Latest news with #Fulbright
Indian Express
7 days ago
- General
- Indian Express
Prof Uma Kanjilal appointed as the first woman Vice Chancellor of IGNOU
Prof Uma Kanjilal has been appointed as the vice chancellor of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), thereby becoming the first woman to hold the position since the university's inception. She had been serving as acting vice chancellor since July 25, 2024. Prof Kanjilal has over 36 years of experience in the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) system, as per a statement. She is known for her pioneering work in digital education and academic leadership. Before this role, Prof Kanjilal served as pro vice chancellor (2021–2024) and has held several key positions at IGNOU, including Director of the Centre for Online Education, Inter-University Consortium for Technology Enabled Flexible Education, Advanced Centre for Informatics and Innovative Learning, School of Social Sciences, and University Librarian. A Professor of Library and Information Science since 2003, she has been at the forefront of integrating digital tools in education. She is currently the National Coordinator for the Ministry of Education's SWAYAM and SWAYAM PRABHA initiatives. Internationally, she is a Fulbright Fellow (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), has worked with the Commonwealth of Learning, and contributed to digital education for UNRWA in Jordan. Her recognitions include the Manthan Award for e-Education, an Australia-India Council Grant, and a DANIDA Fellowship. Prof. Kanjilal also led the National Virtual Library of India Project and currently coordinates IGNOU's Project Management Unit under NMEICT Phase-III.
The Hindu
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Jazz saxophonist Carl Clements's passage to Indian music through bansuri
Despite his busy schedule as a jazz saxophonist and instructor in the U.S., Carl Clements has always 'loved visiting Mumbai', more so for his one-on-one bansuri lessons from Nityanand Haldipur, who has been his guru since 1999. Carl's latest visit to India, this July, came after a seven-year-gap. 'First there was a break due to the pandemic, and then, I had other commitments,' he says. While attending classes regularly, he also met his friends from the Mumbai jazz community, besides playing at two shows at the BlueBop Café, a jazz-themed venue in suburban Khar. Says Carl, 'Adrian D'Souza (drummer) is an old friend and he invited me when he heard I was coming down.' Carl, thus played with guitarist Sanjay Divecha, in the first show, and with Adrian, keyboardist Rahul Wadhwani and bassist Shashank Das in both shows. Carl shares an interesting story about his Indian music journey. Growing up in Chelmsford, near Boston, he was 'surrounded by jazz' because of his father's fondness for the genre. Carl took to pianist Dave Brubeck and alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, and soon decided to learn the saxophone. He learnt from Jerry Bergonzi and followed his advice of practising six hours a day. Later, he learnt from saxophonists George Garzone and Joe Viola. While studying music further, at the Berklee College of Music, Boston, and the California Institute of the Arts, Carl wanted to find out what else was happening in the world of improvisation. That's what drew him towards Indian music. 'I had read that John Coltrane (noted saxophonist) liked Indian music, especially Pt. Ravi Shankar. I told myself, if Coltrane likes Indian music, so should I', shares Carl, who currently teaches saxophone and improvisation, besides being a jazz combo coach at Amherst College, Massachusetts. Carl recalls how his friend, who was studying South Indian music, shared with him some veena recordings. 'I slowly started exploring Indian music and gravitated towards Hindustani. In California, I met Amiya Dasgupta, a disciple of Pt. Ravi Shankar. Though he played the sitar, he taught me singing and theory. I met his former disciple, David Philipson, who got me started on the bansuri. This was around 1989 and more in line with my music,' he adds. Carl also learnt the bansuri from Steve Gorn in California and says, he 'never thought of visiting India to learn', but, things changed when his wife, also an artiste, received a Fulbright grant. Though she spent time in the south, Carl accompanied her but stayed in Mumbai. He met American bassist Dee Wood, who introduced him to composer Dinshah Sanjana of the fusion band — Divya. 'Dinshah invited me to play with Divya where I met bassist Sanjay Swamy, aka Storms, at his recording studio. One thing led to another and I met other jazz musicians. Ranjit Barot introduced me to Louis Banks and suddenly, I was playing with all of them. Yet, the main purpose of my visit to India was to learn the bansuri.' The search for a guru led Carl to flautist Devendra Murdeshwar, son-in-law of the legendary flautist Pannalal Ghosh. 'He hadn't been keeping well, so I couldn't learn from him. I had met Nityanandji, who studied with Murdeshwar and later with Annapurna Devi. They all belong to Baba Alauddin Khan's tradition, so everything fit in.' Carl says he has not made a conscious effort to regularly blend Indian music into his jazz compositions. 'Indian music is vast, and I don't believe in just taking a bit and adding it to my tunes. As such, I take my training seriously. But there are pieces that are inspired by Indian music, or use of the bansuri. I was in the group, Sundar Shor, where I played the bansuri on jazz compositions. I have played pieces based on raag Shree and Desh in a jazz setting. In my latest album A Different Light, a piece called 'Sanyog' has a strong Indian element. In the same album, 'Good Luck, Bad Luck (Who Knows)', has the bansuri.' According to Carl, the trend of American musicians using Indian influences is not as common as it was five decades ago. 'Musicians are exposed to many global forms, they can experiment with various styles. There are some who do it, like drummer Dan Weiss who has made tabla a part of his language. There's the bansuri player Jay Gandhi, guitarist Rez Abbasi and a collective called Brooklyn Raga Massive. I also notice that more musicians get attracted to Carnatic music, especially the rhythms.' His own focus is on jazz. After returning to the U.S., he plans to complete his next album. Will it have any influence from his Indian musical learnings? 'These things aren't planned, they just happen. We improvise.' he smiles. Let's wait and watch.
Miami Herald
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
The painful road to freedom: A North Korean escapee's story
July 21 (UPI) --The following account was presented by Jihyang Kim at a recent forum of the North Korean Young Leaders' Assembly held at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington, D.C. The assembly is an annual event gathering young North Korean escapees to engage with the U.S. executive and congressional branches, think tanks and NGOs. My name is Jihyang Kim. I escaped from North Korea in the spring of 2012, when I was 19 years old. Today, I stand before you not only as a Fulbright scholar pursuing my master's degree in the United States, but also as a survivor -- and a witness -- of the brutal realities of life under a communist regime. I want to share with you how the ideology of communism stripped me and millions of others of our basic rights, dignity, and dreams. 1: North Korea - A life determined by the state Growing up under North Korea's totalitarian rule, I was taught that the state came before the individual, that loyalty to the regime was more important than personal dreams and that questioning the system was dangerous. As a young girl, I dreamed of becoming a novelist. I was fascinated by literature and wanted to study Japanese to read detective novels in their original language. Despite being the top student in my class, I couldn't apply for the language school because my family couldn't afford the required bribe. In North Korea, merit is meaningless without political loyalty or financial backing. This was my first clear experience of how the system worked -- not for the people, but against them. The promise of equality under communism was a lie. Instead, I saw corruption, oppression and injustice. That cognitive dissonance planted the seed of rebellion in me. I began to question the system I had been raised to worship. The second turning point came in 2009, when the North Korean regime implemented a disastrous currency reform. Overnight, our savings became worthless. I still remember seeing the old bills scattered in the market like trash. Inflation soared and food vanished. My family starved. I lie on the cold floor, too weak to move, and decided to risk everything for a chance at life. I realized if I stayed, I would die, anyway, not with dignity, but in silence. 2: China - Escaping the regime, entering another cage Crossing the border into China did not mean freedom. It meant becoming stateless -- an invisible person with no rights, no protection and no home. I was no longer hungry, but I was no longer human, either. The Chinese government does not recognize North Korean defectors as refugees, so we are hunted like criminals, deported if caught. I became one of the many North Korean women sold into forced marriages, treated as property and silenced through violence. At 19, I watched university students -- my peers-- walk past me in the streets. I didn't envy their clothes or phones. I envied their freedom to dream. I heard villagers joke about "buying" North Korean brides and brag about beating them if they tried to escape. I lived in fear, not only for myself, but for my baby. I became a mother in China, but I could not offer my son legal protection, education or safety. I was a mother in name, but powerless in reality. 3: Still trapped in the system's shadows Today, I'm grateful. I am studying in the United States, supported by countless people who believe in me. But I have not forgotten the millions still trapped under the same system that nearly destroyed me. North Korea's regime continues to control every aspect of its citizens' lives: movement, thoughts, speech, even love. In China, over 10,000 North Korean women remain trapped in forced relationships, their human rights violated daily (North Korea Human Rights Information Center, 2023). In 2017, South Korean news media reported that 20% of these women are forced into online sexual exploitation. Worse still, around 10,000 children born to these undocumented women have no legal identity. They cannot go to school, receive medical care or even prove their existence. These are not isolated tragedies. These are the long shadows cast by communist authoritarianism. 4: Why this matters People often ask me why I risked my life to escape. My answer is simple: because I wanted to live with dignity. Under communism, I was denied that right. The ideology promised equality, but delivered only fear, hunger and silence. It punished ambition, crushed individuality and destroyed families. What I experienced is not just a personal story -- it is a warning. Communism, when weaponized by dictatorship, erases the human spirit. It uses beautiful words like "justice" and "equality" to hide systems of control and cruelty. I am no longer a voiceless girl hiding in a dark room. I am here to speak for those who still cannot. I am here to tell you that the victims of communism are not just numbers in a textbook. They are children who starve, women who are sold and dreamers who are silenced. I survived. And now, I speak -- not because I am brave, but because silence is complicity. Thank you. Jihyang Kim, a North Korean escapee and Fulbright scholar, was born in Hyesan, Ryanggang Province. She escaped from North Korea in 2012, driven by the famine and skyrocketing inflation that followed the country's disastrous currency reform. After fleeing to China, where she lived as a non-person and suffered exploitation for several years, she managed to reach South Korea in 2016. Despite only having an elementary education, Jihyang excelled academically in South Korea, earning numerous awards. In college, she championed social integration between South Koreans and North Korean escapees. Jihyang is passionate about education, which she believes is the foundation for personal and community transformation. She is preparing for the opportunity to empower North Korean youth with high-quality, democratic education after reunification. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
UPI
21-07-2025
- Politics
- UPI
The painful road to freedom: A North Korean escapee's story
A general view of Sinuiju, North Korea, taken from across the Yalu River from the Chinese city of Dandong, Liaoning Province, China, in 2013, a year after Jihyang Kim escaped from North Korea. File Photo by How Hwee Young/EPA July 21 (UPI) -- The following account was presented by Jihyang Kim at a recent forum of the North Korean Young Leaders' Assembly held at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington, D.C. The assembly is an annual event gathering young North Korean escapees to engage with the U.S. executive and congressional branches, think tanks and NGOs. My name is Jihyang Kim. I escaped from North Korea in the spring of 2012, when I was 19 years old. Today, I stand before you not only as a Fulbright scholar pursuing my master's degree in the United States, but also as a survivor -- and a witness -- of the brutal realities of life under a communist regime. I want to share with you how the ideology of communism stripped me and millions of others of our basic rights, dignity, and dreams. 1: North Korea - A life determined by the state Growing up under North Korea's totalitarian rule, I was taught that the state came before the individual, that loyalty to the regime was more important than personal dreams and that questioning the system was dangerous. As a young girl, I dreamed of becoming a novelist. I was fascinated by literature and wanted to study Japanese to read detective novels in their original language. Despite being the top student in my class, I couldn't apply for the language school because my family couldn't afford the required bribe. In North Korea, merit is meaningless without political loyalty or financial backing. This was my first clear experience of how the system worked -- not for the people, but against them. The promise of equality under communism was a lie. Instead, I saw corruption, oppression and injustice. That cognitive dissonance planted the seed of rebellion in me. I began to question the system I had been raised to worship. The second turning point came in 2009, when the North Korean regime implemented a disastrous currency reform. Overnight, our savings became worthless. I still remember seeing the old bills scattered in the market like trash. Inflation soared and food vanished. My family starved. I lie on the cold floor, too weak to move, and decided to risk everything for a chance at life. I realized if I stayed, I would die, anyway, not with dignity, but in silence. 2: China - Escaping the regime, entering another cage Crossing the border into China did not mean freedom. It meant becoming stateless -- an invisible person with no rights, no protection and no home. I was no longer hungry, but I was no longer human, either. The Chinese government does not recognize North Korean defectors as refugees, so we are hunted like criminals, deported if caught. I became one of the many North Korean women sold into forced marriages, treated as property and silenced through violence. At 19, I watched university students -- my peers-- walk past me in the streets. I didn't envy their clothes or phones. I envied their freedom to dream. I heard villagers joke about "buying" North Korean brides and brag about beating them if they tried to escape. I lived in fear, not only for myself, but for my baby. I became a mother in China, but I could not offer my son legal protection, education or safety. I was a mother in name, but powerless in reality. 3: Still trapped in the system's shadows Today, I'm grateful. I am studying in the United States, supported by countless people who believe in me. But I have not forgotten the millions still trapped under the same system that nearly destroyed me. North Korea's regime continues to control every aspect of its citizens' lives: movement, thoughts, speech, even love. In China, over 10,000 North Korean women remain trapped in forced relationships, their human rights violated daily (North Korea Human Rights Information Center, 2023). In 2017, South Korean news media reported that 20% of these women are forced into online sexual exploitation. Worse still, around 10,000 children born to these undocumented women have no legal identity. They cannot go to school, receive medical care or even prove their existence. These are not isolated tragedies. These are the long shadows cast by communist authoritarianism. 4: Why this matters People often ask me why I risked my life to escape. My answer is simple: because I wanted to live with dignity. Under communism, I was denied that right. The ideology promised equality, but delivered only fear, hunger and silence. It punished ambition, crushed individuality and destroyed families. What I experienced is not just a personal story -- it is a warning. Communism, when weaponized by dictatorship, erases the human spirit. It uses beautiful words like "justice" and "equality" to hide systems of control and cruelty. I am no longer a voiceless girl hiding in a dark room. I am here to speak for those who still cannot. I am here to tell you that the victims of communism are not just numbers in a textbook. They are children who starve, women who are sold and dreamers who are silenced. I survived. And now, I speak -- not because I am brave, but because silence is complicity. Thank you. Jihyang Kim, a North Korean escapee and Fulbright scholar, was born in Hyesan, Ryanggang Province. She escaped from North Korea in 2012, driven by the famine and skyrocketing inflation that followed the country's disastrous currency reform. After fleeing to China, where she lived as a non-person and suffered exploitation for several years, she managed to reach South Korea in 2016. Despite only having an elementary education, Jihyang excelled academically in South Korea, earning numerous awards. In college, she championed social integration between South Koreans and North Korean escapees. Jihyang is passionate about education, which she believes is the foundation for personal and community transformation. She is preparing for the opportunity to empower North Korean youth with high-quality, democratic education after reunification.
Hans India
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hans India
A poetic odyssey through time, memory, and mysticism
Dr. Maja Herman Sekulić [Serbia/USA] is a towering literary figure whose work excels in poetic grandeur, aesthetic beauty, prophetic insight, and global reach. A Princeton Ph.D. in World Literature and double Fulbright Fellow, she is a Nobel-nominated poet, novelist, essayist, bilingual scholar, and major translator. Author of 30 books in Serbian, English, German, and French, her poems have been translated into 25 languages. She also serves as Vice-President of the International Academy of Ethics. 'Grand Plan', by Maja Herman Sekulić, [translated by Claudia Piccinno with a foreword by Dante Maffia], is a world poem. In this monumental collection, Sekulić creates an interior atlas stretching from Belgrade to Rome, from Princeton to Myanmar, suspended between ancient civilizations and modern pandemics. 'Love is the only project,' declares one of the key verses, and around this axis rotate family memories, historical traumas, and mystical revelations. Style: Clear yet richly layered. Each poem is a small vessel navigating time and consciousness. Sekulić shifts between lyrical and civic, autobiographical and mythological modes with natural ease. Her imagery is potent—the Super Moon observing war, jade dispelling nocturnal ghosts, the archaic Mother of Vinča carving the word Love. Recurring Themes: • Loss of identity: Fragmented genealogies, vanished nations, disappearing homes. • Ancestral feminine strength: From the mother-father fusion in 'Daughter of Sisyphus' to the 'Madonna di Vinča', sacred and generative. • Mysticism and Nature: The Danube as mother-river, rain as epiphany, the jungle as a cosmic womb. • Memory and survival: Amid dictatorships, wars, and pandemics, the word endures— 'When the world collapses... pick up the pieces.' A Total Work: This collection bridges poetry and history, spirituality and politics, East and West. It sings and affects, caresses and screams. Sekulić's voice is, as Maffia notes, 'an expressive force that can give life to memories and make even the personal become universal.' Tesla and I: Poetry and the Electricity of the Soul Living within walls once occupied by Nikola Tesla in New York, Maja dances between past and present, matter and metaphysics, showing how poetry generates energy. Open-hearted Analysis: 'On the top of the world I / in the poet's tower / up there / in the grey sky / let my thoughts come out / singing in a full voice' These lines reflect an alchemy of solitude and elevation. Maja seeks to inhabit Tesla's mind—not to narrate it—but to feel and transmit its rhythm in verse: 'We live in his world / as he lives in my poetry.' A Perfect Closing: This is total symbiosis. We live surrounded by the world Tesla imagined; he lives eternally in Maja's poetry. 'Grand Plan' is a hymn to memory as a form of eternity—placing Maja Herman Sekulić alongside Leonard Cohen, Pasternak, and Patti Smith. (Mauro Montacchiesi one of the leading Italian intellectuals, multi-talented and multi awarded author, ex-President of Art Academy of Rome)
