Developing Interpersonal Communication Strategies

The revolution in information technology and the rapid globalization have brought communication to the front line of academia and industry with the whole world becoming a global market and business getting varied and result oriented, professionals, scientists, teachers and students are facing newer challenges in communication everyday. We have to communicate with entire world – with the people of different nationalities various background and diverse experiments. The greatest need of the hour is to learn to work together as team. To exist in this mode of working, organizations and institutions require a high level of competence in Interpersonal communication. The corporate world values those who have the ability to communicate effectively. Recruiters rank communication skills as important criteria for hiring employees. Effective communication and interpersonal skills are crucial to increase employment opportunities and to compete successfully in the business environment. Interpersonal communication leads to good rapport and better human relations which give rise to favorable work climate in any organization. interpersonal communication differs from other forms of communication in that there are few participants involved, the interact ants are in close physical proximity to each other and there are many sensory channels that give immediate feedback. Also the roles of sender and receiver keep alternating. Moreover, most interpersonal communication situation depends on variety of factors, such as the psychology of the two parties involved, the relationship between them, the situation in which the communication takes place, the surrounding environment, and finally the cultural context. The present paper is an attempt to explore the power of interpersonal communication and to suggest some strategies to develop interpersonal communication to excel in personal, professional and social life. Keywords: Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Attitude, Values, Communication, Empathy

Myth and Love: A Popular Sensation as Seen in the Works of Amish Tripathi and Chetan Bhagat

This paper entitled “‘Myth and Love’ – A Popular Sensation: As seen in the Works of Amish Tripathi and Chetan Bhagat”, focuses on the affect and effect of popular culture in India and the cultural issues which are showcased through the selected novels. The notion of Myth and Love has undergone an immense change in this modern world of the Millennials. Chetan Bhagat and Amish Tripathi who belong to the Generation X have thoroughly introspected in to the mind set of Generation Y and Z. They have found the intriguing nature of the modern life, which often craves for an out of the world experience filled with adrenaline rush. The modern society craves for a fantasy which they can dwell upon but at the same time they want to be connected with reality. Love is no more pure and forever as speculated by many till now. It has become a fleeting emotion than a lifelong commitment as shown in Bhagat’s “Half Girlfriend” and myth doesn’t mean stories of Gods and Demons anymore. It can be the storey of a great human being raised to the position of a God, as seen in Tripathi’s “The Immortals of Meluha”. This is what popular culture emphasises upon, a mix between what’s popular and the need of the hour; which it showcased in the works of Tripathi and Bhagat. Keywords: Myth, Love, Millennials, Modern, Popular Culture. DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/9-5-03 Publication date:March 31st 201

Metaphor: A Key Ingredient in Common and Literary Discourse

In The present paper, I have reviewed the argument that metaphor is a key ingredient linguistic device in common as well as literary discourse, adding a recent view which holds that the human mind is fundamentally a literary mind and no human thinking can take place without story, projection and parable. Next I have also examined critically the analytical models suggested by I.A Richards, G.N Leech and Chomsky. I have demonstrated the operation of metaphorical enrichment by analyzing and interpreting a number of metaphorical expressions both colloquial and literary. I have also proposed a procedure for analyzing complex metaphor. For this purpose, I choose the well-known metaphor, “or to take arms against a sea of troubles” In Shakespeare‘s Hamlet Act III. Sc I. Keywords: Metaphor, Sense metaphor, Emotive metaphor Literary Metapho

Culture Differences: A Major Barrier in English Language Teaching and Learning

This paper explores the role of culture and its impact on English language teaching and learning. A classroom, in today’s world, is a melting pot of students from various social, economic and cultural backgrounds. These differences influence them in everything they do and think. If this cultural difference is not studied with due respect, it could become a major impediment in their acquisition of second language. Hence, this paper observes the multiple ways in which cultural difference comes to play in the life of a language learner. It also discusses on how the problem could be tackled with the development of a cultural intelligence

A Post Modern Analysis of Music with Special Reference to the Tradition of Hindustani Classical Music

This paper is an effort to analyze North Indian Classical music under the lens of a post modern condition. The North Indian Classical music is also known by the name Hindustani Music which is highly renowned owning a dedicated listenership worldwide. The study taken up in this paper is interdisciplinary and attempts to analyze Hindustani music with the help of certain Post Modernist tenets. Post Modernism as a movement is colossal. It is an umbrella term for many movements and theories whereas, in this paper, there is no direct use of any particular theory. Rather , it makes use of the basic tenet of post modernism ;  questioning and subverting the established schools of thought so as to show that there are hitherto  unrevealed meanings deep inside. This paper takes up post modernist thinking as a method to show the other side of established notions and how such notions are subverted.  In this study, the subject that is brought under close scrutiny is the ancient ‘gharana’ system of Hindustani Classical Music, the sanctity and sublimity attached to it and also music in general. It also subverts the artist/ audience pair to show that it is not actually the artist alone who is instrumental in making music but the audience too play an important role in it, a role that is sometimes more influential regarding the making of music. Keywords: Music, culture, discours

Video Talks in English Laboratory: An Effective Tool in Promoting Self-motivated Language Learning in the ESL Context of Indian Learners

Videos are an essential component in language labs and its usage has risen rapidly owing to the increasing stress on communicative practices. It is evident that the use of videos is a big advantage for language teachers in inspiring and facilitating the learners towards learning the target language. A large-scale survey by Canning-Wilson (2000) clearly indicates that the students like learning language through the use of videos. The learners are exposed to videos which are either streamed through programmed language software installed in computers or played separately. The videos situated in the learning software operate in a pattern that aims at certain skill development like following the native pronunciation pattern or teaching body language, etc. Such skills could also be achieved through the use of videos which focus on speeches by experts. Keywords: language lab, ESL, proficiency, video, video talks, language learning, speeches, self-motivatio

Richard Eberhart’s Poetic Theory: Art and Craft

This paper is a maiden attempt to bring a promising, independent and prolific poet, richard eberhart to the fore, and to focus attention on the most dominating and pervasive theme in his poetry. His central theme of mortality is like a lofty mountain that dominates the entire landscape of his works. No matter what the road the reader takes, what pass he treads, he would find the mountain bursting on his vision at every turn of the way and at every parting of the hills. The secret of his upheld popularity rests on his uniquely strong individuality, romantic mould, spasmodic vigor, simplicity of expression and a deep concern for mankind. Kenneth Rexroth has rightly remarked that Eberhart is the poet of the academies. His long teaching experience, in school, navy and colleges; ‘independent intelligence’ and imaginative fervor, confirm the indisputable statement. He is a poet who is greatly indebted to tradition as far as the influences are concerned but he owes equally to ‘traditionless’ experiments. He attempts neither influences nor ‘traditionless’ experiments for its own sake, unless it contributes to the aesthetic integrity. He is totally devoted and sincerely dedicated to the writing of poetry but never considers it as an accident. He has a high notion of poetry like the Emersonian transcendental value of poetry. He feels that a successful poem is a proportionate blending of feeling and ideas: Poetry is the heart and head. If it is all heart, it may become soft. If it is all head, it becomes arid. (Opp,5) Here is a poet who vows to live for poetry: Some of our best poets have died for poetry by suicide. Poets should not die but should live for it. I deplore the suicides of these people. (Ralph J.Mills. Richard Eberhart, 13

Kautilya’s Views on Espionage and its Current Relevance

Kautilya’s The Arthashastra is considered one the finest political and war discourses ever written in prose form. Dating back to the 4th century, it contains a whole plethora of views on espionage elements carefully embedded in them. Kautilya, is often referred to as the modern-day economist of his times. Having belonged to one of the oldest Indian civilizations, he has spelt out clear principles for espionage and stressed the importance of spies in securing the livelihood of about six billion global citizens living across the world. The espionage discourse is filled with courage, dedication and commitment. And is also equally watered down with anxiety and unparalleled justice toward a greater cause. Kautilya is a realist and a naturalist in his approach and his discourses often contain animal analogies. This paper attempts to study the aspects on espionage laid down by Kautilya and fundamentally tries to address the modern day issues like containing terrorism, securing country’s borders and ultimately guaranteeing security of an individual. Keywords: Kautilya, The Arthashastra, espionage, spies and security