October 29, 2014

Halloween in India: Why it might work

By Vani Vivek October 29, 2014

With its population of over one billion, India is quite the giant cauldron of different cultures, customs and traditions and naturally, this means we celebrate a wide array of festivals from across religions. Halloween is one festival that we all have a very vivid idea of, thanks to American TV shows and Hollywood movies. Ask me what a typical Malayali family does on Onam and I might not know, but I definitely know (or think I know) how Halloween is celebrated. From what I do know of Halloween, here’s why I think the concept will work well in India if it were to be an official holiday:

The Diwali festive season gets extended
For many of us, Diwali time is the best time of the year. Since Diwali usually falls a week ahead of or after Halloween, here’s one more excuse to party!

We are a creative people who love to dress up
Once this festival becomes official, I seriously hope the scope of dressing up for Halloween extends beyond the Angels versus Devils or Sexy Nurse themes that seem to prevail in the clubs that host Halloween parties currently. I’d love to see a zombie Indian bride or an armless Thakur seeking revenge.

Trick or treating late in the evening
Though I don’t think many families would let their preteen kids wander door to door for candies after sundown, the concept could work brilliantly under supervision and help rebuild the deteriorating neighborly relations. Plus, we already have the festival of Kanjak in North India, making the concept not so alien.

Carving kaddus
Honestly, who has seen this in a movie and not wanted to give it a try? Not only is carving faces on pumpkins to make decorations a brilliant way to put your creative genius at work, it also works as an outlet of any aggression you may have.

Nobody minds an extra holiday
For those who aren’t too keen on the festive season, Halloween could be just another day you get to sleep in till late!

Image source: www.bpcblockparty.com

Vani Vivek
[email protected]

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DUB News

Frequently asked Questions- Editorial Department

By DU Beat October 29, 2014

1. Do I have to be a student in Delhi University?
Yes. The newspaper is based in Delhi University and hence all our correspondents are from one of the colleges.

2. Is it a paid job profile?
No. It is an unpaid position like every other in DU Beat.

3. Do I have to be excellent in English?
While we do not necessarily look for a Shakespeare we do require a certain level of command over the language.

4. What kind of writing samples do you need?
Anything from a report of an event to a review of a book/movie/TV show. It would be advisable if you could go through our website and make yourself familiar with the kind of content before applying. Please avoid sending poetry and fiction.

5. How many hours of my week will I have to give?
Allotments of stories are done once a week but news reports can be assigned at any point. Enough time is provided to complete them though.

6. My CV got selected, what now?
Congratulations! You are one step closer. We will have another session of conversation with you which could be from an Interview to a group discussion.

7. Can I be terminated at any point?

Definitely. There is a probation period once you join in which you can choose to leave or we can ask you to leave.

Reasons for termination:

If you are lacking in your work and do not complete your assigned reports or submit them late.
You refuse to take up assignments a number of times.

We are not satisfied with your stories and your writing.

8. That sounds harsh!

Don’t worry, we’re nice people. As long as you laugh at our jokes, of course.

9. I’ve applied before. But haven’t heard back/wasn’t selected. Can I re-apply?

If you think you match all our criteria, then sure, go ahead!

10. What does an ideal candidate look like, for you?

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-Has a good command over the language
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-Has a good sense of humor and work ethic

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Lady Shri Ram College for Women

LSR organizes DU Inter College Lawn Tennis Tournament

By DU Beat October 29, 2014

Lady Shri Ram College for Women organized the Delhi University Inter College Lawn Tennis Tournament on 17^th, 20^th and 21^st October, 2014. The Finals were played between Jesus and Mary College and Shri Ram College for Commerce. The JMC Team, captained by Rishika Sunkara, succeeded in winning the title. The team consisted of Megha Sehrawat, Teertha Iska, Samriti Punyani, Renu Sharma and Rinisha. The team believes that their coach Mr. Abid Ali has been the driving force behind the winning team. The runners’ up team, led by Ravnoor Kaur, consisted of Shehnaz, Anukriti Chaudhary and Shivani Dabas.

JMC defeated SRCC with a score of 2-0. Rishika, took on Shehnaz in the finals and defeated her by 6-2 and 6-1. Rishika, who is ranked number 3 in India right now is riding high on her success at the recently held Asian Games, where she was a part of the Indian Tennis contingent. Teertha Iska defeated Ravnoor Kaur in a pulsating match.

The third position was secured by Gargi College with Likitha Shetty, as the captain and Anushka Rajkumar, Morisha Dutta, Shubh Gulati, Dipti Rana and Stuti Punjani as team members. Gargi defeated LSR with a score of 2-0. In the Quarter Finals, Shubh Gulati defeated Diksha Agarwal from LSR. This approximately one hour long, exhilarating match proceeded to a tie breaker where Gulati succeeded in leading by a point. The score was 6-1, 1-6, 7-6. On the other hand, Lithika defeated Bhavika by 6-0 and 6-0. LSR and Gargi had defeated St. Stephens and Miranda House, respectively to enter the Quarter-finals.

This 3 day long tournament, saw 11 teams from different colleges, across Delhi University, participating in the nail biting matches held on the synthetic courts of the LSR sports grounds. The matches which typically started at 9 am and went on till early evening were attended by the students, coaches and teachers from the participating teams. Ms. Meenakshi Pahuja, the Head of the LSR Physical Education Department and the Convener of the tournaments said, “It was heart warming to see the entire talent cauldron of the Delhi University on our grounds. As a sports’ professional, I feel women players, require such events to be organized at the grassroot level to give them a platform to hone their talent.”

Encouraged by the success of this event, LSR will organize the Delhi University Women’s Tennis Team trials on its grounds on 27^th and 28^th October, as per the schedule.

Mugdha

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Picture Credits: Mugdha

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