The Mask Photo by Rodrick Lal -- National Geographic Your Shot

The Mask Photo by Rodrick Lal -- National Geographic Your Shot: This is a snap taking of a procession which was taken out on the road in front of my house on the occasion of Maha Shivratri. I thought that the sleeping man in the background made a good contrast to the person in the mask.

Flower Decoration Photo by Rodrick Lal — National Geographic Your Shot

Flower Decoration Photo by Rodrick Lal — National Geographic Your Shot: This time when I visited the HUDA flower show at the Leisure Valley park in Gurgaon, I came across this exhibit in which the flowers were arranged to look like a dog. I found it interesting and wanted to share it with a wider audience.

Fun with Close-up and Macro Photography

It goes without saying that Macro photography can be real fun, especially because you look at things from a completely different angle and perspective. You see things that are not commonly seen and realise how beautiful life can be in its tiniest form! I used a Canon 1100D DSLR camera and a 40 mm f-2.8 STM lens, just to see how well it was into macro photography. The major disadvantage I had with this lens was that I had to step really back in order to get the object into view. This is not a problem I face with my 18-55 mm kit lens.

A close-up photograph of a couple of flowers at the 2017 HUDA Flower show revealed the ubiquitous fly sitting on top of one of them. I decided to keep it rather than trash it.

The stamens and pistil of this flower have come out nicely. If you double click on the same, you will be able to enlarge the photograph further.

A close up of these flowers shows all the intricate details, remarkable, I guess because these were all hand-held snaps.

The Pistil and the stamens of this flower have come out very nicely, though the soft and muted tone has been caused by the diffused lighting caused by the white cloth tent covering. If you double-click on the snap, you will be able to expand it further.

The shallow depth of field makes this snap interesting and I have added it because of the effect it has created with a blurred background and a sharp focal point upwards.

Talking of a shallow depth of field, this is yet another example of I deliberately tried to create a shallow depth of field by taking the smallest f-stop number, and an increased shutter speed to compensate for over-exposure.

A clash of colours, rather like a painting, a surfeit of yellows and pinks, suitably brings out the colours of the Autumn season. It seems to be poetry written in images. They say, a picture can say a thousand words, I would say that a picture can convey the message of a thousand books!

A rose in all its glory beginning, however, to whither away. There is something compelling about the stand this flower is making.

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A botanist would probably call this love in C-Minor, the Pistil and Stamens have come out beautifully. The lighting was tricky in this case as the white cloth covering the tent frame seemed to be diffusing the light in all directions. Backlighting would have solved the problem, but then I guess I got what I wanted!

The Dhanpatmal Virmani Education Trust & Mangement Society Celebrates the Twelfth Anniversary of Its Women's Literacy & Empowerment Programme

It was indeed an honour to be present at the twelfth anniversary celebration of the Women's Literacy Programme. It all began twelve years ago when Mr. Anil Virmani, who was then the Manager of the Dhanpatmal Virmani Sr. Sec. School, Roop Nager told me about a computer module that could be run to teach an adult functional literacy in Hindi in 45 hours. I was cynical about the same and decided to run a pilot programme during the summer break of the year 2014. We could not achieve a lot of progress at that time because firstly, we had to get the women to the school. The second drawback was that we were not able to decide whether we were to run a programme on computer basics or run a module for the teaching of Hindi. Today, when I visited the school, it was to see how well this programme that almost never took off is doing today. About one Lakh and fifteen women have been attended the functional literacy programme, and quite a few have even learned a vocational skill like stitching. It felt really great to have been part of this rather successful project, and I am thankful to the Dhanpatmal Virmani Education Trust and Management Society for remembering me and inviting me to attend the programme like they have done every year.

In this snap you can see, Mr.Anil Virmani, Chairman of the Dhanpatmal Virmani education Trust lighting the lamp

The event was attended by a lot of women who have undergone training in the Adult Literacy centres from all over Delhi. It was an honour also, to have Mr. Naveen Chawla, retired Civil Servant, and  Ex-Election Commissioner with us. He is a philanthropist who running an NGO for Leprosy patients which also provides assistance to people with special needs. Also with us were representatives of Tata Power DDL, Mr. Praveen Sinha, C.E.O. Tata Power DDL. Tata Power has been associated with the Adult Literacy programme for the past five years. It was also after many years that I was able to meet Mr. Amitav Virmani, who was once the Manager of the Dhanpatmal Virmani Sr.Sec. School.

Aakashi is a special child, she performed, an amazing dance, that too with one leg.

These Kids did a wonderful performance. Their energy level was simply amazing!

Mr. Amitav Virmani is working for the furtherment of Education.

Mr.Praveen Sinha, CEO, Tata Power has been a great support to the programme.

In the snap are, from the left, Mr. Praveen Sinha, CEO, Tata Power, Mr.Naveen Chawla, Ex.Civil Servant, and Mr. Anil Virman, Chairman of the Dhanpatmal Education Trust and Management Society.

Members of the Adult Literacy Programme and recipients of awards.

IOT in Education

The Internet of Things (IOT) is a topic of discussion these days related to the impact of Internet on life. Perhaps the greatest impact of IOT is on Education today. Education includes the Pedagogy, the learners, the educators, the syllabus and the building itself, (though I guess, the building will soon become unnecessary).

For an initiate, the increased integration of IOT into the educational system might seem daunting, but for those who are into apps, coding, this might appear to be a piece of cake. Connectivity lies at the base of IOT, and this provides opportunities for collaborative learning, sharing of ideas, and research work.

One will argue that with increased connectivity come added responsibilities and a greater amount of distraction in class. The connectivity offered by the internet needs to be regulated or focussed on the learning outcomes of the lesson or topic for the day. Students who bring their own devices to class and are given internet access tend to wander away to gaming and social networking sites rather than do research on the topic of the day. One might claim, also that IOT in education might also foster cyberbullying.

With loads of information being available at a mouse-click, students and teachers alike might feel overwhelmed by the amount of unnecessary information. To be able to sift through all that information might require Information processing skills. Information glut or information explosion is often associated with stress and confusion caused by having to sift through loads of irrelevant information. Another major problem faced by educators as a result of IOT and Education in the growing amount of plagiarism taking place in research work. It might be claimed that the Internet has given rise to a copy-paste generation of learners who far from displaying out of box thinking and problem-solving skills, are in fact rote memorisers lacking in original thinking skills. Research material, such as data and information supplied by IOT cannot and should not be the end of education. IOT should be the means towards a greater understanding of the world we live in.

Some institutions and other organisations might introduce IOT in a big way simply because of the novelty factor of technology. The belief that IOT makes things very easy  and the belief that the work of Educators will be lighter than ever before is a fallacy. The introduction of IOT into classroom pedagogy in schools presents challenges before educators even as they come across students who might be as informed as they are, if not better informed! Teachers who use IOT in class need to be constantly upgrading their skills, they need to be continuously doing research and have a decent knowledge about using apps.

Greater integration of IOT in classrooms in schools should ideally, enhance Social intelligence, promote creativity, help foster conflict resolution and encourage deep thinking all because of better interconnectivity, and freeing us up from having to menial tasks like driving cars, cleaning the green board, writing the learning outcomes, and most important of all, having to check homework notebooks and test papers. The benefits for students would be that they would probably not have to carry textbooks or notebooks to class instead one I-Pad or a tablet could take up the burden of all those textbooks. Most schools in the country have already integrated IOT in daily transactions. The ERP Module takes care of attendance, leave applications, student data, and contact numbers. The Report Bee module used by my school handles all matters pertaining to assessments, remarks, updates, and analyses whether comparative or static analyses. Augmented reality allows face to face interaction between students across the globe, they can work on virtual models face to face, and each improvement on the model can be seen taking place online. The use of holograms  3-D imaging and augmented reality can help save space and requirements for laboratories for conducting experiments. For a country like India, IOT has much potential, it can help remove the infrastructural gap between schools in rural areas and schools in urban areas. Uniformity of pedagogy can be enhanced and better standardization ensured. While initial glitches, so-called teething problems exist with the introduction of new systems, the benefits will outlast them. What matters is that policy makers and curriculum framers need to put in safety measures to ensure that we stay abreast of technology. A quote attributed to both Einstein and Victor Salva states, “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity”.

Jacob's Ladder Photo by Rodrick Lal -- National Geographic Your Shot

Jacob's Ladder Photo by Rodrick Lal -- National Geographic Your Shot: This is a snap I took of a few objects that were lying around. A pack of crayons, a disposable bowl a clay pot a clingy figure, and a pine-cone made for a good set up for a close-up.

Superman Down Photo by Rodrick Lal -- National Geographic Your Shot

Superman Down Photo by Rodrick Lal -- National Geographic Your Shot: Playing around with my nieces crayons and a clingy toy gave me the idea of having superman surrounded by crayons to prevent his escape.

Hornbills on a Branch Photo by Rodrick Lal -- National Geographic Your Shot

Hornbills on a Branch Photo by Rodrick Lal -- National Geographic Your Shot: When I saw these hornbills sitting on the branches of a tree I thought they made a perfect shot.

A Chapterwise Summary of The Invisible Man

1.       Chapter One: Griffin arrives at Iping in the month of February, books a room and a parlour at the Coach and Horses inn. Mrs Hall Is very excited at the prospect of earning some money from him. She goes out of the way to make him feel comfortable, even serving hi herself, getting the mustard and waiting on him.

2.       Chapter Two: Mrs. Hall gathers her courage to ask the stranger if he would like to have some tea. Teddy Henfrey, the clock-jobber arrives. Mrs Hall finds it convenient to ask him to enter the Parlour to repair the clock. Griffin tells Mrs. Hall that he is an ‘experimental investigator’ and that his baggage due to arrive contains apparatus and appliances. Teddy Henfrey works on the clock and deliberately takes a lot of time in fixing it so that he can have enough time to talk to the stranger. He with, “The weather…” but the stranger scolds him and tells him to, “finish and go”. Teddy Henfrey leaves excessively annoyed. He runs into Mr. Hall and tells him that the stranger is a “rum un” meaning that there is something suspicious about the stranger.

3.       Chapter Three: Griffin’s luggage arrives from the Railway station on board Mr. Fearenside’s carriage. Mr. Fearenside’s dog bites Griffin’s hand and then his leg. Mr. Fearenside is able to look at the space in the trouser leg. What he sees gives rise to the piebald theory about the stranger (He might be a freak with patches of white and black skin). Rather oddly, Griffin rushes to his room. Mr. Hall rushes after Griffin to inquire if he is alright but when he entered the dark room, he is ‘struck violently in the chest and hurled back’ by Griffin. Mrs. Hall looks at the mess of the straw packing that was used to pack the numerous bottles, and test-tubes and is angry. Griffin tells her to put down the cleaning expenses and the damage to property “in the bill.”

4.       Chapter Four:  Various theories are floated about the rather mysterious stranger. He steps out during the evenings and at night. Children believe he is the Bogey Man. Others believe that he is a criminal on the run from the law, this view is spread by Teddy Henfrey. Mr. Gould believes that the stranger is an ‘Anarchist in disguise’. Mr. Fearenside spreads the piebald theory. In the midst of all this speculation, and the arrival of so many flasks and test-tubes, Cuss the general practitioner decides to investigate. His professional curiosity, jealousy is aroused and he decides to interview the stranger. He goes in and asks the stranger if he would be interested in contributing to the ‘Nurse Fund’. His curiosity is further aroused when he sees the bottles and chemicals in the parlour. Griffin tells him that he was doing research. A draft of air from the window lifts a prescription Griffin has in his hands and dumps it in the fireplace. He rushes to the fireplace to retrieve the paper and it is then that Mr Cuss looks through Griffin’s empty sleeve. When Mr. Cuss remarks that Griffin has an empty sleeve, the latter extends his hand till his cuff is six inches from the General practitioners face, and then he nips Mr. Cuss’s nose. Mr. Cuss rushes out of the parlour in panic and narrates the story to Mr. Bunting the Vicar.

5.       Chapter Five: A burglary takes place in the early hours in the vicarage. Mrs. Bunting hears the sounds of the burglar making his way into the house. She makes sure that the sounds are real and not imagined before deciding to wake up her husband. When she is sure there is someone, she wakes up Mr. Bunting who grabs hold of a poker and then they both proceed to the hall. In the hall they hear sounds of the drawer in the office table being opened. There were sounds of coins being taken out, and the sound of someone sniffing. It seems as though the robber had just taken away the house-keeping money. Mr. Bunting challenges the robber (whom they can’t see because he is invisible) but the robber escapes from the house exiting from the kitchen door.

6.       Chapter Six: Mrs. and Mr. Hall find the door to Griffin’s room ajar. Being curious, they step into his room and notice that the bed has not been slept in. It is while they are moving around in the room that they hear a sniff. It is then that strange things happen. The bed-sheets come flying in the air, the stranger’s hat comes flying in the air, and then Mrs. Hall’s favourite chair comes flying in the air, the legs ‘came gently but firmly against’ Mrs. Hall’s back. After Mrs. Hall has recovered from her shock, Sandy Wadgers, the blacksmith is called, he is followed by Mr. Huxter, and they both are of a serious opinion about the matter of the flying furniture.

7.       Chapter Seven: It is clear that the stranger had been behind the whole episode of the flying furniture. Wells suggests that Griffin must have been very hungry, not having eaten for a long time. Griffin demands that he be served breakfast, but Mrs. Hall serves him a bill on the breakfast tray. Angered by this affront, Griffin enters into an argument with Mrs. Hall and she tells him that he needs to pay the outstanding amount. Griffin tells her that he has got the money and will make the payment immediately, but then Mrs. Hall asks where he got the money from. It is clear that she knows about the robbery at the Vicarage and has a strong idea who was behind the whole incident. Griffin is angered by the turn of incidents and Mrs. Hall’s refusal to serve him breakfast. He threatens to “show” them “who” and “what” he is. To support this warning, Griffin begins to unveil himself, removing his nose followed by his spectacles, hat, bandages and whiskers. Everyone in the Inn gets agitated. Driven by his hunger, Griffin goes into the kitchen to get a loaf of bread. When he returns, he has a knife and the loaf of bread. Seeing this, everyone goes berserk. In the midst of all this chaos, Bobby Jaffers the constable arrives to arrest him. Bobby Jaffers attempts to handcuff Griffin but then things become really bad when Griffin fights the people attempting to arrest him. In the confusion that follows, in which a lot of people are hurt, Griffin escapes from the Inn.

8.       Chapter Eight: The only person to witness Griffin’s flight is Mr. Gibbons, an amateur naturalist.

9.       Chapter Nine: Griffin comes across Mr. Thomas Marvel, a tramp, and vagabond. Griffin frightens Marvel into working for him. He throws flints at him, intimidates him, and warns him not to betray him. It is clear that Griffin requires the services of an errands boy who can get him clothes, shelter, and other things. The contract that they enter into becomes a one-way contract, a no exit contract for Marvel.

10.   Chapter Ten: Griffin returns to Iping along with Marvel. The plan is that Marvel will open the door to the parlour in the Coach and Horses Inn allowing Griffin to collect his diaries. After this Marvel is supposed to stand outside right under the Parlour window so that he can collect the diaries passed on to him by Griffin. On getting the package he would then make good his escape. Mr. Huxter however, witnesses the passing of the bundle of books and believing he is a witness to a theft, gives chase to Marvel. A lot of other people follow in the chase but are tripped by Griffin who foils or prevents people from getting hold of the fleeing man.

11.   Chapter Eleven: The chapter describes what happened inside the Parlour. When Griffin enters the parlour, he finds Mr.Cuss and Mr. Bunting going through his diaries. Angered by this he threatens them with dire consequences and strips them of their clothes so that they cannot escape.

12.   Chapter Twelve: The twelfth chapter describes Mr. Hall and Teddy Henfrey listening on to the sounds coming from the parlour of Griffin roughing up Vicar Bunting and Mr. Cuss. Both the men however, don’t have the courage to step indoors and check whether everything was alright. They are however caught by Mrs. Hall while eavesdropping at the door to the parlour. She scolds them and it takes them time to make her understand what was happening indoors. The chapter goes on to describe the free for all that takes place as the people try to catch Marvel but are tripped by the invisible man.

13.   Chapter Thirteen: In the thirteenth chapter, Mr. Marvel requests Griffin to free him up from the contract that binds him to the invisible man. Mr. Marvel tries to convince Griffin that he is a “miserable tool” and thus not fit for the job. The invisible man, however, insists that though he is a “poor tool”, he will have to “make use” of him.

14.   Chapter Fourteen: The Chapter describes Marvel’s encounter with the Mariner. The Mariners, rather reminiscent of Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner, brings Marvel up to date about what the newspapers are saying about the strange events that took place in Ipping. Marvel barely manages to hold himself from telling the Mariner a first- hand report about his being attached to the very person being described in the newspapers. He hardly begins his story when Griffin arrives on the scene and he prevents Marvel from describing his part of the story. The Mariner is angered by Marvel leaving him without telling him his story. The Mariner gets convinced that the story in the newspapers is true when he collates incidents about ‘the flying money’ in which Griffin would rob people of their money and then deposit the same in Mr.Marvel’s pockets.

15.   Chapter Fifteen: The chapter describes Marvel running away apparently from Griffin towards Burdock. We are also introduced to Dr.Kemp, a counterfoil to Griffin. Dr.Kemp, who is a romantic scientist, and with ambitions no greater than that of joining the fellowship of the Royal Society notices that the man who is running “seems in a confounded hurry, but doesn’t seem to be getting on. If his pockets were full of lead, he couldn’t run heavier.” It seems as though Marvel didn’t not have the presence of mind to run lighter, he was carrying a large amount of money stolen by Griffin. The fear in Mr. Marvel seems to infect all those people who on the road much before he reaches them. Fear and terror are highly infectious it seems as people scream, “The Invisible Man is coming!”

16.   Chapter Sixteen: Marvel runs towards the Jolly Cricketers and seeks refuge indoors. The Barman admits him into the bar and all the doors are shut. However, one of the doors, the yard door, and the private door has been left open and Griffin manages to enter the Inn. The Invisible Man manages to grab hold of Marvel who struggles to free himself. All the others in the inn pitch in to save Marvel. The Invisible man starts throwing tiles at the others when the man with the black beard takes out his revolver and fires five shots in the direction from where the tiles were coming. One of the bullets hits Griffin in the hand. This is the turning point in the plot. Griffin is going to become more of a prey, more of a hunted object than a hunter.

17.   Chapter Seventeen: The chapter describes how Griffin slips into Dr.Kemp’s house with the help of a prank. He rang the doorbell, and when the maid opened it, he slipped in quietly. At about two ‘0’ clock, when Dr.Kemp was walking to his bedroom, he noticed a spot of blood on the linoleum covered floor. The door handle to his bedroom door was also stained with blood. He was to come across the invisible man when he enters his bedroom. It takes time for Dr. Kemp to be convinced that the person in his room was indeed invisible. In the physical tussle that takes place between Dr. Kemp, and the Invisible man, the former is grabbed hold of and thrown ‘backward upon the bed. After Dr Kemp becomes somewhat calm, the Invisible man introduces himself as a student junior to Dr.Kemp who studied in the University College. Griffin then begged Dr.Kemp for something to eat. Dr.Kemp expresses his desire to know more about Griffin’s story and what had happened about the shots at the Jolly Cricketers, and the man who had given him the slip, but then Griffin decides to tell him the whole story, later on, he’d rather go off to sleep.

18.   Chapter Eighteen: The chapter describes the invisible man taking a sleep in Dr. Kemp’s bedroom. He locks its rightful owner out of his own bedroom. While his guest was sleeping, Dr. Kemp was awake. In the morning he pores over the newspapers, trying to learn more about the story of the Invisible Man. With each newspaper that he reads, his excitement increases. It is only after he has read every scrap of newspaper that Dr. Kemp decides to send a note to Colonel Adye, Port Burdock to inform him about the presence of the Invisible Man at his house. It is not, however without a sense of guilt on betraying his acquaintance that he sends the note.

19.   Chapter Nineteen: Griffin tells Dr.Kemp, the principles behind his discovery of invisibility. It all starts at Chesilstowe. He talks about refraction, refractive indices, bending of light, and ways to render pigments translucent. The chapter marks the beginning of a flashback going back to the time when he was a college student and felt as if his professor was trying to steal credit for his work. One very important thing that he describes is how he robbed his father and how his father shot himself as a result.

20.   Chapter Twenty: The twentieth chapter is a continuation of the flashback started in the nineteenth chapter. Griffin talks about how he started with a piece of cloth at the house in Great Portland Street and was able to make it invisible. After the piece of cloth, it was the turn of an old woman’s cat. The cat was in great pain during the process of transformation and it cried a lot. The next day its owner, the old woman come enquiring for the cat. She suspects that he has abducted her cat and has vivisected it. Somehow he convinces her that he doesn’t have. Later the cat continues crying out in pain as the drugs start taking effect. The next day, the old Polish landlord comes enquiring about the cat. They enter into an argument and Griffin grabs hold of him by the collar. Something rips and the landlord goes spinning into the passage. The landlord returns a second time and this time he pushes an eviction order into Griffin’s room from under the door. Griffin realises that things have gone too far so he decides to experiment on himself. Griffin is in great pain during the experiment, it seemed as if his body is on fire. He is horror struck as he sees himself turning invisible. His eyelids become transparent, his bones and arteries fade away. At midday, the landlord returns, knocking at the door insistently. This time Griffin answers them to gain time, and then tosses some loose paper and packing straw and turns on the gas to burn down the whole laboratory. After doing this he climbs out of the window, climbs on to the cistern waiting for them to smash the door and enter his lodgings. The landlord, along with others enters the room and everyone is astonished to see that it is empty. When they went away, Griffin returns to the room and sets fire to the equipment.

21.   Chapter Twenty-One: Griffin steps out of his lodgings into Oxford street after setting the whole set up on fire. He is initially thrilled by the idea of his new found powers of invisibility, but then soon realises that invisibility has made him more handicapped than ever. He is knocked about by people and horse carriages in Oxford Street. He has to walk in the gutter to avoid being trampled. He is pursued by dogs, and realises that invisibility cannot protect him from dogs.  Wet and chilled to the core, Griffin wanders around. To make matters worse, the wet footprints made by him are noticed by a few people and a couple of street urchins. Griffin somehow manages to shake them off and comes round to Portland street where he sees  the entire building where he had his lodgings blazing. Griffin gets to know that invisibility has brought in more disadvantages than advantages.

22.   Chapter Twenty-Two: The chapter describes how Griffin manages to enter the Omniums, a big shopping complex during closing time. When everyone has left he helps himself to food and warm clothing. He falls asleep and dreams about his Landlord and his sons, the old woman, on whose cat he had experimented. He also sees the last rites of his father, he dreams about falling into his father’s coffin, and feels the gravel falling on to him threatening to  bury him alive. His dreams and troubled sleep is abruptly brought to an end when the store re-opens and the employees turn up for their duties. Moving in haste, he makes a lot of noise which attracts the attention of the workers. To avoid detection, the Invisible man throws off his newly acquired clothes. Griffin once again runs into the street naked and helpless after having beaten up some of the employees. Invisibility has robbed Griffin of the basic dignity of a human being. It has brought him down to the level of a beast that is looking for warmth and food. The euphoria that he had upon becoming invisible has dissipated and he is know a helpless outcast of the society.

23.   Chapter Twenty-Three: Griffin is once again on the road and he realises that invisibility comes with its own disadvantages – he has no shelter, no covering and to eat in the open was risky because the unassimilated food would be grotesquely visible to others. To wear clothes would mean foregoing the advantages of invisibility. Yet, to move around without clothes that too in the month of October is disadvantageous. Griffin therefore decides to props to cover his face, and exposed portions of his body. He looks for a prop shop in Drury Lane and enters one. Things go bad when the owner of the shop becomes suspicious of Griffin’s presence. He senses and feels the invisible man’s presence and takes out a gun to shoot at the invisible intruder. A scuffle ensues and in the process, the shopkeeper is beaten up and then put inside a bedsheet and tied inside it. Griffin gets hold of a mask,, dark glasses, whiskers and a wig. He also takes away some money from the desk drawer.

24.   Chapter Twenty-Four: In this chapter, Griffin makes it clear that he needs a base from which to operate. He would like to enlist the services of Dr.Kemp as a confederate. He also expresses his desire to set up a new world order, establish “a Reign of Terror” with himself as the ruler. Even while they are talking, Colonel Adye arrives with his men to arrest Griffin, but the latter smells a rat and makes good his escape.

25.   Chapter Twenty-Five: Dr.Kemp tells Colonel Adye why it is very important that they capture Griffin. He tells him that Griffin is a threat to the society and that as long as he is at large, he will wreak terror. The whole of the chapter is devoted to the hunting of Griffin. Dr. Kemp makes a few important suggestions to Colonel Adye for the capture of Griffin which include locking up of all food in the town, getting people to start hunting for him, using dogs to hunt him, and the spreading of powdered glass on the pavements.

26.   Chapter Twenty-Six: In this chapter, Wells describes how Griffin’s situation becomes even more pathetic. He has become a desperate fugitive, hungry, frustrated and miserable. The Wicksteed murder takes place in this chapter. Circumstantial evidence indicates that Griffin was the perpetrator of the crime.

27.   Chapter Twenty-Seven:  Dr. Kemp receives a note written by Griffin stating that he is not safe anymore, and that even if he, Kemp locks himself, he will not be safe. Colonel Adye arrives at his house and tells him that his servant has been assaulted.There a sound of smashing glass as Griffin starts to throw stones at the window panes. Dr. Kemp’s house is on siege. Colonel Adye decides to go down to the police station and get the bloodhounds put on. On the way out he takes away Dr.Kemp’s revolver. Unfortunately, Adye is confronted by Griffin. Griffin demands that Adye return to Dr.Kemp’s house. Colonel Adye, however disagrees because he fears that Griffin would find a way to slip into the house and then attack Dr. Kemp. A struggle takes place between both the men and Griffin shoots dead Colonel Adye with the revolver he has snatched away from Colonel Adye.  Griffin gains entry into the house by smashing in the kitchen door with an axe. One of the policemen catches the swinging axe with a poker he  has in his hand. Griffin fires the last bullet from his revolver.Seeing that nothing much can be gained by staying indoors, Dr.Kemp follows the maid and jumps out of one of the windows.

28.   Chapter Twenty-Eight: This is the last chapter in the book. Dr. Kemp runs towards Mr. Heelas’ house begging him to let him in. Mr. Heelas however doesn’t let him in. Seeing that there is no refuge for him, Kemp takes the hill-road in the downward direction. It was a desolate and lonely road. Soon he hears footsteps behind him and realises that Griffin was right behind him. He passes the Jolly Cricketers. Soon he comes across some labourers going to work. He calls out to them and tells them that the Invisible man is “close here!” He goes on to tell them to form a line and cut off the street at both ends. Griffin is trapped and then beaten to death by the labourers. Griffin becomes visible after his death.

29.   The Epilogue: The Epilogue ties up the loose ends of the story. We come across Marvel as well settled owner of an Inn. He is supposed to be a wise man now and is the custodian of Griffin’s diaries. He is the only one who has benefitted from his relationship with Griffin. Also, Marvel is the only character in the novel who undergoes a transformation.

The Church of Epiphany celebrates the Concluding Thanksgiving Service for 150 Years of Service and Witness

The Most Revd. P.K.Samantaroy, Moderator, Church of North India cutting the ribbon.

Mr Alwan Masih, General Secretary of the CNI Synod

The concluding thanksgiving service for 150 years of Service and Witness of the Church of the Epiphany took place on the 5th of February, 2017. The Re-dedication and Commitment service was attended by important dignitaries, office bearers and functionaries of the Church of North India, Diocese of Delhi.The chief guest on the occasion was The Most Revd. P.K.Samantaroy, Moderator, Church of North India. Guest of honour included The Rt. Revd. Warris K. Masih, Bishop of The Diocese of Delhi (CNI), Mr Alwan Masih, General Secretary (CNI Synod), Mr Prem Masih, Treasurer (CNI Synod).

Procession towards the old Church Building

Procession towards the Old Church Building

Carrying the archival registers, in front you Mrs Deena Joyce, and behind her is Mrs Poornima Lal

Leading the Women's fellowship team, Shikha Eileen and Mrs Maya Lal

In his sermon, the Moderator, Most Revd. P.K. Samantaroy spoke about how even while traveling on a long journey we are really not in control of the journey because the ultimate ownership belongs to God. He went on to state how a jubilee is a celebration of looking forward to being free.

Members of the Youth Fellowship

On the left, you have Mrs. Sabrina Benjamin and on the right, you have Mrs. Marion Sircar

On the left you have The Rt.Revd.Warris K. Masih, Bishop of the Diocese of Delhi CNI and on the right you have Revd.Sunil Ghazan, Presbyter in Charge of the Church of the Epiphany Gurgaon

In his message to the congregation of the Church of the Epiphany, the Moderator talked about how jubilation and atonement need to go hand in hand. He went on to speak about a need for churches to be 'forgiving churches' and that excommunication is not the only solution for a lot of problems happening across churches. 

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin

He went on to state that there is a need for Churches to be 'Hospital Communities,' sanctuaries that welcome everyone in the manner that important people are invited and welcomed during festivals and functions. There is a need for Churches to be for those who are yet to come - a place where the guests become the hosts and hosts become guests.

Mr. Pramod Sagar and his Daughter

The Moderator, The Most Reverend P.K.Samantaroy exhorted the congregation to make coming to Church a liberating experience, an opportunity to rest and restore ourselves from the stress and troubles of everyday life.

The guest of honour analyzed the symbolism behind the procession to the Old Church, the ceremony conducted there and then the procession to the new Church building for the rest of the Mass. He stated that the whole procession was symbolic of a journey, a transition from old to new.

The Moderator exhorted all those present to allow the church to be a 'people driven church,' a fountainhead of hope.

Mr. D.D.Lal, one of the oldest members of the Congregation

Of course, that's me!

Foremost in the photograph, is Mr. Sanjay Irwin Lal, the author of the Down Memory Lane Video

Aastha, a member of the Youth Fellowship

Mr. Peter John, our organist

The event that took place on the 5th of February brought to an end a year-long celebration of a hundred and fifty years of service, worship, and fellowship of the church in Gurgaon. It goes without saying that The Church of The Epiphany is one of the most important and oldest churches in Gurgaon. It happens to be an important part of the history of the town that was once no more than a small hamlet, the base of a British army contingent.