KONGUNADU ARTS AND SCIENCE COLLEGE

(Autonomous)

Coimbatore – 641 029

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH (UA)

Department Activity for the Academic Year 2016-2017

INAUGURAL OF LITERARY ASSOCIATION – SMART

A REPORT

The inaugural of the English Literary Association SMART was held in the Conference

Hall between 11.00 a.m and 1.00 p.m on 20.07.16. Ms.S.P.Sasi Rekha, Asst Prof and Head

welcomed the gathering & introduced the office bearers of the department, Dr.Diwakar Thomas

Associate Professor, introduced STAR club and Elysian Fields. The function was presided by

our Respected Principal Dr.T.Muraleeswari and our beloved CEO Dr. V.Chinnusamy felicitated

the gathering. Prof. P. Pandurengan, Associate Professor and Head (Retd), Government Arts and

Science College, Coimbatore, was the chief guest. He delivered a special lecture on the topic

“Life through Literature”. The event was well organized and met with a grand success. Ms.

Ancita Edial of II M.A English Literature proposed the vote of the thanks. The event came to an

end at 1.00 p.m.

The PG Department of English conducted a special lecture on the topic “The Dynamics

of English and Body Language” on 29/06/2016. Prof. S. Vidhyanath of Sri Ramakrishna

Engineering College, acted as the resource person and delivered the lecture. Ms. Ancita Edial of

II M.A English Literature welcomed the gathering.

Ms. M. Priya, Associate Professor presented a memento to the chief guest. The session was an

interactive one as he expressed various para-linguistic features including eye contact and

different body postures. The students were given a good deal of all the positive body language

expressions . He insisted that the students should learn these to enrich their personality. The

event was held in the Smart-Room (D10) between 11.15 a.m and 1.15.p.m. Ms. Madonna of II

B.A English Literature proposed the vote of thanks. The event came to an end with the National

Anthem.

SWAMI VIVEKANADHA’S 154th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

ORATORICAL COMPETITION

A REPORT

In connection with the International Youth Day, the PG Department of English

celebrated the 154th birthday of Swami Vivekananda on 12 January 2017, by conducting an

oratorical competition on the titles : Arise, Awake and Strength is Life & Weakness is Death in

both Tamil and English, in the college Conference Hall between 2 p.m and 5 p.m. 13 UG and

PG students of our department participated in the event and spoke on the glory of the Swamiji.

Many students integrated the real life events with Swamiji’s ideologies and rendered a

meaningful speech. Ms. S. P. Sasi Rekha, Head of the Department honoured our Principal and

CEO with mementos. Dr. Diwakar Thomas, Co-ordinator, School of Humanities, briefed on the

significance of Swamiji’s teachings. He explained that the oft quoted “Arise, Awake” is

originally from Katha Upanishad and popularized by Swami Vivekananda.

Chief Executive Officer, Dr.V.Chinnuswamy and Principal Dr. T.Muraleeswari,

honoured the program as special guests and distributed the prizes to the winners. The HOD and

the Co-ordinator distributed the consolation prizes to the participants. The event came to an end

at 5 p.m.

The PG Department of English organized a One-Day State Level Workshop on the topic

“The ABC of English Grammar” on 06.08.2016 at 11: 10 A.M in Dr. M. Aruchami

Auditorium. Ms. S.P. Sasi Rekha, Head, PG Department of English (Un- Aided) welcomed the

gathering. Dr. Diwakar Thomas, Associate Professor introduced the chief guest and the theme of

the Workshop to the participants. Dr. T. Muraleeswari, Principal delivered the Presidential

Address. Dr. V. Chinnusamy, Chief Executive Officer offered Felicitations. Dr. R.

Santhakumari, Associate Professor and Head (Retd.), Department of English (Aided),

Kongunadu Arts and Science College acted as the Resource Person for the Workshop and Ms.M.

Priya, Associate Professor proposed the Vote of Thanks.

Around 750 participants including Students and Staff from various colleges attended the

workshop and were benefited. Students of III B.A and I M.A English Literature enacted a skit

each on English Grammar and entertained the gathering. The Certificates were distributed to the

participants by our respected CEO. Ms. M. Priya, Associate Professor proposed the vote of

thanks.

The Workshop came to an end at 4:30 P.M. with the National Anthem.

As a part of the 68th Republic Day Celebrations, the PG Department of English (Un-

Aided) conducted literary competitions like Essay Writing, on the topic The Power of Non-

Violence and Oratorical Competition, on the topic Jallikattu- The Pride of Tamil Nadu. The

events were conducted on 25.01.2017 between 3.00 p.m and 5.00 p.m in the Language Lab and

in room no. C-25. Ms. S.P. Sasi Rekha HOD, Dr. Diwakar Thomas Associate Professor and Ms.

M. Priya Associate Professor of our Department supervised and judged these events effectively.

Around 48 students participated in the Essay Writing competition and 10 students participated in

the Oratorical Competition enthusiastically. The event came to an end at 5.00 p.m.

In connection with the 68th Independence Day celebrations , the PG Department Of English

conducted various literary competitions from 08.08.16 to 10.08.16. Essay Writing, Poem

Composing and Oratorical took place in Room No C-25 and in the Smart Room D10.

Under the topic “The Heroes of Independence”, Essay Writing Competition was held on

08.08.16 . Asst. Prof Ms.S. Jeyalakshmi, Mr.C. Sakthivel, Mr. S.Sakthivel and Mr. S. David

Karunakaran conducted the event in room no C-25 between 4 and 5 p.m. A total of 16

participants participated in the competiton.

On 09.08.16, Poem Composing competition was held in room no. C-25. The topic given was

“Wings of Freedom”. Asso. Prof. Ms. M. Priya, Asst . Profs. Ms. Aswitha Mani, Mr.

S.M.Baggio and Mr. D. Solomon Paulraj conducted the competition between 4 and 5 p.m.

The Oratorical was held on 10.08.2016 in Smart- Room D10 between 3 and 5 p.m.. The topic

given was “ The Past Glory and Present Development of India”. Asst.Prof Ms. M.K. Praseeda,

Mr. Athisayaraj Jebakumar and Ms. Caavya Deekshith conducted the competiton. A total of 12

participants participated enthusiastically.

The PG Department of English (UA) organised an educational tour to Kerala for the

students of III B.A English Literature and II M.A English Literature from 08/09/2016 to

14/09/2016 .

The students started from the college premises on 08/09/2016 at 10.30.pm . A total of 53

students enthusiastically made the trip, guided by 4 members of staff from the department; Asst

Prof. J. Athisayaraj Jebakumar and Asst Prof. Aswitha Mani accompanied the students of III B.A

English Literature while Associate Prof. M. Priya and Asst Prof. S. Sakthivel accompanied the

students of II MA English Literature.

The students were greatly benefitted by their visit to the famous places like Padmanaban

Temple, Edukkal Caves, World’s Second Largest Earth Dam Bansura Sagar, Allapey beach etc.

and they returned safe and sound at 07.00 a.m on 14/09/2016.

The PG Department of English organised a special lecture on 15/09/2016 in the conference hall

between 11.05 a.m. and 1.25 p.m. for the students of I B.A English Literature (Aided &

Unaided). The topic of the lecture was “A Social History of England –An Overview”. Dr. R.

Santha Kumari, Head of the Department (Retd), Department of English (Aided), Kongunadu

Arts and Science College acted as the resource person.

Ms. R. Swathi of I M.A English Literature delivered the Welcome Address. Ms.

S.P. Sasi Rekha, Head of the Department, presented the memento to the Chief Guest.

Dr. R. Santha Kumari, with her in-depth knowledge on the Social History of

England, delivered the lecture in a splendid manner.

Ms. I. Madonna of II B.A English Literature (UA) proposed the vote of thanks

and the event came to an end at 1.25 p.m with the National Anthem.

Commemorating Gandhi Jayanthi on October 02, 2016, the Department conducted

various competitions for the students in both Tamil and in English viz., Oratorical, Poem

Composing and Debate on 27.09.2016, 29.09.2016 &30.09.2016 and the prize winners were

honoured in the International Conference conducted on 04.10.2016.

The Oratorical Competition was conducted on 29.09.2016 on the topic, “Everlasting

Spirit of Mahatma”. Mr.M.Surya Prakash of I B.A., Ms. T.Shanmugapriya of II B.A., and

Ms.V.Thangaselvi of II M.A., were awarded First, Second and Third prizes respectively.

The Poem Composing Competition was conducted on 27.09.2016 on the title “Fighting

without Fighting”. Ms. R.Keerthi of II M.A., Ms. S. Vinodhini of II M.A., and Ms. I.Madonna

of II B.A, were given the First, Second and the Third prizes respectively in English and

Ms.S.Jeyanthi of I.M.A., Mr. J. Nitheesh of I B.A., and Mr. C. Rishap of II M.A, were given the

First, Second and the Third prizes respectively in Tamil.

The debate on “Gandhiji Vs Youngsters” was conducted on 30.09.2016. Six participants

from respective sides put forth their views and the team that spoke in favour of taking forward

the Gandhian ideals was judged as winners.

The staff members of the department served as judges and Certificates were distributed to

the prize winners during the valediction of the International Conference conducted by the

department on 04.10.16.

As a part of Swaach Bharat, the students of our department extended their help in

renovating a school in Conoor. The Panchayath Union Primary School situated in Devi View,

Conoor was almost in a dwindling condition and our socially conscious students in connection

with Swaach Bharath, took the duty of rebuilding the Government school that was started in

1962; situated in a private estate area. Devi View has about 60 families from which 20 students

used to attend the Primary school as the school was in a devastated condition, many parents

hesitated to send their ward to the school and started taking up odd jobs in plantations.

Knowing this, student volunteers from our Department collected funds from our students

and also with the contribution from our Secretary & Director Dr.C.A.Vasuki and from our

Department they collected around 40,000 rupees. The students started their work under the

supervision of Mr.J.Athisayaraj Jebakumar, Assistant Professor of our department. The students

spent two days on October 01 and 02, from morning 4 A.M. to evening 7 P.M. They did various

works that include painting and carpentering. They changed the roof with new sheets, cleaned

the surroundings managed to do the things without any professional help. They literally

renovated everything in the school from scratches, windows, lock and door, black board and

many things.

On completion, as the school gained a new facelift, the villagers profusely thanked the

team for rejuvenating the school and giving a great opportunity for their kids to continue their

studies. Above all, as a token of budding success we heard the awaited news from the principal

of the school, that the students who have discontinued have started rejoining and as a further

step, children from the neighboring villages too have started to come for the admission and the

principal expects more children to join on the eve of Vijayadhasami day.

(A fantastic transformation can be seen in the above picture)

Our Department & Institution takes immense pride in whole heartedly congratulating the

students of our Department and the members of the staff who have valuably spent their time and

energy so that the intelligent students of the school could continue to shine for many generations.

The PG Department of English (UA), organized a One Day International Conference on

“Dynamics of English and Human Excellence” on 04/10/2016.

The conference started with the invocation by Mr.S.M. Baggio, Asst.Prof, Mrs. S. P.

Sasirekha, Head of the Department and the organizing secretary of the Conference welcomed the

Chief Guests and introduced them. Dr .Diwakar Thomas, Associate Professor introduced the

theme of the conference.

Dr.T. Muraleeswari delivered the presidential address. Dr. V. Chinnusamy Chief

Executive Officer & Dr. R.Santhakumari, Associate Professor and the visiting faculty of the PG

Department of English felicitated the gathering. Dr.C. Muralidara Kannan delivered

the inaugural address stating the importance of gaining proficiency in English language.

The first technical session of the conference started with the special lecture by the chief

key-noter, Mrs. Sreedevi K. Menon Assistant Professor, PG Department of English and the

Research Centre for Comparative Studies, Mercy College, Palakad, Kerala on the topic “Many

voices in One Text: Polyphony and Intra-Textual Politics”.

This was followed by the much awaited session by our Special Invitee from South

America, on the topic , ‘Ways and problems in accruing language proficiency’ by Mr.S.P.

Vijayakumar Country Manager, Bombas CRI, Brazil, South America..

In the afternoon session, our guest Dr.C.Muralidara Kannan , Assistant Professor,

Government Arts and Science College, Coimbatore, spoke on the topic ‘Journey towards

Human Excellence’.

The conference came to a completion with the distribution of certificates by our respected

CEO sir for the Participants and he also distributed the certificates to the prize winners of various

competitions like Oratorical, Poem Composing and Debate conducted in connection with Gandhi

Jayanthi Celebrations. More than 250 of our students and around 70 participants from other

colleges attended the conference and made it a grand success.

The session was opened to the participants. They gave their feedbacks and thanked the

organizers for conducting such an intellectual programme. Asst. Prof, Mrs. Jeyalakshmi, gave

her vote of thanks. The conference duly concluded with the National Anthem.

The PG Department of English (UA) conducted a Literary Event (Elysian Fields) on

16/09/2016 between 2.00 pm and 4.15 p.m. in the Conference Hall. The function started with a

prayer song. Ms. Minitha of I B.A English Literature, an office bearer of the Literary Association

welcomed the gathering. Dr.V.Chinnusamy, CEO, presided over the function.

The students paraded their talents in Extempore, Dance, Mime and played instruments

like Veena and Guitar.

At the end of the programme, prizes were given to the students who excelled in these

activities by Dr. R. Santha Kumari, Head of the Department (Retd), English (Aided) and Dr.

Diwakar Thomas, Associate Professor, PG Department of English, Kongunadu Arts and Science

College, Coimbatore.

Mr. M. Gokul Prasath of II M.A. English Literature, Secretary of the Elysian Fields proposed

the vote of thanks. The programme came to an end at 4.15 p.m with the National Anthem.

Green Studies is a prescribed paper (Non-Major Elective- I) for I. M.A English and in

connection with that paper. The I M.A students numbering 42 were taken to Ooty on 13.8.16.

along with the 6 members of staff : Ms. S.P Sasi Rekha HOD, Dr. Diwakar Thomas Associate

Professor, Assistant Professors Mr. Athisayaraj Jebakumar, Mr. C. Sakthivel, Mr. S.Sakthivel,

Ms. Aswitha Mani, Mr. S.M.Baggio and Mr. S. David Karunakaran accompanied the students.

We visited places like Cairn Hill Reserved Forest, Cairn Hill Museum, The Boat House and the

Botanical Garden.

The students were given a lecture on “How to Protect Nature & Value of Preserving

Trees”. Placards were displayed to the public and saplings were given to the people of The

Nilgris. We returned around 07.00. P.M. Students understood the importance of protecting

nature and they got highly benefitted by this Eco-Trip.

The PG Department of English (Un-Aided) organized several literary events in

connection with the Department’s Literary club – Elysian Fields on 21/02/2017 in the college

Conference Hall at 2 p.m.

The occasion was invoked with a prayer song by Ms. C.K. Akshaya of I B.A English

Literature. Ms. Shivasankari of III B.A English Literature welcomed the gathering. Dr.V.

Chinnusamy, Chief Executive Officer, Ms.S.P.Sasi Rekha Head, PG Department of English and

Dr.Diwakar Thomas Co-Ordinator, School of Humanities graced the occasion with their august

presence. The activities began with a classical dance performance by Ms. Priya Dharshini of III

B.A English Literature.

Our Post Graduate students took the stage by storm. First, the students of I M.A English

Literature staged the famous ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ from Christopher Marlowe’s play The

Tragical History of Dr. Faustus followed by the students of I M.A English Literature students

performing a scene from William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. They further catered to our

literary appetite by enacting an entire act from the famous play Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House

followed by an excellent mime with a theme based on the injustice laid on Transgenders by II

M.A students.

Several melodies were sung by our students. Firstly, Mr. Naresh and Ms. Steffina of I M.A

English Literature sung a soothing song, followed by a solo guitar performance by Mr. Naresh.

Ms. C.K. Akshaya of I. B.A English Literature’s solo song served as a curtain call for the event’s

evening. Mr. Gokul of II M.A English proposed the Vote of Thanks and the evening came to the

end with the National Anthem at 4.05 P.M.

The PG Department of English (Un-Aided), conducted a Special Lecture on the topic

“Social media and their impacts on Journalism” on 21/02/2017 by Prof.S.Nagaraja, Assistant

Professor, Department of English (Aided) . He traced the history of print media and its evolution

from a microscopic view. He has minutely gone through the shifts that the print media faced

from its beginning and on the aspects that makes it as the prominent platform of mass

communication, even in the ever widening Digital Age. He enforced that the print journalism

will always be in the forefront even after the advent and evolution of newer Medias on the social

networking platform because of its authenticity. He further differentiated the various aspects of

media and its impacts on journalism. Four students from the Department of English (Aided)

shared their experience as intern trainee in The Hindu, Coimbatore as an encouragement for the

fellow aspirants.

Jaya Staffina of I MA English Literature invoked the blessings of the Almighty with her

prayer song. Ms.A Ancita Edial of II M.A. English Literature welcomed the gathering.

Dr.V.Chinnusamy, Chief Executive Officer presided over the function and briefed on the

importance of English language. Dr. Diwakar Thomas, Coordinator, School of Humanities,

felicitated the gathering. Ms.S.P.Sasi Rekha, Head, PG Department of English honoured the

guests by presenting them mementos.

The students of I M.A. and II M.A English honoured the Chief Guest Mr. S.Nagaraja with a

small memento and shared few cherishable moments about him. Ms. M.Shanmuga Priya of III

B.A. English Literature proposed the vote of thanks.

All the students actively participated and raised question to which the chief guest readily

answered. He also promised to conduct a workshop on media article writing in the future. The

function came to an end with the National Anthem at 1.20 pm.

Our Department always strives hard to extend our hands to the needy. Apart from imparting

academic excellence to our students, the department also takes meticulous efforts to inculcate

values and concern for destitute. Pertaining to this effort, the students and staff spent a quality

time in Dieter Hueske Boy’s Shelter orphanage located in Madhampatti on 19/2/2017. 55

students were taken to this orphanage along with 7 staff members.

The students displayed their talents to entertain the inmates of the home. Besides, a

motivational talk was delivered to the gathering by Dr. Diwakar Thomas. The staff and students

took combined effort in teaching them some simple English words through games like word

building by Dr. Diwakar Thomas and memory games by Ms. S. P. Sasirekha.

A sumptuous meal was served to the little masters of the home. The students had a better

understanding about the strata of society who are always in need. Mr.Athisayaraj Jebakumar

thanked the students and staff for their contribution and paid his gratitude to the workers of the

home. The activities came to an end at 5.00 p.m.