Why we say OK - YouTube Video

Here is an interesting video presentation on why we say the word OK. It has a very deep historical evidence of the word's beginning and the etymology.

Thank You!

Presentation 16 - ELT 2 - Digital Portfolio

Hello Readers!

Digital Portfolio is an electronic website in which data can be stored and kept in creative way and also showcased as and when required. Here is my digital portfolio link in which I've uploaded my seminar and webinar presentation and other data also. 

Click Here to Open Rohit's E-portfolio

In the above link, you will find my academic journey 

Video of My Portfolio Demonstration

Thank You!

Presentation 15 - Mass Communication and Media Studies

Hello Readers!

Here is my presentation on the paper 15 Mass Communication and Media Studies

Cinema as a Medium of Communication by Rohit Vyas on Scribd

Video - Cinema as a Medium of Communication

Thank You!

Presentation 14 - African Literature

Hello Readers!

Here's my presentation on paper 14 African Literature.

Post-colonialism in Coetzee's Waiting for the Barbarians by Rohit Vyas on Scribd

Video of the presentation on African Literature

Thank You!

Presentation 13 - New Literatures

Hello Readers!

Here's my presentation on paper 13 New Literatures.

Class Conflict in Adiga's The White Tiger - Rohit Vyas by Rohit Vyas on Scribd

Video - Class Conflict in Adiga's The White Tiger

Thank You!

The Sense of an Ending Group Task

Hello Readers !

Here is the video presentation made by our group in which 5 students worked on the various aspects and devices of the novel. We recorded the series of the videos and presented in the hybrid lectures.

THE SENSE OF AN ENDING – GROUP TASK

1. Author's Introduction - Julian Barnes

2. Novel's Introduction

3. Structure 

4. Setting

5. Characters

6. Plot of 'The Sense of an Ending'

7. Themes

8. Symbols

9. Title Significance

10. Film Adaptation

11. Learning Outcome - Rohit

Additionally, my following analogy about the novel is something which everyone, specifically youngsters who are assumed as cream of every society, must read and apply. So here it goes.

I raise my anger on Tony's character. Not because of what he did in his younger days, but because of why he didn't do the things which were necessary to do when he was young. Instead of envying Adrian's clarity of life, Tony could have exercised to make himself clear about his own false assumptions.

I pity him. Because in his sixties, the decades in life which should be lived peacefully, he had to experience "the great unrest". I pity him for his remorse and regret. Because it has no significance. He has wasted his 'time' and has lived a bit careless life being young. Later in life being apologetic is of no use, especially when he knows nothing about Veronica's life, her relationship with Adrian. It's always better to bear and work on our 'unrest' than the 'great unrest'.

Karmic Philosophy and Theory of Relativity

If I look at my past Karmas, ranging from recent past times to many years back, there's always something which I have some sad feeling, or regret for. There has been time in which I submerged myself into deep solitude, and there has also been the time when I have found myself highly engaged with the crowd. What difference these two situation have is, they both don't exist without my consent. Being in solitude may not give me happiness and being in crowd may not. 

Well, this doesn't make me a believer in Karmic philosophy but a practitioner of rational thinking. Because whatever we think, whatever we perceive as a reality, we become likewise. We might not have shared our thoughts everytime but they definitely leave their impressions in an individual's life. Sometimes they causes tremendous pain or sometimes they create pleasure. On the whole, it's a relativistic idea of thinking.

---: Knowability :---

If I'm not aware of the basic facts about something, I must not create any assumptions or hypothesis on any idea. No matter how that thought or idea pressurizes me to materialize it into action and into language. Instead of forcing outworldy entities to get me to the fact, I must practice individualism. The more we set ourselves at the centre of the subject, the more we become open to the knowledge which would fall into our place, without any effort.

---: Consciousness :---

Actions speak louder than language. Our actions bring the positive and negative feedback from people at large. So, the more we become conscious about ourselves, the more peaceful surrounding we recieve.

If 'The Sense of an Ending' puts the core message of giving mutual spaces to one another, it also gives the impression of taking all the possible responsibilities of actions, languages, and even 'thoughts' (yes, even if the last one is never visible to anybody on the Earth.) Hence, if my mere existence is philosophically self evident (yes, that's the humorous way of looking at such brightest gems of thoughts) I must relook, reread, and analyse all of my past actions, words, and thoughts being skeptical about it and by asking questions to myself, I must put all the possible efforts to make everything clear. I must acknowledge and accept all of my guilt, regrets, and past actions, good and bad experiences and remain true to myself.

Yes, here's the point when the subjectivity and objectivity matter the most. I'm no one to judge someone else's behaviour, decisions and thoughts. If I get myself actively involved into others matters, I may ruin my individual positivity. While doing formal interaction with others, one has to be objective in order to maintain the decorum.

Consciousness, the key to actively witness all the actions and events, is a remedy to our confusions and dilemmas of life. The more conscious we become in our actions the more we become aware about the outcomes and results.

-----

I found this novel highly meditative. It would be excessive to call Tony Webster an overthinker. Though he made his every effort to clarify and justify his mistake, but he couldn't. He didn't give up on the idea of seeking the truth.

As a practitioner of Yog and meditation, my meditation never allows me to be something which I'm not. Meditation has always played a key role and has been a loyal friend to me in all walks of life. With my meditation and reading this novel, I happen to emerge myself as a new version. If the collective motto of life is to acquire happiness and peace, all the initials lie in Yog and meditation.

Some ideas and thoughts come with uncontrollable thrust whenever they strike. If any of my readers are poets, painters and writers, they might have experienced it and could relate. The keen and sharp thoughts which brood into our subconscious, find a direct way through either brush, pen, pencil or keyboard, surpassing our entire consciousness.

But there's always a way to channelize such outbursts and flow. Sometimes I fail to channelize them, and sometimes I succeed. In such situations what activity we choose is vital to see.

I'm telling this because I have experienced such outbursts several times, but to name a single, it was on fortnight of the virtual annual day function in which I have written the following poem with flow of emotions.

Click Here to read my poem titled :

"March 8th 2021"

Enjoyed?

Such is a situation, if this flow is channelized properly, it can create some productive work, build a new social standard... and similarly can destroy many beautiful things and relations. I remember the dialogue from the film Andhaadhun,

"What is life? That depends on the liver."

To me, life is an ocean, water is salty, we can't drink. But what we can do is swim, to keep treading water with all the energy we have. Someday I may get tired of swimming, but I can't let myself drowned in the dark depths. Keeping myself utmost postive, accepting all the challenges, fighting the odds, one day... the journey will find its destination.

- Rohit Vyas

12. Learning Outcome - Ruchi

13. Learning Outcome - Kavisha

14. Learning Outcome - Dharti

15. Learning Outcome - Dhara

Videos will be updated soon.

Click here to read the detailed social media post about our group activity.

Thank You!

The Sense of an Ending - Thinking Activity

Hello Readers!

How often do we recall our past? Do we really narrate our memories with neutral point? What happens when certain memories flash up in mind and becomes unbearable? Do our memories shape our present self? If yes, then how much justifiable that self is?

Well, such questions largely focus on our own psyche and our own real self. We represent lot many persons in one. For example, at school we carry some responsibilities as student, teacher, principal so and so forth. Among friends we are different from work place, we remain much free and informal among friends. At office we are either a boss who strictly scolds the employees or either an employee who sincerely works and gives best out of anything.

This blog is a thinking activity assigned by our teacher Dr Dilip Barad sir. Click here to visit the teacher's blog with detailed questions.

(II) A general critique of the novel

The Sense of an Ending is the novel written by Julian Barnes and published in 2011. It is critically acknowledged as a masterpiece of the postmodern fiction. The novel has much complex style of writing yet it holds the subtlety of thoughts. 

(III) Study of film adaptation

The film holds very lose context and connection with the original text. 

The Pleasures of Imagination by Joseph Addison

Hello Readers!

Frank Kermode, author of The Sense of an Ending: Studies in the Theory of Fiction wrote in the beginning of the book citing William Blake,

"[...] then the Last Judgment begins, & its vision is seen by the imaginative eye of every one according to the situation he holds."

- W. Blake

Why do we imagine things? Why do we rescue our soul from the reality and plunge ourselves into fantastic world? Does our imagination hold any control in our real life?

Well these are the questions which are open for interpretations and can be answered in various ways.

To quote two paragraphs from the original text,

"Our imagination loves to be filled with an object, or to grasp at anything that is too big for its capacity. We are flung into a pleasing astonishment at such unbounded views, and feel a delightful stillness and amazement in the soul at the apprehension of them." (Addison, 19)

"The mind of man naturally hates everything that looks like a restraint upon it, and its apt to fancy itself under a sort of confinement, when the sight is pent up in a narrow compass, and is shortened on every side by the neighborhood of walls of mountains. On the contrary, spacious horizon is an image of liberty, where the eye has room to range abroad, to expatiate at large on the immensity of its views, and to lose itself amidst the variety of objects that offer themselves to its observation. such wide and undetermined prospects are as pleasing to the fancy, as the speculations of eternity or infinitude, are to the understanding." (Addison, 19)

Thank You!

Work Cited

Addison, Joseph. Essays on the Pleasures of the Imagination. 1828.

J.M., Das B. Literary Criticism. 1993.

Kermode, F. The sense of an ending: Studies in the theory of fiction with a new epilogue. Oxford University Press, USA, 2000.

Harry Potter - Thinking Activity Worksheet

Hello Readers!

Here's a blog post about a very well known novel series, Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling has won several awards for this novel. First book published in 1997 and successively the last book was published in 2007.

Here's a blog link from which these questions and activities are instructed by the teacher.

https://blog.dilipbarad.com/2016/03/webquest-harry-potter-think-and-write.html

* Self-Help culture and Harry Potter: How does it stand by an argument that Self-Help Culture serves as a tool of social control: it soothes political unrest . . . one blames oneself for not getting better off in society and remains in one's own pursuit of self-invention, blaming oneself for the failure rather than the systems?

Ans: Self-help culture in modern literature has been much witnessed in recent times. This genre of literature deals with an individual's person life and belief system. Self help literature and self help culture are two supplementary entities between which, people seek their societal upbringing and fulfill their desire to be a part of high brow culture, largely enjoyed by the people who control many things together, by the people who hold power.

By one way or another, it can be read that, self help culture is a conditioning over minds. It is gulped down, drunk and dissolved by people either in form of politics, religions, books, videos etc. Albus Dumbledore doesn't directly help Harry but indirectly makes him make some decisions.

Power is likely to be transient and very lucid, just like water. It keeps on changing it's dimensions. (Read more here) Self help culture is controlled by elite group of society, who are wealthy, 

* The theme of Choice and Chance: How does Harry Potter discusses the antithetical concepts of ‘choice’ and ‘chance’?

Ans: Choice and chance have been a matter of discussion since long. When we have choices, we hardly notice them and act. There are lot many things that we can't get to choose or make choice, for example, birth, location of birth (city, or country), gender, cultural backdrop etc.

Albus Dumbledore states about choices:

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” — Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

* The theme of Love and Death: How does Harry Potter make use of age old theme of Love of the dead as well as living as protecting armor? How does Harry Potter deal with the concept of Death as something inevitable?

Ans: Harry remembers his parent's love and care by the help of his teachers, Hagrid and Dumbledore and others. He uses this element of Love to gain strength to fight back against Voldemort. Another theme like death is stretched as part of the life journey. The death is inevitable and it's the strongest reality. So the theme of love and death is used as theme.

for further reading: https://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/61116.pdf

Click Here to navigate to the WebQuest activity worksheet.

Free Open Source Video Editing Software

Hello to all techies out there!

Content creation is a cutting edge, revolutionary and future centric activity which will not only create new job criteria but will also give versatility to an individual.

In this 21st century, an entire generation of young people is emerging as content creator and learning more and more tools to enhance their abilities to work with technology.

If technology is still being seen as only distractions and not as helping hand, it would be difficult to carry on with the show in future. The smartest of people observe the flow of time and see it's direction towards the future, then they take necessary actions to sustain in the time to come.

Going dull and boring, right? Let's get straight to work.

Videos. The best ever learning method. It requires much time and effort to prepare a quality video for any subject. Be it an educational lecture, travel vlog, tutorials, culinary arts, performing arts, music, comedy, fun and so on. . .

Wondering how to edit and process videos? Well here are some of the Free Open Source Video Editing Software for laptops and desktops which would be very useful for each of your post-production job. These software will give a high end professional touch to your videos.

1. Openshot Video Editor

Click Here to visit the website and download

2. Shotcut

Click Here to visit the website and download

* Since you are here, let's take you to some of the blogs related to the same topic.

1. https://rohitvyas98.blogspot.com/2020/12/useful-ideas-to-setup-teacher-or.html

2. https://rohitvyas98.blogspot.com/2020/12/google-meet-device-audio-solution.html

3. https://rohitvyas98.blogspot.com/2020/11/interpretation-challenge-breath.html

4. https://rohitvyas98.blogspot.com/2020/11/ict-tools-used-in-online-remote.html

5. https://rohitvyas98.blogspot.com/2021/03/how-to-edit-wikipedia-page.html

6. https://rohitvyas98.blogspot.com/2021/02/how-to-create-hot-potatoes-quiz-elt.html