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Book Review: Remember Me by Mary Higgins Clark

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If you are spending this Christmas or New Year snuggled up in the warmth of your home or PG and thinking of some suspense thriller to get you through those party hours then Remember Me can serve the purpose well. This thriller written by acclaimed author Mary Higgins Clark is full of twists and turns and will surely keep you engaged.

Menley Nichols is trying to come to terms with the tragic death of her 2-year-old son, Bobby while taking care of her infant, Hannah. Adam’s old friend, Elaine helps the family get the Remember House at Cape Cod on the shore along the beach. The house has legends attached to it. She gets her bouts of post-traumatic stress a number of times while vacationing at Cape Cod with her husband and baby girl. Meanwhile, a death of a rich girl takes place in the neighborhood and her husband, Scott Covey is suspected of the murder. Menley’s lawyer husband, Adam takes up the case of defending Scott while juggling work in New York. On nights when Adam is away, Menley has nightmares of her accident of her son which wakes her up abruptly as well as Hannah, she hears/hallucinates her dead son calling out to her. Time and again, people say something about the house which alerts her even though she absolutely loves the house. Her work for her magazine and next children’s book keeps her distracted and partly sane. Her work also helps her to discover stories about the house she is living in and the city. But amid all this, Adam is not at ease when Scott is acquitted. The plot twists and turns to solve the ultimate questions nagging Menley and Adam’s minds.

The twists are absolutely unexpected and keep the reader hooked to the very end. It is the perfect suspense read while you are fighting the winter blues because the story is set in the beach town of Cape Cod with the summer breeze and starry nights.

 

Feature Image Credits: Kobo

Prachi Mehra

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DUB Speak

The “Never-To-Happen” List of Semesters

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With the end of the semester, it’s that time of the year where we look back and think of all the things we could do.

The dreadful month with the semester exams are over. The endless preparation, extensive consumption of coffee and painstaking nights looking at the books while scratching the head are now all over. But end of the exams also marks the end of another six months of college, and we naturally end up evaluating the semester thinking about how things were and how they could have been.

Looking back at when the semester began, all of us remember the plans we had made and the things we had promised to do. We had made a plethora of points under the “not-to-do” list and the ones we wanted to do. There were six valuable months of the college life which we planned to spend by learning new skills and increase our knowledge. The list might have varied from joining internships, taking classes to being a part of the college societies. The main highlight of the list might have been the point to study seriously from the beginning of the semester. Now that the semester has ended, many of them seem a fantasy.

Time flies and this is probably the time when this fact hits us hard. We have all heard that college life is probably the best time of our lives. But this also happens to be the time when we shape ourselves for the future. The tug-of-war between making our resume and making memories seems to be never-ending. The semester that began with the most ambitious of targets ended up being filled up of nights that were spent drinking, the classes that were bunked, the most pointless of conversations that took place in the canteen and so much more. The thing is- this is what gave us joy.

But there’s always room for hope and improvement. So once again, with the coming of the new semester there will come a much planned and thoughtful list. This list will be much better than the previous one. This is will also have the points listed in a strategic manner such that the loopholes of the previous semester are covered. Some of us might also give ourselves the liberty of setting a bit more than what is possible. And all of us know the line, “If I set a big list, I’ll complete at least half of it.”

The process of preparing this list seems no less than a ritual and will probably be followed this semester as well. So let us all prepare our lists filling them up with the best and the most filtered points. But yes, let’s see how many boxes we tick this semester!

 

Feature Image Credits: IStock

Karan Singhania
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Campus Central

Questions Out of Syllabus In DU Semester Exam, Students in Despair

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Third-year Political Science students of the University of Delhi, who had opted for ‘Public Policy in India’, an optional paper offered in the fifth semester, have filed a complaint to the University over the out of syllabus questions in the exam.

Questions on the feminist perspective on the state, the forest policy in India, and a short note on Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan had left the third-year students of the University in B.A. (Hons.) Political Science  baffled, with many raising allegations that these questions were not part of syllabus. These students had opted for the optional paper, ‘Public Policy In India’, offered in the fifth semester and the exam was conducted on Saturday. Enraged students have filed a complaint with the authorities regarding the issue.

The question paper which is of 75 marks consists of 8 questions out of which any 4 are to be attempted, each question carrying 18.75 marks. Of these 8, three questions — Discuss the forest policy of India. What are the challenges facing the policy today?, Discuss the feminist perspective on the state, and a short note question on Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan have caused distress. Moreover, the Hindi translation of the question on feminist perspective was also not appropriate, students alleged. The complaint was first raised by students of Daulat Ram College and Ramjas College.

Students of Ramjas College have written to their Department Head Tanvir Aiejaz to mark them ‘leniently’ or they will be ‘at loss’. Both students and teachers have raised a hue and cry over choice being reduced/restricted to students after such out-of-course questions in the examination. Suranjita Ray, the teacher-in-charge at Daulat Ram College, has already written to the University’s political science head, Navnita C Behera, asking her to look into the matter. In the letter to Behera, Ray has said: “I request you to instruct the paper setters and the moderation committee to keep the prescribed syllabus in mind. Such a thing impacts the performance of students,” as told to The Indian Express. 

Some teachers have claimed that the question paper might have been changed during the moderation process. Usually, the varsity sends the question paper for moderation and then it is printed and sealed. A three-member board set up by the University prepares the question papers and a senior teacher of the department is enthroned with the responsibility of moderation. After the semester system came into effect, the process of setting the question paper and moderation norms have changed which thence arises many problems.

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Oorja Tapan

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DU Admissions

Scramble for Accomodation after Admissions in DU

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Due to a hostel crunch (only about 10 campus colleges have hostel facilities), most students are forced to reside in private hostels and paying guest accomodations. This has made places near the campus like Hudson Line, Vijay Nagar, Kamla Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar in North Delhi, and Satya Niketan, Amar Colony and East of Kailash in South Delhi very popular for out-station students.

However, the high rates cause problems for students as many come from outside Delhi and relatively humble backgrounds. Some students’ organisations have been fighting for a standardised rent agreement for the past three years. As of now, there is no fixed slab and owners increase prices as they please.

The NCR kids cannot escape the heat either. The college and university hostels do not accommodate students who are National Capital Region (NCR) residents. This limits their chances at these hostels, which are more economical. They need to look for private accommodation, as travelling from home everyday will be difficult. While at the time of admission, PG owners are abound with promises, how far are these promises kept at the end of the semester?

Students who stay in these PGs say the facilities aren’t as nice in reality. Most have to pay over Rs 12,000 for a very small room. The bathroom has just enough space for them to stand. Even the WiFi is mostly useless because so many people use it. Even when the proprietors might give away the rooms for below 10kit is important not to get deceived by it as the rates are mostly not inclusive of food, internet, electricity or AC charges (something which the proprietors do not mention voluntarily at the time of booking of the book for fear of losing their prospective tenant). Interestingly, at the beginning of he academic year, the paying guest accommodations try to woo students with a host of modern facilities and comfort living (as one PG owner of BD Estate claimed “One fruit everyday”). But those facilities surprisingly either never materialised or fazed out by September (the same PG would give one banana only once a week).

Electricity bill remains a bone of contention between students and landlords in most of the PGs where the rent is not inclusive of electricity charges. Some PGs charge Rs.8 to Rs.10 per unit of electricity over and above the monthly rent, while the government charges Rs.7 to Rs. 8 per unit. Sometimes the proprietors go to the extent of charging even for the electricity used in the mess or the common corridors. While the electricty rates are generally supposed to come within Rs. 1000 (even as per the enhanced standard rates of the PGs), most of the students find their PG owners adding impractical figures on the rent slip every month. And the figures only increase evry successive month.

Often the curfew time at the boys’ PG is10pm to 12 midnight, while a girls’ PG would usully set the curfew at 8pm. When asked about the reasons behind this differention, PG proprietors woul explain that the restrictions are more from the parents’ side and that it is not something that they imposed. If the parents tell them that they are comfortable with their daughter returning late, they apparently wouldn’t have a problem.

While the PG owners, in order to satiate parents anxious of their wards’ wellbeing, would initially drive home the idea that they would shut the gates at 8pm “sharp”, in reality, the PGs are more liberal than that, often stretching the deadline till 8:30 or even 9. As Shristi, a student of Ramjas claimed, “the dealine gets stretched with each passing month”, although this is an instance which would be hard to generalise for all PGs.

While the exploitative PGs go on minting money, it is important to serve the wake-up call to the UGC to remind it to ensure adequate accommodation for all students in college hostels. Because while education is hard, the exigencies of staying in Delhi are harder.

 

Feature Image Credits: Hindustan Times

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak

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DUB Speak

How Instagram Proves to be Useful for Budding Photographers

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Instagram has become a rage in the young millennia’s life. Every new cuisine one tries, every new book one reads, every new dress one buys, the world gets to know about it through Instagram. It has become a new platform for people to kick-start their businesses. It is a way for people to give way to their hobbies and passions. For a photographer, his/her Instagram account is a digital profile of his/her work. Unlike the old times, one does not have to carry their portfolio around but simply an Instagram account.
Here are some useful tips for those budding photographers to help them grow their followers and reach.

Be Consistent
As a photographer, one must pick up a specific theme/ genre whether it is nature, fashion, architecture, wedding, etc. Being consistent in one’s area of interest brings out the expertise in the photographer. Gaining expertise in one area attracts more clients looking for an expert photographer.

Make a Plan
As an Instagram blogger, the quote “out of sight is out of mind” holds unequivocally true. One must be regular in uploading their artwork. Uploading daily can bring a sense of permanency to your presence. One can schedule days and plan the number of posts which need to be uploaded, so the followers are aware of one’s progress and routine.

Make Use of Updates
Instagram constantly rolls out with various new updates. Making use of Instagram stories, its new filters, and other features like boomerang, superzoom, or stop-motion can help a photographer in putting out more work. Staying up-to-date with new updates will not only show your extemporisation skills but also serve as a guide for your audience, building a consistent follower base.

Location
Making use of the location update, a photographer can attract local businesses. Local businesses even sponsor a photographer(s) to increase their outreach.

Create a Clientele
A budding photographer must follow others to learn about their work, or if one is in the fashion arena, one must follow popular social media influencers. DM them for collaborations or show interest in their work by posting comments.

Bio
Keeping one’s bio interesting yet crisp can go a long way. Always provide contact information to keep all avenues open.
Using Instagram in a creative and smart way can go a long way in expanding one’s business. One gets to promote their hobbies or passions which can change into full-time professions with the help of Instagram.

 

Feature Image Credits: NBC News

Prachi Mehra
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Vansh Sabharwal
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Varoon Tuteja
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DUB Speak

Mapping the Presence of Mental Health Services in DU

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Gazing around the empty room and suffocating walls, I typed ‘How to  commit suicide’ on Google and the first result that appeared was the contact number of Aashra Helpline. I am a strong girl wrapped in untold stories of dark phases of life. The society perceives me as a confident and happy girl, but when I enter my room I ask myself if life is worth living. Maybe that night the voice of a stranger sitting far away from me, convinced me to give life a chance but I wonder why there is an absence of voice near to us.

The University of Delhi provides free counselling sessions to students and faculty members to help them cope with stress. At present, the ‘Mind Body Centre’ located in DU’s North Campus offers face-to-face counselling to girl students and faculty members. The helpline that was started by DU in 2015, however, caters to queries and offers therapy to all students irrespective of gender. However, has the helpline helped is significantly impacting mental health amongst students?

Despite similar services offered to students, almost every year approximately five students of the University commit suicide due to various reasons ranging from rejection in love, poor academic performance, family issues, and depression. The lack of professional counselling centers in colleges can be seen as a prime reason behind this. Moreover, the lack of awareness of such services in the student community is partially responsible for creating these issues. More often than not, a student looks for a listening ear and non-judgemental atmosphere.

Every hour, one student commits suicide in India, according to the 2015 data (the latest available) from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). In 2015, the number of student suicides stood at 8,934. In the five years leading to 2015, 39,775 students killed themselves. The number of attempted suicides, many unreported, is likely to be much higher. India has one of the world’s highest suicide rates for youth aged 15 to 29, according to this 2012 Lancet report.

Speaking to a professional can help one in understanding what the student need. This can range from self-help tips and breathing exercises to a course of psychotherapy and medication. Everyone is different and will need differing levels of support.

 

Feature Image Credits: HR Review

 

Naimisha

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DUB Speak

Green Energy in India: What are the Challenges?

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Need of green energy has been alarming. What if this costs a bit more? We might quickly find many people’s appetite for green energy is lower, especially if the worry cited is something as invisible, distant, long-term, and global as CO2 emissions that impact climate change. Energy is the most important issue that is being discussed throughout the world. The key differentiating factor in the use of energy sources is environment friendliness. Growth of green energy in developed nations is mainly driven by environmental concerns of fossil fuel based projects. In developing nations, green energy projects are adopted to decrease the demand supply-gap and to boost rural electrification and off-grid electrification. But for countries like India, an optimal energy mix of both kinds of energy sources is essential to have a sustainable energy system.

One of the major obstacles in extraction of green energy is high installation cost. While development of a coal based power plant requires around Rs.4 crore per MW, the investment required for wind and solar power-based plants is significantly higher. A wind based plant, with capacity utilisation of 25%, requires an investment of Rs.6 crore per MW.
Operating a green energy source demands the employment of skilled labours which is another big challenge. Proper system planning and integration is another important aspect. Knowing the decentralised nature of green energy projects, the capacity and type of project is to be decided where availability of the energy source can be ensured. Most green energy systems are weather dependent; thus, factors like number of sunny days, wind condition, monsoon, tide level, supply of biomass, etc play an important role in feasibility of the system. Plant availability is not predictable as in case of conventional plants. Social acceptance of renewable-based energy system is still not very encouraging in urban India. Despite heavy subsidy being provided by the government for installation of solar water-heaters and lighting systems, its penetration is still very low. Manpower training is another grey area. Currently, the Indian power sector is facing severe trained manpower shortage. Skill upgradation of the existing manpower and training of new professionals are essential to achieve the goal of “power to all”.

Despite having an installed capacity of over 167 GW, India is facing an energy deficit of 8% and peak deficit of 12%. So far, only 4.5% of renewable energy potential has been explored in India. To reduce the demand-supply gap, the renewable energy development is the need of the hour. While there has been a plethora of analysis on whether India will meet the 175 GW goal by 2022 – the overwhelming consensus is that it will not, as the current capacity stands under 60 GW and the country is adding less than 15 GW per annum – few have stopped to ask if such a goal is even desirable. A dose of realism need not dampen ambition but can instead help in making our approach towards clean and green energy more consolidated and serious.

 

Feature Image Credits: Southquayenergy

Sandeep Samal
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DUB Speak

What to Expect from the Even Semester

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The even semester is supposed to be a period of intense activity with its various fests, competitions, and events. Here’s all that you can expect from them in the upcoming months in University of Delhi.

Depending on various things, your expectations from the even semester will be different. For example, based on what year you’re in, you can be excited about attending fests for the first time, be somewhat excited remembering the fun events you attended the previous year, or be seriously dreading facing your last few months in college. Whether these expectations from this semester will be underscored by feelings of “This is the semester where I get my life together” or “We’re all gonna die in the end so how does one semester matter”, will depend on your standing on the optimistic/pessimist-Nihlist scale. Therefore, this is where a person who’s in the middle of both of those scales can help provide something resembling a sense of objectivity.

Firstly, fests are okay. There’s the usual range of food and things you can buy somewhere else for a slightly cheaper price. There’s the DJ Nights and the Star Nights, which are really something of a luck thing, and by luck I mean how much money your college manages to raise through sponsorships and alumni. If you get a good performer and a good atmosphere (which means as less overcrowding as possible and a crowd that isn’t breaking through the stage barricading), then you’re in for an enjoyable time. But as is with all college activities, the quality of company is essential. I’d suggest you go with friends who don’t like to document every single moment with photos and stories, and don’t whine too much about delays and general tardiness in organising.

Competitions and society fests are quite enjoyable, too. Unless you’re in the organising society/participating, in which case you have responsibilities, no time to watch the performances, and basically get only a few glimpses of the actual event. However, it is a great time to see other performances when you can, and bond with your fellow members.

So, as you go into the remainder of the year, remember to have reasonable expectations. Try to attend things, to see what works for other people, and it just might work for you!

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat
Rishika Singh
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DUB Speak

How is the Mahabharata Relevant Even Today?

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The Mahabharata may have been written centuries ago but it has relevance even in today’s world. Let’s have a look beyond the story. 

The Mahabharata was written between 400 BC to 400 CE but what the text teaches us is relevant even today. The story is an epic because of its complex and long structure but it talks about issues present in the present as well as the past and future. Critics don’t call the Kurukshetra war a fight of good and evil for nothing, it is believed that the Pandavas were incarnations of their fathers who were all Gods and the Kauravas were incarnations of Asuras or demons. Draupadi, wife of the five Pandavas was born an adult woman from the fire of the Earth itself.

The Pandavas are considered to be the five elements of nature which nourish the land or the Earth, Draupadi. She was meant to marry the five elements and not Karna who is an incarnation of the Sun God. The land needs nourishment from all the five elements and cannot stay close to the Sun.
The disrobing of Draupadi is one of the longest episodes in the 18 chapters of the Mahabharata and has a meaning on the ecological plane. Draupadi’s disrobing is symbolic of mankind exploiting the land’s resources excessively. Duryodhana is a representative of humanity and all mankind. His greed and jealously leads to humanity’s fight against nature.

When after losing at the game of dice, the Pandavas and Draupadi are exiled for 12-13 years, it is symbolic of a calamity like drought or famine because the elements of nature are distanced from mankind.
Yudhishtra is the symbol of death, Bhim of wind and Arjun of water. The grotesque war of Kurukshetra is the result of excessive exploitation of nature by humanity for which they pay with their deaths. Only a handful of humans survive to repopulate the Earth.

Dharma and Karma are concepts entwined in a symbiotic relationship in the Mahabharata epic. Death comes to all because what takes birth has to die but your deeds decide your death.
Many critics believe the Mahabharata is only a story and they have evidences to prove their statement. It is a story which has anything and everything that happens in the current world. Devastation and death come to those who take nature for granted. All of us are heading to the very same doom because of our actions. Earth has started rebelling and indicating that we have exploited it to the brim. It is time we realize that our actions will have dire consequences. The latest one was the Delhi smog.

 

Feature Image Credits: MensXP

Prachi Mehra
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Arts & Culture

Advertisements – Breaking Stereotypes, Challenging Status Quo

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Television and digital media have always been the medium of spreading awareness, knowledge, and opinions. In recent times, advertisements have proven to be the ground-breaking realities of the time. From fighting gender stereotypes to supporting LGBT rights, promoting election voting awareness to what not, advertisements have played a leading role in influencing minds and actions.

Let’s put our eyes on some of the stimulating and inspiration-evoking advertisements of Indian television.

Biba – The change begins from home

Change the Convention,  from Biba’s  Change series that targets the prevalence of  arranged marriage in India, is a fresh spin on the ‘boy’s family coming to see the girl’ scenario. The twist sees the girl’s father questioning the boy’s cooking skills. Making the arranged marriage setup fair to both genders doesn’t take much, does it?

Anouk – The Move

Part of their Bold is Beautiful campaign, the ad reflects what young urban couples face in India. When faced with decisions about relocation, the husband tacitly refuses citing reasons of job elevation. Their conversation reveals that the wife has made a similar move in the past for her husband, but this time since it’s her career on the line, he doesn’t think it’s important enough to leave his work life. Ultimately, she decides to move on in order to pursue her career. It’s time we spoke about a marriage of equals.

Havell – Hawa Badlegi

Breaking the stereotypes of changing surnames after marriages, this advertisement takes a new beginning by encouraging even husbands to dare to change surnames.

Titan Raga – #HerLifeHerChoices

They showed us a strong and independent woman who is capable of making her own life choices. She has aspirations and is not afraid to take control of her life in her hands.

Airtel – Boss

This ad features a modern-day couple. The woman is a multi-tasker who handles her office and juniors at work and then comes back home to prepare food for her husband, who is still at his workplace on his boss’ (in reality, wife’s) orders. 

Whisper – Ab Waqt Hai Badalne Ka

Menstruation has always been a taboo with a load of superstitions attached to it. Banking on the age-old Indian norm that pickles are off limits to a woman who is menstruating, Whisper outright defies this with ‘Touch the Pickle Jar’. It tries to break off from all the norms that restrain women from going about their daily routines when they are on their period. This ad has triggered a huge response from its viewers. According to AdAge, 2.9 million women pledged to go against the odds and “touch the pickle jar”. It also emboldened the dialogue around taboos surrounding menstruation.

 

Feature Image Credits: YouTube 

 

Naimisha

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