Raymond Sir's article on The Profession and Vocation Paradigms

http://raymondddpassionpreneurcoach.wordpress.com/the-profession-and-vocation-paradigms/

Please check the link and do read it. It Matters!

- Rahul Sharma

O Captain! My Captain’ is a moving poem in which Whitman expresses his profounD sense of grief at a tragic end of a leader of men is addressed to Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest presidents of the United States of America, who fought a war (the American Civil War) against the Southern States to give the Negro slaves freedom and human dignity. The war was won, the slaves were freed, but Lincoln, soon after his election as president for a second term, fell a victim to an assassin’s bullet.
The leader is being conceived as the brave captain of a ship who falls dead on the deck just when the journey is over and the victory is won. Whitman delivers the message to the captain and declares that their fearful and dangerous trip is done. Their ship had passed every destructive encounter and their reward that they longed for is won. Their weary ship is drawing near the sea-port, the church bells are ringing to celebrate a victory and the people are rejoicing. Yet in the midst the celebration, he sees that within the grim and the daring vessel, his heart would spill continuously with drops of blood of immense sadness to see his captain lying cold and dead.
Whitman pleads desperately to the captain to get up from his bed and see that the people are flying the flag just for him. The people are blowing their trumpets and bugles and are waiting to present him with bunches of flowers and decorated garlands to honour him-the victor. The seashores are swaying with crowds of cheering people. All the faces of the people on the shore are eager to see the captain addressing them from the deck. Yet the captain, a father to all people of the nation slept still and cold with his arm beneath his head. It is like an unbelievable bad dream that the leader is dead at the moment of victory
Yet the captain does not answer still. His lips are extremely pale and not moving. Whitman says that his father does not feel his arm, and has neither pulse nor movement. The ship has finally reached the shore. It has dropped its anchor safe and sound. The long tiring voyage is closed and done. The triumph for the achievement is worth the effort. Whitman encourages the people on the shores to continue rejoicing and ring those bells as loud as possible. For him he will walk the heavy steps with deep sadness to the deck where his captain lies absolutely cold and dead.


AARON VERDES

ROLL NO- 38

ENGLISH LITERATURE ASSIGMENT 1

The Haunted House
The Haunted House written by Virginia Wolf starts with Jim and Sara with their children go to Gracey Manor and Mr. Gracey is enamored with Sara and they discover that Sara looks like Mr. Gracey's old girlfriend who died young and they think it was a suicide but discover that she was murdered.
Jim Evers, his wife and business partner Sara gets a call late one night from mansion owner Edward Gracey, who is looking to sell his property. Smelling the biggest deal of their career, Jim, Sara and their two children pay a visit to the mansion, located on a remote area. A torrential thunderstorm of mysterious origin strands the Evers family in the old mansion with the brooding, eccentric Gracey, his mysterious butler, Ramsley, and a variety of residents both seen and unseen. At first Jim scoffs at Gracey's stories about ghosts and hauntings, until he unearths the mystery of the mansion and finds that his wife Sara has unexpected connections to its haunted past.On the day of their anniversary, workaholic and real estate agent Jim Evers and his wife Sara receive a strange phone call from a man called Ramsley. He requests that Sara come to the mysterious Gracey Manor. Jim decides to turn it into an opportunity to check out a possible gold-mine in real estate, but to please Sara, he claims it is a "family trip", bringing the kids along. Once there, Ramsley the butler insists that they stay, for a big storm is on the way. The Evers are introduced to Master Gracey, who seems strangely obsessed with Sara. Jim goes off to talk to Gracey about selling, but ends up in a secret passage instead. The kids follow a floating ball to the attic, where they see a painting of a woman who looks just like Sara, Jim and the kids eventually discover the mansion's dark secret from Madame Leota, a talking head in a crystal ball. She tells them that Sara is in danger and to save her, they must "lead the ghosts to the light." After some spooky adventures and surprises, the family manages to save the manor and Sara……
NAME- Viraj Naik
ROLL NO- 27

ENGLISH LITERATURE ASSIGMENT 2

My Son the Fanatic
It’s a story written by Hanif Kureishi about a boy Parvez who was born in Lahore, Pakistan, and as a child was asked to study the Holy Scriptures through a Maulvi. When the Maulvi session starts his sermon, Parvez would fall asleep, this lead to the Maulvi devising a unique punishment, which ultimately compelled Parvez to stop attending. When he grew up, his marriage was arranged with Minoo and they immigrated to a small town in Britain, where Parvez started to make a living driving a taxi, and found he free from all religious activity. 25 years later, Parvez turns into a alcoholic person and, still driving a cab, while people who had immigrated after him have their own businesses and are wealthier than him. Parvez now has a grown son, Farid and is to be engaged to Madeleine Fingerhut, who is the daughter of the local Chief Inspector. After the two families' meet, Farid has a sudden change of heart when he notices that the Chief Inspector detests his family, and it slowly dawns on him that he and his girlfriend are quite different, and he cannot be part of a culture that relies solely on filth, along with a mix of Caucasian and Jewish propaganda against Islam. He starts reciting the Holy Quran, and asks permission from his dad to invite some religious leaders from Pakistan, after receiving consent; they do arrive to live in Parvez's home after being invited. It is here that Parvez will find that Farid has broken off the forthcoming engagement with Ms. Fingerhut, and has become a born again Muslim. His wife, Minoo, has taken to wearing the Hizaab, remains in the kitchen all day, and is not even permitted to sup or dine with her family, while Parvez finds that he cannot even sleep in his bedroom. Things start to heat up when Farid finds out that his dad has been patronizing a prostitute by the name of Beltina, whose real name is Sandra, and he also notes that his dad is her pimp. Then he and his colleagues set about to cleanse this town of its prostitutes - leading to a confrontation between him and his dad - a confrontation that may split his family forever.
The gentle friendship between Parvez, a pathetic Pakistani taxi driver and Bettina, a young prostitute gradually develops into a deeper and more passionate relationship as Parvez's home life gradually crumbles. This is due to his son's, Fravid, gradual rejection of Western institutions and values and acceptance of Islamic Fundamentalism. More pressure is brought to bear by a German business man Schitz who makes continual use of both Parvez and Bettina in their professional capacities culminating in his demand for them to organize and to impress some local business colleagues. Everything comes to a head when Farvid and his group decide to rid the town of its corrupting influence and attack the local prostitutes trapping Parvez in the middle forcing him to decide just where his loyalties lies. At last the son says, who’s the fanatic is now.
NAME- Trishi Dua
ROLL NO- 10

The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea is the story of an epic struggle between an old, seasoned fisherman and the greatest catch of his life. For eighty-four days, Santiago, an aged Cuban fisherman, has set out to sea and returned empty-handed. So conspicuously unlucky is he that the parents of his young devoted apprentice and friend, Manolin have forced the boy to leave the old man in order to fish in a more prosperous boat. Nevertheless, the boy continues to care for the old man upon his return each night. He helps the old man tote his gear to his ramshackle hut, secures food for him, and discusses the latest developments in American baseball especially the trials of the old man’s hero, Joe DiMaggio. Santiago is confident that his unproductive streak will soon come to an end, and he resolves to sail out farther than usual the following day.

On the eighty-fifth day of his unlucky streak, Santiago does as promised, sailing his skiff far beyond the island’s shallow coastal waters and venturing into the Gulf Stream. He prepares his lines and drops them. At noon, a big fish, which he knows is a marlin takes the bait that Santiago has placed one hundred fathoms deep in the waters. The old man expertly hooks the fish, but he cannot pull it in. Instead, the fish begins to pull the boat.

Unable to tie the line fast to the boat for fear the fish would snap a taut line, the old man bears the strain of the line with his shoulders, back, and hands, ready to give slack should the marlin make a run. The fish pulls the boat all through the day, through the night, through another day, and through another night. It swims steadily northwest until at last it tires and swims east with the current. The entire time, Santiago endures constant pain from the fishing line. Whenever the fish lunges, leaps, or makes a dash for freedom, the cord cuts Santiago badly. Although wounded and weary, the old man feels a deep empathy and admiration for the marlin, his brother in suffering, strength, and resolve.

On the third day the fish tires, and Santiago, sleep-deprived, aching, and nearly delirious, manages to pull the marlin in close enough to kill it with a harpoon thrust. Dead beside the skiff, the marlin is the largest Santiago has ever seen. He lashes it to his boat, raises the small mast, and sets sail for home. While Santiago is excited by the price that the marlin will bring at market, he is more concerned that the people who will eat the fish are unworthy of its greatness.

As Santiago sails on with the fish, the marlin’s blood leaves a trail in the water and attracts sharks. The first to attack is a great mako shark, which Santiago manages to slay with the harpoon. In the struggle, the old man loses the harpoon and lengths of valuable rope, which leaves him vulnerable to other shark attacks. The old man fights off the successive vicious predators as best he can, stabbing at them with a crude spear he makes by lashing a knife to an oar, and even clubbing them with the boat’s tiller. Although he kills several sharks, more and more appear, and by the time night falls, Santiago’s continued fight against the scavengers is useless. They devour the marlin’s precious meat, leaving only skeleton, head, and tail. Santiago chastises himself for going “out too far,” and for sacrificing his great and worthy opponent. He arrives home before daybreak, stumbles back to his shack, and sleeps very deeply.

The next morning, a crowd of amazed fishermen gathers around the skeletal carcass of the fish, which is still lashed to the boat. Knowing nothing of the old man’s struggle, tourists at a nearby café observe the remains of the giant marlin and mistake it for a shark. Manolin, who has been worried sick over the old man’s absence, is moved to tears when he finds Santiago safe in his bed. The boy fetches the old man some coffee and the daily papers with the baseball scores, and watches him sleep. When the old man wakes, the two agree to fish as partners once more. The old man returns to sleep and dreams his usual dream of lions at play on the beaches of Africa.

- Rahul Sharma
Roll No. 34

literature

MY SON THE FANATIC.

My Son the fanatic is a short story of an immigrant from Pakistan. The underlying theme of this novel is the struggle of the asian immigrants face in an alien society which refuses to accept them, treat them as equals and the ways in which they deal with the alienation. There is a sharp contrast in the way Pervez and his son Farid deal with the sense of belonging and being a part of society.
With all the compromises and loses Pervez suffers in his migration; he appears to take them as a part of his experience and adventure of life; to him it seems to be worth the price. He mentions how better his life has been in comparison to having stayed back. He refuses to acknowledge the cold behavior of the local British.

His son Farid on the other hand seems to have considerable anger and is not disillusioned by the British cold behavior. He finds the society constraining, limiting and degrading and feels to be a victim in his country. Having been excluded he is tempted to exclude others. He finds comfort with his own people and gets attached towards Islam. Having been brought up in secular Britan , he would turn the to a form of belief that denies him the pleasure of society in which he lived. Having devoted his life to pleasure: the pleasure of sex, music, alcohol and friends; he detracts and spends time in abstinence; for in abstinence he felt strong.

Hanif in his short novel has touched the conflicts a lot of asian families feel having migrated to a foreign country. He has outlined the characters brilliantly and this is most certainly a very entertaining novel to read.

ASHWIN KURUP
ROLL NO.20

literature

Literary analysis: The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World.

A Response to "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World"
Gabriel Garcia Marquez's short story "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World" starts with the children playing on the beach with the waterlogged body of a dead man and ends with the town changing the appearance of their doors and buildings to honor this dead man they never knew. For the purposes of this essay, I want to focus on the metaphor of celebrity culture found in this "handsomest drowned man in the world" and this town's reaction to him.
This dead stranger, who "has the face of someone called Esteban," according to the oldest woman in the town, is treated to a cleaning by all the women in this town. They notice the vegetation and dirt they are rubbing off of him is from "faraway oceans and deep water". He is not one of them. This adds to his mysterious, exotic nature. They clean him up and stitch him a set of clothes. Then, they sit around him, fascinated by his huge size and his beauty". Oftentimes in our culture, celebrities live lives completely removed from ours, yet people sit around fascinated by them. They endlessly discuss their beauty, their clothing, and what they do with their time. And here, we have this same thing happening. This handsome drowned man who lived his entire life completely removed from this tiny village is suddenly now almost being worshipped by the villagers. They imagine him having the best house and the "happiest woman" for his wife. They imagine that "he would have had so much authority that he could have drawn fish out the sea simply by calling their names". This larger-than-life, skewed view of this man is similar to our culture's view of celebrities.
Finally, in our culture's obsession with beauty and glamour, it is often tempting to compare our significant others with the Brad Pitts or Angelina Jolies of the day. In the same way, the women in this tiny little village look upon Esteban and "secretly (compare) him to their own men, thinking that for all their lives (their own men) were incapable of doing what (Esteban) could do in one night". They make assumptions based on Esteban's looks and begin to fantasize about his accomplishments. This causes a great deal of discontent with the men in their own lives, the men who have most likely loved them and provided for them. Now, a handsome (but still very much dead) man shows up on their beach, and the women decide he beats their husbands and brothers hands down. They become enamored with his looks and the strength he most likely possessed and seem to be willing to trade away the men in their lives now. They see him as "the most peaceful and most obliging man on earth," when in all reality, he was just a man. He had his own faults and shortcomings, but none of the women in the village seem to comprehend this. They see him as perfect. This is a sad comment on celebrity culture this idea that there is that ideal of perfection in another human being. All faults are glossed over, and only Esteban's exotic, mysterious, faade of perfection is left for the villagers to mourn.

ASHWIN KURUP
ROLL NO. 20

ANALYSIS ON 'THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA'

‘The old man and the sea’ written by Ernest Hemingway is based on the qualities of will, courage and determination. It is basically about how ‘Santiago’ who is the old man has an epic battle with and ridiculously large fish that he hooked in. The old man hasn’t caught a single fish in 84 days. As a result is looked down upon by the other fishermen. He hence lives a very quiet life and also isn’t eating that well. The story begins with the old man talking to his apprentice, a young boy named Manolin, who he had taught how to fish. In return the boy would get him some food. The boy is very enthusiastic to be on this fishing expedition but the old man strongly refuses. As the night came by the old man goes to bed, dreaming of the lions he once seen in Africa. It soon turns morning and having an alert mind of a fisherman, wakes up with the early morning breeze. Slowly, calmly and without much of a noise he gets his boat ready along with all the tools required for this trip and sets off into the deep ocean. He soon sets his hooks at different depths of the ocean. In no time does he hook in this really large fish, a Marlin, and there begins the struggle between man and fish. This epic battle lasts for three long tiring days. As the old man is all alone, he begins to talk to his hands and legs, as if telling them not to give up on him in his battle with the fish. Time passes by and as he is a poor eater, hunger doesn’t bother him much. His mind is only fixed on his oversized trophy which he wants to achieve at any cost. His determination is exceptional. He looks at the fish to be his brother but doesn’t twitch from the solution of killing it. He finally manages to kill the fish but then runs into a big problem, literally! The fish happens to be bigger than the boat and hence the old man is unable to bring the fish in it. As a solution he ties the fish alongside the boat and begins his long journey to homeland. On his way back, he is faced with a terrorizing problem. Sharks! The blood from the fish flowing into the deep blues attracted a number of sharks. They began to hit one by one ripping away mouthfuls of flesh off the large fish. But the old man wasn’t ready to give up. He tries hard to beat them off with first a harpoon, then a club and finally a simple knife. However he fails to drive them away and sits helplessly and watches his catch being robbed away. When he reaches his home all that remained of the fish was its skeleton. In tiredness and some disgust he calls it a day and goes to sleep while his fellow fishermen stare in astonishment at the skeleton of that large fish. The old man returns to his land of dreams where he is once again reunited with the lions and other animals of Africa.

Nigel D’Souza

Roll No. 08

ENGLISH LITREATURE ASSIGMENT 1

THE HANDSOMEST DROWNED MAN IN THE WORLD
"The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World" opens with a group of children playing on the beach of a small village. In the waves a dark and slinky bulge is approaches. It turns out to be a drowned man, covered in seaweed, stones, and Dead Sea creatures. The men head to neighboring villages to see if the dead man belongs to one of them, while the women clean off the body and prepare it for a funeral. The village is a coastal, cliff-side town, a "desert like cape" "with no flowers," and so little land that the inhabitants have to throw their dead over the cliffs and into the sea rather than bury them in the ground. The inhabitants are a simple group of people, who believe in myths as strongly as what they see with their eyes. It's such a small village, that all the men combined fit into seven boats, and there are only about twenty houses among them all.
Later, while the women work on the drowned man's body, they quickly find that he is the biggest, strongest-looking, most virile, and handsomest man they have ever seen in their lives, or could ever imagine. They conclude that he is a man named Esteban, and when the men return with the news that no neighboring towns can claim him, the women weep with joy that he is now "Theirs." The men don't understand what all the fuss is about until the women show them the drowned man's face. Then they, too, are in awe at his handsomeness, his masculinity, and his size. While they admire the drowned man, they think that he must have been ashamed of his size in life, and must have felt awkward about himself.
The villagers prepare a splendid funeral for the drowned man. When they finally let his body go over the cliff and back to the waves below, they all know that their lives have been permanently changed. They know that they will build their houses stronger and bigger, so as to be big enough for a man like Esteban. They will paint their walls brighter and plant flowers, so that some day, when the ships pass by their town, they will look at the bright, beautiful, fragrant town and say, "that's Esteban's village."
Name:- Trishi Dua
Roll No:-10

Wren: Thoughtful, Intentional Tweeting and Nothing Else

6 years ago, we had never heard of anything like Twitter, but today Twitter is something millions of people can't live without. Not just that people use Twitter to tweet news and stuff they like, but its also used by millions of business all over the world to keep in touch with their customers and as powerful marketing tool. Twitter, no doubt is the best social networking tool out there. But a lot has changed over since Twitter initially launched. Now we have so many advance features like “tweet,” “retweet,” “follow,” and of course “hashtags”. Twitter used to be a lot more simpler before. If you are a person who tweets a lot, its obvious that you use some Twitter client. But to be honest, all those Twitter clients today are so much complicated and feature heavy, if you are looking out for something simple and easy to use Twitter client, then Wren App is something you may want.

The App itself



Wren is the most simple app you can ever use. The developers who made Wren, took off all the basic features of Twitter like the main Timeline - the place where you see the latest tweets of all the people you follow, the retweet button that helps you tweet someone else tweet and of course you cannot check out any other profiles and stuff, since there is no timeline. Wren's basic idea is to just focus on one thing - that is TWEETING.

The User Interface is really interesting. Wren just exists of a small window with three main components. The Tweet space, the Draft space and finally, Your latest tweet space. The tweet space is where you can write your tweet and publish it. Also a useful feature of Wren is that it automatically shortens any link you post. To the right of the Tweet area is the Draft space, where you can view your saved tweets that are yet to be published. You can easily write a new tweet in the Tweet space and simply click on the Save for later button to save your tweet. Then whenever you are ready to publish that Tweet you can do so from there. And finally below all that is a little space where you can read the last Tweet that you published and also see when you had published it.

Thats all! There is nothing more in this app. Wren will keep you focused on your Tweet only. It removes the timeline so that you don't get distracted by reading what others have posted. Wren is all about what you want to write and not what other have written. Wren's interface is one of the most minimalistic UI's I have ever come across.

A Little Egocentric?

Ok, I can hear you. You’re saying that this app seems little egocentric! After all, it’s just about tweeting what you have to say, not caring about what others say back. What happened to conversation? Isn’t that what Twitter’s so famous for?
Well, I’d like to kindly say, “I think you’re looking at this all wrong”. No where did I, or the creators of Wren for that matter, say that this should be your one-and-only Twitter client or that this is “the best way” to use Twitter. It’s not. It’s inherently lopsided, but that’s also the point.

Wren is a utility. It’s meant for select scenarios and certain circumstances. The workflow that I’ve been using is this: when I sit down at my computer with the goal of working, I quit Twitter for Mac or any other client and launch Wren. Then, if I feel the need to tweet, I can, in quiet and peace. Once I’m done “working” I relaunch Twitter for Mac/other client, and see what I missed.

Wren really does allow to have the best of both worlds.

Now just go and buy it!

Wren is the best tweet focused Twitter client available for the Mac. Just for a measly Rs. 250 Wren can be yours. So just visit the Mac App Store and grab a copy of Wren and start tweeting!


Rating: 10/10
Wren is a timeline-less Twitter client with one job: letting you tweet.


- Rahul Sharma
Roll No. 34

THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA.

THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA

The Old Man and the Sea" is a heroic tale of mans strength pitted against forces he cannot control. It is a tale about an old Cuban fisherman and his three-day battle with a giant Marlin. Through the use of three prominent themes; friendship, bravery, and Christianity; the "Old Man and the Sea" strives to teach important life lessons to the reader.

The relationship between the old man and the boy is introduced early in the story. They are unlikely companions; one is old and the other young, yet they share an insuperable amount of respect and loyalty for each other. Santiago does not treat Manolin as a young boy but rather as an equal. Age is not a factor in their relationship. Manolin does not even act as a young boy; he is mature and sensitive to Santiago's feelings. He even offers to go against his parent's wishes and accompany Santiago on his fishing trips. Santiago is viewed as an outcast in his village because he has not caught any fish for more than eighty-four days and is therefore "unlucky". Nonetheless Manolin is loyal to Santiago and even when his parents forbid him he wants to help his friend.

Their conversations are comfortable, like that of two friends who have known each other for their whole lives. When they speak it is usually about baseball or fishing, the two things they have most in common. Their favorite team is the Yankees and Santiago never loses faith in them even when the star player, Joe DiMaggio is injured with a heel spur. In this way Santiago not only teaches Manolin about fishing but also about important characteristics such as faith.

In the story Santiago's bravery is unsurpassed but it is not until he hooks the "great fish" that we truly see his valor and perseverance. Through Santiago's actions Hemingway teaches the reader about bravery and perseverance in the face of adversity. He demonstrates that even when all is lost and seems hopeless a willful heart and faith will overcome anything. Santiago had lost his "luckiness" and therefore the respect of his village. Through the description of his cabin we also suspect that Santiago is a widower. Although Santiago has had many troubles he perseveres. He has faith in Manolin, in the Yankees, in Joe DiMaggio, and most importantly in himself. This is perhaps his greatest attribute because without it he would never have had the strength to persevere and defeat the giant Marlin.

Faith is not the only thing that drives his perseverance. Santiago also draws upon his past victories for strength. After he hooked the Marlin he frequently recalled his battle with a native in what he called "the hand game." It was not just an arm wrestling victory for him it was a reminder of his youthful days. His recollections of this event usually proceeded a favorite dream of his in which he saw many lions on a peaceful shore. These lions represented him when he was young and strong and could overcome any challenge. Although he was an old man and his body was no longer like it used to be his heart was still great and he eventually defeated the Marlin. Santiago's perseverance and bravery are further illustrated when he tries to fight off the sharks. He was a fisherman all his life and therefore he knew that the fate of his catch was inevitable yet he persisted to fight the sharks. The battle between him and the sharks was about principles not a mere fish. Santiago was still a great warrior at heart and warriors fight until the end.

One of the greatest and most obvious symbolisms in the story is Christianity. From the beginning of the story the reader is shown a unique relationship between Santiago and Manolin. Their relationship parallels that of Christ and his disciples. Manolin is Santiago's disciple and Santiago teaches Manolin about fishing and life. One of the greatest lessons that Santiago gives is that of a simple faith. "Have faith in the Yankees my son." This type of faith reflects the basic principles of Christianity.

Hemingway's description of Santiago further illustrates Christian symbolism. Hemingway gives a reference to the nail-pierced hands of Christ by stating that Santiago's "hands had deep creased scars." Hemingway also parallels Santiago's suffering to that of Christ by stating that "he settled . against the wood and took his suffering as it came." Even more profound is the description of Santiago's response when he saw the sharks, "just a noise such a man might make, involuntarily feeling the nail go through his hands and into the wood." Further symbolism is shown when Santiago arrives home and carries the mast across his shoulders as Christ carried the cross to Calvary. Also, like Christ, Santiago could not bare the weight and collapsed on the road. When he finally reached his cabin "he slept face down on the newspapers with his arms out straight and the palms of his hands up."

Hemingway puts these themes together in such a way that they do not conflict with each other. He does allow Christianity to be a more dominant theme than the other but instead makes it more symbolic than intentional. He does not smother the relationship between the old man and the young boy but instead separates them for a large part of the story. Finally, he does not make Santiago's bravery a central them by highlighting his weaknesses. In the end the old mans perseverance and faith pay off. He finally gains the respect of the village and succeeds in teaching Manolin the lessons of faith and bravery.

Karensa Lobo

Roll No:22

F.Y.B.M.M.

Money V/S Love

MONEY v/s LOVE

Belonging to the era where money talks, money walks AND MONEY is sweeter than honey; the survival of man is nothing but his bank balance. Man has become monotonous in the race of earning or rather stocking up money. The power of one is judged by his money. The richer you get more respect you earn in return. With money not only comes respect but a sense of pride; that makes you feel superior to other, a feeling of greed; that is to want more and more and the thought of selfishness; that is to always be on top, above everybody without acknowledging anyone’s needs. Money also brings in EGO; Egoism has brought one to this point where it is difficult to distinguish between a man and a machine, a person has more respect for a Mercedes than the man who drops milk at his doorstep without fail. Money can buy man a fine dog but its only the love that can make the dog wag its tail.Marriages have been arranged based on bank account, instead of one’s qualities, feelings and emotions. This scenario has brought man to a lower lever. A level where he wants nothing but his greed, his pride and his lust over his emotions, feelings and most of all his conscious. Man gets so busy with is work that he hardly makes time for his family, friends and other relations, he prefers staying in nuclear families instead of joint families, feelings have been degraded and the art of sharing and caring has vanished.

Imagine life as a game and we have five balls juggling in the air; one ball is for work and other four are health, spirit, friends and relationships, the work ball is made of rubber so once it falls it bounces back in due course of time and the other four are of glass, once fallen cannot be the same they shatter into tiny pieces.

so a LOVE CARE AND UNDERSTANDINGS SHOULD to be given equal OR MORE importance than money because in the battle o f MONEY AND LOVE, love surely has hi gher degree of respect.

Karensa Lobo

Roll No:22

F.Y.B.M.M.

(P.S- Sorry Ma'am for the late post. Karensa sent it to me on time but I forgot about it.)

Memoirs Of Geisha.

There's a reason why this book has been added to BBC's Top 100 must read list.And after you finish this book, you know why. It starts off with the story of Chiyo, the fisherman's daughter from Yoroido and how she goes on to become a renowned Geisha, the best of her time. The way the character has been potrayed is very convincing. Tackling the hardships, she unravels the mysteries of life. She falls in love, gets teared up between friendship and her dreams. The transformation from Chiyo to Sayuri is heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. At parts, you can't help but feel bad for the main character losing her childhood. With nobody to turn to and nothing to hope for, she carries on with her tasks of being the best(Geisha) in Japan. The tasks are everything but easy and while you read it, only you can imagine it. As, it has been stated, serving tea is also an art which must be expertised. The funny character of the book would be Pumpkin, but as it goes on you come to know of her dark side but then again she'll have your sympathy. Hatsumomo is one suck wicked character, whom you curse till the book ends. Mameha, is one such strong lady who keeps on gaining respect throughout the book but of course she has her reasons for helping Sayuri, which are quite evident from the beginning of her part. It's more than a tale actually, it's like a beautiful painting which leaves you spellbound and you just know that this is one story that's gonna remain with you forever. Arthur Golden has weaved a remamrkable masterpiece in paper. It teaches us that life is not a bed of roses even for the pretty and beautiful people. You can relate so much to the main character, Sayuri, her pain, her dreams, her love, her longings. The last pages of the book makes you smile and leaves you with so much hope in your own self.

vritti vaswani 37
FYBMM

literature

Literature:

A Haunted House.

It is a short story written by Virginia Woolf. There are two couples living inside the house, one is the ghost couple and the other is living couple. On reading the story, very less clarification is mentioned and difficult to understand it. You will finish with no idea of what just happened.
There was live couple who now lived in the house and they were watched by the dead ones. The couple-ghosts think that the present living occupants of their former house have already found the buried treasure that they are looking for. The ghosts are still searching for their treasure and they are wondering whether it is in the garden. Realizing that the treasure was not found by the house’s present occupants, the ghosts are relieved that it is safe, and such treasure is really theirs. Finally, the ghosts know that the treasure is really safe, and theirs, and such treasure is not tangible things, but intangible, found in the light in the heart.
I was taken aback by her influential use of the paranormal and how she explored each and every attribute of the story with her unique way of writing. The ghosts and title are ironic because people associate haunting with evil or bad things. I thought this was going to be some kind of scary short story. However, it is a calm and peaceful one that sends a message of cherishing life.


Name : Janhavi Ghodekar.
Roll no: 14

The Telephone Conversation

Written by African poet Wole Soyinka the poems theme is based around racism and his experience with finding a place to rent in England. In the poem he calls the landlady asking about the apartment for rent. He is very straight forward and mentions it to the land lady that he is black and he would not want a wasted trip.

On learning this the land lady replies saying "How Black?" He tells her that his face is brunette, his hand a feet are peroxide blonde and his bottom is raven black. The poet creates an image of the land lady in his mind thinking of her as a lipstick coated, long coated, long gold rolled cigarette holder pipe. He thinks of her as one of the rich people who think of themselves as superior to others just because they are rich and white and color. He even thinks of her as being arrogant about her being white.

During the conversation the poet gets angry and starts to mentions the red bus and the red telephone booth he sees around him. All of this shows his frustration and anger towards the land lady for being racist.

The poem deals with a very important major issue and the situation is still very relevant not only in England but throughout the world.

Namit Chaudhary
Roll no. 04

My son the fanatic

"My son the fanatic" is short story written by Mr. Hanif Kureshi who mainly talks about his son in the entire story.

The start starts off, by talking about a man named Parvez, who is a Pakistani immigrant living in the UK. Parvez works hard as a Taxi Driver, so that he can earn money and buy all the things for his son Ali, that Parvez never got when he was young.

But one day, Parvez was worried about Ali's sudden change in behavior. Ali suddenly threw out all the things that Parvez had worked so hard to buy all those. Parvez wanted to discuss this problem with his friends but he was afraid to do so, since he always used to brag about Ali's good behavior in front of them. But Parvez just couldn't stop himself from sharing this problem and finally tells his friends about Ali's sudden change in behavior. After having a short conversation with them, his friends advise him that Ali must be addicted to drugs.

Parvez tell about this to his friend Bettina who is a prostitute. Parvez had saved her from one of her violent clients and since then they have been good friends. Bettina advises him to check if there are any physical changes in Ali, like his eyes will be bloodshot red etc. This may help to identify if Ali was actually doing drugs. After that Parvez keeps a close eye on Ali, but finds absolutely no changes in him. The only one change Parvez could notice was that Ali had started growing a beard and also started says the Namaz, 5 times a day.

Parvez later takes his son out to a restaurant for dinner. Parvez wanted to discuss about this change in behavior with Ali and sort things out. Parvez orders a drink and pork to eat, but Parvez ends up arguing a lot with Ali and finally over drinks due to his frustration. Ali criticizes Parvez's way of life and believes his father is "too implicated in western civilization" and that Parvez has broken many rules of the Quran by eating pork and consuming alcohol. Ali also tell Parvez that he was gonna give up his studies as he thinks, "Western Education cultivates an anti-religious attitude".

After this event, Parvez completely feels that Ali's was now out of his hands and he has lost his son. Frustrated, he feels like kicking out Ali from the house. But Bettina tries to change his mindset. Bettina tells Parvez to understand what exactly is in Ali's mind. The very next days Parvez tries to explain to his son what his ideas and attitudes towards life are. But Ali was all mad on Parvez for not following the rules of the Quran and living the Islam way of life.

A couple of days later, when Parvez was driving along with Bettina, they spotted Ali's walking on the road. After Bettina forces Parvez, he requests Ali to come in and sit. Bettina tries to explain Ali on how much Parvez loves him, but Ali's in turn insults Bettina. Offended, she leaves the car, while it is still in motions.

Parvez returns home and consumes a lot of alcohol, since he was very angry with Ali after what he does to Bettina. After some time he goes to Ali's room and beats him up, but Ali just doesn't retaliate. When Parvez slows downs, Ali's asks him "Who is the fanatic now?!"

My point of view on this

I think Ali is the fanatic, since all Parvez wanted is to see Ali's living a normal life. But since Ali suddenly turns over religious, there may have been a possibility that he must have come under the influence of some form of a religious terrorists organization or something like it. Parvez was also worried about Ali talking about Zihad and Islam domination of the world. These kind of things will scare the hell out of any father. Also Parvez tries his best to talk to Ali on this, but he just wasn't ready to listen. Its clearly seen how Ali was the fanatic in the story.


- Rahul Sharma
Roll no. 34

My Son The Fanatic

Written by Hanif Kureshi the story revolves around Ali and his changed behavior. His father left Pakistan and came to London to escape all of the muslim religious beliefs and to live a normal life. He was a taxi driver. His concern for his son starts when he notices a certain change in his behavior.

He talks to Bethina one of his regular customers about his son and she suggests that he might be on drugs. She asked him to check his room and for red eyes for when he comes back home.

Parvez check for the following and found nothing his room was clean and his eyes were normal. He tried to communicate with his son, trying to talk to about his sudden change of behavior. He even takes him to a nice restaurant.

Parvez orders a drink and Ali starts to make faces. Parvez justifies by saying that there is nothing wrong with a man enjoying a drink.

Ali replies by saying that it is against their religion and that he is just following their religion and he should also. Parvez does not wish to talk about this at that time and lets it go.

While driving Bethina from one place to another Parvez sees Ali outside of a Mosque. Bethina asks Parvez to pick him up also and give him a ride back home. Reluctant at first Parvez picks him up. Bethina is sitting in the front seat and Ali in the back seat.

Bethina tries to talk to Ali but he replies rudely and questions his father that how could he even sit right next a woman such as Bethina. Bethina gets offended and jumps out of the moving car.

Back at home Ali goes back to his room and Parvez starts drinking. He goes up to Ali's room to talk to him. He replies rudely and Parvez gets angry. He hits ali and he falls on the floor and asks Parvez "Who's the fanatic now?"

Namit Chaudhary
Roll no. 04

literature

Literature:
My son the fanatic.
"My Son the Fanatic" is a short story by Hanif Kureishi about a teenage boy, Ali and his father, Parvez who are immigrants of Pakistan now living in England.
The story is about the conflict between a father and his son. Parvez is a Pakistani immigrant who is living with his wife and his son in London.
He earns his money as a Taxi-Driver.
Parvez, the father of the teenage boy Ali, begins noticing changes in his son’s behaviour and at first sees this as a good thing. He believes that his son is finally growing out of his teenage attitude and taking more responsibility.
Together with his friend Bettina, an prostitute, who
he rescued before a violent client they suspicion that the boy is on drugs.
He shortly after finds out that Ali has become interested and fascinated by the religion Islam, and that he spends all his time praying or going to the mosque.
Ali speaks very rudely with Bettina on one evening and telling his father that smoking and drinking is anti-Karan. This sets out an argument with the son and he beats the son. The son does not react, but asks a question like now whose becoming the fanatic?
It is actually the who goes to extreme believes of rules of Islam, but father is the fanatic who acts violent beats up the son.

NAME: VIRAJ NAIK.
ROLL NO: 26.

Analysis on 'MY SON THE FANATIC'

Written by Hanif Kureishi, the short story My Son the Fanatic, revolves around the relationship shared by a father and son. They are immigrants staying in England. The father is a taxi driver but he still ensures to provide all what his son requires. The story begins when Pervez, i.e. the father starts observing changes in his son, Ali. He found Ali throwing away his valuable belongings. There was even a change in his tone. He shared this with his fellow drivers and they came to a descision that the boy has been taking drugs and is selling off his stuffs to pay for them.

 Pervez had a friend named Bettina, who was a prostitute. She helped him to search for the drugs and told him what to look for. She advised him to check his eyes as a sign of intake of drugs. But to his relief, there were no drugs in his room. Ali had not been selling his stuffs but he used to just throw them away or give it to someone.

Once Pervez decides to confront Ali and takes him to the restaurant, there Pervez finds out that Ali has been reading the kuran and has being following Islam strictly. The son then tells him about all the things he does which is prohibited by his religion. As a person Kureishi has not displayed him as a bad person, but as a Muslim, Pervez has many faults in him. For instance, he relishes pork pies, he drinks, doesn’t observe namaz.

There are more instances as to how rudely Ali behaves with his father. The father takes Bettina’s help and tries to explain things to his son. On the contrary Ali insults Bettina’s regarding a profession. Pervez finally gets too wild and goes upto Ali’s room, picks him up from his prayer and starts beating him up. With no signs of retaliation, Ali just says this sentence “So, who’s the fanatic now?”

The Author simply presented two views to the audience. He left it to us to decide who is right and who is wrong.

NIKHIL DIAS
ROLL NO: 007

ECS

ECS:
Ancient Indian Art

Art in India has been inspired by spiritualism and mystical relationship between man and god. Indian art relied heavily on religious scriptures to draw inspiration. Since there was no restriction, they flourished under the patronage of rulers. Their art has survived the ravages of time and have a unique place in historical records. The purpose of art in ancient India was not just to adorn the walls. Each painting had a story to narrate. Visually ancient Indian art was colorful, aesthetic and appealing to the eye. Good art symbolized the prosperity of many empires in ancient India. Most of the art was produced to promote religious activities. Art was an extension of their tribute and respect to the knowledgeable class. It is no surprise that most of the artwork of Hindu kings depicts scenes from epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata and other mythological stories which continue to inspire artists even now. Some of the most important pieces of art in India are the Sanchi Stupa, the Sarnath Lion, the Chola Sculptures, and the Goddess paintings of Kali, Saraswati, and Lakshmi.
The 'Great Stupa' or Sanchi Stupa, is the oldest stone structure in India. It was originally commissioned by the emperor Ashoka the Great in the 3rd century BCE. Its nucleus was a simple hemispherical brick structure built over the relics of the Buddha. It was crowned by the chatra, a parasol-like structure symbolizing high rank, which was intended to honor and shelter the relics. The Stupa is not a building in any traditional sense. Once a burial or reliquary mound, the Stupa has become a purely symbolic object. It became a symbol of Buddha’s final release from the cycle of birth and rebirth. The Stupa is also a cosmic symbol. Its hemispherical shape represents the world egg. Stupas commonly rest on a square pedestal and are carefully aligned with the four cardinal points of the compass. The exquisite carvings on these Stupas depict a world where humans and animals live in...

NAME: ASHWIN KURUP
ROLL NO: 20

ASSIGNMENT- THE DEAD MAN'S PATH

"Dead man's path" by Chinua Achebe is about a young and energetic teacher called Mikael obi and how this young bud is appointed as the principle of an unprogressive school and how exicited he and his wife were about this new door that had opened to them about all their dreams coming true all their desire's being fulfilled and how after becoming principle he blocked a sacred path of the villagers which was going through the school and how he refused to reopen it even when he was requested by the village priest indirectly chalenging the religious beliefs of the villagers .and making a mockery of their beliefs and how the villagers get back at him by bringing down the school with all its pomp and beauty the very same day the supervisor came to visit the school and wrote a report criticizing obi and his abilities to run the school

In this story obi a young man is given the opportunity to run the Ndume central school as principle he and his wife were extemely excited about this new chance he was blessed with Mikael possessed a secondary school education which put him ahead of many other teachers he also had many ideas which were bursting to come out and now finally his chance was here he was principle of school which indeed was backward but he would definately take the school way ahead atleast thats what he and his wife thought his wife was as excited regarding her husbands promotion and she had a certain pride that she would be the queen of her kingdom though it wasnt a huge empire .she wasnt too happy to know that there would be all young teachers working under Obi but this very fact gave Obi a certain pleasure as he could see them giving more time and energy into his two basic wants one was too give the school a high standard of teaching and the other was too make the school compound a beautiful garden and he completed the later with the help of his wife .
one day a lady passed across a certain foothpath which connected the village church shrine and the burial place as she walked she trampled on some of the flowers and destroyed them thats when obi approached a teacher and asked him as to why that path which was passing through the school compound was not shutdown thats when he realized that that very path was sacred but still he shut the path down even when the village priest requested him he poked fun at the priest for his beliefs and thought in a modern way and refused to reopen the path. Due to the death of a women in the village a diviner was called and he prescribed a heavy sacrifice for the the fence put up by Obi
the very next day the entire fence of the school was broken down one of the building wings was bought down and Mikael could not do anything and to his badluck that very dreadful day the supervisor had come to inspect the school

Obi's modern thinking led him to fight against religion superstitions and false beliefs and see were that took him he bought upon himself the mighty wrath of god. For him his pride and ego and modern thinking which was his strongest weapon backfired on himself he lost evrything just attempting to save his dreams he felt tat such things of a path for the dead is something foolish and that it was just mere superstition but his stubborn attitude led him to downfall
This story basically tells us the religion forms the basis of our lifes nothing can challenge religion and all the beliefs that go with it







AARON VERDES
ROLLNO 38

Literary Analysis of “The Old Man and the Sea“

The story begins, as you might expect, with an old man. He is a fisherman who has not caught a fish in 84 days. He is also not eating very much. The two factors are related. We also meet a boy who is dear friends with the old man. The old man taught him to fish when he was young, and the boy brings the old man food. Does our language sound elementary and clipped? That’s because Hemingway’s prose is. His is just eight million times better than ours.

So that sets the stage. We’d also like to note that the old man has a name (Santiago), as does the young boy (Manolin), but the text always refers to them as "the old man" and "the boy." So this old man goes to sleep dreaming of the lions he used to see back in the day in Africa. He wakes before sunrise and does what fishermen do – namely, get in his boat and head out to fish.

Not too long after that, the old man hooks a really, really, ridiculously big fish. A "marlin" to be more exact. An earth-shattering struggle of mythical proportions follows. Most of the novella consists of this struggle, which lasts over three days. It is a battle of strength and of wills. The old man sees the fish as his brother, not his enemy, yet never wavers in his resolution to kill the thing. Which, ultimately, he does.

But this is no happy ending. It’s just a happy mid-point followed by an extraordinarily sad ending. The old man straps the fish to the side of the boat and heads home. On the way, he is attacked by sharks, who slowly but surely eat away at the marlin while the old man, starving and exhausted, tries to beat them off with a harpoon, a club, and finally nothing but a simple knife. By the time he makes it back to shore, there is nothing left of the fish but a skeleton. The old man goes to sleep and dreams of the same lions of his youth.

Amreen Khan

Literary Analysis of “My Son the Fanatic”

Written by Hanif Kureishi, the short story My Son the Fanatic develops through the conflict between a father and his son. In the story, the father Parvez who works as a taxi driver immigrated from Pakistan to England with his family twenty years ago. His son Ali is a college student in England. When Ali was behaving abnormally, Parvez’s suspicion led him to discover that Ali had turned into a religious Muslim. Parvez, although born as a Muslim, does not strictly abide by Islam rules. The father and son are holding different beliefs; hence they could hardly accept each other’s moral values anymore. Because the author told the story in Parvez’s point of view, it might be controversial that between Parvez and Ali, which character is on the right side. However, as the title of the story suggested, Kureishi, the author, clearly wanted to convince the readers that the son Ali is the fanatic, urging the readers to take Parvez’s side.

The author Kureishi, by no means, has depicted Parvez a perfect man. Parvez as a character has a lot of shortcomings: as a Muslim, he gambles; he drinks; he eats pork; he makes fun of religion representative the local mullahs and as a husband, he tries to avoid his wife by driving the night taxi .

Some may argue that he has not been depicted as a good man or as a good father because those shortcomings, on the contrary, those shortcomings draw him closer to the readers. Parvez as a character had become so similar to somebody whom the readers might have known from their real life a good man but with imperfections. Therefore, it is imaginable how easily could the readers relate to the character or even his problems in the story. Under Kureishi’s depiction, Parvez might not be a good Muslim, yet his morals were not totally compromised.

Amreen Khan

Roll No: 19. 

The Audacity of Love

Love is a season, With all reason,

Changeable  and  rearrange  able.

Lost in a abyss of mystery,

cause war in history.

Predetermined illusions,

create madness and confusion.

Chills warm the blood.

Tears cause a tsunami flood.

 Piercing pain, am I insane?

A Ferris wheel of emotion,

false devotion.

Unconditional until compromised,

the fallen meets their demise.

Adrenaline pumping desire,

discovering the players a liar.

The heart skips a beat,

when the victim surrender in defeat.

Dig a moat around the tower,

dress in armor to fight the power.

Fall victim to the spirit,

a broken heart is what you’ll inherit.

Love’s sweet song

I keep singing along.

Tear out my soul,

With words that console.

Feed the fantasy,

With the audacity,

Of loves’ mastery..

Amreen Khan

Roll No:19

Telephone conversation is about an African man who wishes to rent an apartment and so has phoned the landlady to inquire. Once the landlady answers the man decides he must confess, as if he has committed a crime, about his nationality as the persona in the poem is well aware of the wide spread prejudice against people of African descent and feels he must get the fact out of the way. However, unaware of the extent of the landlady's ignorance, he is shocked and annoyed by her cold, inpersonal and demeaning approach to his confession. On hearing her reply, her voice strikes the man as that of a a pretentious snob, describing the voice as "Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled/Cigarette-holder pipped". The landlady, concerned by this information placed in front of her, replies, bluntly, "HOW DARK?" Soyinka choosing to use capital letters to capture the woman's speech, perhaps trying to convey the pure simplicty of her thought process. Dumbfounded by the woman's reply, the man is left in silence, and the woman pursues her inquiry (ironic as it is the man who phoned to inquire) in to the colour of the man, as she says, "...LIGHT OR VERY DARK?" The man is shocked by this simplistic approach, Soyinka comparing it to the buttons in the telephone box "Button A. Button B". We are made aware of his anger as he refers to the colour of the booth, the pillar-box and the double tiered omnibus; all red. This focus on colour also refers to the racism being portrayed in the poem. Soyinka humorously uses sarcasm as he says 'Shamed/By ill mannered silence" when it is obvious that is the woman who is the ill mannered of the two. The woman repeats her question, as roundabout as she had done previously and the man replies cryptically, "West African Sepia", aware that the woman is oblivious to such detail and vocabulary, and this creates humorous irony, as it is her who is treating the man as a lower being yet he confuses her with his intelligence: she wants a simplistic 'black and white' answer. The man, with the woman still confused, sarcastically continues to describe himself, trying to simplify it for her yet continuing in a higher register than her own, telling her that his face is "brunette", his hands and and feet are a "peroxide blond" and his bottom is "raven black", the latter adding to his sense of anger at her as he insults her simple mindedness and her desire to categorize him. The Landlady, discontented with the man's answer and still unaware of the irony and the man's insult, hangs up the phone. With an empty telephone line the man pleads to her sense of decency "Wouldn't you rather see for yourself?" leaving his question unto the reader.

Chevlyn Fernandes

12

BLESSING

'BLESSING' is a poem by 'IMTIAZ DHARKER' which focusses on the largest slum in Asia-Dharavi, on the outskirts of Bombay. Bombay as known by all is a 'CITY OF DREAMS'.In Dharavi people from all over the country live. The poet through this poem tries to convey the message that, water is a rare resource and we all must realise it.
Blessing is a four stanza poem with some inconsistent usuage of end rhyme. The poet, in the first stanza, focusses on how the bursting of a pipe can bring about joy among the inhibitants of dharavi. He has potrayed how important and holy water is to them. Imtiaz through this poem wants to make people aware about the importance of water and spreads a social message that wasting it does lead to severe issues.
The Poet has smartly played with 'pun' and has used many words like 'congregation'.This word has two meanings like group of people, and a group of people in a church or being given religious instruction.Basically Dharker wants to make the reader understand the social problem of scarce water and give away a strong message of saving,conversing and preserving it. According to him Water is a 'BLESSING' and we must realize the importance of it.
SANCHITA BAGCHI
ROLL NO-2

"The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World"

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's short story "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World" starts with the children playing on the beach with the waterlogged body of a dead man and ends with the town changing the appearance of their doors and buildings to honor this dead man they never knew. For the purposes of this essay, I want to focus on the metaphor of celebrity culture found in this "handsomest drowned man in the world" and this town's reaction to him.This dead stranger, who "has the face of someone called Esteban," according to the oldest woman in the town, is treated to a cleaning by all the women in this town. They notice the vegetation and dirt they are rubbing off of him is from "faraway oceans and deep water". He is not one of them. This adds to his mysterious, exotic nature. They clean him up and stitch him a set of clothes. Then, they sit around him, fascinated by his huge size and his beauty". Oftentimes in our culture, celebrities live lives completely removed from ours, yet people sit around fascinated by them. They endlessly discuss their beauty, their clothing, and what they do with their time. And here, we have this same thing happening. This handsome drowned man who lived his entire life completely removed from this tiny village is suddenly now almost being worshipped by the villagers. They imagine him having the best house and the "happiest woman" for his wife. They imagine that "he would have had so much authority that he could have drawn fish out the sea simply by calling their names". This larger-than-life, skewed view of this man is similar to our culture's view of celebrities.
Finally, in our culture's obsession with beauty and glamour, it is often tempting to compare our significant others with the Brad Pitts or Angelina Jolies of the day. In the same way, the women in this tiny little village look upon Esteban and "secretly (compare) him to their own men, thinking that for all their lives (their own men) were incapable of doing what (Esteban) could do in one night". They make assumptions based on Esteban's looks and begin to fantasize about his accomplishments. This causes a great deal of discontent with the men in their own lives, the men who have most likely loved them and provided for them. Now, a handsome (but still very much dead) man shows up on their beach, and the women decide he beats their husbands and brothers hands down. They become enamored with his looks and the strength he most likely possessed and seem to be willing to trade away the men in their lives now. They see him as "the most peaceful and most obliging man on earth," when in all reality, he was just a man. He had his own faults and shortcomings, but none of the women in the village seem to comprehend this. They see him as perfect. This is a sad comment on celebrity culture this idea that there is that ideal of perfection in another human being. All faults are glossed over, and only Esteban's exotic, mysterious, faade of perfection is left for the villagers to mourn.

chevlyn fernandes roll no 12

The Old Man and the Sea

The story begins, as you might expect, with an old man. He is a fisherman who has not caught a fish in 84 days. He is also not eating very much. The two factors are related. We also meet a boy who is dear friends with the old man. The old man taught him to fish when he was young, and the boy brings the old man food. Does our language sound elementary and clipped? That’s because Hemingway’s prose is. His is just eight million times better than ours. So that sets the stage. We’d also like to note that the old man has a name (Santiago), as does the young boy (Manolin), but the text always refers to them as "the old man" and "the boy." So this old man goes to sleep dreaming of the lions he used to see back in the day in Africa. He wakes before sunrise and does what fishermen do – namely, get in his boat and head out to fish. Not too long after that, the old man hooks a really, really, ridiculously big fish. A "marlin" to be more exact. An earth-shattering struggle of mythical proportions follows. Most of the novella consists of this struggle, which lasts over three days. It is a battle of strength and of wills. The old man sees the fish as his brother, not his enemy, yet never wavers in his resolution to kill the thing. Which, ultimately, he does. But this is no happy ending. It’s just a happy mid-point followed by an extraordinarily sad ending. The old man straps the fish to the side of the boat and heads home. On the way, he is attacked by sharks, who slowly but surely eat away at the marlin while the old man, starving and exhausted, tries to beat them off with a harpoon, a club, and finally nothing but a simple knife. By the time he makes it back to shore, there is nothing left of the fish but a skeleton. The old man goes to sleep and dreams of the same lions of his youth.

BY - Royston Raposo ( roll - 31 )

My son the Fantaic

The story is about the conflict between a father and his son. Parvez is a Pakistani immigrant who is living with his wife and his son in London. He earns his money as a Taxi-Driver. He is integrated into the way of live of the west civilisation. He drinks alcohol eat pork and doesn't pray. His son is grown up (or grews up?) in England. He makes a training program for accounting. His father has been working hard to finance this education and pays all the thing which the bay need. For instance, the books and good suits.
But the father is worried about his son. The story beginns that the father search in the room of his son for clues. His son changed. Together with his friend Bettina, an prostitud, who he rescued before a violent client they suspicion that the boy is on drugs. His room getting more and more empty. But later it turns out that the son is an very religious. He's praying five times per day and even gives his things for charity. But he condemns his father's way of live. At first the father is prepared to praying together with his son. But later the father loose in an argument his self-control and hit his son.
At last the son says, who is the fanatic now. We understand under the word fanatic a radical person, which is prepared to kill und to die for his religious belief. But the son only prays and even give his things for charity. At last of the story the father become violent.
BY - Royston Raposo ( Roll - 31 )

WHEN MY MOTHER ON A STRIKE..!!

When my Mother went on strike!!!
“Get up,” screams the voice I’ve known since birth, at sharp 6 a.m. every morning. This voice belongs to a truly dynamic and multi-dimensional figure. She wakes up at 4:30 every morning and works like a clock. Absolutely no upsets have ever taken place in her schedule according to reliable sources and the records .She fixes our breakfast, school lunch, house lunch and irons the clothes herself. And home life after school is more or less the same. She comes home after work and does the dirty dishes, manages to find a flaw with my homework. But of course, I never really noticed or minded all this till the day she indirectly and formally announced her strike to the three of us. That fateful day, we had coolly been playing carom while she’d been screaming her head off for the last half an hour at the ‘thing’ the cat had done in the middle of the floor.
I was reminded of a string of other atrocities I’d committed in the passage of time, a few days back, over which my poor mum almost boiled over like milk that had done the same when she had gone to investigate the strange noises coming in from the basement, only to discover that a group of my cronies had been planning a late night birthday bash to celebrate my best friend’s 18th birthday. But anyway, after the cat fiasco, a few hours later, the telephone rang and after a two-minute conversation, my mother set out of the house with a grim look on her face, only to return home after about 3 hours with a brilliant, but tired smile smeared all over her face .I got suspicious at once. My sister couldn’t make head or tail of what the message portrayed by my sudden change in emotion was, but I helped her understand it later on. We were told that Grandma back in Kolkata was seriously sick and wished that my mother be there to burse her instead of the fat, fussy nurse. And so, my mum was to go to Kolkata along with my Dad. “I’ll return in a week” was what she’d told us .But I knew what that meant. It meant that for a whole week, I would have to wash all the dishes myself, do the beds, cooking, etc.
It was not less then a challenge for me. In my mother’s absence, i decided to show off my cooking skills to my sister and started making tea. I put the water to boil, also put on the T.V at the same time, and of course, the water boiled and boiled away to nothingness. Things became worse as days passed by , i had tons of home-works, submissions, tests. I actually started REALIZING my mother’s importance. Finally the D-DAY came and mom made her grand entry into the house looking fresher and more radiant. I salute her for being such a task master, after all if not for her world would be different place indeed. So maa, this one was for you, i know somewhere down the line i am not the best daughter but ya your the best mum i could get.
SANCHITA BAGCHI
ROLL NO-2

The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea

Earnest Hemingway

Earnest Hemingway was born in 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. He started his career has a writer in a newspaper office Kansas at the age of 17. He jointed a volunteer ambulance unit in the Italian army after the United States entered First World War. After his return to the US he became a reporter for the Canadian and American Newspaper. During the twenties, Hemingway became a member of the group of expatriate Americans in Paris. Hemingway used his experience as a reporter during Civil War in Spain as the background for his most ambitious novel, “For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940).” Among his later works, the most outstanding is the short novella, “The Old Man and the Sea (1952)”.

Hemingway - himself a great sportsman - liked to portray soldiers, hunters, bullfighters - tough, at times primitive people whose courage and honesty are set against the brutal ways of modern society, and who in this confrontation lose hope and faith. His straightforward prose, his spare dialogue, and his predilection for understatement are particularly effective in his short stories.

The Novella

The Novella “The Old Man and the Sea” is based on an Old Man and the biggest fish that he has ever caught. Santiago is an Old Fisher man from Cuba. The Old Man’s young friend Manolin is very devoted to the Old man. The old man hasn’t caught anything for eighty-four days. The boy helped the old man for the first forty days, but the boy’s parent tells the boy to take a more prosperous boat to fish and to leave the old man. The boy’s parents tell the boy that the old man has become Salao. But the boy continues to care for the old man every night on his return. The boy brings food for the old man and discusses the latest baseballs scores.

On the eighty-fifth day the Old man decides to go “out too far” and is confident that his unproductive streak will come to an end. So Santiago takes his skiff far from the shallow coastal water into the Gulf Streams. The Old man the throws his lines into the water and by noon his bait is caught by a Marlin, the old man hooks the Marlin, but the old man cannot pull in the Marlin and instead the boat is pulled by the Marlin. The boat is pulled for two days by the fish. Santiago is badly cut but the fish line. In spite of his cuts, the old man feels a deep empathy and administration for the Marlin.

On the third day, the fish gets tired and the old man is able to bring the fish close enough to kill it. He brings it onto his boat and sets for sail home. As the Santiago sails home with the marlin, the marlin leaves a trail of blood in the water which attracts sharks. In the first hark attack the old man loses his harpoon due to the struggle. He manages to kill many sharks but more sharks keep coming. So by night the Marlin is given to the shark, leaving only the head, skeleton and tail. Santiago punishes himself for going out to far and for sacrificing his great catch. He comes home before daybreak and falls into deep sleep.

A lot of fisherman are amazed to see the carcass of the fish and a lot of tourist mistaken it for a shark. The boy has been worried sick about the old man is moved to tears when he sees the old man lying safe in bed. The boy fetches the daily newspaper with the baseball scores and some coffee for the old man.

Author/Narrator

In this Novella the Author and the Narrator are not the same. Authors are the one who writes the book and Narrator’s are the ones who read the story or a character who tells the story within the book. The voice of the Narrator could be in the first person, second person or third person. In this case the Author of the Novel is Earnest Hemingway and the Narrator of the book is the one who reads it.

Characters

Santiago

Santiago goes through a hard time at sea. He hasn’t caught a fish in eighty-four days, the other fisher men laugh at him but the old fisher men feel bad for him. Then has he goes “out to far” at sea, he is able to catch a marlin but unfortunately the marlin is eaten up by sharks. But the old man changes after his great defeat. Santiago’s existence has almost come to an end but readers believe that Santiago will continue to exist through Manolin. Santiago was like a teacher to Manolin. Manolin will make use of all that he has learnt from the old man.

The Old Man was very determining to change his luck. So he decides to go “out to far” where no fisherman has gone, to catch a fish. After he catches a Marlin that has been eaten by the Sharks, Santiago claims that he along with his marlin has been destroyed. But Santiago gets the respect of the other fishermen after they see the Carcass of the Marlin. They are amazed by the size of the marlin and some tourist mistaken it for a shark. He also gains more love and the companion of the boy. As long has he has the boy by his side, he is sure that he will never have to go through so much trouble again.

Heming way believes that it is either defeat or continuity of hardship until death. Santiago chose the continuity of hardship during is eighty-fifth day. The old man held the line for three days; his palms were cut by the line which caused him cramps and pain in his back. He could have easily let the marlin go, but he chose not to. This shows his determination to catch the fish. He also began a conversation with the fish. In the end the Old man catches the fish, which proves he was able to fight hard. The Old Man was a worthy fisherman. Santiago is compared to Christ, his suffering lead him to a spiritual triumph.

Manolin

Manolin relationship with the Old Man goes on for about the first 12 to 13 pages of the Novella. This shows a strong bond between the Old Man and the Boy. The boy was very fond of the Old Man and had a lot of love for the Old Man. Manolin cared for the Old Ma. He saw that the Old Man had food, was kept warm enough and even saw that he had enough rest. The character of the boy was very symbolic. He is a trusty companion to the old man. When the boy’s father tells him to catch another boat and fish and says that the Old man is now Salao, the boy obeys’s his father but still goes to check on the Old Man once he returns from his fishing. This shows the boy conflicted with loyalties and have has to face difficult decisions. After the Old Man returns after his battle at the sea, the boy decides to sail with the Old Man and becomes his companion till the end. The boy is as a symbol of uncompromised love and fidelity.

Settings

The setting is on the Sea. It goes back in 1940s. The story is based on a fisher man from Cuba. Santiago is a fisherman and is from a small village Cuba. Cuba is an Island in the Caribbean and the capital of Cuba is Havana. The village’s name is Kojimar and the language spoken is Spanish. Warm water’s run through the Gulf Stream which brings the Giant Marlin in the month of September and October close to the village.

Do I Like The Story??? Why???

Yes I do like the Story. The Old Man never gave up until he caught a fish. He was very determining to catch a fish, even if he went far into sea to get one. When he caught the fish, he held on to the line for three days, the lines cut his palm, he was in pain but he did not let go till he actually got the fish. He did not mind what the villagers said to him. After he caught the marlin, the fishermen were amazed by his catch.

The story teaches me never to give up in life and to fight and achieve what I want, even if it meant going an extra mile. There are hardships that are going to come my way and I have to learn to fight those hardships and overcome those hardships. Quitting isn’t the answer and quitting isn’t going to get me anywhere. If I want something I have to work hard to get it, it is not going to be easy. In life nothing is easy, in time it is we who become strong and is able to fight the hardship and achieve what we want. Hardships will always be there.

In the end, the Old Man caught a fish and it wasn’t an easy catch. He had to go through a lot of pain and battle a lot of sharks.