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Mridul Sharma

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For most of us out here, our right hand is of prime importance and left hand is a supporting one. However, not many but a significant number of people around are the ones who use their left hand for activities like eating, writing etc. The world has had numerous famous left handed people like Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Amitabh Bachchan and Kapil Sharma to name a few, however not many know that using your left hand is not the opposite of using your right hand. It has to its credit, many more complications.

So on International Left hander’s Day today, we hereby present, seven irritating and unique things only left handed people could relate to:

1. It hurts but I never show, this pain you’ll never know.

It could be writing on the spiral registers or the three steel  ring binder, either you compromise with the writing speed or your handwriting, because if not, it is going to hurt, for the spiral/steel rings press into your hand, and that is as annoying as uncomfortable.

spiral

2. It is all designed for them ‘right handed’ people!

Be it the chairs placed at numerous tuition centers with special platform to write on, or the scissors, they are all designed for the right handed people. We left handed people are so not cared for in this regard.

desks

Even your favorite coffee mug needs to be held in the right hand so that its prettier side faces out.  The numeric keys are on the right hand side of the key board. Sad life people, sad life.

fact

 

3. Answer-sheets get smudged, hand gets inked.

No matter what degree of care you intend to exercise, this my friend is unavoidable.

inked it

4. The religious side to it.

Be it performance of any religious activities, left hand is totally banned to be used and right hand refuses to act despite of repeated reminders to the brain. Consequently, all you can do is feel embarrassed and make a fool out of yourself.

wooh

 

5. People stare.

Left handed people usually develop a different style of writing that suits them best and makes them write in flow, but people find it absurd and never forget to stare and make comments at times.

stare

 

 

6. Elbows collide.

Be it the classroom desk or the dinner table, left handed people can never sit peacefully with right handed people sitting left of them, for the elbows keep colliding with each other.

Hardworkers

7. The Question Hour.

Like so much of discomfort wasn’t enough, the prying eyes of people always follow you. Not to forget the most irritating questions that follow like –

  • OMG! You are left handed?”

  “No No, I am just bored.”

  • “So you do everything with your left hand?”

“No no, of course not, what makes you think so?”

they will be

  • How can you write with your left hand?

       Just like you do, with your right hand bro, just like that.

 

With all these funny little things, we celebrate the uniqueness of all left handed folks out there.

Here’s wishing all our left handed readers a happy International Left Handers Day 2014!

 

 

The Delhi University students for Peaceis a student  managed organisation working as a harbinger of peaceful and cordial relations between the people of  Hindustan of pre-independent era, the fragments that we now call, India and Pakistan.

The group believes that the division of the country into India and Pakistan has led to an atmosphere of mutual distrust, doubts and uncertainty. Consequently, both the nations haven’t only parted their name and resources but also their ways. There is a constant and continuously increasing expenditure on defense and military equipment.

This money could be utilized for social welfare and infrastructure development purposes in both nations where almost half the population still lives in abject poverty, has insufficient number of jobs, poor literacy standards and host of other issues plaguing the social status and scuttling the economy down on knees.

An overview of the journey: From New Delhi to Wagah Border (via Google Maps)

With this in minds, the DU students for Peace group has initiated a cycling program from New Delhi to Wagah Border starting from Friday, August 1st, 2014 around 1700 hours. Veteran Indian journalist, columnist, author and activist, Kuldip Nayyar shall flag off the event.

The group of around fifty cyclists shall leave from New Delhi and reach Wagah Border on the Thursday, 14th of August, 2014 for joint celebrations of India and Pakistan’s independence. The cyclists shall also stop by in numerous villages and run signature campaigns for their cause and meet local politicians and leaders for gathering support.

T

du students
‘DU Students for Peace’ members: all geared up for a cycling march.

The group consists of students from numerous Delhi University colleges, Law Faculty, Arts faculty, Ambedkar College and Satyawati College to name a few. They’ve also been joined by some students from Jamia, Dhaka, Vijaywada and Hyderabad.The group had organized a similar cyclists march from Kanyakumari to Islamabad in 2013 as well. (Read here.)

DU Students for Peace has also been conducting numerous flash mobs and nukkar-nataks in and around the Delhi University campus for propagation of their message of peace and to appeal students to join the noble cause.

flashmob
The team members of DU Students for Peace performing a flash mob at Vishwa Vidyalaya Metro Station. Image Credits: Chirag Sharma for DU Beat.

The movement this group envisaged has mustered great support from numerous eminent personalities including Sh. Narendra Modi (Prime Minsiter of India) Sh. Siddaramaiah (Chief Minister, Karnataka) , Ashok Gehlot (Ex- Chief Minister, Rajashtan), Bhupinder Singh Hooda (Chief Minister, Haryana), Sh. HD Deve Gowda (former Prime Minister of India) and former Supreme Court Justice and Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde. Numerous other MPs and MLAs  have also extended their support to the group.

Talking about long term goals, Praveen Kumar Singh (MA, Department of Buddhist Studies) , Convener, DU students for Peace says, “We are optimistic about the future of our initiative, there is enough enthusiasm being shown by the youth of both India as well as Pakistan. We plan to conduct this cyclists’ march on yearly basis for collaborative celebration of India and Pakistan’s independence day on August 14th and 15th every year. We are also working towards spending the winter vacation in neighboring countries for promoting homogeneity and mutual peace.”

 The detailed itinerary of the cycling plan for the Independence Day celebrations march for the year 2014. 

 

The group also went to Dhaka via Kathmandu  for a similar purpose in the winter of 2013.  In this visit, DU students for Peace  expects to be joined by students from Quaid-e-Azam University and Government College University (Lahore) from Pakistan for the collaborated independence day celebrations on August 14th and 15th, 2014.

For students who are interested to be a part of this excursion, contact Praveen Kumar Singh (MA, Department of Buddhist Studies) at +91 – 93104- 07203, drop a mail at [email protected] or visit their Facebook page by clicking here.

 Featured Image credits: Manish Bhardwaj for DU Students for Peace.

Amid the tall buildings, chasing cars and hustle and bustle of the city of New Delhi, the Delhi metro has become rather, what we call the lifeline of the city. As millions of people travel from one end to the other via the tube, it also has its own pros and cons to offer. Following are the ten unique ways one could think of to spend time while traveling in the Delhi metro.

1. Plug in some music, plug out the world!

Plug in your pair of ear phones, play some cool music, sing along with all the expressions. Tap your feet, nod your head, pace the nods up and down in sync with the beats of music and enjoy metro partying.

music

2. Eavesdrop on conversations

That middle aged man who is probably yelling at someone on phone,but his voice reaches couple of adjoining compartments. The agitated wives complaining about mother in laws and fighting with husbands on phone, the young couples flirting using cheesy pick up lines or the group of ‘cool’ college students apparently having loud fun.

Try overhearing or not, the voices shall fall on your eardrums and irritate, no matter what!

make it stop

3. Get used to casual lies and casual fights!

Don’t be surprised if the people in your coach are ready to fight at the slightest instigation, an unintentional push or a lame argument. The weather here is so, the blood of people is always ready to boil.

izzie

Neither be surprised as you hear people say on phone, “Yeah! I’m at Rajiv Chowk”, when they are actually not past Saket. Yes, no one would ever tell their exact location, that’s like the trend. Get immune to it and learn fast!

4. Unleash the mathematician in you!

Count the number of stations you’ve covered and the time taken. Then count the number of stations left until you reach your destination, multiply it with the time taken per station, and calculate total time you’re supposed to be doing practically nothing. Measure the accuracy of your estimated calculation once you alight and feel proud.

count

When bored of this, next time count the number of people in your coach, frequency of people boarding and deboarding etc.

5. Hone your observation and deduction skills

Observe the people traveling with you in the metro and try thinking about their stories, everyone has a story after all. The mustached man digging his face in the latest edition of TOI, the man who dozed off with a gaping mouth, the students studying for exams like it is the end of the world, everyone has a story of their own.

sherlock2

 

Smile, sit back and think.Yes.

6. Sleep!

Once when you completely get tired of sticking on to the moron maroon plastic thing, put your head down, acknowledge that you are tired, and give the body a rest with a power nap.

just exhausted

7. Strike random conversations with strangers

Your fellow passengers are all sailing in the same boat as yourself. Be nice to them, occasionally smile and strike up a conversation about the sun, the moon, the oilfields. Tell them what do you think about the Achche Din. You could seriously try your hand at date picking/ match making too, you never know, it might just happen.

ted

 

8. Unleash the poet in you!

After all the desperate attempts of finding a seat, stand by the door and gaze outside from the window. Tell yourself, ‘What is life if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare’. As you see the amazing beauty of under construction buildings, packed houses, chasing cars and crowded markets, say to yourself ‘for men may come and men may go, but life goes on forever’.

leisure

PS- Don’t try in case of underground metro stations, you’ll be nothing but disappointed.

9. Here, are you the short one?

Are you the short/medium height Delhi metro commuter, and are sick of running into pot bellies and sweaty armpits in this scorching summer? Well, all you could do to get rid of this torturous predicament is to stay active and pounce upon a seat the moment someone’s body language indicates a  soon-to-happen vacancy. If that’s not possible, well then, wait for the summer to get over. Count the days, and brace yourselves!

winter

 

10. Be the dead man walking!

Not many people do it, but certainly one of my favorite ways to kill time in the metro. Keep walking, wandering aimlessly listening to music, from one end to the other, there are chances you might meet someone you know to talk to, unless that person ignores you thinking you are crazy too. (Of course others will!)

sleepwalking

 

Featured Image Credits: www.delhionclick.com

Gif Credits – www.tumblr.com

As the University of Delhi announced the final semester results for the under graduation class of 2011, post the initial cheer, celebration and nostalgia came the apprehensions for post graduation admissions.  The students who’ve graduated from the University of Delhi are looking for admissions in their favorite post graduation colleges.

However, what remains uncertain is the documents required for admissions to various colleges not only in DU, but in other Indian universities, IIMs and other foreign colleges. Not only ascertaining which documents are required for admissions is a problem, but also the procedure of procurement is unknown to many students.

So, in order to ease out the process of admissions and documents procurement, what follows is a list of documents required for post graduate admissions by every college as you walk in to fill their pre-admission forms –

1. Provisional Certificate 

The University of Delhi gives  the official degrees to the graduates in the month of March every year. Hence, the proper degrees of students of class of 2011- 2014 shall be released in the month of March, 2015. (The exact date shall be intimated by the University in mid February itself.)  In place of the official DU degrees, each college issues a provisional certificate to all its students to acknowledge a bonafide association with the college and University. Once available, the certificate can be collected from the college administrative block.

2. Delhi University Semester Mark-sheets

The University of Delhi no longer issues mark sheets to the students, neither semester wise, nor yearly, nor at the end of the course. The students are supposed to take print outs of their score sheets as they check their results online. The printed mark sheet needs to be stamped and attested by the college principals in order to validate it. The mark-sheet without attestation won’t be considered a reliable document.

[caption id="attachment_24420" align="aligncenter" width="671"]mridulres1 The Delhi University Mark-sheet print out to be attested by college principals for verification.[/caption] The print out of the mark-sheet should be taken as early as possible, as the University of Delhi doesn’t maintain the results online for a long time.

3. Migration Certificate 

If you are planning to switch over to some university/ college outside the ambit of University of Delhi, you’ll also require the Migration Certificate. The candidates need to fill in forms for issuance of the Migration certificate, form being available at DU’s official website. (Click here  to view the form.)

[caption id="attachment_24421" align="aligncenter" width="621"]Untitled The Migration Certificate form of University of Delhi.[/caption]

The form needs to be submitted at the respective North campus ( Academic Branch?II North Campus, University of  Delhi, Delhi?110007)  and  South campus (Academic Branch, South Campus, University of Delhi, New Delhi?110021)  offices.

The documents to be attached along are the attested DU mark-sheet and provisional certificate along with a fees of Rs. 500.

The certificate can be collected from the same place where the form was submitted within ten working days of application.

4. Class Xth Pass Certificate.

The class Xth pass certificate acts as a proof for the Date of Birth, self attested copies of the same are required to be submitted along the admission forms in all colleges.

5. Category Certificate

If you are seeking admission to any college on basis of  belonging to a category other than General such as the SC/ST/OBC,  you are required to furnish the apt certificate to prove your claim. The certificate should be issued in the candidate’s name. Any certificate in parent’s name shall not be considered reliable for admissions.

The list is however not exhaustive, for different colleges might have some other specific requirements, but it definitely includes the most basic and essential documents to be kept handy for admissions. You could also keep other important certificates, Certificate of Merit, ID proofs, passport size photographs, achievement certificates, LORs etc handy, in case you need to furnish them.

We wish you a quick and hassle free admission to the college of your dreams!

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The Non Collegiate Women’s Education Board of University of Delhi has released its first cut off for admission to BA (Programme) and B. Com on Tuesday, July 8th, 2014.

NCWEB provides an opportunity for the working women who support their family and do not wish to compromise on their education. The Board has thirteen centers a over Delhi, such as Bharti College in Janak Puri, Hans Raj College in North Campus and Jesus and Mary College in the South Campus, to name a few.

Each NCWEB centre has 284 seats for BA (Programme) and 184 seats for B.Com, with  proportionate reservations for candidates coming from the categories such as SC/ST/OBC/PwD, as per the Delhi University guidelines.

The fees for admission approximates around 3500 INR.

All of the 13 centres are considered equally competent and have more or less, the same reputation. Hence, the NCWEB suggests the candidates to seek admission in the centre nearest to their residence. Once admitted to a centre, the admission is non transferable for the entire duration of the course.

A minimum qualification of having studied and cleared class XIIth is a necessity, failing which the admission shall not be granted.

The admission to NCWEB is on the basis of  ‘best of four’ percentage secured by the candidate in 10+2 examination, and the criterion is laid down as follows

  • BA (Programme) – One language and three other subjects which could include maximum one vocational subject.
  • B. Com – One language, Business Studies, Accountancy and one other subject, maybe a vocational subject.

The cut offs laid by the board is different for every study centre  and can be accessed by clicking the following link,here.

The admission on the basis of first cut off list shall go on from July 9th – July 11th, 2014. The second and third cut off would be announced on July 14th and July 18th respectively.

For further information, visit the official website of NCWEB at www.ncweb.du.ac.in

 

 

 

The University of Delhi colleges have released the third cut off for undergraduate admissions for the academic year 2014-15. While numerous famous Delhi University colleges have closed the admissions for general category in courses like Commerce and Economics Honors, quite a few colleges are still open for the admissions. Check out the cutoffs of the colleges by following the given links.

1. Shri Ram College of Commerce – Click here.

2. Daulat Ram College –  Click here.

3.  SGTB Khalsa College – Click here.

4. Kirori Mal College – Click here.   

5. SGTB Khalsa College – Click here.

6. Miranda House College – Click here.

7. Hans Raj College – Click here.

The admissions on basis of third cut off shall begin from Tuesday, July 8th, 2014 and shall go on until Thursday, July 10th, 2014. The fourth list shall be released on July 10th, 2014 evening.

The fee structure for all the colleges has been specified at the respective college websites.

For a detailed list of documents required for admissions to Delhi University, refer to the following link.

The admission process of the University of Delhi for the academic year 2014-15 has been surrounded by dark clouds of uncertainty. After an emergency meeting of the Principals Association of the University of Delhi, it was announced that the admission proceedings scheduled to begin from tomorrow, June 24th, 2014  have been stalled until clear-cut guidelines are issued by the competent authority on the issue. The news was later confirmed by Nandita Narain, President, Delhi University Teachers Association. However contrary to the above announcements, one of the prestigious most colleges of University of Delhi, Shri Ram College of Commerce has already come out with its first undergraduate admissions cut off list for academic year 2014-15. The list of percentage eligibility criterion is now available on the official web site of the college. The percentage cut off mark for admissions to Commerce for candidates belonging to General category has been kept at 97.50 %.  The cut off for candidates seeking admission to the course of Economics is 97.75%. The percentages for students belonging to OBC, SC and ST category has been specified along for both the courses. . The candidates meeting the issued eligibility criterion are to report in the college campus for admissions on any of the three days of June 24th, 25th and 26th, 2014 between 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The fee earmarked against both the courses of Commerce and Economics is 15000 INR and the list of documents required for admission has been attached along with the notification. Check out the first cut off list of Shri Ram College of Commerce here. The cut off list and conduct of admissions is however subject to the directions of University Grants Commission and the University of Delhi.

The University Grant’s Commission has tightened the noose around the controversial Four Year Under graduation programme (FYUP) of Delhi University. The UGC has issued a directive asking all DU colleges to admit students under the previous format of three year under graduation.UGC has also warned the colleges of severe consequences in a situation where in the directive is ignored or the freshly issued UGC admission guidelines are violated.

The statement issued by the UGC explicitly reads,” Under no circumstances shall the University of Delhi or any of the colleges under it admit students to the FYUP for academic year 2014-15.” The statement also provides for an option of hassle free migration to the three-year programme for students of batch 2013-14. The commission has ensured that the students who have studied their first year under the FYUP format shall be at no disadvantage. They will be able to acquire their complete educational competencies and academic skills, during the next two academic years.

ugc
The UGC is a statutory organisation charged with coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of university education.

Any deviation from the directive by the University of Delhi or any allied college shall amount to be in contravention of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 and shall have its consequences. The consequences include the cancellation of grants to colleges and de-recognizing of the degree so provided by the University of Delhi.

In order to ensure the proper execution and implementation of the directive, the UGG has decided to frame a ten member committee to advise the University of Delhi. The committee shall represent interests of all parties affected by the decision. The prominent names in run are of DUTA President Nandita Narain, DUSU president Aman Awana and Vice President of UGC.

“Even though any step towards the scrapping of FYUP is welcome, yet the timing of UGC intervention is rather bad. It defames the name of University and causes great mayhem at such a crucial time, where the admission process starts in colleges from Tuesday.” said, a student of FYUP batch of 2013-14.

images
The Lok Sabha election manifesto of BJP promised an absolute roll back of FYUP.

 

The decision of UGC came after Delhi University’s defiance of the Commission’s previous directive. The directive stated that the FYUP wasn’t in consonance with the National Education Policy of ’10+2+3′. In response to this, the University released a statement in press that explained how a student enrolled in B.A./ B.Sc/ B.Com would get an under graduation degree in three years of study and that the FYUP did not violate the ’10+2+3′ policy. The fourth year of study was just an optional year for student wishful of obtaining a B.A. Honors /B.Sc Honors/ B.Com Honors or B.Tech degree.

“After an emergency meeting of the Principals Association of the University of Delhi,  it has been decided that the admission proceedings scheduled to begin from tomorrow, have been stalled until clear-cut guidelines are issued by the competent authority on the issue. Hence, no undergraduate cut off list is expected to be issed tomorrow.” confirms Ms. Nandita Narain, President, Delhi University Teachers Association.

 

Hon’ble Union Minister Smt. Smriti Irani,

It is said the youth is the future of India, the building blocks, the ones capable to usher India into an era of economic health and stability. The youth has the strength and enthusiasm to shoulder the responsibility of bringing India at par with the super power nations of world.

However ironically, the valuable resource that has to its credit a whole cabinet ministry for its supposed ‘development’ isn’t safe courtesy the carelessness, lack of proper guidelines, lousy policies, no implementation and what not.

You did hear about the recent appalling incident of drowning of 24 Hyderabadi engineering students in the waters of river Beas in Himachal Pradesh. I’ve read your tweets about how sad the incident was and how everyone is at work for all the aid they could provide. However, the event, indeed has raised numerous questions on the safety of students on excursions and education trips. It is a bizarre example as to how the students on a field trip had to pay with their lives for a supposed development exercise through an ill planned practical exposure.

Also, does it make you ponder, could the catastrophe have been avoided had the management of the trip been a little cautious, or had the students been rather vigilant? Also, as the parents mourn the death of their young promising  children whose bodies are still being fished for, who takes the responsibility behind it all?

Something like education trips is common to numerous institutions, the University of Delhi being no exception. There are excursions, both official and non official, that happen almost every semester. Apart from this, courtesy the new curriculum introduced under the FYUP, the students are supposed to undertake trips/ excursions/visits rather regularly for research, sports etc.Also, the university’s exclusive initiative, the Gyanodaya  Express, takes 1000 DU students to places like Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore and Ahmedabad for the study tours every semester.

Thus, the disaster that happened with the students of  VNR Engineering College could happen to anyone and anywhere at any given moment. It might happen to me, it scares me, it might happen to the dearest of my friends or siblings or maybe someone dear to you.

Though Delhi University has specifically stated guidelines ensuring safety of students in NSS, NCC and  Gyanodaya Express study tours and camps, the teachers always do accompany students and there are proper orientation sessions are held by trained officials at the beginning, still in absolute absence of central laws and authority – responsibility relationships, how safe are these excursions?

India lost 24 future engineers last week, an irrevocable loss indeed. Individual endeavors could reduce the impact and frequency of such unforeseen accidents, but it doesn’t end the entire problem. The students, the so called ‘human resources’ are at risk of stress, molestation, racial discrimination ( as in the case of Arunanchal Pradesh student Nido Taniam’s kiling in Delhi) and evils of drug abuse and ragging, which sadly are reported in some nook or corner every year.

If not at a risk of serious physical damage, the students are being treated as lab rats in their own nation, experimenting education regimes and formats on them with utter apathy towards the student’s time, careers, desires and interests. How far could we go, with the plethora of ills plaguing and hindering the progress of the youth?

I understand  you’ve got the command of a sinking ship, but owing to the gravity of situation, whatever needs to be done, is to be done now. The youth doesn’t doubt you on basis of your qualifications, they are merely papers.  We are  positive enough and wait for the delivery of the ‘India’ so promised, the one which is synonymous to progress, overall education, sufficient employment and bright futures.

Formulation of strategies for student safety needs to be the prime concern. Policies need to be designed and procedures outlaid, faulty education programs need to be revamped. The voice of students’ interest ought to have a say in what affects them, so as to make the atmosphere of learning congenial, acceptable and secure, for the Achche Din that the government promises, won’t come until the youth is safe, prosperous and working hard to hitch the wagon of India to stars.

Yours sincerely

A concerned student and citizen of India.