Prakruti Bhatt's Assignments

"As the sun rose over Washington, Langdon looked to the heavens, where the last of the night time stars were fading out. He thought about science, about faith, about man ." Yes that's what the book is about. Science, Faith and Man. And that's why its arguments, reflections, ideas are relevant in our times. Science, Religion, Literature/Art and Philosophy are considered the four foundations of human life. And Brown presents a crisis where all four of them are shaken. And yet, is able to end his work with one word i.e. Hope .  We live in times when so many false statements, arguments, etc are based on pseudoscience. People, especially students and academics, find it difficult to distinguish between what is true and what is false in terms of scientific explorations and research. Also dreadful is the reality of people praising their ancient cultural knowledge, considering it better than the modern technological advances. In India, considering all technological adv...

Walter Scott is my favorite Romantic. Especially because I love Historical fiction and when you talk about this genre you can't miss out its pioneer. Whether it is the Heart of Midloathian or The Bride of Lammermoor, Scott always has a fascinating story to tell; providing a new perspective towards the historical event he deals with. The blend of reality, or more specifically, history and fiction which he presents in his works has always attracted me. Though I haven't traditionally studied any of his works, I've read them for my personal liking. And which is why, I'm introducing, what is popularly known as his masterpiece; Waverly. Here's a quick overview of what the novel is about: The protagonist is a young Englishman, Edward Waverly. Neglected by his pro-Hanoverian father he is raised by his elderly uncle, the Jacobite leaning Sir Everard Waverly (yes! they have similar sounding names!). Having obtained a commission in the army he is sent to Scotland in 1745....

                                                    You would have already got an idea of what I'm going to talk about by these pictures. Yes, the two Indian epics. My discussion would be on what are the genres of Virkavya and Vikaasshil Mahakavya; and how Ramayana and Mahabharata are an example of those genres. Virkavya: There are specific factors responsible for the rise of this type of poem. In the early stages of the cultural history of a race, poetry revolves around divinities and their personifications. Therefore they are looked upon as heroes or warriors. The same is applied to heroic warriors of that race. Their deeds of valour are sung and handed down from generation to generation as poetic narratives. However, for the creation of a Mahakavya or epic, these small narratives often seem to combine; just as small streams evolv...

To read the original poem click here Romantic Literature attracts you a lot during the early years of your encounter with the field of study. Similar kind of a thing happened with me. I was fascinated by the elements of simplicity and beauty of language which romanticism idealized for literary expression. So much profound is the effect of romanticism on my mind, that my early steps in creative writing reflected its characteristics. In fact, it is common for a beginner in creative writing to write poems or stories on time of the day, natural phenomena and natural cycles, with a wide range of ethos and pathos. Keeping this in my mind, here's my impression on the poem of William Collins' Ode To Evening. Collins' can't be considered a 'pure' Romantic, if I can put it that way. He wrote during the transition period from Neo-Classical to Romantic in literary history. Thus, his work reflects Classical allusions and references on one side and complex imagery as wel...

This post is a response to the views shared here What I really liked out of the three Ted Talks by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was her talk on the dangers of a single story. She explains how a single story about someone can soon become a generalization and can cloud our understanding regarding a person or place. Her ideas reminded me of the Foucoultian idea of power and knowledge. Our understanding of the 'Other' is constructed by the generalizations we have made regarding that place or person. Here's how, according to Adichie, we create a single story: "Show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again." What happens as a consequence of this is what we call a generalization of an identity. This happens not just in terms of demographic parameter but also in terms of gender, race, and other markers of identity. I would like to share a personal experience here. So, before I was even introduced to the texts of African Literature, I sensed th...

New literatures from Prakruti Bhatt

African literature from Prakruti Bhatt

Mass communication from Prakruti Bhatt

Published in 1980, J.M Coetzee's Waiting for the Barbarians, can be considered a relevant text in our times because of its portrayal and discussions on how power relations work in a culture, nation or human society at large. The novel follows the experiences of an unnamed magistrate who works for an unnamed Empire. Through the magistrate's experiences Coetzee presents the horrifying realities of colonial life; of the violent tortures exacted upon the supposed 'Barbarians'. The novel is a good example of the postcolonial discussion on how the 'Other' is constructed and narrated as well as looked at by the one in power. The most intriguing part of the novel was the Magistrate's experience with the Barbarian girl. After being exploited and physically tortured by Colonel Joll, the girl is looked at with pity by the Magistrate when he finds her begging in the streets. He takes her to his room and treats her wounds. The Magistrate's feelings towards the...

The three day expert lectures with Prof. Attanu Bhattacharya were truly informative as well as inspiring. Not only did the students learn a lot about ELT but also about the current trends in the field of research in language and literature. Attanu sir's interactive teaching technique made the entire class attentive and curious to know more about the subject. Following are some of the points that were discussed: ELT- Historical Perspective: Attanu sir discussed how language learning was an important aspect of education even in the ancient times; and also how it formed an essential part of education even before the rise of traditional educational system. He also discussed how the classical languages like Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, German were taught and why were they important to teach. He also discussed how logic, philosophy, rhetoric, grammar, etc. were  also incorporated in the early language classroom to understand how they affected language learning. Literature for Language T...

Hello Readers! We all know, how, with the arrival of the internet as well as rapid technological advances, language learning has become easier than ever. We no longer need well built and equipped classrooms to learn language. Neither do we need a set time to do so. There are numerous web tools available today which make language learning, a fun and learn activity. This post is dedicated to the discussion of such web tools. Following are the web tools (some old, some new) and the description of the language element they focus on: 1) Duolingo : This tool helps with learning a foreign language. This tool allows users to use their home language/mother tongue, and learn a foreign language. It focuses mostly on listening and speaking skills. The tool is available in, both, website as well as mobile application format. It also includes gamification element and allows the learner to set day to day learning goals. 2) Penzu: This tool focuses on the reading and writi...

This post is in response to the questions asked here Click here to have a brief overview of the novel 2) Adrian's definition of history can be agreed with to a great extent. Even though this definition isn't really his (he quotes Patrick Lagrange, a French historian), the definition can be agreed with to a great extent. If we were ever asked to prove whatever we consider as history, we would realize how the half of it would be nearly impossible to prove. The reason being the 'inadequacies of documentation' as the definition mentions. Another important aspect is that of memory. One can never be sure of one's memory. Because a memory can be looked at differently by different people. In fact half of what we consider our memory are things told to us by others; and not what we have actually witnessed. Therefore it can be said that memory is bound to be imperfect. It is seldom reliable. But then the question remains: Why then is history, a certainty? Well one answer ...

Julian Barnes' The Sense Of an Ending is a novel that makes you reflect on history, philosophy, memory, and above all, yourself. It is about the 'end of any likelihood of change'. All of us encounter situations where we regret doing something and try to overcome that regret by one or the other way. But, what if overcoming was not possible? Tony Webster is stuck in this kind of a situation. A state where neither can he undo what he did, nor can he mend the damage. But, then again, is it just Tony's fault for what happened with Veronica, Sarah and Adrian? What kind of sense do we get when we are about to get to the end of our lives? How do we understand our past selves? And in that case, how much do we remember our past? These are some of the many existential questions the novel seems to reflect on. After I finished reading the novel I was left with so many questions. It's not just about 'to be or not to be'. It is about whether we can justify our being the...

Hello Readers! A Webquest is meant to understand how a single text can be studied through various perspectives.   So, as a part of our curriculum, me and my friends have attempted to create a webquest on the  Harry Potter series. You can read and also evaluate and comment under the blog,  your opinions on the work. Harry Potter has been with us since so long. But do you think it is just  another fairy tale in children’s fiction? Or Is it more than that? Well, studies suggest it is much more  than just children’s fiction. Go through the webquest to find out how. Click here to get a general idea of  the text Click here to view the Webquest chart Click her to view the evaluation rubric

This post is in reference to the questions asked here (Click on the images to read about the novel and the film respectively) Post Viewing Task: 1) The DA Vinci Code has always remained a literature of debate and controversy, since the time of its publication, because of its subverted narrative of Christian faith and belief; especially that of the Holy Grail myth. It is a novel which questions the very foundation of Christian faith; from the portrayal of Jesus Christ as a man to him having a family ('a Royal Bloodline') and that too with a woman who has been condemned as a prostitute for centuries, i.e. Mary Magdalene. It is obvious therefore, that it would invite criticism from the mass. However, Dan Brown states that 'DVC promotes spiritual debate and discussion and is a positive catalyst for introspection and exploration of our faith'. This statement can be justified by the fact that literature has always been a medium to question and think criticall...

This post is in reference to the questions asked here 1) Literature is an expression of nationality. That's what Salman Rushdie dealt with in his essay Commonwealth Literature Does Not Exist. However, national expressions also demand authenticity. When it comes to Adiga's White Tiger; the novel is a good example of blending social realism with fiction. It also is a critique of the existing socio-cultural set-up of the country. The novel's portrayal of India as a country full of poverty, hypocrisy, injustice and corruption, is justified by the fact that it is narrated by the protagonist who faces these struggles in his rags to riches journey. Even in the large context, Adiga tries to uncover the veil of development under which the dark picture of social evil often remains hidden. Also Adiga, in one of his interviews, mentioned that his novel is about the process of self examination. Given this statement, the India represented in the novel is justified; since self examina...