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February 27, 2017

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A riot of colours at Delhi University’s 59th Annual Flower Show

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The 59th Annual Flower Show of University of Delhi took place on 23rd February 2017, with a plethora of activities, which saw the participation of horticulturists, photographers, students, teachers and flower enthusiasts from all over the Delhi-NCR region.

On 23rd February, the 59th Annual Flower Show of the University of Delhi took place in Mughal Garden, North Campus. Special Holiday was announced for the Delhi University colleges on account of this event. As a result, the premises were abuzz with students, teachers and flower enthusiasts appreciating the vibrant and varied blossoms.
The event was inaugurated by Vice Chancellor Mr. Yogesh Tyagi and the Chief Guest of the event was Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the Science and Technology Minister.

Both, indigenous and exotic plants were displayed at the exhibition for the students and visitors. This year, the special attractions were cacti, orchids, succulents, and herbal plants. The show saw both competitive and non-competitive entries from colleges affiliated with the university, schools, and other educational institutes.
Nukkad Natak performances kept the audiences engaged. Students from Department of Botany performed a street play on the topic “Evolution of Natural Selection”, this was followed by another performance by Dhwani, the theater society of Acharya Narendra Dev College. Petals, the on-the-spot Photography competition, was organized at the event for the first time. The theme for the competition was ‘Flower and Emotions’ and with on-the-spot registration, the competition was open to all.

Talking to DU Beat, Shashi B Babbar, Chair of the flower show committee asserted that, “The main objective why we have been organizing this annual event since 1956 is to acknowledge the hard work of our horticulture staff. I believe that Students should raise some plants of their own; this habit can do wonders for our environment. It’s sad that when it comes to botany, India lags behind despite having immense potential since we have a wide and rich biodiversity in terms of flora. I hope that programs like this would infuse some interest in regarding gardening and botany among the general public, primarily the university students.”
The flower show started at 12 noon and remained open till 5 p.m.

Niharika Dabral
[email protected]

 

Imgae credits: Ened D’souza

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Arts & Culture

Jesus and Mary College organises 'Montage' 2017: Highlights

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Day 1 started with ‘Adaah’- an event organised by Nrityanjali, the Indian Dance Society of JMC, which included the Indian Classical Solo competition and the Group Folk Dance competition. The competition was judged by Radhika Kathal and Hemant Pandey. In the Group folk dance competition, the participants filled the auditorium which tunes and energetic beats from across India. The competition, in which a total of nine teams participated, the first prize was won by Nupur, the folk dance society of Kamala Nehru College. The second and third prizes were won by Nrityakriti of Maitreyi College and Nazaakat of Gargi College, while the singer of the SGTB Khalsa’s team won a special mention for his exceptional performance.
Echo, the western music society of JMC organised ‘Madrigal’ which included western group singing competition where students of the Western Music Society of Lady Shri Ram College bagged the first position followed by Sound Machine of St. Stephen’s College winning the second position and Aria of Hindu College securing the third position. In the event of ‘I like to duet x2’, Sparsh and Alankrita of LSR bagged the first position.
For the event ‘Tap That Treble’, which was the western solo singing competition, Sparsh from LSR won the first prize and the second prize was bagged by David from St. Stephen’s College while the third position was jointly won by Sumer from Venky and Zachariah from Ansal University. ‘Battle of Bands’ was judged by Siby Mathew and Roshan Roy, with a total of seven participating bands and Tantrik Steve of Hansraj College gave the award winning performance.
With the competitive events calling it up a day, the enthusiastic crowd gathered to enjoy the concert by Jasleen Royal. The singer enthralled the audience with popular tracks like Kabira and Iktara along with her popular tracks from the film ‘Dear Zindagi’. Day 2 at Montage at JMC started off slow but soon picked up with multiple events taking place simultaneously. The Nukkad Natak or street play competition and the western group dance and choreography events had the audience enthralled. The street play event saw the participation of ten teams from colleges across the University of Delhi. Anubhuti, the theatre society of Sri Venkateswara College bagged the first prize while Natuve, of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, came second. DramaNomics of the College of Vocational Studies was awarded a consolation prize.
Swaying to the rhythmic moves and portraying the brilliance of artistic bodies, Mudra organised the Choreography and Western Dance Competition. Terpsi Chorean from Hans Raj College bagged the first prize, with Sensation from Kirori Mal College receiving the second prize.
The event of choreography was followed by the Western Dance Competition, presenting a motley of performances received by an applauding audience. Zeal, Maitreyi College’s dance society, Misba of Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, and Enliven of Gargi College won the first, second, and third prized respectively. Infusing an element of earful endearance, Tarannum organised the Single and Group Classical Singing Competition. Gargi College’s Indian Music Society, Samranjini emerged as the winner, followed by Alahyaa of Daulat Ram College and Hindu College’s Alankar.
The fest closed with a power packed performance by DJ Kerano, one of the biggest DJ and music producers in the country, where the crowd grooved to the beats, mixing up some amazing tunes such as ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ and ‘Yellow’!
Anagha Rakta ([email protected]) Radhika Boruah ([email protected]) Baani Kasyap ([email protected]) Srivedant Kar ([email protected]) Vineeta Rana ([email protected]) Saumya Kalia ([email protected]) Nikhil Kumar ([email protected]) Priyal Mahtta ([email protected])]]>

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Arts & Culture

Jesus and Mary College organises ‘Montage’ 2017: Highlights

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Montage 2017 – the annual cultural fest of Jesus and Mary College – begun with Sister Rosily T.L. r.j.m, the officiating Principal of the college declaring the fest open, saying, “We are proud to invite all the students to Montage this year.  We wish the students who have organised the fest all the very best”.

Day 1 started with ‘Adaah’- an event organised by Nrityanjali, the Indian Dance Society of JMC, which included the Indian Classical Solo competition and the Group Folk Dance competition. The competition was judged by Radhika Kathal and Hemant Pandey. In the Group folk dance competition, the participants filled the auditorium which tunes and energetic beats from across India. The competition, in which a total of nine teams participated, the first prize was won by Nupur, the folk dance society of Kamala Nehru College. The second and third prizes were won by Nrityakriti of Maitreyi College and Nazaakat of Gargi College, while the singer of the SGTB Khalsa’s team won a special mention for his exceptional performance.

Echo, the western music society of JMC organised ‘Madrigal’ which included western group singing competition where students of the Western Music Society of Lady Shri Ram College bagged the first position followed by Sound Machine of St. Stephen’s College winning the second position and Aria of Hindu College securing the third position. In the event of ‘I like to duet x2’, Sparsh and Alankrita of LSR bagged the first position.

For the event ‘Tap That Treble’, which was the western solo singing competition, Sparsh from LSR won the first prize and the second prize was bagged by David from St. Stephen’s College while the third position was jointly won by Sumer from Venky and Zachariah from Ansal University. ‘Battle of Bands’ was judged by Siby Mathew and Roshan Roy, with a total of seven participating bands and Tantrik Steve of Hansraj College gave the award winning performance.

With the competitive events calling it up a day, the enthusiastic crowd gathered to enjoy the concert by Jasleen Royal. The singer enthralled the audience with popular tracks like Kabira and Iktara along with her popular tracks from the film ‘Dear Zindagi’.

Day 2 at Montage at JMC started off slow but soon picked up with multiple events taking place simultaneously. The Nukkad Natak or street play competition and the western group dance and choreography events had the audience enthralled. The street play event saw the participation of ten teams from colleges across the University of Delhi. Anubhuti, the theatre society of Sri Venkateswara College bagged the first prize while Natuve, of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, came second. DramaNomics of the College of Vocational Studies was awarded a consolation prize.

Swaying to the rhythmic moves and portraying the brilliance of artistic bodies, Mudra organised the Choreography and Western Dance Competition. Terpsi Chorean from Hans Raj College bagged the first prize, with Sensation from Kirori Mal College receiving the second prize.

The event of choreography was followed by the Western Dance Competition, presenting a motley of performances received by an applauding audience. Zeal, Maitreyi College’s dance society, Misba of Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, and Enliven of Gargi College won the first, second, and third prized respectively. Infusing an element of earful endearance, Tarannum organised the Single and Group Classical Singing Competition. Gargi College’s Indian Music Society, Samranjini emerged as the winner, followed by Alahyaa of Daulat Ram College and Hindu College’s Alankar.

The fest closed with a power packed performance by DJ Kerano, one of the biggest DJ and music producers in the country, where the crowd grooved to the beats, mixing up some amazing tunes such as ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ and ‘Yellow’!

Anagha Rakta ([email protected])

Radhika Boruah ([email protected])

Baani Kasyap ([email protected])

Srivedant Kar ([email protected])

Vineeta Rana ([email protected])

Saumya Kalia ([email protected])

Nikhil Kumar ([email protected])

Priyal Mahtta ([email protected])

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Arts Faculty

Of Perusing Languages

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Of all the major areas of research, linguistics is one such department in the University of Delhi which has been carrying on interesting and detailed work on the endangered languages of the India.

The scientific study of language is known as linguistics. In linguistics, syntax is the set of rules, principles, and processes that govern the structure of sentences in a given language, specifically word order. The term syntax is also used to refer to the study of such principles and processes. Semantics is primarily the linguistic, and also philosophical, study of meaning—in language, programming languages, formal logic, and semiotics. It focuses on the relationship between signifiers-like words, phrases, signs and symbols—and what they stand for, their denotation. All the languages have different syntax, semantics and tones. It is indeed a field of study which brings up the significance of the languages spoken in even nook and corner of the world.

Now, we have numerous lists of endangered species of flora and fauna in the world. Similarly, the socio-cultural importance of the 6,500 spoken languages around the world cannot be disregarded. UNESCO’s Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger categorises 2,473 languages into five levels of endangerment: vulnerable, definitely endangered, severely endangered, critically endangered and extinct. Languages that are at risk of falling out of use as its speakers die out or shift to speaking another language are known as endangered languages. Language loss occurs when the language has no more native speakers and becomes a “dead language”. If eventually no one speaks the language at all, it becomes an “extinct language”. Linguists, members of endangered language communities, governments, NGOs, and international organizations are actively working to save and stabilize endangered languages. Once a language is determined to be endangered, there are three steps that can be taken in order to stabilize or rescue the language. The first is language documentation, the second is language revitalization and the third is language maintenance. Language documentation is the documentation in writing and audio-visual recording of grammar, vocabulary, and oral traditions of endangered languages. Language revitalization is the process by which a language community through political, community, and educational means attempts to increase the number of active speakers of the endangered language. Language maintenance refers to the support given to languages that need for their survival to be protected from outsiders who can ultimately affect the number of speakers of a language. Almost all of the study of language endangerment has been with spoken languages. A UNESCO study of endangered languages does not mention sign languages. However, some sign languages are also endangered, such as Alipur Village Sign Language (AVSL) of India. Many sign languages are used by small communities; small changes in their environment can lead to the endangerment and loss of their traditional sign language. Understanding the structure of these endangered languages of the world will help the linguists at least preserve of what has remained of those languages. Different languages portray different visions of life and apparently they help to know the civilisations better, the ancient, and also the modern ones.

Saying Hello in different Languages
Saying Hello in different Languages

One primary reason of highlighting this department is because of its unfamiliar field of exploration. Some of the research works taken up by the Post Graduate students of DU include Documentation and description of endangered languages, Historical Linguistics, Phonology, Morphology, Language contact, Psycholinguistics and Neurolinguistics, Linguistic Stylistics, Applied Linguistics, Generative Phonology, Translation Studies, Sociolinguistics, Lexicography. Indo-Norwegian Cooperation programme is a new initiative aimed to foster cooperation in education between the two countries. In its meeting on Oct 1 2014 the SIU-UGC joint committee granted permission to 15 projects. One of these INCP supported project is- A Micro comparative Study of Doubling in Dialects of Meiteilon and Norwegian as a Case of Syntactic Variation. Since then several workshops were held both in DU and Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim and Norway. Although not very old, this department of DU has not failed to amuse the international platforms with the numerous projects on Linguistics.

 

Image credits: onehourtranslation.com

 

Radhika Boruah

[email protected]

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Cultural Festivals

Highlights from Lady Shri Ram College’s Tarang 2017

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Tarang 2017, the annual cultural fest of Lady Shri Ram College for Women, was the first in a list of University of Delhi fests this year. One of the biggest extravaganzas in DU, this year’s three-day fest took place over the weekend of 3rd to 5th February. The event saw an impressive celebrity lineup, as well as a number of society-specific competitions and programmes.

The college campus was fully decked with decorations from the fine arts society, Hive. With this year’s theme of ‘redefining rhapsody’, quirky art pieces such as treasure chests and innovative exhibitions of wheels and umbrellas were an eye-catching start to the fest. The vibrant atmosphere provided an unmistakeable aura of energy to the campus.

Some of the major events that drew huge crowds were organised by the music, dramatics, and dance societies. On Day 1, a non-competitive stage play event, Yavnika, allowed teams from five colleges around Delhi to showcase their annual productions, without any pressure of winning.

Izzaz,the choreography group dance competition led the audience enthralled by the skills of the dancers and the concepts behind the performances. The first prize went jointly to Gargi College and Hans Raj College, while Kirori Mal College bagged the second position

On Day 2, A Cappella – Pitch Please entertained the audience with contemporary arrangements of popular songs by Coldplay and Twenty One Pilots. Kamakshi Khanna, a renowned artist, was one of the judges for this event. The western music societies of Gargi College, Jesus and Mary College, and Hans Raj College came out on top.

On the final day of the fest, the ever-energetic nukkad natak or street plays were performed non-competitively, in the same spirit of the stage plays. Issues such as casteism and child abuse were brought into the open by the bold scripts and acting of the participants.

Perhaps the most awaited event, Baila, the western group dance, had the entire auditorium packed and buzzing with energy. Maitreyi College emerged victorious, while Jesus and Mary College and Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce came second and third respectively.

Apart from these major events, there were also various side events that drew participation. These included musical interpretation painting, slam poetry recitation, parliamentary debate, quizzes, and mystery rooms, along with an Alice In Wonderland themed exhibition. There were also beatboxing and pottery workshops, as well as a number of exciting stalls for hair braiding and temporary tattoos. The variety of eatables available was truly a treat for all the foodies at the fest. There was never a moment to waste at LSR as a plethora of events going on simultaneously provided both excitement and entertainment.

The star nights on all three days were busy affairs. Prateek Kuhad brought the first night to an end with his soothing voice and acoustic compositions.

In contrast to this, the second day saw Anish Sood get the crowd jumping with an EDM show. On the final day of the fest, Kenny Sebastian had the audience in splits with his relatable jokes and casual manner.

He was followed by Lucky Ali, who concluded Tarang 2017 with an enthralling performance of some of his biggest hits.

All in all, Tarang was a magnificent start to DU’s fest season of 2017. Starry pro nights and dynamic events, coupled with the energy and vibrancy throughout the three days added up to an unforgettable fest.

 

Image Caption: Lucky Ali serenading the audience at Tarang 2017
Image Credits: Alex Arthur

 

Vineeta Rana

[email protected]

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