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Recipients of the Rhodes Scholarships for India make an illustrious list with prominent personalities such as Olympian Ranjit Bhatia, playwright Girish Karnad, and economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia all having won the prestigious post graduate scholarship to study at University of Oxford.

Each year the committee selects five scholars from India with exceptional intellect, character, leadership, and commitment to service. This year the committee was led by Kumar Mangalam Birla and included the Warden of Rhodes House Mr. Charles Conn and notable Indian Rhodes Scholarship Alumni – Ms. Rukmini Banerji, Mr. Mahesh Rangarajan, Ms. Sagarika Ghose, Mr. Nandan Kamath and Mr. Prashant Sarin.

This year, the five scholars from India are from diverse backgrounds. Sanya Samtani a final year law student at the NALSAR University of Law, Bangalore, intends to read for a BCL degree at the University of Oxford while Sonali Chowdhry, an economics graduate from Miranda House and currently on a Young India Fellowship at Ashoka University, intends to study economics for development. Mayanka Mukherji is a final year sociology student at Lady Shri Ram College for Women and wishes to pursue an M.Phil in Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology. A final year law student at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, Mansi Sood also wishes to pursue BCL at the University of Oxford. The sole male in the bunch, Carl Britto, a final year medical student at St. John’s Medical College Hospital, Bangalore intends to enroll in the D. Phil program in Primary Health.

The Rhodes Scholarships are postgraduate awards supporting outstanding all-round students and enable two to three years (depending on the academic route taken) of study at the University of Oxford, the oldest and amongst the most prestigious universities in the world. Since Independence of India, there have been 202 Rhodes Scholars from India.

Source: Press Release, The Rhodes Scholarships

The procrastination sword hangs above every head before exams and ends up murdering the marks. No matter how smart a person is, the pleasure of everything else but studies lures one into temporary gratification of wants rather than going for something long-lasting and bigger. Here are 5 ways you can achieve something bigger by stopping procrastination before exams:

1. Make small sacrifices to reach Everest

“That movie is unbelievable, let’s watch”, “Kal se padhenge, today is the last day” and “Naa I’ll study late night”: the satanic verses I utter to everyone including my dog. We all know the world runs on sacrifices of small pleasures to reach the bigger ones. The movie is not going to lose its suspense and romance. No one is going to whisper Homeland spoilers to you while you study. I know it is clichéd, but you must do away with these small pleasures to do well in your exams. You know it better, the amazement you get after scoring well is much better than Sergeant Brody walking scot-free.

2. Remind yourself the importance of one semester

Well, it’s not board exams and you need to score well no matter what in every semester. There are no second chances (there are and you know it’s rather painful).

3. Remember! It’s your own battle, not anyone else’s

Compete against your own self and measure your performance based on what you were yesterday. Your personal achievements and failures are personal and not public. Stop comparing with others, compare with your own self.

4. Focus on quality than on quantity

You know quality ultimately suffers when you try covering up everything in the end. “Bro, I completed everything in two days.” Well this guy ends in disdain on the result day.

5. Less now or more later?

Plan up things and take less stress now or jump into the bed, cry, listen to Lana Del Rey, argue with mom for a month after the exam results. Choice is yours.

Featured image credit: www.upstartsuccess.com

Sidharth Yadav
[email protected]

Exams are around the corner and we’re all old enough to have experienced one of the most annoying impacts of the season: weight gain. They give nightmares to fitness enthusiasts who are religiously connected to their strenuous exercise and diet schedules. But this need not happen anymore, as fitness science has come with a sure shot solution to curb this problem.

WHAT IS IIFYM?

If It Fits Your Macros or IIFYM is an alternate and flexible dieting approach which goes by the thumb rule that one can eat whatever one likes and still remain in his/her desired body composition. This is possible only when one knows his/her caloric requirements to maintain current weight are and must simply track the calories consumed and not exceeding them whatsoever. That may sound strange but what it means is that you don’t have to eat the so called ‘healthy foods’ all the time to reach your goals. Especially during the exam season, many people who have fitness goals get frustrated because of constantly eating foods that they don’t generally eat.

Before going ahead with this approach, one must figure out the personal calories required by the individual for maintaining current weight (which is no more than a number game!). The calculation is simpler than you think. Just hit Google and type maintenance calorie calculator, give in some measurements and you are ready to go. To track your calories you must know what foods you eat and how much calories they contain. You can download the ‘myfitnesspal’ or ‘Food Secret’ app on your smart phone (which contains a huge database of all foods that exist and provide accurate calorific measurements and other nutritional information too). Similarly, all packed foods come along with a ‘nutrition information’ box at the back, where you get all the information regarding the product you consume. So it is little hard work to get started. But everything has a price! And in this case, it is clearly not monetary or much.

This approach revolves around the concept that as long as you fill your calories (the benchmark for losing or gaining weight and muscle) and macro nutrient split for the day you’ll be fine in terms of the body composition, with whatever foods you like. For example, if with chicken breast and broccoli of 1000 calories you get 50gm of protein, 10gm of fat and 52 gm of carbohydrates and you get the same calories and macro nutrient split from a pepperoni pizza (i.e- 1000 calories 50gm protein 10gm fat 52gm carbohydrates) or your favorite festive season dish for that matter, you can eat the pizza instead of the boring broccoli and chicken breast and it won’t make any difference in terms of your body composition, i.e. you will still progress steady to your goals. This should not be confused with cheat meals as cheat meals are meals which stray away from your diet schedules and they have their cons but IIFYM is an approach which is more sensible and helps you enjoy foods you like while still sticking you to your diet schedule. Interesting, isn’t it?

But, this doesn’t mean that you can eat whatever you like whenever you want and in any quantity you like. It is all about moderation. This approach is not designed to help you cheat, but to help you stick to your diet without much frustration coming your way. Like mentioned earlier, moderation is the key and also keeping in mind the micro-nutrient intake (vitamins, minerals, iron etc) one must keep their base steady towards healthy nutritious foods (for general health and well being) as that is another important aspect of fitness. Also, not to forget that there will still be people who will be exceptions and might not find this working for them and so they might have to go the hard way and stick to conventional healthy foods to achieve their goals.

Featured image credit: www.yomuscle.com

Amitoj Singh
[email protected]

There is nothing more stereotyped in DU circles than the erstwhile History student. From tweed jackets and kurta-jhola to Old Monk, we have seen it all. The popular perception in India is that a major in History, only leads to a life in JNU or the Civil Services. Historians are not said to be ill-equipped (both mentally and academically) to deal with a fast-paced, math oriented corporate career. Here is a list of career options that go beyond the cliché.

Journalism

A major in history gives you two important skills that are invaluable for a career in Journalism, the ability to write well and a socio-cultural understanding of a region. If you like travelling and living on the go, then a career in journalism is for you.

Politics

What better than a person with a stereotyped degree, to change the stereotypes about a profession. Policies never develop in isolation, a major in history will help you understand the cultural differences in areas and help in a broad, yet precise understanding of India. If you like interacting with people, then this is for you.

Historical Consultant

Imagine if in Troy they had Chinese roofs over their homes, it wouldn’t look very realistic. People who make good movies, normally get their facts right. To do so they need people with an intimate knowledge of that period and the actions of people therein. If you have an interest in historical fiction and like recreating the past, here is your calling.

Lawyer

If you have the ability to think things out through logic, then a career in law is an option you can try out. A major in history gives you the ability to sift through a lot of random data to find out what is important, an important skill in law. You also have the ability to make boring things sound interesting.

Corporate Sector

If you like Mathematics, then there are a variety of jobs that are available to you in the corporate sector like data analyst, back-end consultant etc. A lot of companies are okay with hiring history graduates as they look for logic, lateral thinking and the ability to do mental math. Also, there are a variety of jobs in the non-technical field like administration and HR.

Ashish Mathew
[email protected]

Enactus Miranda House displayed the products of their ‘Project Tarang’ and ‘Project Zaffran’ on 17th and 18th of November, 2014 at the India International Trade Fair, the largest trade fair of the Indian subcontinent.

At Pragati Maidan, the members of the Enactus, Miranda House team exhibited handmade bags and mobile covers produced by the ladies of Health and Care and the masalas produced by the women from Johripur. The stall was set up at Saras Fair which is organized by the Ministry of Rural Development for promoting small scale industries.

Enactus, Miranda House aims at the upliftment and self-dependence of women in every facet of life, be it economic or social. It is currently running two projects: Tarang and Zaffran. Under Project Tarang, the team has enabled a group of women to attain financial and social empowerment by engaging their sewing and stitching skills to make bags, mobile phone covers. Project Zaffran, on the other hand works with a group of women in Johripur who produce handmade and unadulterated spices.

Products under 'Project Zaffran at India International Trade Fair
Products under ‘Project Zaffran at India International Trade Fair

The visitors at the fair showed immense interest in the products exhibited by the Miranda House Team. A number of products were sold at the fair and garnered appreciation.  The innovative packaging of the spices impressed buyers the most. The idea of a small group of college students helping the economically and socially backward women in becoming self sustainable caught the attention of many.

The team’s effort managed to inspire a few others to play their part in the society’s upliftment by creating awareness. “Displaying our products at such a platform gave our initiative an exposure to a wider scale. We have reached out to a great deal of people and put forth our vision. And the response that we got from people inspired us greatly and has motivated us to work even harder.” says Gauri Pandey, Project Head, Tarang.

Shaily Jha
[email protected]

Enactus Miranda House displayed the products of their ‘Project Tarang’ and ‘Project Zaffran’ on 17th and 18th of November, 2014 at the India International Trade Fair, the largest trade fair of the Indian subcontinent.

At Pragati Maidan, the members of the Enactus, Miranda House team exhibited handmade bags and mobile covers produced by the ladies of Health and Care and the masalas produced by the women from Johripur. The stall was set up at Saras Fair which is organized by the Ministry of Rural Development for promoting small scale industries.

Enactus, Miranda House aims at the upliftment and self-dependence of women in every facet of life, be it economic or social. It is currently running two projects: Tarang and Zaffran. Under Project Tarang, the team has enabled a group of women to attain financial and social empowerment by engaging their sewing and stitching skills to make bags, mobile phone covers. Project Zaffran, on the other hand works with a group of women in Johripur who produce handmade and unadulterated spices.

[caption id="attachment_27623" align="aligncenter" width="960"]Products under 'Project Zaffran at India International Trade Fair Products under ‘Project Zaffran at India International Trade Fair[/caption]

The visitors at the fair showed immense interest in the products exhibited by the Miranda House Team. A number of products were sold at the fair and garnered appreciation.  The innovative packaging of the spices impressed buyers the most. The idea of a small group of college students helping the economically and socially backward women in becoming self sustainable caught the attention of many.

The team’s effort managed to inspire a few others to play their part in the society’s upliftment by creating awareness. “Displaying our products at such a platform gave our initiative an exposure to a wider scale. We have reached out to a great deal of people and put forth our vision. And the response that we got from people inspired us greatly and has motivated us to work even harder.” says Gauri Pandey, Project Head, Tarang.

Shaily Jha [email protected]

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As a commerce student, it is only fair for me to be inclined towards reading a book that tells a story of corporate India. There’s no gainsaying that reading a debut author is a risk, but the blurb of the book, with a description of the criminal activities, vicious manipulations and corruption, manages to intrigue a prospective reader. And so, it happened with me.

I am sure about the fact that it will keep you glued till the end. To say that it has mind-blowing twists and turns in the plots, seems an understatement. One murder after another, one attack after another, and the writer has craftily kept us guessing till the end who the culprit is.

The author’s experience in the corporate world comes in handy. When I started reading it, I had initially thought that the book will at best, be predictable. As luck would have it, it was everything but. The plot twists outdo themselves every time.
The characters are meticulously etched. One of the senior characters remarks, somewhere before the murders take place in the novel, “Where there is money, there is deceit. With lots of money, there is lots of deceit. Be careful of whom you trust”. Consider this a summary of the plot. From one character to another, as a reader, we have multiple reasons to look at them with suspicion, sympathy, pity, fear. But one thing is crystal-clear: you can love them or hate them, but you cannot ignore them. None of them.

The setting in time is contemporary, which makes it all the more resourceful for us. There are loopholes in IT security, there are unscrupulous practices in auditing, there are investigations which lead to little evidence, or so we think.

I was a little flummoxed in the way the culprit was finally revealed, it somehow lacked the dramatic flair that was otherwise remarkable throughout the novel. Without spoilers, all I can tell is that the culprit is a person you least expect, and someone not even instrumental to the plot. The end is, in no way, disappointing, but it just does not match the grandeur of the rest of the novel.

Here’s a shout out to the fans of Jeffery Archer, Robert Ludlum, John Grisham: you may add Fraudster to your to-read list – it is worth it.

Kritika Narula
[email protected]

In a recent application filed by the students to the Vice-Chancellor’s Office, the students of Delhi University have proposed a change in the percentage of attendance required. At present the required attendance is 65-67 percent in most colleges. This overburdens the students and many of them have stated that they cannot maintain such a percentage and study at the same time, especially during exam fever.

An outstation student recently spoke to one of our correspondents and said that too many classes are taken as some of the teachers suddenly decide to postpone and the rearrange the classes one after another. By the end of the day they are dog tired and adherence to regular studies goes for a toss. On being asked if the proposed change is for the good, a DU student said, “Definitely, the pressure on students will be less and academic performance will improve. The will to study decreases if you are forced.” No arguments there.

On being asked for views, one DU teacher said, “It is not only the students who feel overburdened. We have duties too. Tests and taking assignments for internals take up a lot of time. Classes have to be shifted when students cannot make it. A relaxation will be relief for both sides.” But this appears to be an isolated opinion. On being asked the same question, most of the teachers, barring the few amazing exceptions of course, stated that this is an escape from studies. “If students do not even attend lectures it is foolish to think that they will remember too study. Moreover, how are they planning to finish their courses in time? I tell you, nothing good is going to come out this’’ they said.

With such a firm and logical stance against the proposal, one would feel sorry for the students’ brave effort. But students have already come up with an answer to that question. One of the students who went to submit the proposal spoke to one of our writers. She said that the courses will be completed through online lectures uploaded on the University website. The syllabus will first be divided into parts and only some selected lectures (which will be decided by the students) will be uploaded. For the rest of the syllabus, student will attend lectures. However well thought out this radical new proposal may be, the University’s decision will forever seal the fate of the students. Now whether their fate is inside the classroom or outside remains to be seen.

Disclaimer: Bazinga is DU Beat’s weekly column of almost believable fake news! Featured image credit: www.cvsdu.com

The Mikaelson Family is back. And they’re vengeful.

Remember watching Season 2 of The Vampire Diaries (TVD)? That was the first time the world was introduced to an Original Vampire, Niklaus Mikaelson. Then in Season 3, we saw a full house: the one and only Original Vampire Family made their full-fledged appearance.

A little background: The Mikaelson Family is the line of the first vampires in existence. All vampires have descended from them. They are the most powerful vampires in the world. Esther, wife of Mikael, was a dark magic witch who turned her five children, namely Niklaus, Elijah, Rebekah, Finn and Kol into vampires (The Originals).

In season 3 of The Vampire Diaries, The Originals were cleverly brought in to fit the larger scheme of things on the show and take the storyline forward. This introduction had overwhelming results. It did wonders for the show’s TRP. Fans went gaga over Elijah’s noble ways, Klaus’ evil manipulations and Rebekah’s endearing naivety.

The popularity of The Original Family knew no bounds. So much so, that what started off as a gimmick to lure more fans into the TVD network, has today become a self-sufficient sitcom. Premiered on the 14th November 2014 at 10 pm on Zee Café is the much awaited show, ‘The Originals’.

Here is a quick list of what you can expect from this television series:

 

1. A lot of Hybrid Curse linked story-telling

The trailer of the show depicts Hailey( a hybrid werewolf) telling Klaus(original vampire) that she is carrying his child. Which of course, seems rather unfathomable, considering that both are supernatural creatures. So to validate the possibility, you can expect lot of witch lore coming your way.

 

2. Tons of good vs evil action

Let’s face it. Even within The Original Family, you have the ever notorious Klaus trying to badger his self-righteous brother Elijah. So one can naturally expect many ‘Klaus- pursuing-evil-path’ and ‘Elijah-thwarting-his-efforts’ scenes.

 

3. Novel characters, new tales

The plot is distinct from the known storyline of The Vampire Diaries. The first season is supposed to be about The Family returning to New Orleans, a city they built(but had to flee) and recovering it from Marcel. A parallel story that runs alongside is the story of Hailey carrying Klaus’ illegitimate child.

 

4. More Elijah and Rebekah

In TVD, Klaus was pre-dominantly visible, while Elijah and Rebekah had to make do with lesser limelight. However, because The Originals specifically deals with The Original Family, and there is no fluff( read Damon, Elena and Stefan) for distraction, one can definitely expect more stories based on Elijah and Rebekah’s characters.

 

5. Exciting Collaborations

Folks, let’s not forget that The Originals is a prequel to The Vampire Diaries. It is not an entirely independent sitcom. As of now, its storyline seems a little limited. So it is but natural for one to expect cameos by The Salvatore Brothers or Elena Gilbert and her group of friends. Furtherance of the turbulent Caroline-Klaus romance shall also remain a wild possibility.

Vampire Lovers, get ready to witness this one hell of a cinematic experience. Here come The Originals to service you with an extra dose of good old Vampire entertainment!

Kriti Sharma
[email protected]