Research Commision on Theatre Tradtion Nautanki Essay - 1

Research Commision on Theatre Tradtion Nautanki - Essay Example It is a roving theatre form, today considered to be a little uncouth by educated Indians; but could also be called as folk dance, village drama etc. It is a rural version of the word, natak, meaning drama in Sanskrit and according to a legend, the word nautanki might have come because it was the name of a princess and the initial dramas were about her love story which eventually signified a theatre genre. â€Å"Nautanki is staged in courtyards and maidans. The music is not exactly classical or even folk but has a pattern of its own, which does not vary much from drama to drama. The poetry is written in various metrical patterns and sung according to a special convention. The prominent musical instrument is the nagada (a single-faced kettle drum) which, in fact heralds a Nautanki performance. The sarangi and harmonium are also used. The dholak (drum) provides the rhythm† http://www.indiaprofile.com/religion-culture/nautanki.htm Nautanki is based only in North India, especially in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. To give a brief history of this operatic drama, it is important to know that they started as musicals, evolved out of ballads and recitals, with emotional drama and elaborate gesticulation, stories focussing on heroes and anti-heroes of the society, usually performed on a make-shift platform, starting with the invocation of God. It is not only the stage, but the surrounding trees, building, windows, doors or any other decorative items that simply happened to exist adjacently could be used as part of the play to make it more authentic. The rural folk enjoyed the high drama in it and it applied to all the religions and cultures. Even today it is considered to be a highly secular dance form, where stories from all the religious mythologies are performed and appreciated. It starts with Ranga’s (Director or the main person) singing, supported by harmonium accompanied by scintillating different

Oedipus Rex Essay Example for Free

Oedipus Rex Essay ‘Oedipus the King,’ also known as ‘Oedipus Rex’ is one of the three Greek plays about Thebes written by Sophocles. In fact the plays form a trilogy (Oedipus Rex, Oedipus Colonus and Antigone) with the same characters. The plays are sometimes referred to as the ‘Oedipus Plays’ since Oedipus is the main character. Sophocles’ genius lies in the crafting of these plays, and their characters, almost bringing them to life. Throughout the course of ‘Oedipus Rex’ he expresses the power of fate and predestination that leads the characters astray. In fact, it was the stubborn belief in superstitions and prophecies that Sophocles highlights. Both the heroes, Oedipus and Creon are popular tragic heroes of Greek mythology. Oedipus is bright and has profound intellect, but at the same time is quick to make rash decisions without much thought. Creon though is depicted as a man of reason, much more subtle, unlike the brash Oedipus. The play begins with Oedipus ruling Thebes with a firm hand. The people believe him to be their savior because Oedipus is the one who saves them from the curse of the Sphinx, a half female half lion monster, by solving her riddle. King Lauis who ruled before Oedipus had left Thebes for a while under the kingship of Creon. But King Lauis is killed. Meanwhile Creon offers his sister’s hand in marriage to anyone who could rid the city of the Sphinx by solving her riddle. It is Oedipus who is able to solve it, marries Jocosta (Creon’s sister), and gains rule of part of Thebes. From the beginning Oedipus is aware of that there is some curse on him. He learns from an oracle that he is destined to kill his father and mate with his own mother. But it is his over-bearing belief in this curse that eventually results in his fall. At the beginning of the play Oedipus is shown to have great strength of character and will, and is a man of understanding. People have a high regard for him and fear him the same. But the one weakness that lied in Oedipus was his impulsiveness. Throughout the play are numerous instances where Oedipus makes rash decisions, and is quick to jump to conclusions without much thought. His vanity leads him to kill Lauis over a mere brawl. Later when the blind prophet Tiresias warns him not to investigate the murder of Lauis, Oedipus is incensed and argues that Tiresias himself is the murderer. When the prophet reveals the truth, Oedipus is enraged, accusing the old man of corruption. He is bent on believing that Creon wants to seize power until he realizes that Creon himself chooses not to rule even thought he has the right to a third of Thebes. When Jocasta kills herself, Oedipus gouges his eyes with her broaches blinding himself in despair. And when he does learn the truth, he demands his own exile out of shame and disgust. Sophocles portrays Oedipus as a man of honor and dignity, a matter of prime importance to ancient Greeks. He was also a man of great intellect – another feature admired by them. The riddle of the Sphinx was baffling to say the least, but it was only Oedipus who could solve it. What is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three in the evening? To this Oedipus replies, Man (who crawls on all fours as a baby, walks upright later, and needs a walking stick in old age)[1]. Oedipus, in fact was a typical hero in every sense of the word. He was short-tempered, proud, and stubborn, with unflinching dedication and loyalty. He had a strong conscience, an intelligent mind and passion to do good for his people and his city. But worst of all was his inability to see clearly. Sophocles describes this by using a theme of ‘sight and blindness’ in the play often. Oedipus can see, but remains blind to reality. In contrast, the old prophet can see clearly even though he is blind. Such themes were often a part of Greek mythology. But the theme of blindness has special importance in Oedipus Rex – at times literal, at times metaphorical. Later when Oedipus learns that Jocasta has killed herself, and when he does learn that he fulfilled the prophecy, he blinds himself out of guilt, and anger at not being able to see or think clearly. Oedipus is over-bearing in many ways, and it is his over-bearing sense of self that misleads him so easily. After blinding himself he leaves to spend the rest of his life in exile, with the aid of his daughter Antigone. Creon, Jocosta’s brother, and Oedipus’ relative and friend stands in sharp contrast to Oedipus. In Oedipus Rex Creon plays the role of a calm and controlled man with a mind that reasons. Creon is a close friend of Oedipus, but that too does not keep the headstrong Oedipus from suspecting that Creon wanted to rule Thebes. Creon though claims that he is not interested in ruling Thebes, and that Oedipus is only a king in name, since he has the right to as much of Thebes as Oedious himself. He represents a semblance of diplomacy and stability. In fact, these were the very things lacking in Oedipus. Creon also shows traits of being much more reasonable. An example is when Creon brings news from the oracle and wishes to tell it to Oedipus is person. Oedipus though is insistent that it be told in public, not keeping anything from anyone. One can see various instances where the two heroes are opposing in their approaches, and manner of dealing with situations. While Oedipus can be called childish and haughty, Creon was much more clear-headed and foresighted. But there were some things that the two heroes shared in common. Both had won the hearts of the people, were respected, and loved the city of Thebes. They were also very keen followers of the Greek gods. Since most Greek mythology was built around gods and goddesses, they played a crucial role ion determining the course of the story. In fact the theme of gods and of predestination plays a key role in Oedipus Rex. Oedipus is always wary of his curse told to him by an oracle. He seeks help from Apollo to determine the cause of the plague. Creon too follows the will of the gods. When Oedipus demands to be exiled, Creon waits for approval from the gods before taking any action. It is worth mentioning here that if Oedious Rex and Antigone are compared, one can see that both the kings accuse the old prophet Tiresias of corruption when he tells them that the gods are against them. But there is also a clear difference that follows. While Creon tries to change, and amend his wrongdoings, Oedipus remains ‘blind’ and refuses to acknowledge his mistakes. Eventually, Oedipus is left wandering blind and lonely, while he leaves his daughters in Creon’s care.

innate human violence Essays -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Phillip Zimbardo, Solomon Asch, Stanley Milgram, and Howard Zinn were/are all gifted psychologists that strived to understand the simple complexities of conformity within an individual’s specific societal structure. Within their own specific areas of psychology, every single one of them came to one simple conclusion that allowed each of them to become the quality of psychologist that they are today, and that is the understanding that the power of the situation can be stronger than the individual. So much so, that the events which occurred in the Abu Gharib prison, were just a matter of time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dr. Phillip Zimbardo, world renowned psychologist, current professor at Stanford University, and leader of the 1971 study of the ‘Stanford Prison Experiment’ said â€Å"When you put that set of horrendous work conditions and external factors together, it creates an evil barrel†¦You could put virtually anybody in it [evil barrel] and you’re going to get this kind of behavior† (Edge). Thirty years ago, Zimbardo began a study which demonstrated the power of a certain social situation that distorted the participants’ personal identities and morality in order to understand what specifically made those personalities conform the kind of behavior that most of them, swore they could never be. quote of individual who said that he could not be mean to any living thing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another p...

Outline for a Story Book Essay

I propose to design a book for children 7 to 8 years old. In this modern world of technology, books are set aside in favor of computers and other highly technical gadgets. The innovation of computers has pushed man into heights of advancement but the need for leisure stays untouched in his heart. A good book read at leisure brings this kind of comfort and relaxation and the best time to inspire the habit of reading starts at age when one is at his most curious stage. This will be a story book. I have been a tutor for children for five years and I noticed that no amount of teaching any subject will interest a child if there is language or comprehension difficulty with them. Even an English speaking child will find difficulty understanding or connecting the spoken word from the written word so that learning to read and understanding its meaning comes basic to the learning process of every child. My proposed book will be stories of magic of the ancient world, in the fashion of f adventures, fantasy, rituals set to the present day. Contemporary dialogues in the 7 to 8 levels will be created to relate it to the development stage of the target learner. The various influence of magic land will serve as the vehicle for the presentation of ethnic and racial composition of the United States and other influences. The story book will be an aid to the basic textbook for the pre-schoolers learning how to read. The book is designed to inspire interest within the child to discover the beauty of reading. The goal is to arouse the interest of the child so that reading will not come as a task but as an activity to enjoy. Once the child develops this attitude towards reading, then it will not be so difficult to incorporate the teaching of other subjects such as history in the process. Outline for a Storybook 3 It would be a challenge to present history to the child in this age level in its most factual content. This is the reason that the book needs to be presented as a story book. The subjects however must be true historical events and facts of the United States. In this particular book I recommend the history of America in times of the Indians. A lot of historical facts a played down on history books in relation to the Indians role in America’s territorial claim. This will be a good subject to present so that it will be inculcated in the minds of the child the Indians original claim to domain of what now become major white dominions. The book is meant to be a parent-child activity book. It is very important that parents take an active participation in inculcating the love of reading within the child at this age of development. This will find difficult periods at the beginning of the activity since it should be considered that most children do not like to study in the first place. The book in itself should be designed as attractively so that it will serve to initiate curiosity in the child. The marketing target will be both the children and parents. In a bookstore scenario, the packaging and the Cover Literature of the book should be interesting to both. As complimentary to the reading lessons of the child in school, this story book will be presented as a picture book. Every page will depict a scene described in the literature. Words will be in bold and in large fonts. Simple and easy to understand words will be used and the picture depicted will serve as the tag word that will be written on top of the page. The parent, teacher or professional who assist the child in the reading process using this book must take into consideration that this book’s main goal is to let the child Outline for a Storybook 4 enjoy the process. This is very important to cultivate this attitude in the child so that it would not be a long faced affair for him to learn how to read at the same time learns history. In this manner, packaging is a critical issue. This book I design is read by its cover. It has to be package is such a way that the child will be attracted to it. This design will only serve as an initial catch for the child’s interest. It will serve as a promise to the child that anything inside will be interesting to know. It is very important that the book will deliver what it promised. The story has to relate to the child’s environment at the present and at the same time it should also arouse his curiosity of the past. As the child goes through the pages of the book, although his main interest goes to the pictures of the pages, it should be explained to him that what goes in the pictures can be best appreciated by the dialogues written in the paragraphs. His attention must be taken to the tag word on top and the tag word must be historical in its content which definitely should relate to the picture. The atmosphere of introducing this book has to be casual and informal. No amount of rigidity will inspire the child to pursue in discovering the contents of this book if the mood is too formal for him. It shall be also explained to the child that the session is no play and he needs to listen and speak what he understands of the story read with him so that the there will be an active exchange of conversation between the child and the teacher. The parent or professional has to be sensitive to the attention level of the child, if he feels that the child’s interest is gone, he may need to postpone the session later and let the child relax a bit. The dialogues in the book will have questions that can be answered by the listener or the readers. Outline for a Storybook 5 Example of the Cover Design: The book would be hard bound and present a painting of Indians in their most vivid and colorful attire. Maybe it would depict a scene from the Purification Rites of this people which is very bloody. It should also project scenes of Indian Children frolicking in the wilds, training to rides horse and learning the trade of hunting. The issue is not to create a controversy in the minds of the young learner of who are the true Americans. But it is very important also that at earliest stage of learning process the learners knew the role of Indians in early America. My goal is to inspire a bond and cultivate a certain respect and honor to the people who are the very first inhabitants of a great territory of the States. Since this is a story book, the character maybe fictitious. But it is also important that he represent a real Indian in history. The events should also be referrals of real events of Indian history. Outline for a Storybook 6 The picture is copied from an internet source but it serve only as an example. My proposed cover design is of little Indian boys and girls depicting scenes mentioned above. The colors should be vivid as vivid as the colors of the Indians. Outline for a Storybook 7 The cover and page designs used here are just representations. Summary/Plot of the Story The story will be a fiction which depicts characters of different tribes of Indians. He does not have to represent a particular Indian Tribe. My reason is that in that time, the Indians were not united in their principle to the claim of their territory. Red Cloud will be a boy born to one Indian Tribe. He is destined to be the next ruler of their ethnic group. Most of his adventures will depict bravery and his developing skill at hunting. He showed extra ordinary intelligence. Most of the events in this story will depict Red cloud’s adventures as a boy. His ability to tame wild animals and his special understanding of behaviors of bird will be shown in the character of a Hawk he has trained since it was a baby. They will have a special way of communicating and the hawk has an ability to follow Red Cloud’s instructions. Among the several highlights in this story will be Red Cloud’s adventures with the Hawk that save their tribes from their enemies, including abuses from government soldiers. In order to present the facts of the Indian’s claim to a vast territory of America it should told in this book the birthright of this ethnic group. It should also be explained the nomadic custom of this ethnic group so that they do not respect written documents to defend their claim. The language must be relevant to 7 & 8 age level. The primary goal of this story book is to educate the American children of the true story of the Indians Territorial Claim to the United States. It should also educate the First and Second Graders that then United States claim of sovereignty. Outline for a Storybook 8 Describe any Competing Books Most children’s story books are fairytales with no reference to history. Children loved magic. This will be the kind of book that will compete strongly with this proposed story book. The advantage to this proposed book is that it has reference to American History. It is not just mere adventure children’s book. It is a book that tells real history of American Indians intended for use of First and Second Graders. This will attract the target market of this book. Most children do not like history. Many believe that history is about memorizing date, names and places. But History is about facts and adventures too. This will be the kind of children’s story book but we like to put in the market. Size & Format of the Book The book will measure 8 inches by 13 inches. This is a comfortable size to hold and to put in children’s bag. No pop—up. It will be a regular type to hard bound book. My idea is that the book will look more like a book and not like a plaything. Making it pop-up will distract so much attention from the literary qualities it is meant to be. This children’s story book is design to educate and invite children to love books and the beauty of reading. It should not look like a poor clone of the computer. The story inside the book should be made and took literature that relates so much to the feeling s and understanding of 7 and 8 Outline for a Storybook 9 years old to establish a bond with its readers. This is not an easy goal. But this can be done if there is realistic approach to study and learn children’s attitudes and needs with less professional or adult exercise of dominant role.

A Study of Career Plateau in Education Sector Essay

If Employee’s jobs are filled with routine and boring tasks or if desired promotions are blocked in the organization, then they are likely to feel an intrinsic sense of loss and become skeptical about findings fulfillment in their careers Career plateau employees are likely to have demotivation and higher labour turnover because they want to advance their careers elsewhere in the environment Researcher find out the causes, difference of career plateau among the Admin Staffs, Support Staffs, Teaching Staffs, Technical Staffs in education sector, its effects and strategies to remove the career plateau. The Major finding of this study is that career plateau is a major contributing factor of employees dissatisfaction, organization commitment and employee turnover. Technical staffs have more career plateau. Management and other stakeholder to develop the best strategies to manage career plateau in the organization. Keywords: Career Plateau, Strategies, Employee turnover, Dissatisfa ction 1. Introduction Career plateau is not a new phenomenon, but there is a worrying situation about the rate at which it is becoming increasingly widespread in various organizations (Yama- moto, 2006; Lee, 2003). Many scholars on organizational careers’ have suggested that plateau is fast becoming a critical managerial and organizational issue which needs to be managed properly to avoid employee’s discontent (Burke and Mikkelsen, 2006; Tremblay and Roger, 2004; Tremblay et al., 1995). Career plateau is defined as the point where employees like hood of additional hierarchical promotion is very low. International Journal of Business and Management Tomorrow   Employees who have experienced career plateau would think that their employers have forsaken their careers (Lee, 2003). Career plateau has been used as antecedent to many undesirable work outcomes such as low satisfaction, high stress, poor performance and other withdrawal symptoms (Yamamoto, 2006; Lee, 2003; Choy and Savery, 1998). Career plateau has the potential to cause discomfort among the employees because lack of continued upward progression is considered as a yardstick to measure employee’s performance. Thus career plateau leads to poor performance. In any organizations upward movement in terms of promotion of employees is accompanied by increase in salary, power and status (Lee, 2003). Plateau employees are likely to have higher labour turnover because they want to advance their careers elsewhere in the environment. For many employees, the time comes when all career movement ceases. Some feel unchallenged, while others simply don’t have the motivation to move upward. It is management’s responsibility to pull the best from staff members at such times. Fortunately, this isn’t difficult when you are prepared with a game plan and a little understanding. * Definitions. Plateaued employees, one observer has written, are those who reach their promotional ceiling long before they retire. Structural plateauing occurs when opportunities for promotions end. The hierarchy in most institutions is designed like a pyramid, leaving room for only a select few at the top. Therefore, everyone eventually plateaus. The inabilit y to climb the career ladder is an emerging concern for employees in the 1990’s. With aging of the baby boom generation and shrinking of middle management positions brought about by recession, improvements in office technology, and mergers and acquisitions, there are fewer opportunities for advancements in office technology, and mergers and acquisitions, there are fewer opportunities for advancement (Weiner, Remer, & Remer, 1992). One significant vocational effect is plateauing, â€Å"a unique form of career stall† (milstein, 1990b p, 325) which can result in a feeling of malaise on the part of upwardly mobile individuals. This phenomenon is labeled plateauing because it resembles a long flat uninterrupted expanse with minimal contours and a sameness that stretches endlessly. If people’s jobs are filled with routine and boring tasks or if desired promotions are blocked, then they are likely to feel an intrinsic sense of loss and become skeptical about findings fulfillment in their careers. (Milstein, 1990a, P48) 2. Examine the causes of career plateau Examine the difference in plateauing among the various levels of staffs in education sector. Examine the effect of career plateau in the organization. Give suggestions to manage career plateau effectively to minimize employee intention to quit. 3. In the subsequent pages, an attempt is made to review the literature pertaining to career plateaus of the employees. The literature of these studies has been collected through various magazines, journal, website and other published sources. 3.1 Various types of career plateaus are being experienced by the employees in organization. According to Bardwick (1986), there are three types of career plateau which are very common in organizations and there are: Structural Plateaus:- represents occupational situations where advancement is unavailable due primarily to the pyramidal nature of organization hierarchies. Content Plateaus: – When no challenge remains in their job. Tasks have been mastered and little new or exciting remains to be learned. Life plateauing:-occurs when individuals believe they are trapped in their ongoing everyday routines, cycles, obligations, and relationships. They may lead them to have â€Å"the sense that there’s little fulfillment left in any area of life. As per Rita M. Choy, Lawson K. Savery, (1998). Organizations are under pressure to cope with factors such as resource scarcity, increased competition, slow economic growth, increased utilization of technology and an increase in acquisitions and/or mergers. All these can lead to downsizing of the workforce. Many organizations believe downsizing can reduce costs and increase competitiveness. However, flattening structures reduces the number of people needed in organizations and such practices escalate the plateauing ISSN. International Journal of Business and Management Tomorrow The present study explores the relationship between job satisfaction, organizational commitment and the plateauing phenomenon. Non-plateaued workers seem to have a better relationship with their organization and find coaching new staff more rewarding than plateauing workers. This finding is important because trainers must hold positive attitudes toward the company and this seems more likely when the person is not plateaued. Non-plateaued employees are also more likely to view the organization as encouraging job performance – another issue of importance to managers of organizations. Susir Kumar – CEO, Intelenet Global Services expresses, â€Å"In spite of all the buzz and hype progressive HRM creates, career plateau remains a regular phenomenon and a problem that HR managers across industries and organizations have to grapple with. It can be defined as reaching a level of complacency, in many cases leading to employee burnout. It is not that such employees are incompetent; however, there is a general feeling of ‘being stuck’. Such employees often harbour an illusion, that they have nothing more to achieve.† Sharing his opinion on the organizational ailment that is a stagnant employee, Aleem Merchant, director, Synapse Marketing Consultancy Pvt. Ltd says, â€Å"Employee plateauing is a disease that hampers almost every organization, big or small and today, this malady is threatening the very potential and future of the corporate world as fast as most lifestyle diseases. This too needs expert treatment and its own set of managerial medications.† In order to analyze this plague, we must dissect it to get to the root of the problem. â€Å"Plateaued employees could stem from boredom of routine work or just plain complacency. Very often, external stimulators such as excitement of new work or a hard reality session can help yank the employee out of his stupor,† reasons G Ravindran, CEO, and MD- SHRM India.   Potter, author of â€Å"Overcoming Job Burnout: How to Renewing Enthusiasm for Work†, contends that often plateauing exists in the minds of employees. â€Å"In many cases it may be an illusion.† she said. According to Potter, employees also can imagine themselves plateaued with they fail to adapt to the changing employment picture. â€Å"Sometimes the person is not blocked; they just don’t understand the rules of the game have changed.† she said. Some workers are frustrated trying to climb the corporate ladder, Potter said, unaware that the old traditional hierarchical construction no longer exists. Another cause of the illusory plateau, Potter said, is a worker who is â€Å"actually chronically depressed.† She explains that for a depressed individual, a new job acts as a â€Å"sort of self-medication,† giving the person a temporary high. However, Potter said, once that boost wears off, the employee goes back to feeling depressed and might be inclined to blame this condition on a lack of job satisfaction. â€Å"It’s another kind of unrealistic expectation.† When employees feel plateaued, Potter said, â€Å"They can start getting into this problem of burnout†Ã¢â‚¬â€a loss of motivation that can leave workers feeling helpless. She warned that burnout can lead to chronic absenteeism, anger, thievery, and substance abuse. Potter warned that any attempts at curbing burnout can be too little too late, because losing one’s motivation is akin to losing one’s spirit. â€Å"When that gets damages, it just doesn’t bounce back, † she said. Study Design and Methodology 100 samples selected from various education society of Pune by using the convenient sampling method. The following categories/Levels of employees are selected as respondents.   Teacher   Admin staffs (4.3) Professional /Technical staffs (4.4) Support staffs. 25 respondents from each category are selected from for the research. The Instrument, containing 50 items and 29 attributes, each query is ranked by the respondents according to a five point Likert scale.