VISA RAVINDRAN

LITERATURE OR LANGUAGE? Language merits precedence over literature says one school of thought and advocates the teaching of ‘ functional English’ citing the importance of the mother tongue as the first language.A retired professor of English, R.R.Mehrotra, argues in the New Indian Express,[ Sat.July... Sign in to see full entry.

WHEN THE ORDINARY GROWS EXTRAORDINARY On the 30 th of January 2005 four sisters ----- a nurse,a lecturer,a businesswoman and a teaching assistant in Belfast --- lost their only brother, Robert McCartney, who had just stepped out to the local for a drink. Former shop assistant Bridgeen Hagans, his... Sign in to see full entry.

CONTEMPORARY PARABLES “ The heart is great which shows moderation in the midst of prosperity” --Seneca the Elder( ‘Suasoriae’ ). “ I hate television.I hate it as much as peanuts.But I can’t stop eating peanuts.” --Orson Welles, 1956. I gorge on peanuts and pay the price for it regularly and... Sign in to see full entry.

AN OLIGARCHY OF THE MISLEAD AND THE MISLEADING I am incensed to read of buses burning because of an unfavourable poll result, bodies burning because choleric political lumpen could take incendiary action to express their anger and yet go scot-free for reasons obvious to every thinking Indian. We... Sign in to see full entry.