|
|
|
|
|
Reviving
agriculture Debate over DU
course |
|
|
The new
Cold War
Bringing
parallelism into play when writing
CINEMA: NEW Releases A lucid entertainer Alien to the senses
|
|
Debate over DU course
Since
the National Democratic Teachers Front held two meetings with the newly appointed HRD Minister, Smriti
Irani, demanding the scrapping of the four-year undergraduate programme
(FYUP), the uncertainty over the fate of the course has continued. It has a sense of déjà vu. Last year when the FYUP was introduced by Delhi University, it was opposed by a majority of students and teachers. Despite opposition, it was introduced, affecting lakhs of undergraduate students enrolled in 70 colleges of
DU. This year again confusion prevails, adding to the anxiety of the students at a time when admissions are on. Fuelling the speculation is the BJP's manifesto for the Delhi Assembly elections held last year that promised the scraping of the
programme. The argument in favour of the FYUP is that it is skill-oriented, supported by work placements and different exit options. While those who oppose it, point to lack of infrastructure in the university. Close to 4,000 vacancies of the teaching staff are not being filled. It also places an extra economic burden on poor students. Even those who hailed it, say the decision was taken in haste. An expert panel set up by the University Grants Commission has suggested "there should be more thinking" because of the programme's nationwide implications for the higher education sector. Yet it will not be easy to scrap the programme for one batch of students was already enrolled last year. Any hasty decision will affect their future too. Why did the UGC choose to remain a mute spectator when the course was introduced? Now even if President Pranab
Mukherjee, who has the power as the institution's supreme authority to reverse the decision, does so, as is being suggested, it will interfere with the autonomy of the institution, setting a bad precedent. Before introducing the
FYUP, all pros and cons should have been examined and the same should be done before scrapping it.
|
|||||
|
To say 'I love you' one must first be able to say the 'I.'
— Ayn Rand
|
|||||
Compensation to the dead and injured
Labour recruitment
|
The new Cold War
Indeed, all accounts suggest that this is the most frigid state of relations between Russia and the major Western powers since the end of the Cold War. The point of contention of course is Ukraine, and the West felt frustrated that instead of being able to embrace Russia's immediate neighbour with its immense landmass and a population of 46 million into the European Union (EU) and the NATO military alliance, Moscow frustrated the plan. There is little recognition in the West, except in Germany, that by pointedly attacking Russian interests in a country with which Moscow has long and abiding ethnic, religious and trade interests, it was provoking President Putin. The result, as the world knows, was Russia's action in annexing the Crimean peninsula, a majority of whose population is ethnic Russian, and is the home of the important Russian Black Fleet. Ironically, Crimea was given away to Ukraine by Nikita Khushchev in days when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. A series of Western sanctions against Russia followed, but they were in effect soft sanctions involving bans on prominent Russians and on some bank dealings. They were basically to make the point that unlike rather the old game of changing national boundaries by imperial powers, it was no longer kosher to do so. The West tacitly accepted the Crimean annexation but was fearful that Moscow would seek to annex parts of the Russian-speaking south-east. There were 40,000 Russian troops massed on the Ukraine border and armed rebels had made inroads in Donesk and Lugansk, among other cities, to take over administrative buildings. Apart from local fighters, there were credible reports of Russian fighters coming to the aid of their comrades. It would appear that Russian moves were aimed at two objectives: to seek a federal constitution giving federal powers to the regions to the majority Russian-speaking population of Ukraine's south-east and to press a non-aligned status for Ukraine between the West and Moscow. Seeing the determination of the West and its anger over Crimea's annexation, Moscow chose to dilute its original plans to avoid a new confrontation. It accepted the fact that Ukraine would be integrated into the European Union while seeking a special dispensation for the south-east and drew a new red line over future membership of NATO. Further, Moscow accepted the legitimacy of the presidential election held to replace President Viktor Yaunkovych, who had to flee Kiev, paving the way for a future meeting between the President-elect, Petro Porshenko and President Putin. It is one of the many ironies of the Ukraine crisis that Mr Porshenko, is an oligarch nicknamed the chocolate king for his many interests, including those in the confectionery industry. Thus far, he has struck a confident note declaring that he knows the Russian leader and knows how to do business with him. US President Barack Obama, during his recent visit to Europe, promised a $ I billion plan, subject to Congressional approval, to beef up NATO defences in eastern European countries and the Baltic states by the provision of rotating US troops, stationing of fighter planes and direct assistance to Ukraine to make nervous allies feel more secure The truth is, of course, that the European Union's trade with Russia is vastly greater than US dealings. Germany, for instance, is a major importer and exporter and Europe receives about a quester of its oil and gas supplies from Russia. No wonder the German elite is split down the middle between the hardliners and those who oppose sanctions against Moscow. Chancellor Angela Merkel is siding with the hardliners for tactical and geopolitical reasons. How the increasing frigidity between Russia and the West will play out remains to be seen but the crisis involves bigger questions. They concern Russia's place in the new world order. Understandably, President Putin is resisting the new role assigned to his country of being a nation of little consequence that can be trampled upon by a new resurgent West marching under the flag of liberal democracy. In a sense, the US and its partners in the West are trumpeting the ideological victory of the West in a game Washington is trumpeting Moscow lost in the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Ukraine has assumed importance because it is, in the Western view, the last nail in the coffin of the Soviet Union. The West's difficulty is that after a long line of weak pliant Russian leaders such as Boris Yeltsin licking the wounds of the catastrophic end of the Soviet Union, Moscow has regained a measure of its strength and dignity and under President Putin, now in second avatar as President, is seeking to assert his country's interests. Those looking for a possible compromise have to consider a fair solution of the Ukraine crisis. It stands to reason that Moscow must receive some satisfaction through the central authorities in Kiev giving protection to the Russian-speaking population of the south-east in terms of their linguistic rights and greater autonomy to conduct their business. More rational western Ukrainians agree but the bitterness engendered by the crisis is preventing them from grasping the nettle. There are American strategists who dismiss Russia as a Third World country with nukes, but the wider world, while recognising that Russia is no longer the country it was as the Soviet Union, is still a power to reckon with. While it is in order to warn Russia of the consequences of adventurism, the West cannot consign Moscow to a place of inconsequence. In the latest round of power play, Russia has got off the high horse it was riding in Ukraine. It is now the turn of the US to strike a conciliatory tone.
|
||||||
Bringing parallelism into play when writing
—Source: Dana Lynn Discoll
Parallel
structure or parallelism, a literary device, is widely used in almost all genres of writing. It involves using a selected grammatical form repeatedly within the sentence to express similar ideas. For instance, it is preferable to write “She knows scripting, recording and also editing” in place of “She knows scripting, recording and also to edit”. Texts with symmetry of form, as illustrated above, are easy to process and remember but not as easy to write. Some illustrations of faulty parallelism follow: 1. The soldier reported on why he had erected the barricade, how he had prevented the threat and that the region had gained from the action. The sentence sounds jarring and needs parallel construction to make it sound pleasant. The writer is mixing two types of clauses, “wh-clauses” (starting with wh- words) and a “that-clause” in the series of actions described. We need to change the last clause into a “wh-clause” and rewrite it as, “... and what the region had gained...”. 2. The audience felt the docudrama on dinosaurs was neither informative nor with entertainment value. The prepositional phrase “with entertainment value” following “nor” does not correspond with the adjective “informative” following “neither”. It needs to be replaced with the adjective “entertaining”, so that the sentence can read as, “... neither informative nor entertaining”. Pairs of connective words and phrases like “neither ... nor, either ... or, not only ... but also” etc. need parallel constructions following each of the two items. 3. The artworks had been beautifully displayed near the counters, on the shelves and nicely decorating the aisle. The sentence lists three areas for the display of the artworks. The thoughts are interrelated and enjoy a similar status within the sentence. However, while a pattern is observed through the first two phrases “near the counters, on the shelves”, it gets dislocated by the adjective clause “nicely decorating the aisle”. It can simply be rephrased as, “ ... along the aisle”. The phrase “beautifully displayed” modifies all the three phrases. The change creates consistency and makes for smooth reading. 4. Excerpts from Charley's resume read as: -Created brand name for G-Star, -Introduced development packages, -Launched team for new channel, -Sales Manager operations for `1 Crore... The excerpts try to list the achievements of the candidate with the same structure. But somehow, the candidate suddenly switches over to another structure when mentioning the last achievement. Perhaps, the designation “Sales Manager” sounds more impressive. It can be replaced with “-Managed sales operations ...”. Parallelism is often employed as a rhetorical device by speech writers to evoke an emotional response from the listeners. Its skilful use is evident in the excerpts from President Obama’s speech to American students: “ ... You cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You've got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.” Bringing parallelism into play when writing facilitates comprehension and retention.
|
||||||
CINEMA: NEW Releases Nonika Singh Film Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty
Before you get carried away by the tagline A soldier is never off duty and presume the film is a poignant salute to the Army and its brave soldiers, let's clear the misconception. This is no soul-stirring tribute that will make your eyes moist and instill patriotic feelings in you. Certainly this is no overwhelming emotional treat. That the lead protagonist Virat Bakshi (Akshay Kumar) is an Army officer is only incidental to the film's storyline. As with all action films, the hero is a one-man army all eager to save the country. Expectedly, the bad men he takes on are not your average bunch of goondas or dons but terrorists. And to tackle them his Army training as a secret intelligence officer as well as his batchmates, come in handy. Now, terrorism is a very serious issue and a threat that looms large over our country all the time. Certainly, a subject as grave as terror deserves better. But in a regular Hindi film where the main aim is to entertain and rake in the moolah, you can't expect the treatment to be realistic or sombre. So banish the thought of seriousness. Instead get ready for some romance (actually the film begins on that note), thoda bahut humour too and not to forget the song and dance grind. In fact, the director has made Akshay dance like never before. Never mind that his jaan hatheli pe dare is absolutely in contrast with the lover-boy who breaks into a dancing stint every now and then. Actually attention to detail is a casualty and happens only by accident, not design. All through the film you don't even know what rank our dear courageous officer or his senior (Govinda) hold. Besides, there are many quarrels (in one scene the heroine slaps her father) and holes that you can pick in the film. However, if you can digest the incongruities and inconsistencies that trail the film, you can actually sit back and enjoy the fare that wavers between thriller and potboiler. As it flirts with both genres it works at some levels. The one thing that sets the film apart and saves it from becoming just another Bollywood tamasha is that a fair amount of intelligence has gone into its making and writing. But for the romantic and dance interludes, the direction is taut and the pace fairly evenhanded. The manner in which Virat outwits sleeper cells and manages to decimate them is engrossing. Only if his bête noire mastermind of terror (Farhad) had been more forceful, the clash between the savior and destroyer would have had all your attention. And if only the movie had focused on its core premise and stuck to being an out-and-out thriller it would have been a worthwhile attempt. Still, Akshay is noteworthy and as always does a good job as the action hero who has brawn as well as brains. Sonakshi as his love interest gets a short shrift and even in the part of a gutsy sports gal, who can pack a punch in the boxing ring, is quite a dampener. As for other members of the cast, well did we not say Akshay is the one-man army here? Not surprising even Govinda is wasted. Should you waste your time and money… or take a break from this Holiday? Well, despite its long length of nearly three hours, the film falls in the watchable category, irrespective of whether you are an Akshay fan or not.
|
|
A lucid entertainer Film
Filmistaan
On the lines of quirky satires like Tere Bin Laden and Phas Gaya Re Obama, this innovative entertainer brings to the fore, the universal theme of brotherhood between two warring nations. And it's done without being preachy about it. Helmed by first-time director Nitin Kakkar and starring a host of newcomers, this film is without a recognizable star name, female lead or item songs to lend glamour. Yet it provides sterling entertainment. Sunny (Sharib Hashmi) eats, drinks and breathes Bollywood, to the extent that this wannabe actor fails auditions by the dozens mainly because he mimics Salman and Shah Rukh without displaying his own individual style. He has to therefore make do with the job of an assistant director for a documentary produced by a foreign company, being shot in the border regions of India and Pakistan. Despite having a permit to shoot, the team is troubled by the local police and Sunny's smart thinking saves the day for the team. Once the shoot is done, he is entrusted with the camera and exposed reels while the rest of the team heads back. Sunny, while on his way back, through the dark, unpopulated wilderness of the border area gets waylaid by cross-border terrorists on the look-out for firangi captives. Since the darkness hides his nationality, he is taken across the border and kept captive in a village there. The terrorists on realising that he is an Indian and not American, as they hoped for, decide to hold on to him until they locate the original targets. Despite being captive, the irrepressible Sunny finds his element in the little village that is crazy about Bollywood cinema (despite the ban) — watched through the pirated CDs of a small time trader, Aftaab (Inaamulhaq), who frequently crosses the border to deal in them. What transpires thereafter is history or will be once this film has been watched by the multitudes it's intended for. Utterly bewitching in its earnestness to convey the joys and sorrows of a struggling actor caught in the crossfire of cross border terrorism, the narrative springs surprise after surprise with its unique insights and smartly navigated timeline. You won't find the trenchant melodrama of a Veer Zaara or the stridency of a Gaddar here. The narrative is a smartly engineered confluence of Bollywood 'isms' without the accompanying hyperactivity, loudness or conformist tripe that characterizes the cinema from the mainstream. Nitin Kakkar indeed balances drama and emotions with felicity.
|
|
Alien to the senses
Film Edge of Tomorrow 3D
The trouble with sci-fi dramas these days is that the villains need to be very complex to make the fare even more complicated. This, of course, happens in Edge of Tomorrow 3D but only after one has gone through the synopses. The aliens, also known as mimics, have the ability to respond to Earth's military combat strategies with efficiency thus making them nearly unbeatable. Set in the near future, an alien race has invaded Earth starting from Germany and taken almost all of Western Europe. The focal point is England with the White Cliffs of Dover and the beaches of Normandy (remember D-Day?) figuring prominently. However, he cannot escape action and when he kills one of the aliens its blood, which pours on him, affects his brain and so events keep repeating and hence the catchline "Live, Die, Repeat." He then runs into Rita Vratashbi (Emily Blunt) who has also experienced the same thing. Vratashbi then enlightens Cage about having to eliminate the Omega that these aliens possess and which shifts from place to place. So it's a virtual merry-go-round. The alien is brought in quite cleverly and what follows are weird sets, which have no meaning for the viewer. Director Doug Liman indulges in the razzmatazz till it reaches overkill proportions. The USP of the film is how Cage and Vratashbi try to humanise themselves, but even this is drowned in the sci fi mumbo-jumbo and just waits for some coherence…in all of 113 minutes. Tom Cruise has a difficult role but manages rather well while Emily Blunt is easy on the eye, providing the much needed relief. Brenden Gleeson hams his way about and Bill Paxton is academic.
|
||
|
TV movies Saturday June 7
ZEE CINEMA 11:22AM Shiva: The Super Hero 2:24PM Yamlok 5:17PM Aar Paar: Judgement Day 8:00PM Sholay ZEE STUDIO 8:00AM Herbie: Fully Loaded 10:05AM The Help 4:55PM Casper 7:00PM Armageddon 10:00PM Wild Hogs ZEE ACTION 10:30AM Officer 5:30PM Police Aur Mujrim 8:30PM Tridev STAR MOVIES ACTION 9:00AM The Rock 11:30AM The Incredible Hulk 6:00PM Rambo III 8:00PM Taken 10:00PM Taken 2 ZEE CLASSIC 9:57AM Bandhan 4:49PM Rocky 8:00PM Bagawat 11:07PM Gehri Chaal STAR GOLD 9:45AM Kurukshetra 12:15PM Fukrey 8:00PM Gang of Ghost 10:40PM Dangerous Khiladi STAR MOVIES 8:00AM Sweet Home Alabama 10:00AM The Front Row with Anupama Chopra 9:00PM Promised Land 11:00PM Six Days Seven Nights WB 10:13AM Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 12:57PM Torque 9:00PM Final Destination 2 10:49PM Sex and the City Sunday June 8
ZEE CINEMA 11:30AM Ramaiya Vastavaiya 2:39PM Sholay 6:52PM Loafer 9:00PM Phir Hera Pheri ZEE ACTION 10:30AM Tahkhana 1:30PM Krantiveer 5:30PM Gaddaar 8:30PM Bhai: The Lion ZEE CLASSIC 9:53AM Dream Girl 1:12PM Sharaabi 4:43PM Charas 8:00PM Mehboob Ki Mehndi 11:13PM Andaz STAR GOLD 9:15AM Tees Maar Khan 12:00PM Son of Sardaar 5:50PM Mr. & Mrs. Khiladi 8:00PM Dabangg 10:40PM Mar Mitenge (2012) STAR MOVIES 8:00AM Promised Land 10:30AM Lake Placid 12:00PM Prometheus 9:00PM Men in Black 3 11:00PM City Hunter WB 8:37AM Daddy Day Camp 10:14AM Final Destination 2 9:00PM Bad Boys 10:54PM Rumble in the Bronx ZEE STUDIO 8:00AM Cinderella Man 7:30PM Real Steel 10:00PM Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time STAR MOVIES ACTION 9:00AM The Rock 11:30AM The Incredible Hulk 1:30PM Shanghai Noon 8:00PM Taken 10:00PM Taken 2 |
||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
R
Parallel structure adds both clout and clarity to writing ... creating word patterns readers can follow easily.
8:00am star movies
12:00pm STAR GOLD