Latest
DU Beat – Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper
Author

Alankrita Anand

Browsing
Campus Central

Beyond Swachha Bharat: the situation of sanitation in DU

By

Sanitation is the buzzword in the new government’s lexicon; it is also the new photo-op topic, what with the Swachha Bharat Abhiyan and more recently, the powerful broom. But how far ahead has the University of Delhi gotten as far as sanitation is concerned? As the following instances will illustrate, except the pre-inspection cleanliness which we had formerly reported on, sanitation does not seen to be foremost on the agenda.

In order to look at sanitation, some of the parameters looked at here are garbage segregation and disposal, number of washrooms and their maintenance, kitchen hygiene, frequency of cleaning and fumigation. While kitchen and washroom hygiene are always the primary areas of concern, measures like fumigation, maintenance of green areas and water drainage systems are as important because sanitation is inextricably linked to health.

Waste Disposal

Looking at the question of waste disposal, we figured that quite a few colleges have on-campus waste disposal mechanisms like compost-pits; the environment societies of many colleges work towards this end. The rest have their garbage taken care of by the municipal bodies, no college appears to have open garbage on the campus, be it from the academic blocks, the hostels or the canteens. However, waste segregation is a problem in most colleges, with no separation of degradable and non-degradable waste. Nobody understands colour-codings and even when the bins are labeled ‘paper’, ‘plastic’ and ‘bio-waste’, nobody adheres to them.

Washrooms

Students did not complain about the number of washrooms, but most of them did mention that cleaning the washrooms twice a day was not sufficient. Even though most students believe that the number of washrooms is sufficient (two in each block mostly), hygiene of the washrooms often depends on the number of people using them on an average.

Moreover, apart from cleaning, a major problem is that of non-replenishment of hand-wash and tissues or in some cases, even their availability. Colleges like Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Kamala Nehru College and Gargi College have sanitary napkin dispensers but in times of crisis, they are often found to be out of service in some colleges.

Just like the Swachha Bharat photo-ops where politicians are seen sweeping freshly-spread dry leaves, colleges are often found maintaining high standards when guests are expected, be it inspections or guest lecturers. For instance, Lady Shri Ram College had its washrooms well stocked with hand-wash, hand-sanitizers, dry-tissues and towels when it hosted the King’s College Summer School. The faculty’s washrooms, needless to say, are always better maintained.

Canteens

Conditions of hygiene in college canteens might not matter much to students because we are so used to being adventurous with street food and because we barely come across instances where canteen food has caused harm. However, because no college or contractor allows access to the kitchens, we don’t know whether the conditions are unsatisfactory or deplorable.

Pest control

Most Delhi University colleges have green spaces aplenty; the problem of stagnant water also plagues quite a few of them in the monsoon. In this context, regular fumigation of classrooms, canteens and gardens becomes extremely important. Students from most colleges had no idea about if and how often their campuses are fumigated. Fumigation and pest-control measures should be made a regular feature, especially in the summer and monsoon months.

Another area of concern that this article does not specifically touch upon is hostels. Cleanliness in the hostels assumes great importance. Right from the condition of the washrooms to the hygiene of the food and the day-to-day cleaning of the rooms and corridors, a place where people co-habit 24×7 definitely needs much attention.

Sanitation, of course, is never a criterion while selecting a college, we look at the reputation, location, student culture. Even the India Today rankings which factor in ‘infrastructure’ do not make a mention of sanitation. State of the art facilities are not of much use if basic sanitation cannot be assured; having air-conditioned labs and classrooms is a luxury, but having clean spaces is a need. Sanitation is not a problem that can be dealt with only by sweeping and dusting, more often than not, it is also about availability of potable water, drainage and waste disposal systems. Hence, we need something more than the photo-ops.

Image source: thumbs.dreamstime.com

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

The LSR merchandise: for there’s only a thin line between pride, arrogance and ignorance

By

Wearing one’s pride on one’s sleeve is definitely in vogue, and who but our Prime Minister has shown us how it’s done – by wearing a suit with his name for pinstripes. Unfortunately, he drew more grimace than appreciation. College merchandise, like t-shirts, sweatshirts, coffee mugs, of course, is a different story altogether; they are about showing pride and affection for one’s alma mater and not about narcissism. But what if my t-shirt asked you to kneel before me because I come from a certain college?

On having discovered some merchandise designed for Lady Shri Ram College for Women being promoted and sold online (albeit by no official LSR Facebook pages), I had to stop and think whether it was pride that the merchandise displayed, or whether it was arrogance. Before long, I realised that it was plain ignorance. And unfortunately, a large section of the clientele of the e-commerce sites, or even Facebook users, might be under the impression that this might be genuine LSR merchandise and this portrays the college in a very bad light, like a fortress of snobbery.

The first such merchandise that cropped up was a sweatshirt by ‘Jack of All Threads’ being marketed by a Facebook page called ‘LSR Graduate Community’, a fairly new page possibly created for the very purpose of marketing the product in question. The sweatshirt tried to make a bold point with the line ‘I graduated from LSR. To save time, let’s assume that I’m always right’. Not surprisingly, it did find a few takers. But better still, it left quite a few graduates disgruntled; proud graduates who insisted that this was not what the college had taught them.

More recently, ‘Freecultr’, an e-retailer, designed a more provocative ‘Kneel before me, I’m from LSR’ t-shirt. The t-shirt did a poor job at wit; even for snob-value, it was a bad job. IIT-Delhi was also given the same tagline. While I cannot comment on what they might have to say about it, I, for one, am very proud of wearing my regular college t-shirt which reads ‘Some leaders are born women’. I am also proud of the new one which has the powerful lines from Maya Angelou’s Phenomenal Woman.
When I wear these t-shirts, I display a certain pride and commitment for my alma mater, and by no means do I expect someone to kneel before me. Because like someone pointed out, we are not taught to belittle the other and assume that we are always right; that would be downright ignorant.
Just like nobody gave Triple Aces the right to decide what a Kudi LSR di looks and behaves like, e-retailers should refrain from deciding who needs to kneel before whom.

Keep Reading
By
Lady Shri Ram College for Women

India belongs to the citizen, says journalist Shekhar Gupta at LSR

By

Shekhar Gupta, one of India’s most prolific journalists, interacted with students at Lady Shri Ram College on 27th January 2015, speaking on the topic ‘Whose India is it anyway?’ The talk was organised by Interface- The Academic Society of LSR and saw quite turnout of eager students wishing to interact with the journalist they had so often read.

Mr. Gupta’s talk largely had an idealistic approach to the topic; however, this was seen as optimism and inspiration by most and not as a lack of pragmatism. He began by quoting the Preamble to the Constitution which has the words ‘democratic, socialist, secular and sovereign’.  He pointed out that ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ were added much later but focused on the fact that we are a ‘republic’ and that in a republic the people should be deciding what kind of government they want.

In trying to emphasize that India belongs to its citizens, Mr. Gupta talked about the roles and positions people from the backward castes and classes have played and held and illustrated how our society continues to be prejudiced through examples.

One example that he used was that of the media coverage that Modi’s customized pin-striped suit received and that which Mayawati’s pearls and handbags receive. He argued that when people like Modi and Mayawati sport these items of clothing or accessories, attention is drawn to them but when Vasundhara Raje wears her pearls, nobody bats an eyelid. Nobody bats an eyelid even when sworn Communists use luxury watches or pens. The prejudices that our society lives with were exposed with an example as simple as this.

He also brought up the issue of ridiculing people who don’t speak English well. He took the example of the USA where even great politicians like Henry Kissinger could speak with distinct accents and it wouldn’t matter whereas in India, we are quick to make a person like that an object of ridicule.

Mr. Gupta was very optimistic about India’s progress and also cited the example of Jaipal Singh Munda who came from a most marginalized community yet raised his voice back when the Constitution was being framed to prevent compulsory prohibition because it was the way of life of his people. Gupta argued that this showed how our Constitution allows every citizen to raise her or his concerns.

Calling India a ‘work in progress’, he hailed the country’s democratic institutions as important checks and balances on majoritarianism and extremism. Gupta said that he believed that India is changing; it is no longer a country where one’s status and success are inextricably linked to that of your parents. The biggest example of this, of course, is PM Modi.

In course of the talk, India’s democracy being imperfect was acknowledged but Mr. Gupta reiterated the sanctity of the Constitution and said, “India gave itself this Constitution, we have to live up to it.”

He ended the talk by saying that the Constitution should have never mentioned ‘unity in diversity’. Instead, it should have been ‘celebrate diversity’. That, for Shekhar Gupta, is the Indian identity; not one but a myriad of identities.

Featured Image Credits: www.scroll.in

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

Here’s why standardising Journalism syllabus might not be the best idea

By

One does not need to be a journalism student to know that the media is referred to as the fourth estate, and that its purpose is to serve the greater good while remaining free from state control. As students of journalism, we are taught through theories and instances, that surveillance and control are dangerous and that one must always be wary of them.

So, when the Modi government recently decided to ‘standardise’ the journalism syllabus across all media schools with the purpose of teaching prospective journalists to ‘serve the nation’, we were left more than a little anxious. The Centre also plans to set up a new Communications University.

Media schools teach their students reporting and editing for the technicalities of the job, they teach media and culture to foster an understanding of the media as part of a larger cultural public sphere and they also teach ethics. The syllabus for these papers is set by the respective universities to whom the schools or faculties belong. The syllabus is currently set by professors drawn from industry and academia. While one cannot say with surety that the syllabi for different courses are set independently (the banning of A Hundred Ramayanas in Delhi University proves otherwise), we do know that there is no outright external control.

The government has supported its case by taking the examples of the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The MCI accredits medical colleges and sees to the advancement of medical education in the country, the AICTE plans and coordinates the technical education. Yes, they also oversee the syllabi. The difference- medicine and engineering are standardized scientific fields, media a liberal art.

How does one regulate the syllabus for an institution like the Film & Television Institute of India? Will politically charged documentaries become a thing of the past? Will we never learn to question and digress?

And how does the government decide what serving the nation means? Documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan has always invited the government’s ire, yet his films are amongst the most critically acclaimed. Perhaps, his films fall under our concept of serving the nation. Can the government’s proposal accommodate such contradicting opinions?

Let us see beyond the façade of the holier than the phrase of ‘serving the nation’, let us look at this as an attempt to control the freedom of speech and expression.

Featured image credit: newsfirst.lk

Keep Reading
By
Lady Shri Ram College for Women

Tarang 2015 wraps up with The Raghu Dixit Project

By

On the last day of Tarang, the grounds of Lady Shri Ram College reverberated with the energy of dramatists, the walls rang with the sounds of choirs, an eager audience stood in awe of dancers and an excited crowd turned indie-hippie for the day with The Raghu Dixit Project. Here’s a recap:

Nukkad, the Street Play Competition hosted various teams from the University who presented their 20-25 minute long productions on topics related to social activism. The amphitheatre at LSR witnessed teams amidst a myriad of colours shouting out slogans, using musical instruments and interacting with audience through their acts. Abhivyakti, the dramatics society of Indraprastha College for Women won the first prize and Manchtantra (Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce) was declared the 1st runner up team. Hansraj Dramatics Society and Kshitij (Gargi College) shared the title of 2nd runners up for Nukkad. The street plays, exuberating the energy that they do, drew a great audience as always.

Izraz, the choreography and theme-based dance event saw five teams competing for the final title. Hindu’s dance society Srijya highlighted the societal norms related to boys and girls. Touching the lives of lesbians and gays through their performance, they also tried to show the flipside by reversing the roles of two different genders in our society. Kamala Nehru College paid their respectful tribute to the Indian army accentuating the role of women at service, whereas Nritya, the dance society of Sri Venkateshwara College danced to their production ‘Taboo’. Sparx, the dance society of Gargi College were declared the winners for Izraz. Students from Gargi College put up their production ‘Spectrum’ which revolved around the topic of ‘Dissociative Identity Disorder’. Choreography society of Hans Raj College, Terpsichorean secured the second position with their annual dance performance called ‘The Void’.

Choir– Both the Indian Music Society and the Western Music Society organized choir competitions. Though mostly associated with gospel music, the teams in both the Indian and Western choir put up outstanding shows singing a mix of songs from different genres. The Western choir had ten participating teams which were judged by Sherry Mathews from Boradway Art Unlimited and Ipsita Roy, faculty at Global Music Institute. Some popular numbers performed were an Abba medley and classics from Hans Zimmer, some teams also used unconventional music forms like beat- boxing. The Indian choir was more critically judged with judges offering much constructive criticism even as they appreciated the performances. The first prize went to Daulat Ram College, the second to  Hindu College and the third to Hans Raj College.

 

Post by DU Beat.

 

Poetry Slam-The Women’s Development Cell and Expressions organized Pressed For Time: Spontaneous Free Verse as a part of Tarang, the three day annual fest of Lady Shri Ram College For Women. The slam poetry was judged by eminent judges, namely Akhil Katyal, Vikramaditya Sahai and Aditi Angirasall of whom have established themselves as scholars who have specialized in fields like those of sexuality, self realization and identity. The themes of the poetry competition were deviance, anemoia (nostalgia for a time never known), onism (the acute realization of the fact that your experiences in life are going to be miniscule), the nth sex and portrait of a lady.The judges praised the creative poems and recitations of the participants. However, instead of giving the prize to one team or individual, the prize money was instead distributed to three top performers who had performed equally well.

Exhibitions– Projekt, the Film and Photography Society showcased its talent through ‘Tasveer-e-dastaan’, a photography exhibition. The Women’s Development Cell put up a multi-media exhibition titled ‘Work in progress: Envisioning a gender equal world’. Hive, the Fine Arts society, had an exhibition called Zentangle. Zentangle is a new form of art where simple shapes are repeated to create patterns and all put together, they create a beautiful design.  With the concept of repetition at the heart of it, Hive combined Zentangle with mainstream art for its exhibition.

Western Solo– Another of the Western Music Society’s many events, the solo also saw some brilliant talent take the stage. While Hindu College won the first prize, the second place was shared by two students from Kirori Mal College and the third place went Hans Raj College.

Jugal Gyan– The duet singing competition conducted by Dhwani- the Indian Music Society had ten teams which sang soulful renditions of all-time classics like luka chhipi and haye rama yeh kya hua. Keerati and Tanuj from Kirori Mal College grabbed the first spot, Asif and Namrata from Hindu College the second and Ritu and Ritvija from Miranda House stood third. The event marked the close for IMS- a society that saw many successful events in Tarang 2015.

The Raghu Dixit Project takes the stage at Tarang! #LSR #FestSeason2015

A photo posted by DU Beat (@du_beat) on

The Raghu Dixit Project– Coke Studio’s Raghu Dixit Project kept up to its promise of being the most awaited event of Tarang 2015. The venue for the event, volleyball court, saw a fairly packed audience who enjoyed every bit of the concert. What made it all the more special was that the performers were largely informal, interacting with the crowd, narrating personal stories and encouraging the audience to sing along. Some of the best numbers were those inspired by personal stories- khirki and yaadon ki kyari being two of them; the band sang in both Hindi and Kannada. Dixit fondly narrated the story of how a friend told him that if he had performed in LSR, he had arrived. The LSR crowd could ask for nothing more.

As the curtains fall on the first fest of the season, there are only more to look forward to. Tarang 2015 set off the artist, the organizer and the party-animal in everyone. We hope the madness continues!

Alankrita Anand

[email protected]

Iresh Gupta

[email protected] 

(With inputs from Bhavya Kumar, Priyam Varghese, Shireen Vidrohi and Shivangi Kaushik)

Keep Reading
By
DU Dhaba

Food Review: Burger King

By

Food Review: Burger King

One of India’s latest imports, with five outlets in Delhi and one in Thane, Burger King (BK, colloquially) has been the new place to go for quite a few weeks now.

Location and accessibility

After the first Delhi outlet that opened in Select City Walk, BK has expanded to three more outlets in Connaught Place, Greater Kailash -I, Nehru Place and Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj. The locations, all prime ones, are easily accessible by metro and otherwise.

Menu

Burger King is known for its signature ‘Whopper’ burger (both chicken and mutton) and it is what one should ideally try. However, it also has options more suitable to the Indian palate, albeit not so delectable like the tandoori burger. There are other options like the Chicken Royale Burger to go with if the Whopper doesn’t please you. However, if we were to give our two cents, stick to the Whopper and definitely do not venture over to the tandoori, the Indian twist has done no favour to the burger.

For the vegetarian crowd, the chain offers the staple veg-whoppers and paneer burgers. It also offers a Spicy Bean Royale Burger which most takers took some time to adjust to but in the end, the spice worked.

The beverages, desserts and other snacks and combos are nothing out of the ordinary, just the sundae and softie collection, including the Oreo McFlurry which has been rechristened ‘180 Degrees’ and comes in a Gems avatar also.

Affordability

The signature Whopper is only a little more expensive than McDonald’s but definitely value for money with the size being practically double of that which McDonald’s offers. All in all, it might not be what you order in on a broke weekend but something that you’d like to have occasionally.

whop

In comparison

The seasoned McDonald’s consumer might find BK a little less juicy or unfamiliar while the KFC-lover will miss the crispy crust. And in comparison to Dunkin’s saucy burgers, BK definitely falls short.

Final Verdict

Deciding whether BK is better or worse than the other options may not be possible, but another burger joint in town, and a globally renowned one, is always welcome.

 

 

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

Charlie Hebdo: Where does tolerance begin?

By

The state cannot tolerate insults to its institutions, the extremists cannot tolerate insults to their religion and the layperson cannot tolerate this resistance to her freedom. Where do we start to tolerate? Where do we draw a line? Where do we debate? Or do we debate at all? After Charlie Hebdo, evidently not.

They came, they stormed and they killed. There were no dialogues, there were no negotiations. They killed eight journalists, they killed the 1789 Declaration of Rights, and they killed a million more oppressions that were yet to be vented. Today, the world stands with France and Charlie Hebdo, the world stands for freedom of expression, albeit stunned and afraid. Nevertheless, the world must stand.

We live in a society which has seen the Renaissance and the Reformation; it has seen the breaking of empires and the drafting of rights and duties, it has seen the Rose Revolution and the Jasmine Revolution. And yet, in this period that we call post-modern, we cannot tolerate the most peaceful form of protest.

What would R.K. Laxman’s common man have to say to this, one wonders.

Salman Rushdie, for one, said, “I stand with Charlie Hebdo, as we all must, to defend the art of satire, which has always been a force for liberty and against tyranny. Religions, like all other ideas, deserve criticism, satire, and yes, our fearless disrespect”.

France, the state, has ever been at odds with religious groups considering its chosen form of secularism, France, the nation, has tried its best to uphold freedom in different domains- be it religion or expression. The French government has been criticized for controversies like the veil controversy, it is also a fact that many French citizens have left the country to join the ISIS; France has been a contentious zone when it comes to radical Islam, or even Islam sometimes.

In the aftermath of the attack, even shocked mourners acknowledged that Charlie Hebdo pushed satire to its limits, yet even Islamic organizations from within France have condemned the attack. What does that tell us? That it is okay, and even healthy to question our very comfort zones, that taking offence should lead to thoughtful consideration and not violence.

There was much surprise when the controversial Danish cartoon of the Prophet with a bomb for a turban caused unrest in West Asia and elsewhere. A ‘provocative’ cartoon like that was obviously going to hurt sentiments. But the cartoon was only an illustration of what radicals are doing in the name of the Prophet.

Have we not progressed enough to stop and think? If not, satire must not stop either.

 

Feature image by Banksy.

Keep Reading
By
Interviews

LSR student awarded Rhodes Scholarship for University of Oxford

By

Mayanka Mukherji of Lady Sri Ram College has been included in the list of Rhodes Scholars for the batch of 2015. Mukherji, a final year student of Sociology has been chosen to pursue MPhil in Visual Material and Museum Anthropology. She has also been involved in theatre through directing, script-writing and acting, focusing on a corporeal dialogue with spaces.

Mayanka Mukherji and Sonali Chowdhry of Miranda House, who also won the scholarship will be heading to Oxford University in October 2015, along with three other candidates from India.

The Rhodes Scholarships are postgraduate awards supporting outstanding all-round students and enable two to three years of study at the University of Oxford, the oldest and amongst the most prestigious universities in the world. Along with coverage of the university and college fees at Oxford, the recipient of the scholarship also receives a monthly maintenance stipend to cover accommodation and living expenses that is funded by the Rhodes Trust. Although all scholars become affiliated with the residential college while at Oxford, they also enjoy access to Rhodes House, an early 20th century mansion with numerous public rooms, gardens, library, study areas and other facilities.

Alankrita: Your first reaction when you heard of it?

Mayanka: I was absolutely overwhelmed when I heard my name being called out. It seemed funny and strange to have pictured that one moment so many times in the past few months, and then finally experience it so tangibly. I was really, really glad. And more than anything, I was just dying to call my mother!

Alankrita: What are you going to pursue at Oxford and why?

Mayanka: I’ll be pursuing Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology, through with I hope to evolve newer and more creative methodologies within anthropology by combining material narratives, spoken word poetry along with my love for filmmaking.

Alankrita: How early should one start planning to apply for a scholarship like the Rhodes?

Mayanka: I don’t think one needs to plan for the Rhodes, if you don’t count the application process which can be long and tedious. It is important to know what you want and seek it, but it’s also important to do things purely to gain experience, to innovate or learn something new. However, in terms of concrete preparation, it is important to have a really good Statement of Purpose which really expressed who you are, and start collecting references from the very beginning!

Mayanka Mukherji's profile | Source: Rhodes Scholarship Official Website
Mayanka Mukherji’s profile | Source: Rhodes Scholarship Official Website

Alankrita: Tell us something about the interview, what kind of an interaction did you have with the board?

Mayanka: My final interview was actually tonnes of fun. I was asked to perform a poem. I did the one about my family, or rather the people and things and animals that live in my house. After that, I was asked several questions about my subject and my future goals through an extremely friendly discussion. The panel is diverse, and it is thus important for any candidate to be able to talk about their discipline in the simplest and yet complex ways, to be able to put it across in all its dimensions.

Alankrita: In college, apart from academics, what other areas have you been active in?

Mayanka: In college, I have been active in theatre, having acted in several plays, and currently directing the LSR annual production. I also write my own plays, and compose poetry with music, rhythm, pace and other sound devices. Forming a collective of spoken word poets, I also have my own small group, Mildly Offensive Content, and we perform all over Delhi, about twice a month. Out poetry deals with ideas of violence, gender, class, caste, communalism and often is extremely critical of the state and its ideas of development. In face one of my recurrent poems, called A Man with an Orange Heart, is a recollection of the Godra riots of 2002, based on my childhood doodles, hence, turning slam poetry into a project of documenting the repressed histories long silenced.

Alankrita: One Rhodes Scholar who inspires you/ who you have always respected or admired?

Mayanka: Girish Karnad, amongst others.

Alankrita: On graduating from Oxford, where do you see yourself next?

Mayanka: I’d probably want to pursue a D.Phil, but I am sure that I want to start travelling with my poetry, and hopefully my entire spoken word troop, Mildly Offensive Content, to be able to perform out poetry in different countries, weaving the poetic with the personal and the political.

DU Beat wishes Mayanka all the best for her future endeavors!

To know more about Rhodes Scholarship click here.

Feature Image Credits: Rhodes Scholarship Website.

Keep Reading
By
DU Dhaba

Food Review: Natural Ice Cream, GK-2

By

For all those of us who had had a taste of this wonderfully whipped ice cream in cities like Mumbai and Bangalore, it was a delightful surprise. And for those uninitiated, all one needs to do is visit it on a regular evening to gauge the popularity of Natural Ice Cream.

Location and Ambience

The famous chain recently made its entry into Delhi with its first outlet in Kohinoor Mall in Greater Kailash-II. Natural Ice Cream, which was established in Mumbai in 1984, currently has its parlours in 36 cities, mostly in the Western and Southern parts of the country. Like any other ice-cream parlour, it is a little place with a couple of bar stools but one can sit outside in the food court seating area. What better joy than to sit in the biting cold digging into some scrumptious ice-cream!

The multitude of flavours!

Natural is known for using real fruits and other ingredients like cocoa and milk and no preservatives. Designed to suit the Indian palate, the parlour offers fresh ice-creams in regular flavours like mango and strawberry to the more earthy flavours like fig, jamun, jackfruit and even chikoo. It’s quite the case of your fruit orchard turning into a nice-cream parlour!

While the charm of Natural lies in its real fruit flavours, the ardent chocolate fans should also give it a try for the authentic choco-chip cup. Another interesting flavour is the malai ice-cream which has a taste quite distinct from that of malai kulfi but a rich and creamy texture nonetheless.
At the top of our recommended flavours would be the pineapple-papaya ice cream which is the perfect combination in spite of sounding like a very healthy salad. The custard-apple ice-cream is also worth a mention, as is the muskmelon flavour.

Easy on the pocket

While Natural is not your neighbourhood Mother Dairy outlet, it is quite affordable going by ice-cream parlour standards. With one scoop at Rs.55 (add 10 for a cone), it is definitely worth the lovely, if not rare, flavours. Being a reputed and professional ice-cream chain, hygiene is also not a worry.

Final verdict

Natural Ice Cream is perhaps India’s best answer to international brands like Baskin Robins and Gelato Roma with better prices and more palatable flavours.

Featured image credit: https://www.zomato.com/users/tanya-s-499546

Keep Reading
By
Lady Shri Ram College for Women

LSR Commerce Department holds Comquest 2014

By

The Department of Commerce, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, held its annual academic meet- Comquest, on October 16, 17 and 18 and saw a footfall of over 500 students from Delhi University as well as universities from other parts of the country.  While most of the competitive events saw an overwhelming participation, the talk on bitcoins and the panel discussion on FDI also drew quite a few.

The inaugural event, the Bitcoin talk delivered by Amit Bharadwaj, was an engaging one where students and teachers like had their 101 queries about cleared. Mr. Bharadwaj spoke about what bitcoins are and how they work, that they follow the concept of P2P (people to people).

Buillon, the Mock-Stock, also held on the 16th, had participants trading in 50 teams of two. The model to be followed was the traditional one, before technology came into place. The panel discussion, FDI: India and the in-between, saw a heated debate between Dheeraj Mathur from  PWC, Krishan Malhotra from Amarchand, Archana Nigam from the Ministry of Commerce,  P.K. Purvar from MTNL and Kavita Krishnan from AIPWA.

The second event on Day 2, The Evangelist, saw 26 teams of four, use their PR and Marketing skills to bring brands that had recently seen bad days out from their current positions and market them for good. The top positions were taken by CBS and DTU and SRCC.

On Day 3, the Department held Entrepedia- the B-Plan event and Quizinga- the Biz Quiz. This event, too, was won by a CBS team. The final event, Quizinga, hosted by quizmaster, Kunal Savarkar, again saw an overwhelming response in spite of being a niche quiz. The quiz was won by a CBS team with an NSIT team as runners-up.

Picture credits: Department of Commerce, LSR

Keep Reading
By