Dr. Meena Kandasamy to deliver PP Gomathi Memorial Oration 2024 in Mangaluru
Mangaluru: The P. P. Gomathi Memorial Education Trust, in collaboration with the Karnataka Theological Research Institute, will host the PP Gomathi Memorial Oration 2024 on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, at 3:00 PM. The event will take place at Sahodaya, Mission Compound, Balmatta, Mangaluru.
Dr. Meena Kandasamy, renowned poet, writer, translator, anti-caste activist, and academic, described by The Independent as a "one-woman, agit-prop literary-political movement," will deliver the oration titled Writing as Resistance.
The annual lecture honours the legacy of Prof. P. P. Gomathi, who served as the Principal of Besant College for Women, Mangaluru. Following her retirement in 1984, Prof. Gomathi dedicated herself to the National Women’s Education Society, Mangaluru, until her passing in October 2014. She envisioned a world free from discrimination and believed in incremental efforts to achieve an equitable society. The Trust established in her memory provides scholarships of ₹1,00,000 annually to academically outstanding yet economically underprivileged girl students. It also organises lectures featuring prominent scholars and activists.
Dr. Meena Kandasamy, born in Chennai in 1984, is celebrated for her impactful contributions to literature and activism. Her works, such as The Gypsy Goddess, When I Hit You: Or, The Portrait of the Writer As A Young Wife, and Exquisite Cadavers, have received international acclaim. She has translated key works on Dalit liberation and feminism and recently published The Book of Desire, a feminist reinterpretation of Tamil classical poetry.
Dr. Kandasamy holds a PhD in sociolinguistics and has been recognised globally for her work, including her election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the PEN Hermann Kesten Prize in 2022.
Past speakers at the memorial oration include Dr. G. N. Devy, Prof. Niveditha Menon, and Vidwan T M Krishna. Last year, Dr. Sindhu Manjesh delivered the oration titled News Media in India: A Health Report, with a Special Focus on Prognosis.
The event is open to the public.
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Heatwave scorches Odisha, Jharsuguda reels under 43.6 degrees C
Bhubaneswar (PTI): Heatwave conditions scorched Odisha on Tuesday, with the IMD forecasting that hot and humid conditions would continue in parts of the state.
The IMD’s Bhubaneswar centre said Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam and Gajapati districts were likely to experience hot and humid conditions on April 22.
It also predicted thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty surface winds in parts of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada and Koraput, among others.
On Tuesday, 18 places across Odisha recorded maximum temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius or above. The industrial town of Jharsuguda was the hottest in the state at 43.6 degrees Celsius.
Sambalpur and Titlagarh recorded 42.5 degrees Celsius each, followed by Hirakud at 42.4 degrees, Bolangir at 42.2 degrees and Angul at 42.1 degrees.
The twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded 37.9 degrees Celsius and 38.8 degrees Celsius, respectively, with relative humidity levels remaining above 70 per cent.
Meanwhile, the state government directed all district education officers to conduct a Summer Learning Programme for students till class 8 in government schools during the summer vacation.
Officials said students would be given practice assignments along with audio-visual learning content.
Subject-wise assignment sheets have been prepared, while related digital material will be shared through school parents' WhatsApp groups using a chatbot system, they said.
