Akshada Shrotryia, Author at DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper

Why Glorification of a Slim Body is Problematic

By Akshada Shrotryia May 6, 2019

The strong winds of having a “perfect figure” have swept us away with their glamorous appeal. The hype has been created for having a slim body, and a lot of it has to do with the celebrities’ idea of a zero figure and an hourglass-shaped body alluring the public to a huge extent.

It is not to be denied that, due to the pressure that has been created to maintain a particular figure and size, people have started giving thought to fitness and health. People seem to have realised that it is important to have a fit body and that it is important to work towards it by indulging in physical activities. In a lot of parks of the capital city, men and women can be seen enjoying a morning walk or practising yoga.

But a major consequence that has occurred due to the perfect body hype is that we have now started associating beauty with a slim figure. Not only is the idea problematic, but it is also highly demeaning for those who do not have a slim body. In a survey conducted by our correspondent on the same matter, with the sample size of 50 people, half concluded that the general belief links beauty with having a slim body. However, around 40% of people did not agree with this concept at all. A second-year student says to this, “The people who are fat or obese need to become slim only to lead a healthy lifestyle and not to become beautiful because they already are beautiful. And being slim should not be a standard, because even that has consequences. Personally, I am very slim, and that does not make me the ‘ideal size zero’, because I face many health complications due to it. And people tell me to put on weight so that I can look beautiful. It’s this hypocrisy and mindset that needs to be changed.”

The hypocrisy that this student mention is perhaps present in the very air we breathe in. And another very interesting example of this hypocrisy can be seen in the social media accounts of various personalities and ‘influencers’ who first put up weight-loss stories and then proclaim with excitement the notion of “self-love”. To love your body, you must first become beautiful and to become beautiful, you need to become thin, is the idea that they seem to spread. A statement by another student sums it up pretty well as she says, “Having a fitter body is fine but associating health with size-zero figure is wrong. However, I don’t subscribe to the “love your body” argument. If someone is obese then s/he needs to do something about it. The modern notions of beauty which I call ‘Insta beauty’ is fake and cosmetic. I feel like people should stop following these models who do nothing but make other people insecure about their bodies and promote products which they never use themselves.”

Although the idea of having a slim body gained significance primarily during the Victorian times when women were supposed to wear corsets and what not to highlight their small waist, a lot of scholars believe that the modern conception is hence, a result of the colonial effect. Another very important thing we must remember is that during the Greco-Roman times, a woman with a plump body was regarded as beautiful. If one looks at the paintings of those times, one would come across female bodies with fat thighs and chubby body, which is just as beautiful. Speaking in the Indian context, in Kalidasa’s famous play, Abhijnanasakuntalam, Shakuntala is described in such terms that the present reader would perhaps condemn. Her plump thighs are seen as a positive aspect because it would mean she will be able to bear a child well – a popular conception in those times.

“I’m trying to decondition myself from thinking that thin people are pretty but it is difficult to do so when these ideals are constantly reinforced to you. I find the plus sized movement discouraging, they make normal sized women as plus models; which further negatively impacts our perception of size”, expresses another student. And this is exactly the problem with the whole issue. One involuntarily caves in due to the pressure that one feels is coming from all around. Many teenagers, in recent times, have been reported to be suffering from mental health issues because of the stress to mould their bodies into a particular manner. And this is why the glorification of having a slim body is problematic.

Thus, it is important for us to maintain a healthy body by engaging in physical activities. But the inspiration behind this must be that your aim is a healthy lifestyle rather than succumbing to the societal ideals of beauty.

Image Credits: The Indian Express

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Campus Central

Historical Places in North Campus

By Akshada Shrotryia April 12, 2019

DU Beat brings to you some of the historical places of North Campus, spaces all of us share.

• St. Stephens: St. Stephens was one of the first colleges to be a part of Delhi University along with Hindu College and Ramjas College which were established in 1922. The aim of the establishment of the college was to promote English education among Indian students and like Hindu College, St. Stephens was under the Punjab University as well.

• Pir Ghalib: Pir Ghalib is located in the midst of the Kamala Nehru Ridge in North Campus, Delhi University. The ridge houses several other historical landmarks which are said to have played a major role in the revolt of 1857. Firoz Shah Tughluq is said to have built a few hunting palaces all across the geography of Delhi, out of which Pir Ghalib was one of them.

• Mutiny Memorial: Built in 1863, this memorial played a very important role in the revolt of 1857. It is also located in the Kamala Nehru Ridge in North Campus, Delhi University and is a major attraction for tourists as well as students. This tower can be viewed from afar owing to its height.

• Hindu College: Hindu College was established in 1899 in Chandni Chowk and was initially affiliated to Punjab University. Kishan Dasji Gurwale was the man who initiated the task of building the college as he was keen on educating the youth in those times. After several ups and downs, the college was finally made a part of Delhi University in 1922 after its establishment.

• VC Lawns: VC Lawns are located in the heart of the north campus of Delhi University in front of the VC office. The office is said to have served as an office for the britishers when Delhi University was established in 1922. The VC office, it is speculated, was where Shaheed Bhagat Singh was once kept as a captive. In today’s time, the greenery of the lawns acts as a notable attraction for students to hang out after classes.

Feature Image Credits: Surbhit Rastogi
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Role of the Market in Today’s Education

By Akshada Shrotryia April 8, 2019

The role of the market is ever changing and the effect it is having on today’s education system is now under a crucial state.

In a country where degrees are given much more importance than education, literacy rate given more focus than actually being literate, and marks given more emphasis than knowledge, the point that this article aims to make should not come as a shock. We are living in times where terms like consumerism and capitalism have become a part of ourselves and needless to say, we have become a part of them too. The intensity of the effects of these concepts has heightened to such an extent that our education system has also not been able to save itself from its iron clasp.

A couple of years back in an article on education, the newspaper of the socialist party claimed about the state of education that “it is in a state of crisis.” In times such as these, we have an urgent need to prioritize and plan. The purpose of education, which was once to inculcate within human beings rational and moral values has now diminished to merely a validation on paper. In the changing times it struggles within the grasp of market forces and grapples with issues of not only being measured in terms of money, but also by being deteriorated to only the level of a commodity.

To understand the market forces at work, it is important to first understand capitalism, which is an economic situation under which we all are working at present. The basic premise of it is to leave everything to market forces to decide the workings of the sector. A professor from Delhi School of Economics says, “There are two primary decisions, one for consumer and another for producer. Ideally it has been the governments which have been playing the role for this decision but slowly when everything is left for the private sector which operates in the market, market decides what to produce, what to serve and the choice left to the consumers is to choose from the available.” Thus, the relation between us and education is one that needs to be viewed in the light of this fact.

But of course, like a coin with both sides, the role that market plays in the education system has positive as well as negative effects. Where on one hand, it has led to a more objective criteria of perceiving education, on the other hand it has also led to a greater awareness and power in the hands of the people. It is they who decide what happens with them. It is therefore now up to us to decide how we let the market forces influence our education system, and in turn let it affect us.

Image Credits: House of Bots

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Daulat Ram College

Valourisation of Mental Health : a critical approach

By Akshada Shrotryia April 2, 2019

In the times when social media seems to dominate over the workings of the world, where really is the emphasis on mental health?

Valourisation of mental health in today’s time through the medium of social media and popular culture has become almost a trend. It seems as though it has converted into a phenomena that has become a matter of vogue. Though it is true that awareness towards issues concerning mental health have gained attention in the recent times and people have started talking about the topics that were once hushed, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that these issues have also become a matter of taking pride about.

Bhumika Singh, who suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) herself recently came across a statement on social media where a girl had used terms like ‘anxiety’ and ‘OCD’ very “light handedly”. She believes that these terms “have become adjectives that are used in everyday lives very lightly and it leads to the dissociation from their actual meaning and that ultimately leads to demeaning the suffering of the actual patients. Moreover, I’ve noticed a remarkable pattern – people who actually suffer from mental health issues such as OCD, depression or anxiety refrain from telling people about it or talking about it because these words have lost their meanings due to the fog of social media and misinterpretation and misuse on a wide scale. They think they’re better off supressing it.” Bhumika is a second year student from Daulat Ram College.

In light of this, if one examines the statistics regarding mental health issues in today’s time, it displays that the stress level in our generation is increasing day by day and that we have become highly vulnerable to illnesses that concern our mental health. Teenagers, from a young age are becoming victims of depression and anxiety. And though it is true that people are genuinely raising their concerns and taking steps to address mental illnesses (that were not considered to be illnesses in the first place), there are also people (and platforms) that are contributing to the ill use of these terms.

The excessive and extreme usage of words like ‘depression’, ‘anxiety’, ‘OCD’ etc. only culminates into their loss of meaning. It is not a tag that we should be wearing to gain attention. It is true that there is a need of becoming vocal about it, but we need to ask ourselves if the portrayal of depression and/or anxiety is really something that we want to show as glamorous.

Image Credits: Trevor Cole

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Beyond the Obvious of Delhi University Colleges

Living a Dilemma: Through the Eyes of an 18-year-old Indian Student

By Akshada Shrotryia January 15, 2019

Influences of the American life have penetrated deeply in our day to day lives, perhaps more than we would have wanted to. But are we aware of its consequences yet?

As we tread along the waters of this postmodern world, wading our way through the crests and troughs of capitalism and the dynamics of power, I can’t help but wonder about the American influences we’re all gradually transforming into victims of.

I feel like living a dilemma. What I read or watch stands in complete contradiction of where I belong. A world full of people can be suffocating if you feel like a part of the world of books, you know. But any individual is the sum of his/her surroundings. And surroundings include social and cultural backgrounds. I believe quite strongly I’m not the only one. As a millennial, citizen of an Asian country, and a girl born into a Hindu family, this clash seems profoundly overwhelming. Through this attempt at purging, I shall try to analyse what really is this ‘dilemma’.

Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, an American psychologist discusses the psychological effects of globalisation with a special focus on youth and suggests that it generally results in issues of identity (Arnett, 2002). I surmise this is the living dilemma.

India is a country that homes people from various religions, dialects, and cultural backgrounds. It is not, like a fully developed nation, a ‘homogeneous mixture’. And in this, we take pride. But these variations are perhaps leading into a loss of individuality, and by extension, lack of cultural/social values.

The hegemony established by the Britishers 200 hundred years ago seems to have metamorphosed into an advanced form. We are now slaves to the vibrant world of Netflix, juicy Macs, and brands that we can’t even pronounce the names of correctly. I do believe that this is the natural course of events and that there is nothing to regret or feel ashamed about here. What baffles me here is the wave of identity crisis that appears to have the strength of drowning us.

The question is not if it’s a good or a bad change, or a right or wrong change. The question is to what extent can it influence us, and to what extent – as people coming from a collectivist background – we would be able to take it.

Unlike children, adolescents have enough maturity and autonomy to pursue information and experiences outside the con?nes of their families. Unlike adults, they are not yet committed to a de?nite way of life and have not yet developed ingrained habits of belief and behaviour; they are more open to what is new and unusual (Arnett, 2002). As children of a developing state, we are even more vulnerable to these changes. The kind of information/data that unearths itself from the virtual world of internet is appealing to every adolescent, but I reckon what makes Indian children more prone to getting hooked is the post-colonial hangover, which makes sure that an adolescent gets exactly the kind of escape s/he needs.

A third-year student pursuing Political Science Honours from a Delhi University college remarked, “We have become slaves of American brands and products. We do speak and protest again capitalism, but not everyone can reject the kind of effect the American market is having on us.” One may promise to not go to a McDonalds for life, or not watch Netflix but to what extent can the youth of today – susceptible by the seemingly fancy world of the West – resist the temptations it offers? And how will the individual then, cope with the flipside of it in real life?

The myth that we are progressing towards an ‘advanced’ or more ‘civil’ world shall always remain a myth. The need of the hour is not to question if the changes happening around – ones that feel like seeping through the bones and skull of the nation – are right or wrong but that, are we ready to tackle with the issue of our identity that we are seemingly growing more confused day by day about.

Feature Image Credits: Socialist.ca

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Why Humanities is Looked Down Upon

By Akshada Shrotryia January 14, 2019

This article attempts to probe into the reasons that have long rendered humanities as a discipline to be looked down upon.

“When my relatives ask me what I’m studying, it generally ends up in an awkward situation when I tell them I’m pursuing a Bachelors of Arts in English”, said a second-year English Honours student from Daulat Ram College when asked about the reaction of her other family members on her choice of career.

Humanities has, for a long time suffered the scrutiny of conventional minds. The conception that it is good for nothing prevails even in today’s millennia. Students having an inclination towards the discipline struggle to explain it to their parents and society and are more often than not, forced to study traditional courses. Not only does it result in the deterioration of one’s personality, but it also results in frustration that is unhealthily harboured for a lifetime by the students. This article shall look into three reasons as to why humanities are looked down upon.

1. It is thought to be “easy peasy”

It is a truth hard to digest that subjects such as philosophy, English, Political Science, Psychology, etc, are thought to be “very easy” despite their extensive and in-depth readings. Not only does the older generation hold this view but students of our generation into fields such as engineering are often seen/heard making fun of Arts students. The next point will elaborate on why the discipline is a victim of such a stereotype.

2. The subjectivity in and of the discipline

The un-objective nature of the subjects that a Bachelor of Arts course offers acts as a major force of demotivation among students (and their parents). Students who are just out of the school system, used to the lenient marking face a tough time since the subjects welcome a variety of interpretations and are never graded too high, like sciences. Despite this, the subjects are thought to be easy and viewed as rather ones that don’t require too much time. A third-year student studying Philosophy recalls, “Some elders in my family believe that I have a lot of free time since I’m doing arts. My parents and I have stopped making them understand what the subject really asks for”.

Non-arts subjects can be (in comparison) easily be moulded into questions with multiple choices but such a circumstance is difficult to achieve when Philosophy, Hindi, etc, are cases at hand. And though it is true that objective approaches are being given more priority nowadays and continuous attempts are being made to transform subjective choices into objective ones to make things easier, the truth boils down to one simple fact – the true spirit and essence of the subjects that the discipline of humanities consists of, is in its subjectivity.

3. It doesn’t offer an immediate outcome like sciences or commerce.

The scepticism surrounding the discipline seems to stem out of the Darwinian approach of survival – that man will go to any extent to survive and that life is a test of survival of the “fittest”. This “survival” in today’s time is dependent mostly on a financial basis. And studying humanities doesn’t exactly guarantee a job prospect immediately after the completion of the program. This creates a feeling of insecurity and doubt in students and parents. Gradually, it leads to pressure and frustration and the student taking his/her own life.

Humanities, as a discipline teaches life’s philosophy, the art of critiquing and analysing stuff, and a lot more than books can ever hold. It teaches one how to look at the broader picture of life rather than focusing on short term gains and losses. And though all these values do not directly culminate into a monetary outcome, it teaches us also to be patient. Money and jobs are important, no doubt, but at the cost of what?

Feature Image Credits: Portland Community College

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