Mysore University

Hyphen’s student outreach session at Mysore University was yet another lovely chapter. Mysore’s history as a space for literature and linguistic study (both within and beyond Kannada) made it a special location for us. This again was an interesting session with students participating with utmost enthusiasm. Most of the students were literature students and were both familiar with some of the work we were doing and intrigued by some others. We were impressed with their diverse and engaging translations of one of Rabindranath Tagore’s poems and the reflections that followed.

The second activity that asked students to pick a fundamental right from the Indian constitution and write a story that expresses its importance was also met with an array of intriguing responses. Students picked different rights and came up with engaging stories about them. They also reflected on how legal rights can find their way into a narrative format and turn into very powerful devices for building awareness. Students were also encouraged to think about how legal language, most often expressed only in English, is different in various Indian languages and may vary in its formality and tone.