Reporter's diary: Madam, do you know how to pronounce irony?

CHENNAI: Last week, the committee appointed by Kalakshetra to enquire into the sexual harassment allegations against its suspended faculty, Hari Padman, held that he was delinquent and recommended punishment.

Unlike in other cases of sexual harassment when predators were outed from private and government schools and other educational institutions, the appeal to the ‘sense of community’ was strong in the case of Kalakshetra from its alumni and sympathisers.

There were Twitter spaces, online petitions, and media interviews to provide a counter-narrative. Some alumni even wondered out loud whether it was a leftist conspiracy to dishonour the ‘sanctity’ of the institution. Of all the nonsense peddled by the coterie with a nauseating dosage of snobbery, the one by an actress, a former student of Kalakshetra took the crown. Turning up outside the institute, she wondered if those protesting against the school could even pronounce Kalakshetra.

Irony died a painful death that day, as she had played one of the victims in actor Ajith Kumar’s Nerkonda Paarvai, a film that focused on the topic of consent. Incidentally, it was also in the news last week as fans of the actor celebrated four years of the film’s release. It was widely appreciated for Ajith essaying the role of a lawyer defending consent, which many believed would help the topic to trickle down.

We don’t know if she can pronounce delinquent, but irony is a common word and this is how it’s pronounced: ‘eye+ruh+nee’.