Literature and Memory - Series 1 - Examining David Diop's 'At Night All Blood is Black' - 12 Part series

Introduction

These blogs are based on my reading and understanding of David Diop's novel 'At Night All Blood is Black'. The book won the Man International Booker Prize in the year 2021. 

PART 1 - Man International Booker Prize 

Celebrating the author and the translator Man International Booker Prize complements the Man Booker Prize. The prize was awarded every two years. Since 2016, the award has been given annually. The prize money is 50,000 GBP. Earlier it was given in recognition of a writer's body of work rather than one title. Sine 2016, it is awarded to a single book translated to English. The prize money is shared between the author and the translator. Now the award is renamed the International Booker Prize. I was fortunate to meet and listen to the words of Jokha Alharthi, the Omani writer who won the award in 2019. I was attending an International Conference at PSMO college in Malappuram district in Kerala. Mrs Jokha Alharthi was the Keynote Speaker. The book which won her the award was Celestial Bodies. The translation of the book is available in Malayalam, and the translation done by my good friend and well-wisher Ibrahim Badusha Wafi.Ruskin Press plays a pivotal role in publishing the translated works from different languages. David Diop's book 'At Night All Blood is Black' is translated by Anna Moschovakis. She is a poet, author and translator. This post introduces three translated books published by Pushkin Press. 1. No Place to Lay One's Hand by Françoise Frenkel - The preface to the book is written by Patrick Modiano. The story of Françoise Frenkel - a Polish Jew who opens her bookshop in Berlin, which was a dream project for her. The dream lasted only for two decades. Françoise flees to France due to Aryanization. When the war starts, she moves to Nice and is horrified by what she sees around her. The book is translated by Stephanie Smee. 2. On Love and Tyranny - The Life and Politics of Hannah Arendt by Ann Heberlein How the ground-breaking work of Hannah Arendt was shaped by both her personal and outside world. The biography traces the journey of Hannah Arendt from Germany and then to Occupied France. The book is translated by Alice Menzies. 3. The Limits of My Language - Meditation on Depression by Eva Meijer. The book deals with the treatment of depression and how it can influence our bodies. The book also tells us 'how to move on from our darkest thoughts. The translator is Antoinette Fawcett. 

Part 2 - Pushkin, Perumal Murugan and Translation 

The connecting link between yesterday's post and this post is Jo Walker. She is a person who believes that she can do only one thing in her life, i.e. design book covers. She feels she was 'born to design book jackets and can't imagine doing anything else' These words are from the publishing house's website where she is currently employed as an Art Director. She is with Pushkin Press is a British publishing house founded in 1997. Pushkin Press published the book by David Diop - At Night All Blood is Black. They are doing a great job in translating works from different corners of the world. Translation can be regarded as an art but not a perfect one. In one of the Clubhouses discussions I listened to last night, the noted critic and reader, N.E Sudheer, said it is 'difficult to translate some works'. Vaikom Mohammed Basheer is one writer who cannot be translated. Pushkin Press has got more than a hundred books that are translated. They are committed to publishing 'high-quality writing from around the world'. Towards the end of 'At Night All Blood is Black', few pages give information about the translated works. It was a surprise and a matter of pride to find the name of Perumal Murugan on the list. Pushkin Press has published two of his novels - 'The Story of A Goat' and 'One Part Woman. Perumal Murugan is described as a compelling and award-winning contemporary writer'. Pushkin Press also has a lovely collection of biographies and memoirs. I will be writing about some of the selected titles from Pushkin Press tomorrow.

PART 3 -  Senegalese tirailleur

A tirailleur is a type of light infantry trained to skirmish ahead of the main army columns. The noun tirailleur has many meanings. It can be a skirmisher or a rifleman, or a sharpshooter. African troops were used as ‘cannon fodders’ to spare French lives. The French recruited 140,000 West Africans as tirailleurs. They served as combatants in Europe between 1914 and 1918. This cross-cultural encounter is a significant episode that happened between Africans and Europeans. The French colonial masters were able to inject propaganda into the minds of the Africans. The words used were ‘The Victory in the War will Save our Race and Save yours’. These soldiers’ personal experiences remained obscure. No war memorials were erected the Africans fought along with the French. The influence of Oral history is finally revealing after nearly 75 years of silence. The French recruited more than 29,000 tirailleurs from Senegal. They are the Senegalese Tirailleurs. The French deployed the Senegalese forces in the trenches. Senegalese combat losses were almost three times greater than those of French soldiers. The oral memories helped to gauge the significance of the wars on Senegalese. Most of the Senegalese feels that over a million fathers, mothers, wives and sweethearts made ‘a useless sacrifice’ in the past. Life histories that encompass the entire span of one’s existence is an excellent way to map the past. This is the background against which David Diop’s - At Night All Blood is Black will be read and discussed in the next ten days.  Inputs from ‘Memoirs of the Maelstrom -  A Senegalese Oral History of the First World War by Joe Lunn’

Part 4 - Exploring the book - 'At Night All Blood is Black'

After a detailed discussion of the book cover, information about the author and the translator, and the historical background, today, we embark on a journey to examine the book per se. Today we are discussing the events in the first ten pages of the book. The first ten pages cover the first two chapters. I have selected a passage from Page # 10 of the book. This is the section in the novel where Alfa Ndiaye is back in the trenches after carrying the dead body of his friend ( brother) Mademba Diop. ( note the similarity of the surnames of the author and this character) Alfa had to walk a long distance with the mortal remains of his friend. The moon was shining brightly at that time. Alfa's friends praised him for his courage, and they predicted that he would be awarded Croix de Guerre ( a military decoration of France), that his family will be proud of him, and even Mademba will be proud of him. The thoughts in Alfa's mind are different "I didn't care about the medal," Excerpt From David Diop. "At Night All Blood Is Black" Heavily burdened with guilt, he was thinking how he couldn't fulfil the wish of his friend who wanted to be killed to escape the scavenger birds of the battlefields. The words of Mademba echoed in his mind "slit my throat like a sacrificial sheep, don't let the scavengers of death devour my body! Don't abandon me to all the filth. Alfa Ndiaye… Alfa... I'm begging you…slit my throat!" ( At Night All Blood is Black Page # 5) From this short note, we can see that the tale weaved by Diop is not an easy read. Some of the descriptions in the novel are pretty intense. Diop describes the war-torn land in an in-depth manner. Diop is also a master when it comes to endearing illustrations. Let's examine this line from page 4 - "While the others hid in the gaping wounds in the earth we called as trenches". The description of the body destroyed by mortar shells is frightening and shocking. "his insides outside, like a sheep that has been dismembered after the sacrifice" (At Night All Blood is Black Page # 4). The character of Alfa is portrayed as one who has got a mind of his own. He is not gullible and following the mob frenzy of other indoctrinated soldiers. His case is a strange mixture of the personal memory ( his deep-rooted friendship with Mademba) and the collective memory of the times (the French Colonial era and the Senegalese Tirailleurs.

Part 5 - The Title of the Novel and the First Line of the Novel

David Diop's 'At Night All Blood is Black' The title of the novel appears on page 21. It is the line with which the author ends Chapter III. There is always a fascination to study the first lines of famous works in literature. Ursula Guin, in her essay 'The Fisherwoman's daughter describes the first lines as "First sentences are doors to worlds". Some of the famous first lines are "Call Me Ishmael' ( Moby Dick by Herman Melville), 'I am an invisible Man' ( Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison) 'Mother died today, or maybe yesterday; I can't be sure' ( The Outsider by Albert Camus) The opening lines of Diop's novel is '… I know, I understand'. This the personal philosophy of Alfa Ndiaye. He was not like others in the trench. He found others to be 'foolish' and 'idiotic'. According to Alfa, they always said 'yes'. They are always ready to follow the orders of the French Captain. They believed the Captain when he said that they are all 'great warriors' "You, the Chocolate of black Africa, are naturally the bravest of the brave". France admires you and is grateful' Alfa understand the hollowness of these words, and they don't influence him. He says, 'I understand the true meaning of the Captain's words'. Alfa asserts himself when he says, "I am free to think whatever I want'. He never returned to the trenches when 'a retreat was called'. He would be the last one to come back to the trench. Since Alfa always came back with a trophy or the spoils of the war, nobody questioned him. Alfa earned his freedom and independence. Others respected him, and they sometimes regarded him as a 'totem' and 'a force of nature. Diop is quite graphic when describing the horrid details of the war. Reader discretion is advised when reading the parts where Alfa becomes a savage and is on the hunt for the 'blue-eyed German' who killed Mademba. The novel illustrates how the French ( like any other colonial power) pitted the Senegalese tirailleurs against each other based on their tribal lineage. 'A Diop would not want it said of him that he is less courageous than a Ndiaye' (p14)

Part 6 - Conciliation, Remembering and Filling the Void 

David Diop’s 'At Night All Blood is Black’ plays a more significant role of being a work that helps France to face its colonial past in Africa. The book has sold more than 1,70,000 copies in France. When Diop attends book publicity events, people bring him ‘letters and photos of their grandfather or great grandfather with African infantrymen. Today, the book is discussed widely in the global academic circles ( like the Bangladesh War of 1971). Diop spent his childhood in Africa, and he was used to seeing soldiers being paraded in the streets during the National Day celebrations. These soldiers had fought for France in the two World Wars. Back in France, when he started reading letters by French soldiers, he didn’t find any reference to the infantrymen from colonised African countries. In Senegal, they remembered what they did for France. Out of exasperation, he wrote a fictional letter from a Senegalese soldier addressed to the French government. We may regard this as the starting point for ‘At Night All Blood is Black’. The work has led to a reckoning with the colonial history in French fiction’. Diop believes that ‘remembrance is necessary to achieve a sense of balance’. Diop was born to a family with two cultures ( also languages - French and Wolof). His mother was French, and his father was Senegalese. It was his mother who encouraged him to read French and African authors. Diop was heavily influenced by the universalist values of France, especially the Enlightenment movement led by the likes of Voltaire and Denis Diderot ( French Philosopher and Father of the Encyclopedia). Diop also researched the works of historians to fill the void in the narrative. He has also credited the 20th-century Ivorian novelist Ahmadou Kourouma to bring African flour to French literature. Diop terms it as a form of ‘reappropriation’ For Diop, writing is a way to ‘conciliate’ He believes that there is nothing to ‘reconcilliate.’ (With inputs from the article which appeared in the New York Times on May 31, 2021)

Part 7 - David Diop’s At Night All Blood is Black - Totem to Taboo 

From chapter four of the book, we witness a change in how the ‘others’ regard Alfa. They included both white soldiers (French) and Chocolate Soldiers from West Africa’ Alfa was celebrated as a war hero whenever he returned to the trenches. He was worshipped as a ‘totem’ or as a force of nature. When he returned, he always carried with him the ‘stench of death. Diop makes it a point to convey to the reader the ferociousness and the callousness of the war. Alfa says, My stench is the stench of death. When Alfa returned, his ‘war brothers’ fed him with delicacies, he was offered tobacco and helped clean his uniform. From this state of celebration, they became afraid of him. He was regarded as an untouchable. They were afraid of his frenzied way of killing and collecting the hands of the enemy soldiers as war trophies. He was always kept at a distance, and they started regarding him as a ‘soldier sorcerer’. Rumours started spreading about him and he was blamed for the death of Mademba. They believed that Alfa is a ‘devourer of people’s inside, a dëmm. Chapter eight is all about the bonding between Alfa and Mademba. Diop’s description of this bonding is note-worthy ‘we were like twin brothers who came out of the same day or the same night from their mother’s womb’ The day Mademba die, there was a quarrel between them about their tribal totems. Provoked by what Alfa said, Mademba Diop left the trenched ‘screaming louder than anyone else’ That is the day Mademba Diop died killed by the blue-eyed German.

Part 8 -  Beyond Post-colonial Narratives 

Chapter Nine begins with the words - ‘they’d had enough’ which refers to how Alfa’s countrymen and French soldiers are afraid of his antics in the frontline. The fear that they have in their mind reaches its zenith in this chapter. We are also introduced to the elderly figure of Ibrahima Seck, who is a winner of the Croix de Guerre military honour. He serves as the translator from French to Wolof. He always began his sentences with the exact words ‘The Captain says…” What the Captain told Alfa was to take rest for one month. The Captain also wanted to know where Alfa has hidden the ‘seven severed hands’. Chapter Ten is all about the tale of the severed hands. The chapter is not for the faint-hearted. There are descriptions of how Alfa used the techniques used at his home to dry those hands. “ I dried the hands of the blue-eyed one the way ay home we dry fish we want to preserve’. He is also talking about his friend Jean-Baptiste who the first enemy hand. He didn’t mind Jean Baptiste doing so. Alfa describes him as ‘the only real white friend in the trench’. When Alfa returned with the body of Mademba Diop, Jean-Baptiste was the only one who took care of him in the proper way. He even shared bread with Alfa and made him laugh. Chapter Eleven is about the ‘ugly death’ of Jean Baptiste’ He died because he provoked the blue-eyed Germans with the hand stolen from Alfa. The severed hand was fixed on his helmet. The reader is given a subtle hint that Jean-Baptiste deliberately did the act of provocation. Few days before the Germans killed him, he had received ‘a perfumed letter from home’. Alfa describes the event in these words ‘When he finished reading the letter, Jean Baptiste face has become great’. The chapters which we analysed today are significant because it introduces some new characters. It also brings in the short-lived but meaningful companionship between a Senegalese soldier and a French soldier. This is the grey area in Post-colonial studies. These bondings destroy the very idea of a coloniser and a colonised. One immediate example which comes to my mind is from the movie Lagaan where the white lady helps the villages to learn Cricket. There is always a level of truth beyond the political fiasco, like the story of Toba Tek Singh by Saadat Hasan Manto.

Part 9 - African Cultural Collective Memory in David Diop’s Work

David Diop’s novel is heavily interspersed with references to the African culture and tradition. In a way, through these references, the Senegalese origins of the author is celebrated. Alfa’s attacks on the German front in search of the ‘blue-eyed one’ is compared to the African mamba snake. “I slid like a snake along the side of the trench. I was invisible, and I slid, slid, slid as fast as I could to get myself right next to the enemy soldier” The Captain and the old Chocolat Croix de Guerre infantryman Ibrahima Seck wanted to know about the war trophies which Alfa has collected ( The seven severed hands) He never told them where he had hidden those trophies. Captain Armand ordered the soldiers to launch a search for finding these seven severed hands, and they were ready to inspect the things of Alfa. But he cleverly attached a talisman to the trunk’s handle where he had kept his war trophies. The amulet was given to him by his father before Alfa left for the war. So when the elder Ibrahima Seck came to inspect Alfa’s trunk, he backed away, seeing the talisman which had the drawing of a human hand that resembled the skin of the lizard Ounk. Chapter fourteen ends with the fling Alfa had with Fary Thiam, a girl in Alfa’s village. They met on the shores of the river in their village of Gandiol. They could get some privacy because the villagers were afraid of the river goddess Mame Coumba Bang.

Part 10 -  Mother, Mademba and Fatherland 

The following few chapters in the book ‘At Night All Blood is Black’ does not contain the horrid details of the war zone. Due to the excessive energy shown by Alfa, the Captain has asked him to occupy the ‘Rear’ (another word for the rehabilitation centre). He is confined to a hospital bed under the supervision of Dr Francois and his daughter Mademoiselle Francois who was a nurse. Alfa could sense that Mademoiselle Francois had a particular way of looking at him. "She said to me with her matching blue eyes that she found me very handsome from top to bottom". Alfa feels that 'he is far away from the battle'. His mind wanders, and he starts reminiscing about his life in the village and how he and Mademba courted the girls, especially Fary Thiam. There were strict ancestral rules which guided the acts of courtship and marriage. There are two instances where Diop has shared two nuggets of wisdom in the form of the Fula proverbs. The Fula nomad's adage says, "At dawn, you can already know if the day will be good and bad." Another Fula proverb says, "Until a man is dead, he is not done being created." Alfa goes on a trip down memory lane lying in the hospital bed. Since he couldn't speak French, he used drawings for communicating with the doctor. He drew two pictures lying there. One sketch is of his mother Penndo, and the second one was of Mademba. His mother was his father's fourth wife, and she left him when he was nine years old. She belonged to the nomadic tribes, and she didn't like staying in one place for long. She searched for her father and brothers, and it is believed that she was captured by the Moorish horsemen and sold as a slave to a great sheikh. The second drawing was a portrait of Mademba. The drawing is ugly because he was ugly, but according to Alfa, ‘If Mademba wasn't as beautiful as I am on the outside, inside he was more so' It was because of Mademba that Alfa joined the war. Mademba was educated in French schools where he was taught to love the Fatherland - France. When Alfa's mother left him, it was Mademba who took care of him. Mademba wanted to become a French citizen. He wanted to start a business in Saint Louis and become rich.

Part 11 - Life in the Rehab

Alfa Ndiaye in the rehabilitation centre or the Rear is flooded with memories of his village and Fary Thiam. It dawned on him that Fary Thiam offered herself to him because she wanted him to be a man before he went to fight the war. Fary Thiam is pictured as a sensible woman because she understood very well that France and its army would take him from her. She knew that he would never return to Gandiol. She went against the ancestral law and her father Abdou Thiam, the village's Chief. Alfa's father never liked Abdou because, as the village chief, he urged everyone to cultivate only peanuts instead of cabbage, instead of watermelons, instead of tomatoes, instead of millets. Alfa's father opposed this proposition in the meeting. He said that he is ready to dedicate one field for peanuts, but he will not use all of his fields for peanuts. In a polite manner, Alfa's father told the village chief that he should 'concern himself with the people's interest' This is a message for all the leaders in the world, and that is the only way they can be great. The third drawing which Alfa made for the doctor was the seven hands. Few days after his stay in the 'Rear', he felt Dr Francois washing away 'the filth of war from inside' his head. He sketched to 'cleanse the insides of his head with big buckets of mystical water'. After seeing his sketch of the seven severed hands, Dr Francois stopped smiling at him.

Part 12 - The Bodily Scars and the Stories that they Tell

The last few pages of the novel talk about the physical might of Alfa. Alfa is well built compared to Mademba, who is more of an intellectual time which is good at studies. Alfa is a wrestler and knows how to use his agile body to win wrestling events. Alfa was easily selected by the army recruitment officers, whereas Mademba was turned down in the first attempt. Alfa believes in the power of his body “my arms are heavier than I expected; they are full of suppressed power that feels like it could explode at any moment”. The same bodily attributes are referred to when Alfa gets physical with Mademoiselle Francois. ‘Her female gaze is something which is repeatedly mentioned in the book. ‘Mademoiselle’s eyes were sweeping across the middle of my body. As the novel move towards its conclusion, the character of Alfa kind of disintegrates and merges with that of Mademba. The novel ends with the line ‘God’s truth, I swear to you that now, whenever I think of us he is me and I am him’. The novel is also a celebration of the act of doing rather than talking about doing. The contrast between Alfa and Mademba is an indicator of this. With his war scars, Alfa is full of stories to tell, whereas Mademba is an academician who can only talk and give lectures. Men without scars are described as ‘men without history’.

This is a 12 part series which examined the 2021 International Booker Prize winning novel by David Diop - At Night All Blood is Black. The novel is examined through the lens of memory studies and cultural studies. Please do leave your valuable comments and feedback at aftermemoryspace@gmail.com. Thank you. 

CITED # 2 - Celebrating the words of Milan Kundera

 

The Story of Book Covers

You can judge a book by its cover - this revised axiom is relevant when we discuss the topic of book covers. A Book cover captures the entire book with an image. A book cover designer should practice deep reading to understand the book's contents and design something based on that. The design on the book cover can be a metaphor for the whole book. Since I am interested in designing and playing with colours, book cover design is one area that has fascinated me. Some of my favourite book covers are - Manu S Pillai's The Courtesan, the Mahatma and the Italian Brahmin: Tales from Indian History, Poonachi by Perumal Murugan, The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa, Silent Travels by Benyamin, Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Lolita by Nabokov, To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, and Malice by Keigo Higashino.  

Examining the book cover of 'At Night All Blood is Black' by David Diop, we are intrigued by the shadowy lean figure of a lone African soldier moving forward with a rifle in his hand.  A bayonet is fixed on the gun. He seems to be hunched forward because of the military rucksack on his back. The white circle in the centre represents the moon. The interplay of black and white reinforces the shadowy figure of the soldier. The bluish shades create a contrasting effect to delineate the human shape with the gun. 

 

Jo Walker designed the cover. When I visited the official website of this book designer, I realized that she is the one who had designed the book cover of The Vegetarian by Han Kang. Jo Walker is a professional book cover designer and has more than 20 years of experience designing book covers. She has worked with various publishing houses, including Bloomsbury, Penguin Random House, Granta and Harper Collins. Jo Walker has designed the covers of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's four books, including Americanah and Purple Hibiscus. She has created the book covers of the Nobel laureate Doris Lessing (The Golden Notebook) and the Letters to the Lady Upstairs by Marcel Proust. 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.wired.com/2014/09/makes-brilliant-book-cover-master-explains/

The Man International Booker Prize - Celebrating the Author and the Translator

Man International Booker Prize complements the Man Booker Prize. The prize was awarded every two years. Since 2016, the award has been given annually. The prize money is 50,000 GBP. Earlier it was given in recognition of a writer's body of work rather than one title. Sine 2016, it is awarded to a single book translated to English. The prize money is shared between the author and the translator. Now the award is renamed the International Booker Prize. I was fortunate to meet and listen to the words of Jokha Alharthi, the Omani writer who won the award in 2019. I was attending an International Conference at PSMO college in Malapuram district in Kerala. Mrs Jokha Alharthi was the Keynote Speaker. The book which won her the award was Celestial Bodies. The translation of the book is available in Malayalam, and the translation was done by my good friend and well-wisher Ibrahim Badusha Wafi. 

 

Ruskin Press plays a pivotal role in publishing the translated works from different languages. David Diop's book 'At Night All Blood is Black' is translated by Anna Moschovakis. She is a poet, author and translator. This post introduces three translated books published by Pushkin Press.

 

No Place to Lay One's Hand by Françoise Frenkel - The preface to the book is written by Patrick Modiano. The story of Françoise Frenkel - a Polish Jew who opens her bookshop in Berlin, which was a dream project for her. The dream lasted only for two decades. Françoise flees to France due to Aryanization. When the war starts, she moves to Nice and is horrified by what she sees around her. The book is translated by Stephanie Smee. 

 

On Love and Tyranny - The Life and Politics of Hannah Arendt by Ann Heberlein How the ground-breaking work of Hannah Arendt was shaped by both her personal and outside world. The biography traces the journey of Hannah Arendt from Germany and then to Occupied France. The book is translated by Alice Menzies. 

 

The Limits of My Language - Meditation on Depression by Eva Meijer. The book deals with the treatment of depression and how it can influence our bodies. The book also tells us 'how to move on from our darkest thoughts. The translator is Antoinette Fawcett

What is after-the memory space?

After-the memory space is one man's dream to know more about memory studies, a field of study that has emerged in the recent past. The founder of after-the memory space is Premjith Mathew and he also serves as the chief investigator of the project. 

Memory Studies - A short note

 

Memory Studies - What it is or What it entails? It is a research field that explores both personal and collective memory. The possibility of an ‘entanglement’ of both these versions is bound to occur especially when we examine historical events like the Holocaust and the Partition of 1947. Memory studies is an interdisciplinary area of study. It borrows ideas and concepts from Sociology, Cultural Studies, Anthropology, Psychology, Architecture, Cognitive Sciences, Archaeology, History, Literature, etc. Memory is not just about remembering, it also deals with forgetting or erasures. Sometimes forgetting is induced by external forces like the State or it can be internal with the individual deciding not to remember certain traumatic and uneasy ones. Memory studies always operate in three levels - Personal, Collective, and Official. All these three interact with each other. Today, Memory Studies also explores the way technology enables remembering and forgetting. This is done in the context of current trend of ‘excessively commemorating personal events’ in the form of photographs (selfies), vlogs via social media platforms. The key areas in technology-driven memory studies are Digital Memory and Prosthetic memory.

Partition Narratives

 

Agenda, Meeting Minutes, Circular, Notice, Memo - Notes

 What is an Agenda?

The agenda is the version of the meeting plan shared with meeting attendees. A meeting agenda may include a list of topics to discuss, a sequence of planned activities, or both. The simplest agendas are formatted as a short-bulleted list. More complicated agendas may include detailed topic descriptions, including the expected outcomes for each item and reference material, such as reports and proposals for review prior to the meeting. Formal agendas will also include timing and presenter information for each agenda item. Agenda of a meeting is the plan for what is SUPPOSED to happen in the meeting (and when).

 

What are Meeting Minutes?

Meeting Minutes, or informally, notes, are the record of a meeting in written form. They typically describe the events of the meeting and may include an agenda, a list of attendees and no shows, a listing of issues and decisions made, and an action list with due dates and responsible parties. Informal meetings, the minutes become official after review and a vote at the next meeting. Minutes of a meeting are the exact or almost exact notes on what was said and who said it and maybe even when they said it. Like a script of the event but written while it happened.

 

What is a circular? 

Circulars or fliers are a highly effective way to communicate with employees or customers. Many companies use circulars as notices in business communication to enforce dress codes and policies or invite employees to meetings or luncheons. Circulars can also be used as an advertising tool. There are several benefits to using circulars, but a circular must include certain features to be most effective. Additionally, distribution is important for circulars in business communication. A circular is like a newsletter; something written and printed that gets handed around. ("Circular" from that you pass it around to people, so you circulate it). 

 

What is Notice? 

Notices are a means of formal communication targeted at a person or a group of persons. It is like a news item informing such person or persons of some important event. This can be an invitation to a meeting, an announcement of any event, to issue certain instructions, make appeals etc. Notice is telling people what will happen. Like announcement or advertisement.

 

What is a Memo: 

A memo (or memorandum, meaning “reminder”) is normally used for communicating policies, procedures, or related official business within an organization. It is often written from a one-to-all perspective (like mass communication), broadcasting a message to an audience, rather than a one-on-one, interpersonal communication. It may also be used to update a team on activities for a given project or to inform a specific group within a company of an event, action, or observance. Memorandum is a fancy or official message. The word "memo" is a short version (and more casual version) of this word. A memorandum might be a letter that makes an official statement, like to announce a new policy. Often someone writes it before the meeting, and hands out copies at the beginning of the meeting. 

Report Writing - Summary

 

Report Writing 

Reports are written to present facts about a situation, project, or process and will define and analyze the issue at hand. Ultimately, the goal of a report is to relay observations to a specific audience in a clear and concise style.

 

Title

 

If the report is short, the front cover can include any information that you feel is necessary, such as the author(s) and the date prepared. In a longer report, you may want to include a table of contents and a definition of terms.

 

Summary

The summary consists of the major points, conclusions, and recommendations. It needs to be short, as it is a general overview of the report. Some people will read the summary and only skim the report, so make sure you include all of the relevant information. It would be best to write this when the report is finished so you will include everything, even points that might be added at the last minute.

 

Introduction

The first page of the report needs to have an introduction. Here you will explain the problem and inform the reader why the report is being made. You need to give a definition of terms if you did not include these in the title section and explain how the details of the report are arranged.

 

Body

This is the main section of the report. The previous sections needed to be written in plain English, but this section can include technical terms or jargon from your industry. There should be several sections, each clearly labelled, making it easy for readers to find the information they seek. Information in a report is usually arranged in order of importance with the most important information coming first. Alternatively, you might choose to order your points by complexity or time.

 

Discussion

If you wish, this optional section can be included at the end of the main body to go over your findings and their significance.

 

Conclusion

This is where everything comes together. Keep this section free of jargon as many people will just read the summary and conclusion.

 

Recommendations

This is where you discuss any actions that need to be taken. In plain English, explain your recommendations, putting them in order of priority.

Paraphrasing - A short note

Paraphrase: express the meaning of (something is written or spoken) using different words, especially to achieve greater clarity. Paraphrasing involves taking a passage — either spoken or written — and rewording it. Writers often paraphrase sentences and paragraphs to deliver information in a more concise way, as you'll see in the examples below. When paraphrasing, it is important to keep the original meaning so that the facts remain intact. Basically, you are writing something in your own words that still expresses the original idea. Paraphrasing is common when writing an essay or research paper. It allows you to explain important ideas in your own writing style and focus on the information that is most useful in making your point. Even when you put someone else's ideas into your own words, you must cite the source of your information. This gives credit to the original author for their ideas. Paraphrasing is slightly different than summarizing. When you summarize a passage, you focus on restating only the main idea in your own words. Paraphrasing, on the other hand, aims to provide most of the information in a slightly condensed form. Summaries are much shorter than the original passage, while paraphrasing can be shorter, longer or the same length.
 
Original: Her life spanned years of incredible change for women as they gained more rights than ever before.

Paraphrase: She lived through the exciting era of women's liberation.
 
Original: Giraffes like Acacia leaves and hay, and they can consume 75 pounds of food a day.

Paraphrase: A giraffe can eat up to 75 pounds of Acacia leaves and hay daily.
 
Original: Any trip to Italy should include a visit to Tuscany to sample the region's exquisite wines.

Paraphrase: Be sure to make time for a Tuscan wine-tasting experience when visiting Italy.
 
Original: Symptoms of influenza include fever and nasal congestion.

Paraphrase: A stuffy nose and elevated temperature are signs you may have the flu.
 
Original: The price of a resort vacation typically includes meals, tips and equipment rentals, which makes your trip more cost-effective. 

Paraphrase: All-inclusive resort vacations can make for an economical trip.
 
Original: He has tons of stuff to throw away. 

Paraphrase: He needs to get rid of a lot of junk.
 
 

Source: https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-paraphrasing.html

Wangari Maathai - Summary

 Wangari Maathai was born in Nyeri, Kenya (Africa) in 1940. 

 

The first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree. 

 

Wangari Maathai obtained a degree in Biological Sciences from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas, USA (1964). 

 

She pursued doctoral studies in Germany and the University of Nairobi, obtaining a Ph.D. (1971) from the University of Nairobi.

 

Wangari Maathai was active in the National Council of Women of Kenya in 1976-87 and was its chairman in 1981-87. It was while she served in the National Council of Women that she introduced the idea of planting trees with the people in 1976 and continued to develop it into a broad-based, grassroots organization whose main focus is the planting of trees with women groups in order to conserve the environment and improve their quality of life. 

 

Through the Green Belt Movement, she has assisted women in planting more than 20 million trees on their farms and on schools and church compounds.

 

In 1986, the Movement established a Pan African Green Belt Network and has exposed over 40 individuals from other African countries to the approach. 

 

Wangari Maathai is internationally recognized for her persistent struggle for democracy, human rights and environmental conservation. 

 

She has addressed the UN on several occasions and spoke on behalf of women at special sessions of the General Assembly for the five-year review of the earth summit. 

She and the Green Belt Movement have received numerous awards, most notably the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. 

 

In June 1997, Wangari was elected by Earth Times as one of 100 persons in the world who have made a difference in the environmental arena. 

 

In December 2002, Professor Maathai was elected to parliament with an overwhelming 98% of the vote. 

 

She was subsequently appointed by the president, as Assistant Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife in Kenya’s ninth parliament.

Source: www.nobelprize.com

Poem Leave this Chanting and Singing and Telling of Beads

When I do good, I feel good, when I do bad, I feel bad – That is my religion – Abraham Lincoln

 

Gitanjali is a collection of 103 English poems, largely translations, by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. ‘Leave this chanting’ is the 11th poem in the collection.

 

The poet advises the priests to give up their counting of beads and their singing and chanting of mantras. 

He also urges them to stop the worship of God in a secluded corner of the temple, with their eyes half shut. 

He sharply states, ‘Open your eyes and see God is not there before you.’ God is not to be found in this way. 

God lives with the humble and down-trodden like the tillers of the land and path-makers who work hard at breaking stones. He lives with those who toil in sun and shower and whose clothes are soiled with dust. 

If the priest wants God he must come out of his temple, give up his holy robes and work with the humble tillers of the soil in rain and sun. 

Tagore thus glorifies the life of the humble labourers and rejects the ascetic way of life.

The ultimate spiritual goal of the ascetic is to seek deliverance. This is the liberation of the soul from the cycle of birth and death. 

But God Himself is bound to all of us in chains of love. He himself is not free and He has joyfully bound Himself to the work of creation and to the objects He has created. How can then man ever hope to be free from bondage? 

He urges the ascetics to leave the ritualistic flowers and incense which does not serve any purpose. 

According to the poet, one can find God not in the temple but with the workers who are working whole day in the dirt and under the hot sun. He asks us what harm is there if you work under the sun and if your clothes become dirt. Even when your clothes turn out or stained there is no harm because one is going to see the creator. 

Thus Tagore conveys that participation in the activity of life is essential for the realization of God. This poem ‘Leave This Chanting’ is equally important in World Literature due to his exposing the pseudo-zeal of worshippers everywhere.

 

Repost from 

http://e4english-corner-sasha.blogspot.com/2012/01/leave-this-chanting-rabindranath-tagore.html

 

Charlie Chaplin - Summary

Charlie Chaplin - Biography - Inspiring Lives

 

Was born on 16 April 1889

Parents were artists and they were always poor

His father was a drunkard 

Young Charlie was forced to dance and sing almost before he could walk

His mother was sick, and his father pushed Charlie to act

Parents went their way and the children were put in an orphanage

Mother was in a mental hospital and later she took care of them sewing blouses

Seven years - Charlie joined a touring music hall act - The Eight Lancashire Lads

He only had two years of schooling 

He lived like a homeless person in the streets of London for many months

Sid became a sailor was in the sea

After some time be became part of stage shows, once again

He joined the Fred Karno company 

In 1913 he was in America and was part of the expansion plans of the American film industry. 

His first film was - Making a Living. It is in this movie that his style became established - 

Frock coat, top hat, walrus moustache and eyeglass

His next film was Kids Auto Races made him famous. 

In 1918 during the filming of Shoulder Arms, he met Mildred Harris whom he married 

They divorced later due to misunderstanding

The Kid released in 1921 was the first full-length production

The Gold Rush in 1925 is the most celebrated picture of Chaplin

He married again. This time to Lita Grey. The marriage didn’t survive, and they separated

City Lights is the greatest film of Chaplin

Modern Times also was a highly successful movie

1943, he married the daughter of the American playwright. He was 54. 

He was accused of being a communist

He went to live in Switzerland in 1952 and died in 1977

In 1972 he awarded a special Academy Award for his contribution to cinema

 

We remember Charlie Chaplin because 

·      He gave a few minutes of laughter in this trouble-torn world

·      He was a unique master entertainer

·      He was a writer, director, actor, producer, and musician. 

·      He blended comedy and sadness 

·      Stan Laurel quote “ He is the greatest artist that was ever on the screen” 

 

 

 

 

The Avenger - Anton Chekhov - Summary

 

Fedor Sigaev discovers that his wife is unfaithful to him. He decides to take revenge on her. He visits the shop Schmucks & Co. The shop is the best place in the town to purchase firearms.  He asks the shop owner to show him a good revolver. He wanted to kill his wife, her lover and then himself. He has not used a gun in his life, nor has he shot anyone in his life. He started imagining the heavy wounds that he will inflict on his wife and her lover. 

 

The shop keeper was an active little man with a paunch, and he kept different types of revolvers on the counter. He suggests that Sigaev choose Smith- Wesson revolver which has six chambers. Shop keeper tells him that the gun can kill wolves, faithless wife and her lover. He even goes to say that it is the best gun to commit suicide.  The price of Smith- Wesson was 45 roubles. Sigaev dismisses the gun saying that it is expensive. The shop keeper presents another gun was which was made in France with a price of 18 roubles. Sigaev hides the fact that he wants to kill his wife and her lover. He says that the gun will be used for frightening away the thieves. Immediately shop keeper tells him that there is another gun which is known as the Mortimer pistol. The shop keeper presenting new guns to make Sigaev close the deal.

 

Meanwhile, Sigaev started imagining how the gun wound would cause maximum damage to his wife. He is not sure whether he should kill her. Instead of killing her, he now wants to kill her lover and himself. He wants his wife to suffer the agony of the twin deaths. 

 

Suddenly the shop keeper disturbs his daydream. He is now ready to offer a discount of five roubles on Smith Wesson. He offers other options like one revolver for 30 roubles. 

 

Meanwhile, Sigaev drifts off to another daydream in which decides not to kill himself but only his wife’s lover. (paramour) He will not kill himself, but he will get himself arrested. He thinks that killing oneself is a sign of cowardice. 

 

The shop keeper kept displaying new guns and kept talking about the merits and demerits of each gun. 

 

Sigaev started thinking about the prospect of going to jail after killing his wife’s lover. He doesn’t want to go to a Siberian prison. In that case, his wife will get married to someone and she will be the victorious one. He decides not to kill anyone and decides to move the court for a divorce. He decides to leave the shop, but he felt sympathy towards the shopkeeper, and he decides to buy a net for eight roubles just to make the shop keeper happy. 

The story ends with this line - The offended husband paid the eight roubles, took the net and left the shop. 

 

Themes

Transformation 

The character of the husband 

Taking the law into our hands 

Decision Making - 4 decisions made in a short time

The beauty of Anton Chekhov and the gender reversal 

Summary - Two Gentlemen of Verona by A.J Cronin

 

The narrator is driving through the foothills of the Alps along with his companion. While driving on the outskirts of Verona, two young boys who sell wild strawberries stop their car. The small boys appear to be quite shabby and the driver is not keen on buying strawberries from them. Then the narrator’s companion gets to know that the boys are brothers. The elder one aged 13 is Nicola, and the younger brother, aged 12, is Jacopo. The narrator and his companion buy the biggest basket of strawberries from the boys and go towards the city. The next morning, they again see the same two boys doing the shoe-shining job and on being asked, they say that they do many things for a living. They also tell the narrator and his companion that they could work as guides and show the visitors places of interest in the town. So, the narrator asks them to take them to Juliet’s tomb. During the time of their stay in the town, the two young boys turn out to be very helpful to the visitors.   Then, the boys are found with a bundle of unsold newspapers and are ready to sell them when the last bus arrived one night. The narrator then talks to them and asks them why they are working so hard. He also told them that they seem to fetch sufficient money, so why were they not spending anything on clothes and food. Nicola tells him that they had something in their minds, but he does not elaborate.   Jacopo then requests the narrator to drop them in his car to the village Polenta that is around 30 kilometres away. He requests him and says that it would be a great favour. Although, Nicola does not like the fact that his brother is troubling the narrator. But the narrator gladly agrees to help the boys with reaching that place. So, the next afternoon, he along with his companion drives to the village. After dropping them, the small boys enter a large red-roofed villa, which is actually a hospital.   The narrator hesitates to enter the hospital room. He tries to find out from the nurse about the girl in the hospital and the boys. Later, the nurse tells him that Lucia is the sister of these two boys and is suffering from tuberculosis. She also mentions that a bomb destroyed their home during the war. And even their father, a widower, had got killed during the early part of the war. When he died, his three children were left to starve. She told the narrator that the boys also started hating the Germans who came to rule the city and even became a part of the resistance movement. Once the war was over, Lucia got afflicted with tuberculosis and the boys had to admit her to the hospital. So, they have been trying their best to make the payments regularly to the hospital.   The narrator waited outside the room. He did not say anything to the boys on their way back in order to give the impression that they did not know about their secret.

Summary of After Twenty Years - O Henry

 

Named Jimmy Wells, the beat policeman on the street on which the narrative opens is a lifelong resident of New York City, who has had a friend from his youth named Bob who had invited him to move West where they could seek their fortunes. But, Jimmy, a true city boy who cannot leave his home, declines and the two-part ways with the promise that they will meet at their favourite restaurant in twenty years.    Having lived all these years in New York, Patrolman Well has established himself as a respected policeman, a man of integrity and decency. In fact, he values his friendship with Bob so much that when he discovers the identity of 'Silky' Bob, an outlaw, matches that of his boyhood friend, he does not have the heart to arrest him. Instead, he sends a detective to meet Bob and arrest him.    'Silky' Bob Unlike his virtuous friend, Bob travels West and finds an opportunity, but it is not a legal opportunity. For, when he lights his cigar in the doorway of the former "Big Joe Brady's" restaurant, explaining to the patrolman that he waits for his truest friend, Jimmy Wells, with whom he has made an agreement to meet these twenty years later, the policeman recognizes him from wanted posters of Chicago. For, the "little white scar near his right eyebrow" and his flashy diamonds in his scarfpin and watch match the description of 'Silky Bob.' When a man approaches Bob in the darkened doorway, he believes the man is his old friend Jimmy Wells. However, when the man steps under a streetlight, Bob has a recognition this time: The man is not his old friend, who did not have the heart to arrest Bob himself.   Friendship The bonds of friendship were forged between Bob and Jimmy all those years ago.    Loyalty Bob's loyalty to Jimmy is obviously unwavering.  Jimmy's loyalties to Bob and to the law are put to the test when he discovers his old friend is a wanted criminal.   Trust Whom would you trust more: a police officer who arrested his best friend, or a 'dirty cop'