 1. 'Edasseri's poem "The Kuttippuram Bridge" is a critique of mindless urbanisation.' Explain. & 2. 'Edasseri's poem "The Kuttippuram Bridge" conveys its message through a series of strategically placed images and symbols.' Elucidate.            Edasseri's poem "The Kuttippuram Bridge" is translated from Malayalam by A J Thomas. It is a critique of mindless urbanisation. This poem conveys its message through a series of strategically placed images and symbols. Edasseri's poetry is inspired by his childhood experiences. His mother and elder sister inculcated in his a taste for poetry. His poetry and plays are characterised by their portrayal of the nature and culture of Kerala, its environment, vegetation, rituals, and festivals. His poems reflect the problems of farmers, the nationalist struggle, and the agonies of working-class people. ...
Read more

Readings on Kerala: Summary- The Whole Text at a Glance

Kannur University Common Course Readings on Kerala (1A02ENG) Module 1 1. A Conversation that Spreads Light: Sree Narayana Guru by M K Sanu Vallabhassery Govindan Vaidyar and T K Kittan Writer visit Sree Narayana Guru on 19 January 1928 to request Guru to sanction a pilgrimage to Sivagiri. First Guru asks them if they want a pilgrimage centre, as there are other sites for pilgrimage. They insist by saying that pilgrimage centres of Upper caste Hindus are not open for people of the lower caste. Guru grants permission. Guru tells his disciples to observe ten days of abstinence and Buddha's five ideals of purity (Purity of body, food, mind, word, deed), wear yellow garments, practice thrift and discipline. According to Guru, eight aims of pilgrimage are- education, cleanliness, piety, organization, cultivation, trade, handicrafts, technological training). Starting of pilgrimage 1 January 1933. 2. Curing Caste by Sahodaran Ayyap...
Read more

Problems Faced by the Post-Colonial Consumers

Image
Introduction. T here is no one that can be called consumer in the truest sense. ‘Consumer’ is the result of the process of marketing. The identity of the consumer is an ambivalent one, because the consumer is the holder of money or the possession, which when he transfers to the market, it becomes the ‘investment’ for the market and a facility to satisfy his needs. The need of the persons provides the space for the establishment of the market. The market labels the individual as a consumer. These semantic identities act as an interlinked chain and are transferred through the market. Not only linguistic labeling, but many other discourses also can be seen transmitted through market, especially after the globalization. They are: 1.Adulteration The action of adulterating, being mixed with extraneous material, illicit substitution of one substance for another is known as adulteration. It becomes more embarrassingly conspicuous in the third world post-colonial countries. Not only the ...
Read more

A CONVERSATION THAT SPREADS LIGHT: Sree Narayana Guru: Part I Paragraph Notes

Image
Readings on Kerala (1A02ENG) I Semester UG Common Course This section is dedicated to the Under Graduate students of Kannur University. The discussion topic here is the common course text for I BA/B Com/BSc/BCA courses. The syllabus is newly installed and therefore faces a dire shortage of materials from which students could make notes to prepare for exams. These materials are shared here in the sincere hope that students would be able to make use of the materials while preparing for their semester examination. 1 A CONVERSATION THAT SPREADS LIGHT: Sree Narayana Guru Paragraph Questions: 1. What are Guru’s instructions regarding the code of conduct for the pilgrims?  Vallabhassery Govindan Vaidyar and T K Kittan Writer visit Sree Narayana Guru on 19 January 1928. The purpose of their visit was to request Guru to declare Sivagiri as a holy place. Vaidyar and Writer suggested that once the place is declared holy people from the Ezhava community and other downt...
Read more

Faith and Transformation: The Space of Kreupasanam Marian Covenant

Image
As we face challenges in life, we hear our well-wishers tell us to have faith… in God, in ourselves, and sometimes, in governments or even in aliens. Faith in God is certainly THE life-saving option, as Saint Augustine discovers in his life. At his younger age, he sought a life of material success, intellectual glory, and superiority among his peers. He could never achieve contentment, though. However, his mother, Monica, was adamant that her son would leave his old ways and accept faith in Jesus. She wanted her son Augustine to have God in his life. However, Augustine was too busy chasing after the world that he left his mother and went to Rome. Later, his life brings him closer to God and finally, his mother’s long wait was over with Augustine receiving baptism. He finally opened his heart to God and found His peace in life. As we are in the thick of things, it is difficult to open our hearts to God. Here is a strategy. I have learned this strategy from someone very special- the Moth...
Read more

CURING CASTE BY SAHODARAN AYYAPPAN: Essay Questions

Essay Questions How does Sahodaran Ayyappan’s poem “Curing Caste” criticize casteism? &                                    Sahodaran Ayyappan uses images and symbols borrowed from Ayurveda in the poem  “Curing Caste”. Discuss. Sahodaran Ayyappan is a social reformer, revolutionary, poet, rationalist, administrator, and legislator. His contributions in ushering progressive thought in the Kerala polity are significant. In his poem “Curing Caste”, Ayyappan uses a medicinal simile to articulate his anti-caste views. Caste is a form of discrimination that had its claws sunk deep into the society of Kerala until the mid-twentieth century. Sahodaran Ayyappan was involved in public discourses where he vociferously voiced the rights of the marginalized and questioned their subjugation by the elite upper class.  Ayyappan founded the  Sahodara Sangham  (Brotherhood Associati...
Read more