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

Anagha Rakta

Browsing
Top Societies of DU Fest Season 2017

Top Societies for DU Fests 2017: Zeal, Maitreyi College for Western Dance

By

As the DU Fest season comes to a close, we look back to consistent and fantastic performances of different societies from various colleges and award them with points as per their winning streak and the positions they secure. The excelling society in the Western Dance Category has been Zeal from Maitreyi College who have continued to time and again plant their flag at DU fests.

The best college society in each category was selected by creating a tally of the top 3 positions at competitive events held during various cultural fests of this season. Whenever a society won the first prize they were awarded 3 points, for the second position they received 2 points and for the third position, 1 point was added to their tally.

Zeal secured a grand total of 15 points, taking the lead, and was followed by Misba from Shri Guru Gobind Singh College with 14 points and Verve from Sri Venkateswara College with 6 points.

The Winning Society at a glance

Zeal of Maitreyi College

Zeal has secured positions in majority of DU’s fests like Montage, Nexus, Reverie, Tarang, Crossroads.

Performing Members –

Ishita Kwatra

Jesika Gulati

Shivangi Bhadana

Shivali Bhadana

Anjali Raj

Bhaswati Das

Anviksha Tripathi

Mallika Gupta

Pragya Badbria

Preeti Agrawal

Sanjeevini Singhal

Swikriti Bhatnagar

Tripti Gambhir

Vasundhra Sharma

CHOREOGRAPHER – Akshay Danwani

The President of Zeal explains: “Our name speaks for us, because success takes not only technique but also passion!” When asked about their best performance and why it felt so great, this is what the team had to say: “Talking about our best performance this season, it was definitely our opening performance with the new production at St. Stephens! With all the anxiety and pressure kept aside, the fresh taste of performing felt like coming back home to the stage, and with some crazy energy from the audience, we couldn’t do anything but dance our hearts out!”

Winners Tally

Eight college fests were referred to while evaluating the top societies tally this fest season which were: Tarang, LSR; Ullas, KNC; Tempest, Miranda House; Montage, JMC; Mecca, Hindu College; Reverie, Gargi College; Nexus, Sri Venkateswara College; Crossroads, SRCC. The society emerged victorious at the following fests:

1st Position: Montage, Nexus, Tarang, Crossroads

2nd Position: Reverie

3rd Position: Ullas

Hover on the icons below to know more about their victories.

Feature Image Credits: Ishita Kwatra
Image Credits: Alex Arthur

Design by Alex Arthur

 

Baani Kashyap
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Arts & Culture

Live Music Restaurants in Delhi that will blow your mind!

By

Want to go to a place that will keep your stomach, tongue and ears happy? Check out these 5 restaurants in Delhi NCR that boast about featuring the best, brightest and the most upcoming artists in town.

Imperfecto

Located in 1-A/1, HauzKhas Village, Imperfecto is the best place to chill with your chums over beer. While they offer a variety of Mediterranean, Spanish, North Indian, Continental and Italian food, Imperfecto actually brings in the crowd with their richly flavored pastas and pizzas that go great with their peppy themed live acts that give the place its USP.

imperfecto

HauzKhas Social

While this place has an in-house DJ, HauzKhas Social has people coming back for more because of its uniquely pleasant live music performances. With an unparalleled outdoor seating view that can be enjoyed over an artfully arranged mezze platter of kebabs and veggies alike, HauzKhas Social offers the city’s best burgers and desserts that are meant to be enjoyed with friends and family. Located in 9-A & 12, HauzKhas Village, HauzKhas Social is best enjoyed during a Sunday afternoon.

hauzkhassocial

The Wine Company

If you’re looking for the perfect place to enjoy some soulful music with a glass of beautifully aged wine in your hand, The Wine Company is the place to be. Known for their European and Indian gastronomical delights, The Wine Company, located in DLF Cyber City, in Gurgaon, features regular acts that are central in forming your opinion of the place. With their peppy performances and unique ambience, The Wine Company recommends their Buffalo Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dip to truly get their best.

thewinecompany

Cocktails & Dreams, Speakeasy

While this is not in Delhi, it is worth mentioning. Located in the Sector 15 market of Gurgaon, this hard to spot place takes inspiration from prohibition era of the United States, when alcohol was illegal and secret pubs had sprung up. Known primarily for its cocktails, this Speakeasy carves a place for itself in your heart. The ambience is perfect for having memorable conversations with friends, and the live music is top notch.

cocktailsdreamsspeakeasy

Pirates of Grill

An interesting twist to the already wide variety of themed restaurants in Delhi and Gurgaon, Pirates of Grill is the regular haunt for college buddies who want to have a good time. With their cozy ambience, delicious food – especially their barbecue chicken, and fun live music performances in the evening, Pirates of Grill promises to keep your spirits up while you’re under their roof.

piratesofgrill

ABOUT US:

Magicpin is a platform where users and outlets in a locality discover, interact and transact. For users, we are the one-stop destination for finding the best restaurants, fashion stores, spas, and salons in their localities. For every visit you make to an outlet, you get free cashback in magicpin points, which can then be redeemed at Amazon, Book My Show, for mobile recharges, and a lot more. 

  • Best Cashback App of the Year 2016
  • Backed by Google (Google Launchpad Accelerator Program)
  • Backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners (Other investments include OYO, Snapchat, Limeroad)

capture

capture2

Keep Reading
By
Arts & Culture

Spoon University: Of The Scars That Don’t Show: Tame the Stigma, not the Human

By

Spoon University Delhi Chapter has initiated a campaign called Of The Scars That Don’t Show: Tame the Stigma, not the Human with the intention of spreading awareness about mental health and acknowledgement of related issues.

The idea behind the campaign as pointed out by Niharika Maggo, the Editorial Director at Spoon DU, came up about because the issue was a personal belief. “Mental Health awareness is a cause very close to the heart of the Spoon UDelhi team and despite great strides in our understanding of mental illnesses and improvements in the efforts surrounding it, too many still suffer in silence.

That’s why we wanted to build an open dialogue that not only lets people share their experiences and thoughts but also encourages support and respect for those struggling with mental illnesses.” she mentions

They recruited ambassadors for the cause, whom they call Mental Health Heroes

(Album on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/788989617848556/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1278266235587556 )

These MHHs have been instrumental in spreading a word about the campaign and bringing more people to commence a dialogue.

Kritika Narula, Founder of the chapter, explains how the idea evolved.

“We began with the idea that we will serve as a platform where to use our reach to eliminate the stigma around mental health. The idea was to bring as much attention to the invisible Scars as to the physical ones.

From where we started almost a month back, we have now become a platform for vent and expression, what with the numerous stories of healing and ‘being there for loved ones through mental illnesses’ pouring in from all directions.

It has truly been a privilege to have started this campaign and get the opportunity to act as an outlet for expression. Healing through expression became our motto in no time.”

The same belief is held by Manya Sinha, a Mental Health Advocate from DCAC who says,”Browsing through people’s account and details of the same mental illness that I had gave me a sense of relief. Relief, because it assured me that I am not alone. Relief because I could always reach out to them and find comfort in the understanding. This is why I believe that this initiative is important because we never know who we are helping with our stories and our experiences. It is important to heal together.”

They have also received wishes from The Artidote founder Jova, who appreciated their efforts in a personal communication, who stated he is glad they’re also working towards raising mental health to have the same societal importance as our physical health.

They are also launching a e-magazine called An Ode To Semi Colon, which has received entries from professionals and students alike.

They have been regularly posting stories and poetic pieces that reek of vulnerability and expression of mental illnesses.

 

(Some examples: https://www.facebook.com/events/1231206973642919/permalink/1272757906154492/

 

https://www.facebook.com/events/1231206973642919/permalink/1262552813841668/

 

https://www.facebook.com/events/1231206973642919/permalink/1272757906154492/#)

 

Maggo adds, “The response we received was heartwarming. With entries giving us a varied perspective, be it a patient’s point of view or a psychologist/ psychology teacher’s. We hope this campaign triggers a change, even if it’s not effected immediately. We hope that people recognise the scars that don’t show and also firmly believe that it’s not the end.

The campaign will culminate in an event called Spoon Summit 2.0 on 1st April 2017, at Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Center ND Tiwari Bhawan ITO from 12 noon. The line-up of speakers performers and panelists includes people who have themselves suffered from depression, anxiety etc. Those who use art as an outlet and specialists from the field.

 

Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1231206973642919/

Registration Link: https://goo.gl/forms/slv9J6tiopGWvqFM2

 

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

How safe is our campus?

By

A student spends most of his/her day in the campus, but is it really a safe place? With recent incidents of sexual harassment at college fests, the dilemma has become even more prominent in the eyes of the youth.

Meghna Singh, a student from Miranda House, got masturbated on at SRCC’s annual fest, Crossroads. But she isn’t the only one who has gone through an assault like this – many students have recounted their horrific accounts where they have been sexually harassed on campus. When Meghna told the details of what happened with her at SRCC on social media, thousands of people didn’t believe her. Soon enough, she became the topic for jokes, memes and internet trolls where people labelled her as a liar.

Meghna’s story might be the first one to surface online, but it isn’t the first time a girl on campus has been assaulted like this. Sukhwinder Singh’s gig at Hindu College’s fest Mecca also saw a molestation incident where a girl got groped twice in public. One would think that being a student friendly area, the campus would be a safe place where one could walk freely, but is that really so?

Public gatherings like fests and concerts have witnessed many incidents like this take place and most of the time the victims don’t talk about it. And not just public gatherings; horrific incidents involving middle aged men on bikes stopping in front of girls’ PGs and masturbating to the ones standing in the balcony occur on campus on a daily basis.

Roads around colleges become almost abandoned after college gets over, because of the hostel/PG deadlines, and the empty streets have become a nightmare for anyone who is walking on them post 8 pm. Theft and assaults happen regularly and the police is doing the least about it.

As a resident of the campus and a student of the University, me and my friends have faced similar situations where the length of our skirts got men on bikes to slow down next to our rickshaws and call us out. Where simply walking on the roads of Kamla Nagar have gotten old men to masturbate to us. Where being part of protests got us groped and threatened with rape.

On a campus that is clearly not safe, it is appalling that people had problems believing Meghna’s story.

 

Image credits: DU Express

 

Anagha Rakta

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
News

A Miranda House student gets sexually harassed at SRCC’s fest

By

Meghna Singh, a student of Miranda House, recently went through a horrific incident when she attended KK’s concert of the last day of SRCC’s annual fest, Crossroads. When she came home from the concert, she noticed white spots on her black trousers. According to her, a man had masturbated on her during the concert and the evidence was all over her trousers.

She described the whole incident on Facebook. In her now widely shared Facebook post, she explained the details of the entire incident. She narrated that she could sense something fishy when she felt a guy behind her in the concert. Subsequently, she and her friends, who were scared but alert, held each other on to form a human chain during the concert for protection.  She had put up the Facebook post on a public platform in hopes that people would get to know about the harrowing things that can happen to women, even in public and to stand up against such incidents. But instead of the support she was expecting, she got mocked at and trolled.  and she was labeled a ‘liar’ and an ‘attention seeker’. On her Facebook post, which has over 8000 comments, many shockingly accused her of being a ‘liar’ and an ‘attention seeker’. This translated into a extensive battle-ground with many people in support of her rubbishing such claims and extending their sympathies to her.

17218473_1421350531270063_4434824981934017131_o
The picture Meghna posted on Facebook, explaining the incident.

The unprecedented trolling that Meghna faced, forced her to post another status update explaining herself. She explained the hollowness of the claims made by those who opposed her and thoroughly explained the incident further. She said that initially, she didn’t realise what was happening and it was only after coming back to her PG and changing, she noticed the spots on her trousers. She also added, “There was a guy right behind me who,after a while, started feeling me up. I wasn’t sure as I couldn’t recognise if it was his hand or his fingers. Then after a while I could smell the odour, I could feel that something fell on my left leg which I thought might have been sweating and since the place was quite crowded I couldn’t be sure about it.” After the guy tried to get closer again, she along with her friends resisted him and tried to form a human chain to avoid any accidental touches. “After a while, that guy again tried to get closer when I pushed him away shouting “Please bhai tum niklo yahan se” then he whispered something to his fellow partner. They were 3 guys who were there & they exchanged some gestures and then abruptly left. After I returned to my PG and changed, I saw these spots on my pants along with some white discharge. I realised that my intuition of “sweat landing on my left leg” was actually his semen because of his convenient masturbation amongst the crowd of around hundreds of people.” 

 

“We obviously thought we avoided that situation when she pushed him so we went back home,” says Antara Kashyap, one of Meghna’s friend who was there with her at the time. When Meghna found out what had happened, her friends asked her to speak up about it.“She sent us the picture in a WhatsApp group saying it was semen. It smelled and it was definitely discharge. We asked her to put it on Facebook and speak up about it. It was the right thing to do. The first negative comment was from an old “friend” who laughed it off. Then one guy said it could be srikhand and it shocked us.”

Meghna and her friends had not anticipated so many negative comments on the post. Antara said, “We never realised there would be thousands of such people, literate ones at that, who’d comment, slut-shame her and make this something to laugh about. Meghna and all of us, we have gone through a lot. We don’t deserve this hate. Meghna is a strong girl, she’s unfazed. I can’t say that about myself. Maybe that’s why thousands of victims of sexual abuse do not speak up. If you speak up they try to break you down.”

Meghna’s post was meant for people to see the unspeakable truths of harassment which are not absent in the campus, especially during the fest season. Parismita Talkudar, one of Meghna’s classmate, recounts a similar story, “I went to see one of my favourite star of Bollywood. We waited for 3 hours to have a glimpse of Shah Rukh Khan at Hansraj College last year. We were surrounded with a whole lot of people and we decided to stay together holding each other. One of my friend was behind a guy who looked innocent . In fact when some people were pushing her, he told them not to. When SRK came after so long, the crowd pushed each other like a wave and we got separated. There was a guy who helped me get out of the crowd. As I waited outside the ground for my friends I saw one of them almost in tears. The guy who was behind her, and who we thought was a nice person, actually came on her. She was disgusted as she could feel something wet on her top and when we looked at it, we could clearly see semen. This isn’t something that happened for the first time only with Meghna. This happens, with a lot of girls. But some decide to keep quiet.”

 Featured Image: thealternative.in

Anagha Rakta

[email protected]

 

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

Final showdown at Crossroads’17, SRCC: KK’s unforgettable concert!

By

Four days of the ever charged up annual fest of SRCC, Crossroads’17 was a success with enthusiastic performers and the lively crowd. On the last day,  the final showdown was scheduled with the start of Basscamp, where Rock Bands of different colleges gave exquisite performances. Bands of different colleges namely Middle of Nowhere, Hindu Collective and Black Coffee were lined up for the event which was successfully attracting the crowd with their stupefying show.

The day concluded with a majestic performance by one of the kings of Bollywood, KK. His energy and passion for his music got the crowd grooving to glorious hits from the 1990s and 2000s. Popular songs had the audience singing along loudly throughout the show. Some of the crowd favourites included Aashayein from the inspirational movie Iqbal and the heart wrenching Tadap Tadap Ke from the 90s classic, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. KK finished the show with Koi Kahe from Dil Chahta Hai, and left the crowd feeling ecstatic from such an exciting night. Crossroads 2017, while slow on the events front, more than made up for it with this unforgettable concert.

 

Anagha Rakta
[email protected]

Radhika Boruah
[email protected]

Vineeta Rana
[email protected]

 

Feature Image by Sahil Chauhan for DU Beat

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

Day 3 at Crossroads’17: Fashion Show and Dancemob take the spotlight!

By

The annual fest Crossroads’17 of Shri Ram College of Commerce hosted the Indian Choir Competition Saarang on the third day which had participants from eight different colleges. The competition was judged by Renuka Arya where Samranjhini of Gargi College emerged as the winners. Swaranjali of Hansraj College and Geetanjali of Miranda House jointly bagged the second position in the competition. The Indian solo singing competition Alaap where Dhruv Pargai of IIIT Delhi sang the winning song. Vaishnavi Tyagi of Hansraj College and Lakshay Kapoor of Ramanujan College got jointly awarded the first runner up in the competition.

Picturesque, punchy and unabashedly stylish, the five colleges that participated in Crossroad’s Inferno, the Fashion Show, definitely made an impression. Judged by Harsh Khullar and Ashmita Jaiswal, Kamla Nehru College emerged victorious in this battle of the trends with the likes of fashion societies from Maitreyi, Keshava Maha Vidyalaya, SSSGC and GNIOT providing stiff competition. The overriding trend seemed to be dark lipshades and eccentric outfits. However, Glitz,the Fashion Society of KNC stole the show with its performance on the theme ‘Savage Mind’ in shades of blue, black and grey. This event was undoubtedly a feast for the eyes.

The MTV Campus Diaries Dancemob Faceoff started off with some power packed performances and energetic beats. Judged by the iconic Salman Khan, former winner of Dance India Dance, his personal commentary carried the entire event and inspired the teams to give some killer performances. He also joined one of the teams on stage for a little jig.

Participants included a total of 13 teams, but Zeal, the Western Dance Society of Maitreyi College bagged the winners’ cheque for Rs 50,000. A night promised to be full of excellent dancing and good music, this event definitely set the tone for the rest of the night. 

The night closed with a crowd-pumping performance by DJ Rave Crave, who mixed up various dance and EDM numbers to make the crowd groove to the beats!

Anagha Rakta
[email protected]
Radhika Boruah
[email protected]
Anahita Sahu
[email protected]
Feature Image by Sahil Chauhan for DU Beat
Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

Armaan Malik mesmerises SRCC on Day 2 of Crossroads’17!

By

The second day at this latest installment of Shri Ram College of Commerce annual cultural fest, Crossroads 2017, opened up with one of the most sought after events of the four-day fiesta with Raqus, the western choreography competition. In a tight sequence of dance showdowns, six participating teams from across the university came up with their maximal performances. The result of this event comes up later today.

To tickle the funny bones and stir up the comedic temperatures of the cultural fest, the Choreo Competition was followed by a Stand-Up Comedy Competition. With jokes and puns spilled over the lawn, varying in their laugh-o-meter scale, the event was a successful entertainment gig. The day also provided a platform for other talents of creativity to thrive, with the Ad-making and Short film making Competitions, and brought forward all shades of innovation and ideation!

The sine wave of the excitement at the second day at Crossroads crashed to new crests with the enthralling performance for the night by Armaan Malik. Currently one of the most popular Indian singer, this ‘Main hoon hero tera‘ fame came up with his top numbers one after another much to the delight of the enthralled crowd. With a playlist which included songs like Kabira, Wajah Tum Ho and Besabriyaan, Armaan Malik signed off the second day at Crossroads’17 at SRCC at the highest note possible.

Anagha Rakta
[email protected]

Saumya Kalia
[email protected]

Nikhil Kumar
[email protected]

 

Feature Image by Kartik Kher

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

Lost Stories and DJ CHETAS take SRCC by storm at Day 1, Crossroads 2017!

By
With a palpable energy and anticipation running high, Shri Ram College of Commerce’s annual cultural fest, Crossroads, certainly brought the beat back with a confluence of enthralling performances and a colourful ambience. As the degree of the crowd pouring in amplified with every hour, the exhilaration levels were also met with satiation and pleasure.
The first-day kick started with Thirakh, the Western Dance Competition, which witnessed the energising performances by a motley of colleges. With a participation of eleven teams, each offering strong contention, the event was adjudged by the very famous, Desi Hoppers. Maitreyi College’s Zeal bagged the first award for their engaging moves, followed by Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce’s Misba.
After announcing the results, Desi Hoppers, the Mumbai-based dance crew who represented India at the World of Dance Championship, grooved on stage with the winning teams and addressed the audience.
As the sun set, the fahrenheit rose at Crossroads’17. The  EDM artist ‘Lost stories’ led the crowd into a frenzy as he came up with leading numbers one after the other. The jam-packed audience were on their toes throughout the hour as the DJ came up with chart toppers like ‘Closer’, ‘Boulevard of broken dreams’, ‘Yellow’ and ‘Bang Bang’ tuned to their best beats.
‘Lost Stories’ led the way to the awaited star of the night, DJ Chetas. Constantly ranked as one of the leading DJs globally,  he set the energy of the house to newer levels as he started with latest bollywood and global chartbusters  like ‘Kala Chasma’ and ‘Cheap thrills’. The crowd cheered throughout as followed next all time bollywood blockbusters like ‘Oh ho jaane jaane’, ‘Buleya’ and ‘Naadan Parindey’. The DJ concluded with a soulful streak finally ending  with ‘Channa Mereya’, marking the end of the first day at SRCC Crossroads.

Anagha Rakta
[email protected]

Saumya Kalia
[email protected]

Nikhil Kumar
[email protected]

 

Feature Image by Kartik Kher for DU Beat

 

Keep Reading
By
Arts & Culture

Jesus and Mary College organises 'Montage' 2017: Highlights

By

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])]]>

Keep Reading
By