they are online!

The first batch of students of the Certificate in Online Journalism programme announced that they are online at the viva voce examination on Saturday (29 November 2014) at the MCC School of Continuing Education, Tambaram. They have created for themselves a website, a blog and a twitter account.

“During my first class, I was so blank about the course and I thought that I could not get through this course. But later I found it easy to deal things Online,” says Rebecca Jennifer, one of the 18 students who had enrolled for this course.

According to Helen Ann Joseph, “Once you get a novel thought, it becomes very easy to publish it. Online journalism classes have helped me realize my potential.”

Another student, Rubina K., had posted many poems online and was pleasantly surprised to receive ‘appreciation and authentication from an Australian named M.C. James’.

The online presence has not just helped the students get a certificate, but also display their talent. Says Sumithra M.R., “Online Journalism class has helped me to improve my knowledge and it was also helpful when I got the campus placement in Tata Consultancy Services.”

Happy New Year 2015, the next batch of students will be ready to go online! The course coordinator is N. Watson Solomon, an independent Communication Consultant with vast media experience in The Hindu and other organisations. 

 

As Easy As 1-2-3
I have put together a collection of most of my articles that appeared in various magazines over the years. Titled 'As Easy As 1-2-3, it has been webpublished at https://www.angelfire.com/nd/nirmaldasan/aea123.html

The Pleasures Of Indolence

I just webpublished 'The Pleasures Of Indolence' comprising two long poems of mine:

https://www.angelfire.com/nd/nirmaldasan/tpoi.html

Last year I webpublished 'A Season Of Mischief' (selected essays):

https://www.angelfire.com/nd/nirmaldasan/asom.html

Green Density Measure

I periodically do a bit of egosurfing on google. Usually, the results for 'Nirmaldasan' are not very flattering. But recently I came across an article that uses my green density measure. The article by Archana Dahiya is titled 'Ecological Aspects in the Selected Poems of Toru Dutt, Sarojini Naidu and Kamala Das and Green Density Measure', published in Language in India, www.languageinindia.com ISSN 1930-2940 Vol. 13:5 May 2013. And here's the link:

"http://www.languageinindia.com/may2013/archananaturepoetsfinal.pdf" 

My original article titled 'Green Density Measure Of A Literary Text' appeared in Essays In Ecocriticism, 2007. A google search will fetch you the book.

john milton's paradise lost

My retelling of John Milton's Paradise Lost in plain English is now available online: https://www.angelfire.com/nd/nirmaldasan/jmpl.html

 

E-Book: Write Like A Pro
Dr. Marcia Riley's e-book 'Write Like A Pro' includes my PFS rule for the technical text. This free e-book may be downloaded from: http://bookboon.com/en/textbooks/career-job-search/write-like-a-pro

E-Content: Environmental Ethics

Borrowed Robes

I brought out a collection of my translations titled Borrowed Robes in May 2012. The online version may be read at https://www.angelfire.com/nd/nirmaldasan/robes.html

V. Mariappan's review of this book appeared in the August 2012 issue of the Journalism Online newsletter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/journalismonline/message/150 

 

 

Book Review: Treading On Gnarled Sand

By Nirmaldasan

(nirmaldasan@hotmail.com)

-- appeared in the November 2011 issue of the Journalism Online newsletter -- 

Poetry, according to K.S. Subramanian, is a vocal representative of the trends of a period. To measure up to this task of reflecting reality, a poet may have to tread on gnarled sand where the past and the present clash revealing a very bleak future. The mythic Aswathama gives a piece of his mind and one can hear the groans of a city. One also meets with masked gunmen in a Silicon Hub that ‘flourishes in the bay of its mantra’.

But even as trends change, language changes too. In a preface to his second book of verse titled Treading on Gnarled Sand, Subramanian writes: “I have produced a reluctant ensemble of free verse and traditional meter and tried assiduously to follow the conservative track. If there are deviations they are unintentional. But it must be stated that I would rather deviate a little to bring out the emotion than camouflage it in form. After all lucidity matters as much as dexterity of language.”

Interestingly, the poet is most lucid whenever there is a display of linguistic dexterity. Here are a few examples. In ‘The Changing Face of Bangalore’, there is this stunning paradox: “Death catches up with age! / But a city ages even in death.” And in the ‘Rain’, the final quatrain drops a nugget of ecological wisdom:

“Be it placing the day of the Bang,

building dams or space sentries;

Man is still not master of his day,

a quake or monsoon ruins his peace.”

Most of the poems in this volume under review are in free verse. One such verse is titled ‘On the Fine Thin Sand of Goa’. But more than the irregular lines, it is the concluding, near-metrical quatrain that touches the heartstrings of the reader:

“Foreigners sink a fortune to

Discover happiness here;

Goans sink their happiness

To strike a fortune abroad.”

All reviewers have their personal likes and dislikes. The poem that most appealed to me is titled ‘An Incantation’. Here are the concluding lines:

“‘Veerabahu! Veera Mahendra!’

The voice trails off too soon

As lids close for the night.”

Treading On Gnarled Sand is K.S. Subramanian’s second volume of poetry, published by the Calcutta-based Writers Workshop. The hardback limited edition is priced Rs. 150.

Planet In Peril: A Call For Ethical Action

By Nirmaldasan

-- appeared in the October 2010 issue of the OSLE-India newsletter --

A new book titled Moral Ground and subtitled ‘Ethical Action For A Planet In Peril’ has been published by the Trinity University Press. The Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu, in is foreword, comments that all ‘the articles in this book tell us the oral ground we stand on.' He writes: “They are a clear call to action. We are called to understand that climate change is a moral challenge, not simply an economic or technological problem. We are called to honor our duties of justice, to prevent the enormities of climate change, as the price of the lifestyles of the privileged is paid by millions of poor people, in the loss of their livelihoods and their lives. We are called to honor our duties of compassion, to prevent the suffering of millions of innocent people, especially the hungry children.”

Edited by Kathleen Dean Moore, Professor of Philosophy at Oregon State University, and Michael P. Nelson, Associate Professor of Environmental Ethics at Lyman Briggs College at Michigan State
University, ‘Moral Ground brings together the testimony of over 80
visionaries — theologians and religious leaders, scientists, elected
officials, business leaders, naturists, activists, and writers — to present a diverse and compelling call to honor our individual and collective moral
responsibilities to our planet.' The President of OSLE-India, Dr. Nirmal
Selvamony, has contributed to this tome an article titled ‘Sacred Ancestors, Sacred Homes.'

There is a special 40% discount price of $15, excluding shipping at the rate of $6 for the first book and $1 for each additional copy. The 504-page hardback book’s original price is $24.95. A good beginning to combating climate change is to own a copy of this book. ISBN 13: 978-1-59534-066-5.

For further details, check out tupress.org.