Rajat, a school kid, is reminded of his English teacher each time he sees the ‘Bum Bhole’ song of ‘Taare Zameen Par’. And like in the movie, Rajat’s teacher was not liked by the school authorities because of his teaching methods.

Despite the decades that have gone by, I still remember studying…naah…enjoying a poem called ‘The Frog and the Nightingale by Vikram Seth in our textbook. The reason I remember it still is because of my teacher and the fun he added to Seth’s writing style. He enacted the poem and became the frog as well as the nightingale. Imagine, a fully grown man jumping around like a frog in the class so that his students can enjoy and understand better. His classes were always so much fun. I loved studying drama the most as his voice changed with the tenor of statement and that of the character. Yeah, there was a play with an android in it and guess what, he even spoke like a robot whenever he read the android’s lines. His classes were never boring and I remember that I always played complete attention when he was teaching. I think it’s true when they, all study and no play makes Jack a dull boy!

Via BlogBharti

How many of you thought that the Arab scholars are limited to the domain of politics only? The Lebanese sociologist, Samir Khalaf, has triumphantly blown away this belief. Khalaf, a professor at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and director of the Center for Behavioral Studies, honored by the Harvard University primarily for his work outside the subject of politics, is certainly not the first Arab academic to gain recognition in the West, and he isn’t likely to be the last either.

Khalaf has made a career of producing what Harvard professor Steven Canton characterized as “splendid,” “illuminating” and “unique” works on topics as varying and complex as Arab sexuality, urban sociology and modernity - works that fall outside the mainstream political discourse in and about the region. His proficiency goes so far as to teach a master class for doctoral students on sexuality, urbanism, violence and identity.

To get honors from Harvard is one of the rarest things that a sociologist trapped in Lebanon can ever hope for. And so its like a dream come true for Khalaf. He has to pinch himself to believe it to be really true! To be admired not only in one’s own country but also attaining a seat of esteem across the boundaries, and especially in the west is worth commendable. As Khalaf also puts it, “How [would] you feel if you were doing good work and only your mother realized?”

And this not only contributes to his personal aggrandizement, but also makes a way for the others to explore topics of a sensitive nature that are still taboo [in other Arab countries], instead of being gobbled away in only political writings. His extraordinary endeavor has diminished the preconceived notion about Arab academicians and has set an example for the others.

So Arab scholars are out to win more accolades to remedy the “praise-free zone” of Arab academia.

via dailystar