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The Commerce Association of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College hosted its annual commerce fest Uddayam on 9th March 2017. The two-day fest was attended by more than 800 students from colleges all across Delhi University and from other universities in NCR as well. The term Uddayam means ‘entrepreneurship’ as the association strongly believes  “ A true entrepreneur is one who is a doer and not just a dreamer”  and all the events were hosted in synchronisation with the theme to motivate the budding entrepreneurs.

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Wok in the clouds – a trendy restaurant , reminiscent of the contemporary expression of traditional design and flavourful aromatic food was the associate sponsor of the event.

 

The event started with the inauguration ceremony by Dr.P.K Khurana , Principal, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College . The other senior faculty members included Dr.Anil Sardana, Teacher-in-charge, Department of Commerce and Dr.Ruchi Gupta, Convenor, Commerce Association. This was followed by a marvelous performance by Sourav Dey and Danish Alam , core members of college band – Common Thread who cherished everyone’s souls with their singing. The principal gave the inaugural address and congratulated the members of Commerce Association for always putting up a great show. The president, Ojas Wadhwa , apprised about the association and talked about the future projects of Commerce Association. The ceremony concluded with Dr.Ruchi Gupta proposing a formal vote of thanks followed by the group photograph of faculty members and students to capture the beautiful moment for the years to come.

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Following the inaugural ceremony, the much-awaited events started. An array of events was hosted this year.

 

This year new addition in the list of events was Social Syndicate, it proved to be a benchmark event by bringing the best ideas and young social entrepreneurs under one roof. The contestants presented a plethora of social issues like woman empowerment, poverty, waste management etc. Mr.Ankit Kawatra ( founder, feeding India), Mr.Arindham Kalra ( Delhi Head, Feeding India ) and Ms. Himanshi Gupta ( Hr manager, Indialends.com) were the esteemed judges.

 

However, the star event of Uddayam was Adwitya – Hunar aur Jazbe ka sangam. An event recognizing the talent of specially-abled students as we believe everyone is special. The event had a huge participation from Delhi University and other colleges of NCR. The performances ranged from melodious songs to enthusiastic dance performances to insightful poetry. The event gathered accolades and appreciation from the judges as well as college faculty. The Commerce Association plans to take Adwitya forward as an annual event in the coming years.

 

Other events on Day 1 included In-Quiz-Tive –the business quiz which saw undergraduates and postgraduates together congregate to battle.  A mixed bag of trivia, identification and FAQ’s based on the incessant business world awaited the participants in the preliminary round. The quiz tested their business acumen, identification skills and in the end, the participants went on to put their points at stake in the bet to connect round on each question answered.

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The major fun event was Futbol-de-Fantasia – football manager competition. It was introduced for the first time and focused on how a manager should use his abilities off the pitch to get the best out of the players. The Round 1 was quiz followed by the press conference in round 2 and then it finished with the football auction in round 3.

Pirates Ahoy – treasure hunt in its fourth season was no less, the participants were given mind boggling maths riddles, confusing picture puzzles and other encrypted data to unveil the real treasure.

 

The second day was equally interesting. Colossal Clash 2.0 – The best manager competition was one of the intellectual events this year.  The event comprised of an online preliminary round followed by two on campus rounds. The semi-final round ‘ National Companies Executive Meet’ where participation represented CFOs of companies like BHEL, Bharti Airtel, Jet Airways etc. and discussed the corporate plight post demonetization. This was followed by the final round which was stress interview based on ethical case studies.

 

Stock-a-thon – battle of bulls and bears. What made this event stand out from other mock stock events was that the participants had a chance to try a hand at investing from the prelims round itself. Participants had an option to diversify their portfolio by investing in shares forex and mutual funds and decipher their analysis based on news and rumours.    Marketing Superhero – the Admad competition in it’s third edition was successfully concluded. Each year, the team innovates with the second round and this time they had marketing taboo, which required an understanding amongst the team members to guess the word written on chit. The teams were given innovative products such as dancing shoes, musical jacket, flying car etc. The judges had a tough time in judging the rounds as all the contestants were equally entertaining and creative.  Another fun event of Uddayam was Torrents and Trials – TV show quiz where participants were judged on the basis of their knowledge of shows like Game of Thrones and Friends. It receive a huge positive response and the participants had a great time playing this entertaining event.

 

 

The road to success comes through hard work and determination and finally , the hard work of the members of Commerce Association paid off. The Commerce Association congratulates all the winners of Uddayam’ 17 and a big thank you to all the people who were part of this journey.

Mayawati from Bahujan Samaj Party and Arvind Kejriwal from Aam Aadmi Party claim that EVM’s have been rigged to tamper with state election results.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed on Wednesday that rigged voting machines transferred his party’s votes to the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party combine in Punjab, while BSP chief Mayawati said she would seek court help for a probe into “tampering” in Uttar Pradesh.  Mayawati’s claims are also supported by Akhilesh Yadav, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and the leader of the Samajwadi Party, who fought the 2017 election in a coalition with the Indian National Congress.

The Aam Aadmi Party came second in the Punjab elections, 77 seats out of the 117 member assembly were secured by the Indian National Congress, making it the victorious party. Similarly, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party was decimated in Punjab, getting just 19 seats in the 403 strong assembly. Following the allegations, the Election Commission reaffirmed that Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) cannot be tampered with. Union Minister, Harsimrat Kaur Badal remarked, “He (Kejriwal) has lost his mental balance so he is saying things like this. He did not say anything when AAP won 67 seats in Delhi”. Kejriwal demanded that the Election Commission count votes of verifiable paper trail-enabled EVMs to “restore credibility of the EVMs”.

In Lucknow, Mayawati repeated similar charges. The BJP’s victory smacked of “fraud”, she said, adding her party would observe 11th of every months as a black day against the “murder of democracy” by the saffron party. Within hours of the result being declared, Mayawati wrote to the EC demanding a fresh election. However, the EC dismissed Mayawati’s claims as they were not substantiated by any form of concrete proof.

Image Credits: Jansatta

Joyee Bhattacharya

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Isn’t it phenomenal when a bunch of young women get together and pledge to raise awareness among their friends on the issue of the rights of young girls across the country? That is just what the campus ambassadors from CRY have been doing in the last one week. They’re very driven and there is nothing that can come in the way of their fight for child rights in the campus.

The last one week, they celebrated the fierce, young girls and women across the Capital that they work for, at CRY.

While Aarushee, the Child Rights Leader from Hansraj set up a stall at her College fest and spread awareness on the issue of education of girls through games, Himani, from IP College for women got about a 100 plus young women, migrant labourers and girl children to complete the sentence on a board with the line, “I am a Girl and I can…”. Just watching the women write sentences like, “I’m a girl and I can dance on the streets”, I am a woman and I too can fight” was overwhelming.

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Dimpy too from Miranda House initiated the ‘Make a wish for a girl’ campaign at her college. She asked her friends put in their wishes for girls across the country. The college wished for education, health, protection, safety etc for girls across the country.

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With such passion and commitment, we can’t wait to see the magic they create in Delhi University this year.

 

Abhivyanjana – the Debating, Poetry and Creative Writing Society of Motilal Nehru College, conducted their annual fest, Abhivyakti’17 on the 20th and 21st of February. In the spirit of the 10th edition this year, the fest was planned and exhibited with remarkable ebullience and vibrancy

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The two-day fest attracted students from across the university and other private institutions, allowing them participation in an incredible line-up of events. First in queue, for Day 1, was the inaugural ceremony, where the Chief Guest for the fest, Mr. Anshu Mor, was received by the Cultural Convenor of the college. The inauguration was soon followed by a storytelling workshop by Mr. Anshu Mor, the CEO, and founder of Talking Mime. He is a renowned stand-up comedian whose journey to the stage in itself makes for an awe-inspiring story to tell. He used his rib-tickling anecdotes to punctuate the process of being a good storyteller. After the workshop, he was presented with a quotation poster, his caricature and a copy of his interview with An Inception by the president of the society.

This year, the society made its debut with hosting a 3 on 3 Knockout Parliamentary Debate, taking the second edition of the event, Clash of Clans, to another level. The core adjudicators were Taufique Shoogufan from Sri Venkateswara and Dev Baraya from St. Stephen’s, who are well known in the circuit for their perplexing list of credentials.

We Hear You 2.0, a Poetry Slam competition, witnessed students performing spoken word poetry, reflecting on an array of topics. Abhimanyu Verma from ‘Bring Back The Poets’, was present to judge the competition. Shreyasi from DCAC and Srishti Kapil from Sri Venkateswara won the first prize and second prize, respectively.

Next in line was Send My Love, a letter writing competition which tested the participants’ creativity by challenging them to reply to letters written by famous writers. Vrinda Anand from Indraprastha College for Women and Kriti Sahay from Jesus and Mary College bagged the top two prizes for the event.

The Betrayer, a turn cloak, wrapped up the events for Day 1. Monis Ahmad Khan, a writer, poet, actor, and performer was present as the judge for the competition. The debate was won by Aditya from PGDAV with his articulate speech on the topic ‘feminism’.

The second day started with round 3 for Clash of Clans and Point Break: A Conventional Debate.

Teams of two presented their arguments for and against the motion “THBT Racial profiling is justified in the contemporary world”. The conventional debate was won by the team from Sri Venkateswara college.

The last event for the fest was the highly anticipated finale round for parliamentary debate. With dimmed lights and a heedful audience in the seminar room, the battle between the two final teams – LSR and CBS-KMC cross – began. After a back and forth of constructive arguments, the team from LSR was declared as the winner of the tournament. The prize for the best adjudicator was given to Nashra Rashid and the prize for second-best adjudicator was shared by Kundan Sen and Ishika Seal.

Taufique and Dev were felicitated with a memento for their commendable work as Core Adjudicators in the closing ceremony.

The fest concluded on a successful note, with a great turnover and remarkable energy on both ends- the members of Abhivyanjana as well as the participants. This is a major leap in the journey of Abhivyanjana considering how young the society is. The fest was loaded with all the essentials- a great quality and quantity of participation along with some really popular and talented faces.

The final day of one of the biggest fests of Delhi University, Mecca 2017, saw major competitive events take place in the morning. These included the Battle of Bands, the Indian Choir Competition, and the Street Play Competition. The Competitive Fashion Show was conducted in the afternoon, after which the most awaited event, the star night of Mecca 2017 commenced and concluded on a musical brilliance!

The melodious music event, organised under the canvass of Harmony, kicked off in the morning. Raagmala, the Indian Choir Competition, was the platform to serenading performances. Adjudged by Shri Soumendra Thakur and Shri Rajeev Prasanna, with Tarkaas of Institute of Home Economics taking home the first prize. Swaranjali of Hans Raj Collegesecured the second place, and Samranjhini of Gargi College and Geetanjali of Miranda House Collegeshared the third position. Aria, the Western Music Society of Hindu College, organized the energy-packed Battle of Bands event which saw The Tantrik Steve as the winners, with stupefying and foot-tapping performances. Transcending into the world of actions and stories, the front lawns hosted the nukkad natak event, a confluence of endearing and thought-provoking performances.  The theatre society of Shri Ram College of Commerce emerged as the winners, followed by Shaheed Bhagat Singh College (M) bagging the second place, and Gargi College and Sri Venkateswara College securing the third position.

Panache, the fashion show, left the audience stunned with the innovative designs and creative expression of the participants. The trophy was bagged by Galore, the fashion society of Maitreyi College, followed by I Vogue of SGGSCC. The day next witnessed the Solo Indian Instrumental Competition, performances infused with a perfection of taal-mel. The final edition of the fiesta also saw a plethora of diverse activities to challenge the creative streak of the participants; from Stand-up comedy, Business Quiz, and Poster Making to Treasure Hunt and Mini Militia, Mecca was home to milieu of talent.

The final act of the fiesta was the Star Performance by the famous Bollywood singer, Sukhwinder Singh, of the ‘Chaiyya Chaiyya,’ ‘Jai Ho,’ and ‘Galla Goodiyan’ fame. The singer set the spirits high and the heart wanting for more with his enthralling and riveting performance. A worthy treat to draw the curtains at the dastaan-e-dilli version of Mecca, Sukhwinder Singh charmed the crowd with his voice and wit. The crowd cheered and grooved along the musical spectacle, and exuberantly bid adieu to Mecca 2017!

 

Feature Image Credits- Hitanksha Jain for DU Beat

Vineeta Ra?a
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Saumya Kalia
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Akshara Srivastava
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Day 2 at Hindu College’s annual fest, Mecca 2017 started on a riveting note as the Indian folk dance competition brought in a splash of colours into a day of rather gloomy weather.
11 colleges from Delhi University participated, from which Annhad, the Indian dance society of Daulat Ram College secured the first position and the second position was secured by Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College for their power packed Bhangra performance.
Shortly after the Indian folk dance competition, the Western solo dance competition was held which witnessed electrifying performances from all genres of western dance. The event was judged by Dilip Raickwar and Mohit Kumar from Maffick Dance Theatre. Pulkit from Dyal Singh College secured the first position followed by Abhishek from Shivaji College who secured the second position. Apart from these events, numerous other events were held which gained a lot of popularity within the fest attendees, such as Mecca Idol and the Street Soccer Competition. Additionally, the students took full advantage of the other activities offered by Mecca. The food stalls and carnival rides drew the crowd even in the light drizzle. This added thrill to a slow day on the events front.
Day 2 at Mecca ended on a musical high with Funk Heads performing, followed by DJ NYK who wrapped up the day with his renditions of some of the biggest Bollywood hits. The audience was extremely spirited and danced and dabbed along with the DJs.

 

Feature Image Credits- Gerush Bahal 

Joyee Bhattacharya
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Akshara Srivastava
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Clad in a picturesque semblance of Dilli’s aesthetics and an aura of magnificence, Hindu College’s much anticipated annual cultural fest, Mecca, returns with enthralling events and riveting performances. This dastaan-e-dilli edition of Hindu’s annual extravaganza is a portal to transport the audience to the beloved dilli ki galiyaan and relish the nuances of the history-infused Delhi. The first edition of Mecca 2017 kick started on a musical and creative high, escalating the expectations for the next two days!

The fest was declared open by the profusely talented author, Mr. NeeleshMisra, who is currently hosting shows on Saavn. The inauguration was then succeeded by a brief reading of his book, followed by a motivating interactive session with the audience. Aria, the Western Music Society of Hindu College, organised Chorale, the Western Group Choir Competition. Captivating the crowd with their mesmerising performance, The Western Music Society, Lady Shri Ram College bagged the first award, withSynergy of Shiv Nadar University securing the second place, followed by Echo of Jesus and Mary College and Zephyr, The Western Music Society of Kamala Nehru College.

Under the umbrella of Aramya, the dance fest of Hindu College, the day witnessed the Western Dance Competition, Flair. The event saw participation from ten teams and invigorated all hearts with rhythms and tunes. V-DEFYN of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi secured the first place, followed by Zeal of Maitreyi College. The rhapsodic experience of music and dance ended with a performance by the Dance out of Poverty initiative. To touch the chords of art and creativity, the first day also saw the organisation of the Slam Poetry and Open Mic competition, along with exciting events of the English Debate and Photography competition.

The choreography society of Hindu, Srijya then hosted the choreography competition, Finesse. Yet another round of scintillating performances ensued with the performers playing on their imagination to conjure up the most beautiful performances centred around creative themes. The competition ended with special performances by Srijya themselves and by ex-members of the society. Not surprisingly, Gargi College bagged the first place while Hansraj College took the second prize home.

The eventful first day reached it’s crescendo with Shiley Setia entertaining the audience with the latest Bollywood and Hollywood numbers. While vlogging with the audience, interacting with them  and egging them on to sing along, Shirley made it a point that none was left out of the revelry of the first star night. The standards have been set high at Mecca 2017, as students look forward to two even more exciting days!

Saumya Kalia
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Swareena Gurung
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Feature Image Credits- Gerush Bahal for DU Beat

The students of Delhi University’s School of Open Learning (SOL) protested outside the office of University Grants Commission (UGC) in opposition to a UGC directive which deems specification of the ‘mode of learning’ on the degrees awarded by it.

The students demanded a roll back of this directive calling it to be a ‘devaluation’ of their degrees.  UGC had issued guidelines to make mentioning of “Mode of Delivery” compulsory on documents issued to correspondence students, including their degrees.

According to the UGC, this move has been taken “in order to erase ambiguities between conventional mode degrees and ODL mode degrees.”

Harish Gautam, member of Krantikari Yuva Sangathan, which is an association of SOL students said, “Those pursuing correspondence courses in different open universities across the country come from disadvantaged and marginalised sections of society.” Further, arguing that such a decision would decrease their already dismal chances of getting good jobs or admissions in regular post-graduate courses of different universities, since mentioning mode of delivery would mean that their degrees will be treated inferior to those pursued through regular mode.

The students have also submitted a memorandum to the UGC demanding the annulment of the UGC guideline.

Image credits: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Aditya Narang

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Sleepless nights, daily bouts of anxiety, and a fearful anticipation of what is to come: remember what the month of March meant back in your 12th grade?

If I were a time lord from Gallifrey and possessed the ability to cross the barriers of space and time, in no universe would I choose to relive the daunting experience the Central Board of Secondary Education nefariously termed as the Board examinations (assuming other worlds had this system). All students undergo the privilege of viewing these examinations in precisely three lenses: the early stages of 12th grade where the idea of taking the ‘most important’ examinations in one’s life is spiced up in all shades of worry, undergoing the boards in real time, and reflecting back on the turbulent period with retrospection.

The beginning of the last year of high school sets the anticipation for the next twelve months, structured with incessant study warnings and cycles of mock tests. As months’ pass, the degree of nostalgia and affinity harboured towards the school premises begins to grow, for the latter has been the platform of a million memories. This fusion of fond remembrances and anxious forebodings forms the crux of the second half of the academic session. Enter phase two, when the month of March brings with itself an endearing spring and a haunting set of examinations. This period may be looked in different ways; for some may approach the Boards with a sense of stoicism and ‘come what may happen’ attitude, and some may enter the halls with trepidation and uneasiness. A trend which has been observed by batches alike is the relative directness in the way questions are framed in Boards. Our preparation often conditions us to try diverse questions to become accustomed to handling a variety, so the real question paper might not seem all that difficult. Five/six examinations and innumerable panic attacks later, there comes a brief period of relief before the college hunt begins (days of relaxation and nothingness must wait!) where their culmination would be absorbed, and a final farewell to the portals of the school must be bid. School farewell and scribble days are two pillars which sustain one’s sanity amidst the chaos, don’t they?

Months and semester later, when we’re engulfed in a life of SGPAs, attendance issues, society frolic, and celebrating with friends new and old, the events of our respective Board years are fresh in our memories as another batch prepares to take the exams this week. All the anxious fears of the heart which believed that a month would define their futures now stand in question; for the results, do have a slight bearing on where one goes to college. But what one chooses to make out of the opportunities is individually-tailored. After receiving abundant advice on the dos and don’t(s) for this season, here’s a reality check for the soon to be pass outs: There must be a feeling which is spilling across your body, mind, and soul right now. I remember the waves of anxiety and incessant worry cycles which shall overturn you till the very end of this examination cycle. I remember the restlessness, the expectations, and the fear of failing. Days and hours later, you shall be beginning the journey you have been preparing for the past year. Wrapped up in a veil of terror and overhyped anticipation, the reality is far less scary. This month will end before you know, and each examination will be a success story if you don’t let the fear grip your heart.

Be prepared, be brave, and be ready!

Image Credits: Outlook India

Saumya Kalia

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INVISION’17, the annual photography fest was organised by ZEPHYR- The Film and Photography Society of College of Vocational Studies on 21st-23rd February.

The 3 day photography extravaganza was sponsored by DHABA JUNCTION and ACCM.

INVISION’17 ensured to cater the needs of everyone ranging from photographers to videographers and from amateurs to professionals, as there was a vast array of competitions. More than 100 participants took part in the 4 competitions that were organised.

* Expectations vs Reality

This event was tailor-made for all the videographers and all the aspiring filmmakers out there. It was a silent film-making competition. Participants were not allowed to add any dialogues in the movie. This competition took place on all three days of the fest.

* Dark Knight

This competition took place on 22nd February, 2017.
The participants had to enter a dark room and utilize the props efficiently to make the most of the 10 minutes and capture a stellar photograph. It was a very challenging competition and was all about long exposure photography and creative imagination.

* Snapchase

This competition took place on 22nd February, 2017.
Life makes us go through its various phases before we finally rest at peace. This competition assisted the participants to get nostalgic thinking of the stages they have been through and propel them into the future to get a taste of what all is yet to come. They had to solve the clues and capture pictures to win this exciting competition.

 

* On the Spot Photography

This competition took place on 23rd February, 2017.
This one was to meet the needs of all the lensmen as both DSLRs and mobiles were allowed in this competition. The pictures had to be clicked on the spot and within a radius of 5kms of CVS. The themes were revealed on the spot.

 

Prizes worth 6L were at stake and participants did all the hard work to emerge as winners and take home the exciting prizes.

It was not just about competitions, Invision’17 also consisted of a captivating photography exhibition as well.
Zephyr had set up a beautiful exhibition which was embellished by over 400 photographs which were captured by the hardworking zephyrites. The exhibition was divided according to various themes like- monochrome, village, etc. The exhibition was unparalleled and was praised by each and every visitor.

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The exhibition began after the inaugural- ribbon cutting ceremony done by the Principal Sir. Zephyr was full of gratitude and pleasure as Principal sir graced the occasion with his presence.

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These 3 days were like a grand festival for more than 2500 photography enthusiasts who turned up at the exhibition and participated in the competitions. All the efforts put in by the Zephyrites brought out the true spirit of photography and filmmaking, and made this fest a memorable one.