It’s time for some mischief after school on a rainy afternoon. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

What do you do to convince others of your opinion? What do you do to stimulate people’s thoughts and actions? The answer to both these questions is the same: we persuade people.

Persuasion is not an inborn trait, neither can it be acquired through theoretical knowledge. It is an art that can be cultivated only through continuous practice and practical application. It involves lot of elements and techniques too. The art of persuasion was what participants were taught at United States Educational Foundation in India (USEFI) at American Centre on february 28. The workshop “Writing to Persuade”, put students through the paces of the art of persuasion.

The five-hour workshop was an interactive session. It was conducted by Meghmala Tarafdar, a Fulbright visiting lecturer and assistant director, Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, City University of New York (CNU).

Its purpose was to introduce effective strategies for writing essays, reports, proposals and letters. The workshop included two sessions of interactive modules including lectures, visuals, handouts and samples. The participants were encouraged to engage in analytical exercises to identify the features and techniques of persuasive writing through contextual examples.Participants came up with interesting questions for Tarafdar.

Certificates of participation were handed to the participants by USEFI. The workshop was indeed a very persuasive one!

Dipshikha K. Chowdhury,
Communicative English, First yr, Loreto College

Return of Dada

Experts say that coming back to international cricket is not easy, especially at the age of 33. After playing for 10 years and then waiting for 10 months for a chance is even tougher.

But Sourav Ganguly’s comeback has proved everyone wrong. Even after he was dropped from the team, he never gave up and was always confident about getting back to Team India.

Ganguly’s performance against South Africa has proved his potential. He made an unbeaten 51 in the first innings and followed it up with a valuable 25 in the second innings. Most importantly, Team India pulled off a victory over South Africa by as many as 123 runs. India’s win against South Africa in foreign land definitely deserves kudos. It is India’s first ever test victory in South Africa.

The performance of dada and of Team India were appreciated by experts. It was indeed a powerful comeback for Ganguly and the team.

Parthasarathi Chatterjee,
First yr, B.Com, St Xavier’s College

The real experience

Reading is one of the best habits a man can acquire. It confers many virtues provided the right kind of books are chosen. It is believed that books are a great source of knowledge but it is also true that “not everything that is learned is contained in books”. Reading alone cannot make a man wise. It is experience that makes a man knowledgeable.

Mistakes teach us many things. Every mistake is an experience that teaches us what life is about. Everyday, we learn something and often realise that what we had learned the day before was wrong.

Books definitely give us ideas about life but the knowledge is imparted only through reality. So it would be wrong to come to a conclusion from books.

For instance, if we read in a book that the rose is red and with thorns, one might derive only a vague idea about the flower. The knowledge has no value if the person never sees the flower or experiences pain when it pricks the skin.

Once again, the experience of observing the flower provides one with knowledge about the deception hidden behind the beauty of the rose.

Books give us a different pleasure and an author could not express it if he had not experienced the truth himself. It is the observation of facts that provide the author with knowledge and skill about his work.

Shanili Saha,
Second yr, English, Calcutta University

SHOUT OUT LOUD

What’s on your mind this week

Scavenger under threat

If you think that scavengers are of no use to the ecology, think again, for they play an indispensable role in maintaining the balance in the food chain.

Vultures, nature’s most efficient scavengers, are on their way to extinction today. But they play a vital role in the food chain by feeding on dead and decaying animals. This not only helps in cleaning the surroundings, but also protects the ecology from harmful bacteria.
But the population of these much-maligned birds has decreased to nearly 2 per cent of their original number in the last 15 years. There were about 8.5 crore vultures in our country in the mid-90s. A recent study shows that the present number is around 4,000. Of the three species of vultures affected, the Slender-billed vulture and the White-rumped vulture are the two facing the threat of extinction.

There are many reasons for the decline, but research shows the main cause to be the livestock painkiller Diclofenac. When vultures feed on the dead body of cattle, they also consume traces of the painkiller that has a damaging effect on their
kidney. Over the past few years, wildlife enthusiasts have been trying to bring this issue to light. But are the authorities concerned?

Tanmoy Halder,
First yr, B.Sc (Botany), Vivekananda College

Women’s day

Friendship day, Father’s day, Chocolate Day, Rose day, International Women’s Day — every occasion has a specific day. But just celebrating the day does not serve the purpose. It is important to appreciate its significance.

March 8 has been declared International Women’s Day by the United Nations declaration of human rights, 1948, for protecting the rights of women all over the world. Instead of making it a day of superficial celebration, it should be observed in the right spirit.

The day should aim to accelerate the policies targeted towards the upliftment of women. Also, some policies should be directed specifically towards rural women who need them more than their urban counterparts.

The thrust should be more on women of third world countries, who have not been benefited by the education policies due to their back wardness.

So, on International Women’s Day, we should make people aware about the basic rights of women. March 8 embodies the solidarity of women all over the world who have experienced subordination.

The day can retain its significance only if the bandwagon of liberated women lucky enough to have access to such a point of view, can do their part for their not-so-privileged counterparts.

Stuti Agarwal,
First yr, Political Science (Honours), St Xavier’s College