Department of English (BA)

The Department of English, Jai Hind College, is one of the oldest departments dating back to 1948. The first Head of the Department, Professor T.M. Advani, was also the Founder Principal of the College. The Department of English has always boasted of dynamic academicians and scholars, as well as talented and versatile alumni, all of whom have contributed to making it one of the most sought after departments in the city. For instance, eminent writers, dramatists and film personalities such as, Shikha Talsania, Vivaan Shah, Sanaea Bubber, Varun Gwalani, Monal Thaakar started their creative journeys here. The English Association, re-named to The Literature Club is the cultural wing of the Department, and under its banner hosts the Annual Student Seminar, the Annual Play and the Book and Bake Sale, as well as two discussion clubs called The Novel Room, and The Film Room, a weblog called BabbleOn, and a literary fest called Kalki. The students publish an annual departmental magazine, ‘Hwӕthwugu’. We are a Department that balances out academics, research, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.

June Dias has led the Department of English since 2015, having joined in 2004. An alumna of Sophia College, she earned her Master’s in English Literature from Mumbai University and passed her SET exam in 2002. She teaches a wide range of subjects, from poetry to journalism, and is involved in biblical study. Beyond academics, she actively mentors students, edits the department magazine, and has established new traditions such as The Novel Room, BabbleOn, and the Kani literary fest.

Dear students, Every year, we look forward to meeting new batches of students because no matter how many degrees we earn and how many accolades we pile up, our greatest learning is in our experience with you. Be it classroom interactions or seminar presentations, your performances on stage or on paper, or now, on digital platforms, you have something new to offer us every single day. It is you who will show us the way as we adapt to innovative teaching and testing platforms. The English Department will teach and learn from you simultaneously as we navigate our way through each academic year. We wish you all the best as we await your next step in Jai Hind College.

Alumni and Student Achievers:

Many students of the Department are selected for scholarships offered by the Sumitomo Corporation, on the basis of merit and all-round excellence. They are even selected for Summer exchange-programmes at King’s College, London (Likla Lal, Richa Gupta, Malvika Khatpal, and Friyana Pardiwalla). Many students are pursuing higher studies and research degrees at reputed universities in India and abroad (Kushal Tatariya, Saumya Jain, Ayesha Z. Mehta, Vaishnavi Tejani, and Sanika Gad). One of our students, Abhishek Lamba, was a recipient of the Young India Fellowship at Ashoka University and the co-creator of SHASN: AZADI and won the Best Board Game, Game for Change Award, 2023. Additionally, our students have carved a niche for themselves in diverse fields. Our alumni include: Eminent poet Menka Shivdasani, Professor Shobha Ghosh (Academician, Researcher and former Head of Department, University of Mumbai), Shikha Talsania (Actor: Film and theatre), Shreyas Pardiwalla (Actor: Film and theatre), Sanaea Bubber (Singer, Influencer and Theatre Actress), Manvi Ranghar (Theatre Critic and Actor, Academic Editor), Priyanka Banerjee (Founder, Leogirl Productions), Monal Thaakar (Award-winning Script Writer, Article 370), Purva Parwani (Co-founder, Claylab Education Foundation, a registered NGO), Aishwarya Govekar (independent short film film-maker), Devanshi Shah (scriptwriter for Vir Das, a famous stand-up comedian), Aldish Edroos (former Journalist, CNBC), Namrata Zacharia (Senior Editor, Indian Express), Alpana Ladh (Senior Editor, Mid-Day), Gina Billimoria (Senior Journalist, Hello! Magazine), Komal Chandwani (Published author and lawyer), Pranika Sharma (Co-Founder, Books, Bombay & Chai) and Varun Gwalani (Published author).

Annual Activities of The Literature Club:

The Department of English has a vibrant cultural wing, The Literature Club (TLC), which attracts students from all Streams – Arts, Commerce and Science. Our regular activities include the following:

The Annual ‘Book and Bake’ Sale:

Students raise funds for the Department activities through the sale of donated books, and items made by them. The event inculcates entrepreneurial and creative skills in our students

The Annual English Play:

A highly anticipated event in the Department calendar, the Annual Play is an endeavour by students to adapt a literary, cinematic or original work to the stage and present their acting, directorial, scripting and technical abilities to an open audience.

The Annual English Seminar:

Students work on individual or group research-papers. They are mentored by the staff members of the Department, and the best papers are selected for publication in the Department Magazine ‘Hwӕthwugu’.

The Annual Department Magazine, ‘Hwӕthwugu’:

‘Hwӕthwugu’ trains our students in creative-writing, editing and publication. Both research papers and creative works are published. The Magazine has an open launch where some of the contributors share their works and experiences.

The Department Blog, ‘BabbleOn’:

‘BabbleOn’, encourages reviews, essays, opinion pieces and academic articles, and is open to contributions throughout the year. It has held a Spine Poetry challenge.

Blogspot Link: http://babbleonproject.blogspot.com

Kalki:

The Annual Intercollege Fest of the English Department gives students an opportunity to exhibit their creative, organisational, and entrepreneurial skills while collaborating with authors, media persons, journalists, and actors for a range of interesting workshops, competitions, and talks.

Guest Lectures and Workshops:

TLC curates a range of guest lectures and workshops on diverse topics such as scriptwriting, journalistic ethics, advertising, creative writing, publication practices, and many more. We invite distinguished scholars and industry experts, many of whom are also our alumni.