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Ellen DeGeneres breaks People’s Choice Awards record with 20 wins

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Ellen DeGeneres is a name synonymous with the American comedy and entertainment industry. She is known all over the world for her humour, smile, charm and tremendous courage, making her a force to reckon with. After spending over 20 years in the American entertainment industry, in 2017, Ellen bagged 3 more People’s Choice Awards, making her award tally the highest across Hollywood. She won awards in the fields of Favourite Daytime TV Host, Favourite Animated Movie for Finding Dory, and Favourite Comedic Collaborator. Previously, Ellen has won awards for Favourite Daytime TV Host six times along with Favourite Talk Show Host four times, Favourite Comedic Actress four times and Favourite Humanitarian. Ellen was presented the trophy by Justin Timberlake who referred to her as ‘one of the best people on this planet’. Ellen, humbled by her 20th win, thanked her audience for their support, motivation and laughs.

Apart from Ellen’s 20 wins at the People’s Choice Awards, she has also won 29 Emmys, numerous other awards for her charitable works, and most recently, the Presidential Medal of Freedom given to her by President Barack Obama. Ellen has also hosted popular and prestigious events like the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards and the Prime Time Emmy Awards. Ellen is truly an icon the world admires as she personifies the importance of courage, grace and determination in order to lead a commercially successful life. Ellen has always taken bold steps in her life, which have led to her global significance. She was the first openly lesbian television actress who talked about LGBT issues, bullying and depression. Her coming out story gathered a mixed reaction in a slowly modernising America. In 2008, she married her long time girlfriend Portia de Rossi. Ellen and Portia have been very proud of their step towards gaining marriage equality for all same sex couples across America. Ellen is a proud humanitarian who engages herself with charitable causes across the world and also stands strongly for animal rights.

Ellen has been viewed as an icon of phenomenal success and strength. Her ever expanding network of global significance keeps growing as she proves to the world that being happy and being who you truly are must be complementary terms in order to produce a successful life. May she keep putting a wide smile across our faces forever. We love you Ellen!

Picture Credits: Fox News

Joyee Bhattacharya

[email protected]

 

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DU Annual Fest Season

Day 2 at Tarang’17 : Thriving on thrills

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A confluence of talent, enigma, and exuberance, the second day at Tarang gleamed with enthralling events and exhibitions to be lavished upon!

As the extravagance spilt over the second day of Lady Shri Ram College’s fest, Tarang, a vast spectrum of talent exhibitions was gloriously presented by teams from a multitude of colleges. With colours of vibrancy and exhilaration floating around the rooms and corridors of LSR, the penultimate day of the fest let spirits soar high and eyes feast upon all the magnificence as a day of exhilaration unfolded!

The day witnessed events of a broad range – from the photography competition, the treasure hunt, and the script writing competition to workshops scaling around sculpting and jewellery-making. Vaktritva, the public speaking society, organised Tarkvyuh, the parliamentary debate competition. Gaurav and Pratyush from the Delhi School of Economics cross team won the Hindi parliamentary debate.

An a cappella competition titled A Cappella – Pitch Please organised by the western music society of Lady Shri Ram College saw the final participation of the nine best western music societies. The melodies of Coldplay, Twenty One Pilots, and other contemporary artists were performed on the stage. The competition was judged by Miss Sherry Mathew and Miss Kamakshi Khanna. At the end of all the performances, Kamakshi Khanna, singer/composer of “The Stage” fame, took the stage and performed three songs from her latest album Cakewalk. “It’s so great to be back here, back to my favourite auditorium”, said Kamakshi, who is also the ex-President of the western music society of Lady Shri Ram College. The results of the completion were as follows: first position grabbed by Euphony of Gargi College, the second position was secured by Echo of Jesus and Mary College, and Swaranjali of Hansraj College seized the third position.

The competitive pulses escalating with every question, the quiz society unrolled the pop culture and India quizzes. The former, open to all participants, witnessed cross-college teams. In the pop culture quiz, Abhishek Kapoor, Akul Gurtu, and M Vishnu Vardhan bagged the first prize, with Varun Rastogi, Rabin Jacob, and Puranjay winning the second prize. The third prize was awarded to Raktim Nag, Raman U, and Gokul S. In the India quiz, Soumya Sagar, Kartik Puri, and Ankush Bhardwaj secured the first prize. Apratim Chandra Singh, Jayant Verma, and Bishal Kumar took the second prize and Ankur Agraj, Abhishek Mishra, and Priyam Sneha bagged the third prize.

The Indian musical society of LSR organised Bandish, the solo instrumental competition, with participants displaying their prowess on the equipment of their choice. The room was filled with melodies of beats circling the atmosphere with each participant.

The aesthetic creations were also presented by Hive, which organised the musical interpretation painting competition. The first prize was won by Narendra of College of Arts, with Anishka from Kamala Nehru College and Sushmita from Deshbandhu College bagging the second and third prizes respectively. A Special Mention prize was also awarded to Avani from Hans Raj College.

 

As the chords crawled in the depths of the heart, the dance society presented Mudra, the classical solo and duet competition. A myriad of riveting performances clad in artistic precision and cultural aura paved the way for applauses and appreciation. In the solo category, Aishwarya from Sri Venkateswara College, Nimisha from Janaki Devi Memorial College bagged the first and second prizes respectively. Chhavi from Gargi College and Unni Vishwanath from Hans Raj College won the Special Mention prize. In the duet category, Tejaswani and Nandita from Hans Raj College were awarded the first prize.

 

 

To set in motion the rhythmic wave for the evening, the Indian musical society organised Amalgam, the fusion band competition which witnessed the participation of six teams after the screening of 17-18 teams online. As the bands performed compelling compositions from the realms of the industry and that of the soul, the crowd collectively cheered for the beautiful ambience. With Hans Raj College seizing the third prize and Shiv Nadar University bagging the second, the team from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College was awarded the winning prize in this enthralling event.

 

A glimpse of the fusion band competition

 

Drawing the eventful day to a close, Tarang’s pro night on the second day witnessed the enigmatic presence of the EDM artist Anish Sood. An Indian musician leading the path to Electronic Dance Music within the periphery of the country, the DJ played the likes of The Chainsmokers’ Closer and Don’t Let Me Down, amongst other songs and compositions. The tunes sent the audience into a daze, who swayed rhythmically to the edgy music and went gaga over the artist. With the lights shining at their brightest and the waves of energy palpable, the evening ended on high notes and the crowd yearning for more!

Anish Sood live at #LSRTarang17 

Feature image credits: DU Beat 

Saumya Kalia

[email protected]

Niharika Dabral

[email protected]

Vineeta Rana 

[email protected] 

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DU Annual Fest Season

Day 1 at LSR’s Tarang’17: ‘Redefining Rhapsody’ kicks off with a bang

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Lady Shri Ram College’s much-awaited annual fest, Tarang, is finally here. Tarang 2017, with its theme of “redefining rhapsody” is a three-day long spectacle taking place from the 3rd to the 5th of February 2017. With starry pro nights, exhibitions, games, competitions, workshops and great food, the first day of Tarang was definitely a hit.

 

Take a look at the Day 1 happenings at Tarang captured by us in time-lapse. 

 

 

The western music society of LSR organised events for both solo participants, as well as teams of three. In the solo category, Zacharyah Matthew Abraham of Ansal University,  Kishore Ningthoujam of Amity University and Gurpreet Kaur of Jesus and Mary College won first, second and third place respectively. In the trio category, Kishore Ningthoujam, Lishma Manandhar and Rhea Toor, accompanied by Saarim Khan from Amity University won the first prize, Shikha Agnihotri, G.S Kasturi and Manikaant Suryan, accompanied by Ujjwal Sharma and Ashanka Saha from NSIT won the second prize and Riddhi Sharma, Rigzin Angmo and Klirka Engtipi from Shri Ram College of Commerce won the third prize.

The dramatics society of the college held its stage play event “Yavnika”, and presented five of the best productions of this year. Among the participants were – Yakshagana, the theatre society of Northern India Engineering College, who performed “Shunya Battey Sannata”; Sri Venkateswara College’s Verbum, with “Learning to Drive”, a nonchalant yet hard-hitting play that revolved around child sexual abuse; Natuve, the theatre society of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College with their hilarious production “PA…BHA…KA…”; Shunya, the theatre society of Ramjas College with “Evam Indrajit”. The last performance of the day was “The Play That Goes Wrong” by Dramanomics, the theatre society of the College of Vocational Studies. The non-competitive event allowed the different societies to showcase their performances without any rivalry.

 

SlamNation, a slam poetry completion organised by the Elocution Society saw powerful recitals of spoken word performances. 

The umbrella painting competition conducted under Hive, the Fine Arts society, brightened up the amphitheatre with vibrant and colourful creations.

Check out a sneak peek from the competition

The latter half of Day 1 at Tarang saw a steady rise in footfall, perhaps in anticipation of the star performances scheduled for later in the evening.

The Indian music society organised ‘Malhar’, the Indian solo classical competition. Bhargavi from Kirori Mal College claimed the first position, while second position was shared by Shreya from Shri Ram College of Commerce and Gurditt from Guru Tegh Bahadur Institute of Technology. Rajagopal from Shiv Nadar University took the third place.

“Izzaz”, the choreo group dance competition was organised by LSR’s dance society. The first position was jointly shared by Hans Raj College and Gargi College, while the second position was won by Kirori Mal College.

 

Towards the end of the night, Kanika Kapoor made a short appearance to endorse fashion brand Lulu and Sky. She gave away vouchers of the brand to winners from a previously organised competition and sung a few of her songs like ‘Chittiyan Kalaiyan’ and ‘Da Da Dasse’ on popular audience demand.  The highlight of the day was Prateek Kuhad’s soulful concert. He had the crowd completely captivated with his honey-like voice and lilting music.

 

Missed Prateek Kuhad’s performance? We’ve got you covered! Catch a glimpse of his performance below

 

 

 

The first day of Tarang also offered a range of workshops on pottery, jewellery making and modern calligraphy. With such an energetic start, the next two days of the fest are surely something to look forward to.

Feature image credits: Harshit Thukral

Niharika Dabral

[email protected]


Kriti Sharma
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Vineeta Rana

[email protected]

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Daulat Ram College

Sexual Assault Victim from DRC Resists Pressure to Change Statement in FIR

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DRC victim of sexual assault

The student who was sexually assaulted by a bank employee in Daulat Ram College was under pressure to change her statement in the FIR.

A first-year student from Daulat Ram College was sexually assaulted by an employee of the Indian Overseas Bank branch on campus on the 18th of January 2017 while commuting to college. The 52 year old accused, Devinder Kumar, had apparently helped out the victim when she needed funds for her mother’s treatment. He was arrested by the police under Section 354 for molestation, which is a non-bailable offence. The college authorities were informed by fellow students to whom the victim narrated the entire incident. The police investigated the case and the accused confessed to his crime. The victim underwent counselling after the assault while the guilty was held in custody.

During a personal interview with the victim recently, she disclosed that she had been under pressure to change her statement in the FIR against the guilty. Although she has not made any changes to her statement, she revealed that she was repeatedly asked by some officials of the bank, as well as the college faculty, to change her statement to lessen the impact of the issue. The accused is no longer in custody despite having confessed to the crime after having been granted bail by the magistrate. The victim revealed that Kumar managed to get bail within the first week of his arrest due to his contacts in the judiciary. She also revealed that she is only backed by a government prosecutor who, until now, has failed to keep the case going strong for her. The next hearing of the case has been postponed. The victim and her family are very disappointed with the lackadaisical attitude of the judicial system towards the case.

The girl shared her horrific experience and the superficial sympathy she’s being shown by her fellow college mates. She said that she had heard people talking behind her back, claiming that she was at fault because she chose to travel with the accused even after he made her uncomfortable earlier. The victim also girl expressed her anguish while talking of the students’ union of the college. The same students who stood up against the unkempt infrastructure before elections have now chosen to limit this case to a petty issue because of the focus on the upcoming fests in the college. These events have garnered more attention than supporting a victim of sexual assault in their college by an employee of the college. “College and court hearings are a part of my life now but I won’t step back,” she said. She boldly stated that she wants her case to be re-examined so that she can get justice.

Image Credits: nyccriminallawyer.com

By Radhika Boruah ([email protected])

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DUB Speak

The invoking of patriotism

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Invoking patriotism

Over the entire course of the evolution of humanity, patriotism has been the tantalisingly sensitive concept which has held together the very fabrics of co-existence. At the same time, even its slightest manipulation for the parsimonious politics has created the greatest of unrests in the world order, making the phenomenon detrimental at both cause and effect ends; something which the world realized in 1914 and again in 1939. But certain lessons are never learnt.

Today, as the world bears witness to the gradual shift from the conventional to an era of neo-realist politics sugarcoated in the theories of post truth and alternative facts, it is intentionally made to overlook a global conspiracy of implied xenophobia. The election victories are shaped on hate speeches on any line which demarcates a set of majority from a minority, or at least appeases the former.

A section of people in India and Pakistan believe that a war will solve all their problems. Donald Trump’s America believes that creating a wall at the Mexican Border will end all their misery. Many British believe that Brexit will once again make them the rulers of the world, and a section of Australia and many other European nations believe that the immigrants are better left to perish due to cold and starvation. Remarkably, according to their local leaders, they all are the true patriots.

Howard Zinn in ‘The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy’ writes that, “If patriotism were defined, not as blind obedience to government, not as submissive worship to flags and anthems, but rather as love of one’s country, one’s fellow citizens (all over the world), as loyalty to the principles of justice and democracy, then patriotism would require us to disobey our government, when it violated those principles.”

It had never been as important as today to rise above this politics of segregation, and identify oneself beyond the selfish lines of race, religion and nationality, because at the end of the day, as Zinn writes, it all boomerangs.

With inputs from: The Zinn Reader – Writings on Disobedience and Democracy, Howard Zinn, Seven Stories Press, 1997

Nikhil Kumar

[email protected]

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DUB News

Chidambaram’s speech at Blisspoint ’17

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“No nation was rich in the past… You cannot become rich by hunting animals”
-P. Chidambaram

On 23rd January, 2017, former Finance minister P. Chidambaram arrived at Sri Venkateswara College as a chief guest for Blisspoint ’17, the annual fest of the Economics department.His gentle speech, laced with truisms and prophecies and lots of advice for the younger generation, seemed befitting for an audience comprising economics enthusiasts.He was in character. And it left an impact, though many were probably disappointed that the word ‘demonetisation’ didn’t actually make it into the speech. Even so, the issues circling the crux of the matter sure did.

The minister began with the origins of a liberal economy, since the theme of the fest was ‘Celebrating 25 Years of Economic Reforms’. And while tracing the uphill journey to liberalisation in India in 1991, he was mindful of the fact that it has not always been a bed of roses. The reforms did not make people rich. But, and this he emphasized, they gave the masses a basic freedom — economic freedom is like political freedom, like the right to vote or to voice opinions freely in a democracy.

Where the ball left the court was when some of the points were tactfully raised, but never talked about beyond a certain limit. Of course, the UPA government’s achievements were recounted. Today there are no investors, no ‘risk-takers’, as he lamented.But then, there was no lingering upon the dismal effects which capitalism and a free, competitive economy has upon small-scale businesses and handicrafts.

It was all in good faith when the minister said, “We don’t see that now,” regarding the swollen bellies and decaying teeth of children in rural India. Some development has surely graced the interiors of the country. But he made no mention of casteism. Amidst all the cheering for India’s phenomenal ‘growth’ (despite the 2008 global financial crisis, he reminds us), the issue of caste discrimination does not even find a mention. Ironically, the Sociology department had invited Dalit activist Bezwada Wilson just last year. And he had vehemently identified caste-based practices as the largest force driving poverty and backwardness in rural India still.

All things said and done, P.Chidambaram ended his speech with a bang, on a matter much discussed: “We cannot allow Trump-ism in India. Even America will suffer if it succeeds there.”Clearly, the minister had made a crisp statement and raised some issues to be pondered upon and debated in the upcoming budget.

Deepannita Misra
[email protected]

Image Credits – Blisspoint, Sri Venkateswara College

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DUB Speak

The invoking of Patriotism

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Over the entire course of the evolution of humanity, patriotism has been the tantalizingly sensitive concept which has held together the very fabrics of co-existence. At the same time, even its slightest manipulation for the parsimonious politics has created the greatest of unrests in the world order, triggering phenomenon detrimental at both cause and effect ends; something which the world realized in 1914 and again in 1939. But certain lessons are never learnt.

Today as the world bears witness to the gradual shift from the conventional to an era of neo-realist politics sugarcoated in the theories of post truth and alternative facts, it is intentionally made to overlook a global conspiracy of implied xenophobia. There is this politics of hatred at play all around the world, against the social, racial and demographic minorities, flourishing by virtue of a lullabied majority, all in the name of patriotism.

The election victories are shaped on hate speeches on any line which demarcates a set of majority from a minority or at least appeases the former. Employing Islamophobia, Transphobia, racial bias or a sense of hostility to the immigrants, the majority in every nation is made to believe that the minority is the root cause of all their problems.

A section of people in India and Pakistan believe that a war will solve all their problems. Donald Trump’s America believes that creating a wall at the Mexican Border will end all their misery. Many Brits believe that Brexit will once again make them the king of the world and a section of Australia and many other European nations believe that the immigrants are better left to perish. Remarkably, according to their local leaders, they all are the true patriots.

Howard Zinn in ‘The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy’ writes, “If patriotism were defined, not as blind obedience to government, not as submissive worship to flags and anthems, but rather as love of one’s country, one’s fellow citizens (all over the world), as loyalty to the principles of justice and democracy, then patriotism would require us to disobey our government, when it violated those principles.”
It has never been as important as today to rise above this politics of segregation and identify oneself beyond the selfish lines of race, religion and nationality because at the end of the day, as Zinn writes, it all boomerangs.

Nikhil Kumar
[email protected]
Reference- The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy, Howard Zinn, Seven Stories Press, 1997

Image Credit- Nikhil Kumar for DU Beat

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DUB News

Environmenal History: A necessary compulsion

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environmental history

During the two day workshop on ‘Networking on Eco-Historic and Cultural Heritage of India’ at Lady Doak College, Associate Professor Vipul Singh from the Department of History, University of Delhi talked about the need for Environmental History to be a compulsory interdisciplinary course and also develop into a separate discipline in undergraduate and post graduate courses.

 

Lady Doak College has already been in the news numerous times for their plans to be a carbon neutral college and their zero waste policy amongst others. During his talk, Vipul Singh focused on the increased employment opportunities of the course along with how the subject can help tackle climate change. Explaining the interdisciplinary approach, he explained how a historian’s emphasis on tracing the past could lead to better environment conservative.

 

Environment History is the study of interaction between human and nature in the past, a rather new course in India that is currently included in the MA/MSc syllabus of History and Environmental History of University of Delhi but not as a separate discipline.

 

Source: Hindu, Times of India

 

Adarsh Yadav

[email protected]

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DUB News

Colleges under University of Delhi planning to seek autonomous status

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Prestigious colleges like St. Stephen’s College, Hindu College, Ramjas College and Sri Ram College of Commerce are planning to seek deemed autonomous university status.

A few prestigious institutions under the University of Delhi, namely, St. Stephen’s College, Hindu College, Ramjas College, Sri Ram College of Commerce and colleges run by theDelhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee, have expressed the desire of achieving a deemed university status. The proposals are at very initial stages, but if granted, these colleges will have the power to formulate their own rules and fee structures which will not adhere to the functioning of Delhi University.

ramjas-college-autonomous-status 

srcc-autonomous-status

 

The matter was raised in the governing body meeting of Hindu college, and it was declared that in later stages if a college wants a deemed university status, they must have an ‘A grade’ accreditation under NAAC for 3 consecutive years. A senior university official stated, “Few colleges like SRCC, Stephen’s, Ramjas, Hindu and the ones run by the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee want deemed university status. The Union Human Resource Development Ministry has also formulated some norms for providing more autonomy to colleges but deemed status will give them complete freedom of functioning on their own”. It has been speculated that if this status is granted to any of these colleges, they will not be bound by any of the rules and regulations of Delhi University, and thus there will be no need to seek sanctions from the University for any decision. Despite of all these proposals, it has also been speculated that the Student Unions of these colleges might oppose this move because the college will then have a liberty of deciding their own fee structure, and thus there might be a price hike in the fee which would make affordability a great reason of concern for many students.

z
Hindu College 

St. Stephen’s College has already been in a tussle with the University of Delhi for the past couple of years regarding an autonomous status. Attempts to reach out to the Student Union of the college for their comments were unsuccessful.

Image credits:

SRCC: voice of the nation.com

Hindu: DU Beat

Ramjas: batchmates.com

Stephen’s: mirrorfect.in

Joyee Bhattacharya
[email protected]

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Arts & Culture

Vayam Society performs 1500 ka Dost

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In the last ten years, the Vayam Performing Arts Society has been steadily growing and expanding its scope, gaining for itself both recognition and experience. What began as an idea in the canteen of Delhi University’s Shivaji College in 2006 has now over 500 productions and 180 awards and special performances to its name. And Vayam’s name, a Sanskrit word that translates to “we”, carries within itself the ideas that society hopes to embody – togetherness, social empowerment and integrity.

Taking the initiative of promotion of artists and art forms forward, the society recently staged their fresh and impactful theatrical production ‘1500 ka dost’ at Akshara Theater in Delhi for the first time.

With a new beginning to the New Year, the two shows of the play were packed with enthusiastic spectators to an extent that there was no space to stand in the auditorium as people were sitting on stairs to watch the performances. The hall resonated with a round of applause after both shows. The shades of humour, emotions and nostalgia made the play enthralling, captivating and entertaining for the viewers.

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The actors of the play do a brilliant job of infusing authenticity and credibility into the story. Each scene of the play is intertwined beautifully to enliven the old sweet flavours of friendship in everyone’s mind. The three directors of the play viz. Ashtam Neelkanth, Rahul Saini and Amit Tiwari left no stone unturned to make the play a landmark production. Their vision and technical skills have given wings to an idea by turning it into a spectacular theatrical masterpiece. The entire cast and crew including Ravi Bhadoria, Samridhi Dutta, Praveen Pillai, Rakesh Kumar, Shalu Balyan, Achla Arya, Rahul Yadav, Ramjeet Rambhar, Amit Pahel, Gunjan Tiwari, Neha Mishra, Harsh Gautam, Nayan Nayyar, Prashant Shishodia, Deepak Maggo, Rahul Garg, Savya Jindal, Anmol Jain and Shravan Kumarhas worked for almost three months to polish their characters. The precision and execution of the screenplay is superlative. The smart use of concordant music and lights complements the scenes and makes the entire experience of watching the play all the more interesting and worthy.

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The audience moved out of the auditorium overwhelmed with the quality of theatre that they witnessed. There were words of praise and appreciation all around on the conclusion of the event as the audience and organisers were delighted with the proceedings of the event. From décor to arrangements, performance to feedback, the event was a success. The audience could be seen experiencing a mixed bag of emotions throughout the performance. Warm smiles and affectionate tears could be seen in one sight. The feedback cards were evident of the extent to which the play moved the audience. Post cards were distributed to the audience to motivate them for writing a wholehearted message to their old friends.  The highlight of the production was its immaculate direction, stimulating concept and a high-spirited, resplendent cast. The production seemed all the more special and powerful because of the presence of persons with disability in the cast. The event was organised in partnership with “Yes! We Can”, an NGO that supports the cause of disability. The support and encouragement of 12 partner organisations including BSE India Ltd., Ekaa industries and ItsPossible Group added more glitter and excellence to the event. The hard work and perseverance of cast and crew is remarkable and has brought glory to journey of Vayam.

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With its well established campus wing in Shivaji College, University of Delhi and professional wing based in Delhi and Mumbai, Vayam is making eminent progress to fulfill its aim to become a driver of social change by means of art. The society is also currently recruiting interested budding artists, script writers, directors, technicians and volunteers to expand its scale of activities.

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