Govt College girls make philosophy simple, but powerful

The Department of Philosophy of Government College for Women, Trivandrum, organised a poster exhibition inside the campus recently. Titled X’enese, a Greek word meaning ‘the beginning’, the event showcased a colourful depiction of the concepts of philosophy, considered the mother of all sciences. The display was divided into two sections, one introducing Indian philosophy and the other the universal concepts and theories. Far from making the concepts highly intellectual, the students made them simple and clear.

The student volunteers were enthusiastic about taking the onlookers through the exhibition and narrating the facts and content. Arshia Christina Roy, one of the volunteers and a first year BA Philosophy student, observes that the subject can be made fun to learn. “The picture and poster representations are meant to make it easy for a common man to understand how the subject has evolved from natural philosophy to what we call as science today,” she says.

To make the laymen better understand the concepts, students transformed the international philosophy section into a replica of the universe while a huge lotus was placed in the venue of Indian philosophy. “The presentation is attractive as they have made catchy interpretations of philosophical theories put forward by great thinkers. It is simple and informative to a person who is ignorant about the subject,” says Mahesh Sharma, second year BA Philosophy student of University College, Trivandrum. The colourful charts and cut-outs easily conveyed the principles of vedas, Upanishads, the era of philosophy and also gave brief introductions to philosophers from the Athenians, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle to modern philosopher Osho.
For Arshiya’s friend Khadheeja Shabeer, the principles are a mantra for a happy life. “The lotus is a depiction of how one can make life beautiful even when going through hardships. Bad and good things lie in the hands of the humans itself,” she says.