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August 17, 2013

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12-coachingclassFew students who opt for longer coaching modules are better off as their schedules are not as hectic. Vidushi Malik, Hindu College is doing Chemistry Honors and taking UPSC coaching, that is, for Civils. Even though she isn’t eligible for appearing for the exam for another 2 years, she is taking regular classes in Career Launcher – thrice a week and evening timings make it pretty easy for her to enjoy college as well as other activities.

Managing coaching with regular college is undoubtedly tough. However, taking the longer module is a better bet any day as it not only gives you more preparation time, but also not having classes daily is a huge relief. It allows time to manage college studies and practice what is taught in coaching classes. Having coaching and college every day becomes almost impossible to manage. By Surbhi Grover ([email protected]) and Pinakita Gupta ([email protected]) Image courtesy: www.dwarkatrade.in and lahore.olx.com.pk]]>

In the past three years Delhi University has undergone such radical changes that now one does not bat an eye when the university announces another one of its “reforms”. The news of the hike in fees of almost all the colleges has remained unmentioned. Where the raise in amount is not much in Colleges like Daulat Ram, Miranda House and Hindu, it’s quite considerable in others like SRCC, St Stephen’s, Kirori Mal, LSR and Ramjas.

Yearly fee structure of Shri Ram College of Commerce is a record breaking Rs. 27,000 for third year students and Rs. 26,600 for students of second year. SRCC has always been one of the top paid colleges owing to its air conditioned class rooms but from the last time’s annual fees of Rs. 20,000, a leap of seven thousand is a bit too much. St Stephen’s College, on the other hand, increased its fee by 5 to 7 percent with the effect that a student of Humanities will now have to pay Rs. 22,435 annually as opposed to Rs. 19,925 last year.

The fee hike in Hansraj College is not so drastic in comparison. “There would be a hike but it won’t be more than 10 percent. The hike would be for all the courses except for the Bachelors of Technology (B.Tech) in Electronics,” Hans Raj College principal K.V. Kavatra was quoted saying. A student of B. Com (Hons.) for instance needs to pay Rs. 10,540 instead of last year’s Rs. 9000.

Miranda House, Hindu College and Lady Irvin College have not hiked their fee at all. Where Miranda House charges around Rs. 8000 annually, Hindu still remains one of the most affordable colleges with a fee structure ranging from Rs. 5000 to Rs. 7000. Sri Venkateswara College in South Campus is comparatively cheaper, when compared to LSR and JMC, and a student of Political Science and B. Com (Hons.) has to pay just Rs. 6505 yearly.  With a fee structure of Rs. 5000, Daulat Ram College is one of the most inexpensive colleges of Delhi University.

Reportedly, the university has nothing to do with the fee structure and the hike. The decision lies entirely with the colleges. Quite naturally, the students of colleges like SRCC are not happy. “We don’t have teacher assigned for some of the very basic subjects! There are ad-hoc teachers but we are not satisfied with any of them and we have to pay extra for that?!” said a second year student.

Image courtesy: www.frontiertreksindia.com

The University of Delhi will no longer be offering papers on the History of the United States of America and that of the USSR starting this academic session. Papers like East Asia (which covers China and Japan in great detail) have been retained, and the University has also included modern Korea as part of the course.

While the University has not yet given any clear reason for taking this decision, both students and teachers are of the opinion the excluded these papers will dilute the entire course. Prerna Bhagi, a student of history who took the American History Course last year said, “The course really helped me understand the international politics and history of the most powerful nation in the world. It gave me grasp over the concept of foreign relations too. I don’t know why the University officials would take a decision to scrap these papers, unless they have something better in mind.”

The scraping of these papers also raises an important question over the factor of choice that the VC wished to introduce in the FYUP, as many students genuinely interested in African, American or Soviet History, which were previously the most popular optional papers, will not get a chance to do so in the course of their undergraduate education.

Teachers of History at the University say that they were not consulted at all when this decision was taken, and believe that they were particularly excluded out of all FYUP related decision making processes. In fact, in an open letter to the Vice Chancellor and the public, twenty history teachers have claimed that no democratic process of consultation or negotiation was followed when the FYUP courses were formulated. They claim they were kept in the dark about the courses they were meant to teach and the ones being scrapped off.  They have also accused the University officials for making the Indian History and Culture paper intellectually and qualitatively inferior to University standards, by plagiarizing  from  an 11th standard CBSE textbook.

The Department of History, for the past few years has been at loggerheads with University officials over quite a few issues. Two years ago, when the semester system was newly introduced in the University, AK Ramanujan’s essay ‘Three Hundred Ramayans’ was excluded from the course, also leading to severe dissent from History teachers.

Image courtesy: redbubble.com and superstock.com

It was last year when Grey’s Anatomy was screened on Indian television for the first time. The medical drama was an instant hit, with TV channels showing seasons 1-6 at one shot and then repeating the seasons on popular demand. Soon enough, seasons 7-9 were also featured, leaving fans content.

So what is it about this show that keeps viewers hooked? First of all, the variety of characters on the show is diverse. You have Casanovas, emotionally damaged people, those who’re perpetually unlucky in love and those who’re always upbeat and peppy. Of course the fact that the cast is very attractive helps quite a bit. Then there is all the drama! A lot of it is unbelievable, because let’s face it, how many times does an average doctor find himself or herself in a life threatening situation? Well, in this show, at least once per season. But the tragedy is what draws you in, it makes you appreciate all the happy moments on the show like when Meredith gets to know that she’s pregnant with a baby she refers to as ‘Foetus’.

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Season 9 was a particularly emotional one with deaths, births, marriages and break ups. The new set of surgical interns brought with them fresh energy and romances. Kepner, who used to be an immature and slightly irritating character earlier, has grown tremendously in this season to become a rather likable character! Meredith and Yang were as close as ever, though the tension between Yang and Hunt kept increasing.

The last episode of season 9 was another rollercoaster ride what with Dr Webber being electrocuted, Kepner feeling confused between Avery and Matthews, Callie getting to know about Arizona’s affair and the beginning of a romance between Karev and Jo. There are many unanswered questions as of now and the only thing we fans can do now is to wait for Season 10!

Image courtesy: abc website and aceshowbiz.com

Cost for two: 700 (approx)

Location: Matia Mahal Bazaar, opposite to gate 1 of Jama Masjid

Must tries: Mutton Biriyani, Shami and Shikh Kebabs

After a harrowing rickshaw journey through the lanes of Purani Dilli, in which yours truly turned a believer, we reached gate 1 of Jama Masjid. Before us stood the majesty of the 17th century Friday mosque and at the opposite side Bazaar Matia Mahal, the road to culinary heaven. The lane was home to the best and the second best Mughlai restaurants in the city. While Karim’s is the hyped offering of the lane, Al Jawahar is the other option that is its equal in the business, if not superior.

As with other Old Delhi restaurants, the ambience is nothing to speak of in the very traditional sense of the word. There is no subtle lighting and slow music. While it is not the most hygienic joint in the town, it still is one of the cleanest places to have Mughlai food in the place of its origin. We ordered Shaami Kebabs, Shikh Kebabs, Mutton Achaar Biriyani, Brain Curry and Chicken Jahangiri, of which the last was delivered late because the waiter forgot that we ordered it in the first place. Vegetarians don’t really get a lot to choose from in most of the eateries in the old quarters and our vegetarian friend had to do with Dal Fry and Mutter Pulao.

The first thing that hits you when the food is served is the aroma. The Kebabs were the perfect starters and melted in the mouth the moment you popped them in, leaving behind a faint smoky taste. The Biryani was delectable in ways words can’t describe. Given its name, each bite had a pleasant overtone of the achaar, while the mutton was just perfect, not so soft that it fails to register its texture while not that chewy that you tire yourself out over it. It was our first time with having brain as food and for the ones who have not had it yet, it tastes like eggs. Yes. The curry had a creamy gravy and the brain (yes, it feels weird even writing it) surprisingly delicious. While the chicken felt a little under cooked, the gravy it came suspended in more than made up for it. Finish off your Old Delhi meal with a Meetha Samosa and Rabri Falooda from the sweetmeat shops nearby.

Image Credit: Souvik Das Gupta on Flickr