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Kin Is In: Growing Nepotism In Modeling

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A new wave of supermodels overwhelmingly consists of celebrity kids. Armed with contacts, privilege, and nepotism, some starlets are unfairly gaining an edge over normal models.

In the west, unlike in India where people use modeling as a means of landing a film, modeling is considered ambitious. Girls as young as 13 struggle and aspire to land a runway gig. If you watch documentaries like Teen Model Factory of Russia by BBC, you’ll notice the hard work that youngsters put in to score a decent photo shoot. Modelling is something that has always been dismissed as trivial, but when we see the work put in by iconic models like Alessandra Ambrosio, Naomi Campbell and millions of other girls who go from casting to casting in high heels so that they could help their families back in a third world country, you can’t help but respect their hard work. In that case, when some pretty looking star kids just waltz into the room and land big campaigns simply because they are famous it feels very unfair.

Every other person who aspires to be a model looks good and has certain body measurements. Therefore, why someone got the job cannot be contested on objective grounds. However, the way celebrity kids have flooded the runway in recent years is making it too apparent how well-connected people are using their influence and approach to further their career.

Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, and Anwar Hadid, children of Yolanda Foster (former model and actor) have already begun to build a successful resume. They are followed by Georgia May Jagger (daughter of Mick and former model Jerry Hall), Sofia Alexandra Richie (daughter of singer and songwriter Lionel Richie), Hailey Baldwin (daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin), and Lily-Rose Depp (daughter of Jonny Depp) who have also managed to steal high-fashion shows and editorial spreads in a very short time period despite being shorter than 5ft 7 inch. Of course, they are good at what they do. Kaia Gerber, daughter of former supermodel Cindy Crawford, has a good height and good strut, but did she really deserve all the openings and closing at fall fashion week? She is good, but so are other girls.

Though we can’t dislike people simply because they belong to a famous family, but when they refuse to acknowledge their privilege it becomes problematic. When Kendall Jenner says, “I’m not trying to use a family name or anything. In reality, I worked pretty hard. It wasn’t like I just got it magically and it just happened”, she is being disingenuous. Of course, she is in the spotlight because she is a Jenner. Also, unlike other girls, she never had to struggle for rent, her agency didn’t tick her into a dubious contract simply because she came from another country, and she never navigated through subway while going to a casting. She can easily accept her privilege and move on but looks like in the world where obvious nepotism is flourishing without pretense, expecting honesty is way too much.

Like the transgender model, Arisce Wanzer rightly said in an open letter she wrote to Kendal Jenner, ‘Gone is the prestige you once felt as a “chosen one” by Marc, Anna or Ricardo — this cheapens your entire experience. You thought you were special, that your hard work had finally paid off. You didn’t realize that these coveted spots were for sale. The cost? The soul and dignity of a fashion house. The clothes will still sell, and the players will still play, but the image will be forever tarnished by these real-life Veruca Salts buying their way in with sleazy fame rights.’

Image Credits: Hollyscoop

 

Niharika Dabral
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DUB Speak

The Intrigue of Big Boss

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What is it that makes India’s number one show- Big Boss, so addictive? Is it the drama, our inherent fixation with gossip, insight into raw human behavior, or a combination of all?

Every year for three months, Big Boss becomes the daily fix of a majority of television watching Indians. Even though many people may dismiss that they watch Bigg Boss, but the truth is it’s not just the homemakers who follow the reality show. Steaming from the original Dutch TV series called Big Brother, Big Boss today has 54 franchises around the world. In India itself, it runs in Hindi, Bangla, Tamil, Telegu, and Kannada. Inspired from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), the show’s concept is such has contestants (a mix of celebrities and commoners) who live together in a lavish house under constant surveillance. Each week contestants are voted out until only the winner remains.

The snippets from the daily life of the participants, laced with verbal fights, name calling, tasks, and petty politics are served to the audience every day for 1 hour. It may sound uninteresting, but once you start watching you’ll develop a keen interest in it. Soon you’ll root for your favorite contestant, bask in the glory of their win, and faithfully wait each day for the clock to strike 10:30 p.m. Before I started watching the show like everyone else I would dismiss its loud theatrics as crass and dumb, but now that I’m a regular viewer I can say that it’s not actually stupid. Instead, it’s the best means to study human behaviour.  In fact, I suggest psychology students and those studying human behavior must watch it and observe the constantly changing equations on the show, power dynamics, and outbursts.

Despite some of the predictable aspects like a token foreigner, blossoming romance between two people, the troublemaker, and weekly presence of show’s host Salman Khan and his cockiness, the reality show remains fresh and interesting. With a serious academic viewpoint, we can critique Big Boss on accounts of lacking inclusivity, we can compare the mass surveillance inside the house to the world outside, and we can talk about the invisibility of caste amongst the contestants, the rampant bullying, homophobia and sexism that revolves around participants. However, I hope by watching the worse in people, we, as viewers can learn otherwise.

It’s a different fun altogether to see people fight, cry, clean washroom floor and go about their monotonous (often not so monotonous) day. Like the kings had hunting trips, the Spanish had bullfights, we, empowered with the all-seeing cameras, have our guilty and sadistic entertainment- Big Boss.

With a scrumptious mix of circus and game of chess, it looks like the intrigue of Big Boss is here to stay. You should give it try sometime.

Image Credits: Colors TV

 

Niharika Dabral

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News

Students Form Human Chain to Protest Against Metro Fare Hike

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Ever since the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) announced a fare hike, the University of Delhi has been raging with a number of sit-ins and demonstrations. On Friday, Vishwavidyalaya metro station, the epicentre of all anti-fare hike protests, saw yet another demonstration.

At 1 p.m., about 50 students predominantly belonging to the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) formed a human chain outside the Vishwavidyalaya metro station to protest against the metro fare hike. They demanded metro concessional passes for students. The human chain gained the attention of many onlookers who also joined in.

Talking to DU Beat about the demonstration, Kawalpreet Kaur, President of AISA DU asserted, “The whole hike in fare shows that the government is only catering to the rich and has no empathy for the common people. Within six months the fare has increased tremendously. The Delhi Metro is a public entity and not a profit-making body for whose profit the fare is being increased. I believe that it is the student community who will suffer the most. We will not swallow this yet another increase and will organise a huge movement in coming days until the hike is rolled back. Also, we demand that DU students should be given special concessional passes for the metro.”

Another student who participated in the human chain said, “We are not claiming that these things will lead to any concrete result, but at least we are trying to make our voices heard. Sometimes just dissent in itself is important.”

Earlier on Monday, a group of activists from the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) had a sit-in at Vishwavidyalaya metro station and stopped the train in its tracks. It briefly disrupted metro services.

While agitation for affordable transportation is necessary, whether or not these protests will result in policy change can only be established with time.

 

Feature Image Credits: All India Students’ Association

Niharika Dabral
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News

UGC prepares new Psychology syllabi, says current curriculum “not rooted in the national ethos.”

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On 5th October UGC released a letter that suggested the universities to adopt new model Psychology syllabi at B.A/B.Sc, M.A/M.Sc and PhD levels.

The letter sent and addressed to vice-chancellors of all universities said, “It had been noticed that Psychology, as taught in institutions of higher learning was neither keeping pace with the recent developments in the discipline nor fulfilling the societal needs. The prevalent course contents commonly taught in the classroom were not rooted in the national ethos. UGC, therefore, constituted a Committee of Experts to look into different aspects of teaching and research in Psychology besides drawing upon the considerable work that is underway for the purposes of developing vibrant model syllabi for different levels.”

Letter issued by UGC
Letter issued by UGC

Further, it added that the new curriculum made by the Expert Committee took the latest developments in the field of Psychology into consideration and new syllabus has given special relevance to the Indian context of discipline.

The brief letter did not mention who the members of the Expert Committee are which raises many questions. Such as who are the committee members, what were the selection criteria, and on what basis did they conclude that the prevailing course content is unsatisfactory.

While talking to DU Beat, Dr Gayatri Arunkuma, a Psychology professor at Indraprastha College for Women, denied the claims of UGC and asserted that “The current CBCS syllabus has a lot of Indian perspective on psychology in both theory and practical papers. We also refer to several research publications and textbooks focussing on the Indian perspective in Psychology Honors course in DU. So, our curriculum is, in fact, rooted in national ethos as we are teaching a new updated in 2014 syllabus.”

She further added, “UGC being an important institution could perhaps initiate a more democratic exercise on Psychology syllabus revision, where all psychology faculties can email their views n issues.”

The commission has asked affiliated colleges and universities go through the new syllabus, which is available on the official website, and introduce it in the current course. However, as of now, there is no new syllabus published on the UGC website. We tried to contact Mr.P.K. Thakur, Secretary and Financial Assistant of UGC who also wrote the letter on the commission’s behalf, but all our calls to his office remained unattended.

Picture Credits: The University Grants Commission
Niharika Dabral
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Arts & Culture

Play Review: Joothan by LGT Auditorium Repository

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Often times we see that the screen or stage adaptations of classic novels do not do justice to the nuances of the written text, however, director Ishwar Shunya’s “Joothan” based on Omprakash Valmiki’s autobiographical book of the same name recreates the monumental story with equal effect.

Joothan (leftover food from one’s plate that was traditionally eaten by low caste people after they collected the plates of the upper caste folks) chronicles the life and struggles of Omprakash, a “low-caste” boy living in an Uttar Pradesh village during the 1950s.

From early on, the play illustrates the social standing of Churas,a low caste community whose job is to clean toilets, work as labor, tan leather from dead cattle, etc, and establishes how economic deprivation of the untouchables is a result of the caste system. There are numerous moments in the 1 hour 45-minute long drama when the performances will give you goose bumps and the overwhelming feelings of anger, triumph, sadness, and hope.

One of the most powerful scenes in the play is when Omprakash’s mother throws dirty pattals (leaf plates) at a dominant caste patriarch when he humiliates her. Though the play is littered with tragedy, there is a segment which depicts a policeman sodomising a Dalit youth with an iron rod. The vividity of the scene is triggering and particularly disturbing. I almost wished the audience was warned about it.

The dialogues are honest and hard-hitting, with a liberal dose of crass expletives. While the casteist terms such as Chura, Chamaar, and Bhangi were used to portray the brazen abuse of Dalits, a section of the audience laughed each time these terms were uttered. The fact that the audience was seeking comedy in the humiliation of marginalized folks showed insensitivity of urban crowd.

The acting is on point by a superb cast. Abhijeet Singh plays the antagonist Chaudhary and Daroga very convincingly. Rohit Kumar enacts the innocence of young Omprakash with perfection that makes the viewer root for him. Anas Khan personates the adult Omprakash and arrests the attention of everyone.

The live music by Prasoon Narayan, Sachin, Prashant Misra and Raj Kishor made the production stellar. Kabir bhajans such as ‘Ud Ja Hans Akela’ alongside old Bollywood melodies like ‘Pal Pal Dil ke Pass’ serenaded the audience.

Lightning by Sachin Kumar and Badal Singh complimented the impeccable set that was designed by Kanchan Ujjal Singh. There were at least five to six different backdrops and the transition from one background to another was perfectly handled by Tanvi Goel and Manish Kumar. The collective efforts of the cast and crew encapsulated in a long, standing ovation.

Go and watch this LGT Auditorium Repertory production whenever you get a chance, because it will be totally worth it.

Poster by Ishwar Shunya
Poster by Ishwar Shunya

 

Feature Image Credits: Niharika Dabral for DU Beat 

Niharika Dabral

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Reviews

NEWTON: From Tribal India to the Oscars

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As someone who is keenly interested in politics, a dark comedy about elections against the backdrop of the conflict-ridden jungles of Dandakaranya is an absolute must-watch. So naturally, I watched Newton – and I wasn’t disappointed. Newton Kumar, an upright and honest government clerk is sent on election duty to the Naxal-affected and conflict-ridden jungles of Dandakaranya in Chhattisgarh, India. In between the insouciance of the security forces and the fear of attacks by Naxalites, he struggles to conduct free and fair polling for 76 indifferent tribal citizens. Director Amit V. Masurkar and co-scriptwriter Mayank Tewari have crafted excellent characters and written remarkable dialogues that are delivered flawlessly by the talented cast. My favourite was, “Imandari se dil halka hona chahiye” (honesty should make the heart lighter). Newton is stubborn but also vulnerable, and the kind of guy who can easily be beaten up. Despite his impractical and idealistically naïve antics, you’ll find yourself rooting for him. Aatma Singh, played by Pankaj Tripathi, is a practical and experienced Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) commander. Anjali Patil does justice to the character of Malko, a local block-level officer who brings the Adivasi, slightly pro-Naxal perspective, into the story. Loknath, Newton’s colleague played by Raghubir Yadav, is a delightful character who accurately embodies the aloofness and concerns of a middle-class government employee. The film does not have a storyline per se, and for a while, it tends to get slow in the middle. Throughout the movie, several sensitive issues are touched upon such as the practice of strategic hamletting in which villages are deliberately burnt by the armed forces so that villagers can then be moved to makeshift accommodation near army camps, the ill-treatment of tribals by the military, fake surrenders, the lack of supplies for the CRPF, and the “election tourism” orchestrated by the government for journalists.  All these details and nuances are taken from various books such as Hello Bastar by Rahul Pandita and Nandini Sundar’s book Subalterns and Sovereigns. The scene where Loknath suggests that to curb the insurgency, the government should introduce televisions in tribal homes because televisions will instigate greed and greed will extinguish the rebellion is directly picked from Arundhati Roy’s essay Walking with The Comrades. Swapnil Sonawane’s cinematography gauges the aesthetics from each location and shapes each shot perfectly. Naren Chandavarkar and Benedict Taylor’s music must be credited with adding poignancy in a heartbreaking segment where clueless tribals are forced to participate in polling for the sake of cameras. There are no dialogues in that segment, but the haunting music accompanies the crass pretence of democracy. While I laud Newton for highlighting an extremely important subject, I cannot help but discount Amit V. Masurkar for, what I feel is, playing safe. The film hesitates from taking sides and, under the guise of humour and neutrality, dilutes the complex issue of Naxal insurgency into a simplistic, unoriginal take on the state versus the Maoists. Newton could have been the finest political satire we have seen only if the director had chosen to be more overt and brave. Nevertheless, the movie still deserves to represent India at the Academy Awards and I hope it inspires more people to watch it.   Feature Image Credits: Eros Now Niharika Dabral [email protected]]]>

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Book Review: Harmless Hugs

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Harmless Hugs, though an anthology of queer tales told by amateur authors, deserves to be read in order to dispel the stereotypes regarding the LGBTQ community in India.  Harmless Hugs, an anthology, is a collaborative work of nine LGBTQ and ally writers hailing from different parts of India. There are nine nuanced stories in total, and each page reveals a tale of coming out, bullying, trans-lives, discrimination, asexuality, problems within the queer community, western as well as Indian views of homosexuality, and the closeted life of married people. The book was released on 11th December, 2016, at the Delhi International Queer Film Festival. The title, Harmless Hugs, is named after a Queer Collective of the same name. The compilation has been edited by Sahil Verma, who curated diverse perspectives from writers belonging to all spectrums of sexuality, which makes each story different than the other. Though more than half the stories in this anthology are sad and depressing, this book can still be seen as a celebration of the LGBTQ-normative world. Out of these stories is one titled ‘Dichotomy’, written by Yashraj Goswami, a Delhi based writer whose work has been published in Newslaundry and the Huffington Post. This hard-hitting tale is narrated by two personalities- one female and another male, of an unnamed queer boy who is struggling between his feminine soul, with which he identifies, and the socially accepted masculine demeanor which he is expected to cultivate. The conversations between the two sides sharply articulate the conflict of living a dual life- one inside the closet, the other outside it. Another remarkable story that stayed with me, long after I finished reading the book, was ‘The Pink Wallpaper’ authored by Kush Sengupta. The story speaks to the heterosexual members of society in a language that they seem to understand, by interchanging the social standing of straight and gender nonconforming people.  The imagery is vivid. ‘My Last Diwali as a Man’ by Avinash Matta talks about a very important, but hardly discussed issue of internalized transphobia, which lingers within the LGBTQ community. The fact that cis-gender homosexuals often mistreat intersex people, especially when they are in a romantic relationship, deserves attention. The cover page of a book is not in sync with the content. The three people donning the cover are white, which is not the best choice for India’s first queer anthology. All the pieces are written by amateur authors and it shows in the unnecessarily long sentences and overused adjectives. However, despite the mediocre writing, every story manages to leave a mark and deserves to be told. In India, there is clear insensitivity and ignorance towards gender nonconforming people. Attempts to educate people often suffer because of hard terminologies being added to the ever-increasing LGBTQI acronym. In this scenario, these simplistic stories convey the feelings and the functioning of the queer community with graceful ease. It is totally worth it to spend 155 rupees on this book.   Feature Image Credits: Notion Press Nihaika Dabral [email protected]]]>

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Arts & Culture

Play Review: Appointment with Death

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Agatha Christie’s Appointment with Death, directed by Sohaila Kapur is a two hour and twenty-five-minute-long theatrical delight that unfortunately falls short on the direction and script.

I don’t usually plan on watching theater (that too when it’s not free), but when I stumbled upon the advertisement of a play based on one of my favorite Agatha Christie novels, I decided to go. So on the evening of August 15th, I watched Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts Repertory’s production Appointment with Death directed by renowned actress and playwright, Sohaila Kapur.

 

The play opens in the lounge of the King Solomon Hotel, as one by one the characters are introduced. Soon the focus shifts to the Boyntons, an unusual American family who’ve come on a trip to Jerusalem. The audience from the first scene itself establishes that Mrs. Boynton, an old wheelchair bound lady, is sadistic and domineering. She psychologically manipulates her family to keep them unnaturally devoted to her, so much so; that her children have no agency of their own. However, the resentment rises against Mrs. Boynton and her children start striving for independence after they develop romantic feelings for the hotel guests. Dr. Sarah King and Dr. Gerard (a psychiatrist) do their best to pull the younger Boyntons from Mrs. Boynton’s control. The second half of the story develops when Mrs. Boynton is found dead and the investigation of her death takes place. Unlike the original story, the Murderer and the characters are different in the play. So, even if you have read the novel, the play still offers intrigue.

 

Like all Agatha Christie plays the onus of engagement is not so much on the story line but on the script and direction. It is the writing that ensures to sustain the suspense by crafting dialogues which should strengthen the motives of characters, that may or may not have committed murder, however, Sohaila Kapur’s directorial falls short in engagement; except for the comic scenes which are hilarious. There are a few segments that are cleverly done, for example, right before the intermission takes place a spectacular scene between Dr. Sarah King (played by Sugandha Srivastava) and Mrs. Boynton (played by Saksham Shukla) where the latter is informed of her impending death in a manner that sets  motion for rest of the play, and also justifies why the play is titled Appointment with Death. However, all interesting tidbits are sparse and spaced far apart which make the two hours and twenty-five-minute-long production tedious.

 

The cast consisted of seasoned actors who arrested the attention of audience despite the shaky script. Exchanges between Lady Westholme (played by Surbhi Verma) and Alderman Higgs (played Ashutosh Singh Rathore) were delightful. Smita Singh made a very convincing and vulnerable Ginevra Boynton, while Saksham Shukla impersonated Mrs. Boynton with perfection.

 

The picturesque set, designed by Sohaila Kapur herself, is formed against two backdrops: the lounge of the King Solomon Hotel, and the Travellers’ Camp at Petra. The stage formation rightly captures the essence of the story and adds to the drama. Entr’acte music by Arun Nayak and lighting direction by Himanshu Joshi is also on point.

 

 

Picture Credits: Niharika Dabral

Niharika Dabral

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Cluster Innovation Centre

Quora, Entrepreneurship, And Technology with Balaji Viswanathan at Cluster Innovation Centre

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If you are on Quora, a question-and-answer site, then chances are you must have stumbled upon the answers of Balaji Vishwanathan. With close to 3,57,000 followers on Quora, Balaji Viswanathan, CEO of Invent (humanoid robots for customer interaction), is the most followed person on Quora. He also has over 3,700 Quora answers to a diverse range of questions in his name.

HashInclude, the computer science society of Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) and Autonomi, the robotics society of Cluster Innovation Centre organized a meet up with him on Monday, 28th August 2017. The insightful event which began at 2 PM on 28th August 2017 was attended by an enthusiastic crowd.

Unlike, conventional meet-ups the event did not feature any speech by the guest. Instead, Mr Balaji Viswanathan spent time addressing the questions from the audience, which was appreciated by students. In the course of question and answers, he spoke about his career as a software engineer at Microsoft Head Quarters, Live Labs, and Windows Phone. He also spoke about his return to India and tryst with his now-successful start-ups. Talking about ideas and innovations he said, “Every great idea looks crazy to people, you just have to pursue them seriously. Right now as a student you have time, the biggest luxury in the world, to pursue your passions”

Kirti Krishan, a student who attended the event said, “It was more of a Quora like question and answer session than a normal talk, literally. There wasn’t any pretentious motivational public speaking. My take away from this session would be his entrepreneurial advice that- patience and trust in your venture is the only way for success”

Utkarsh Mittal, one of the organisers said, “We wanted to invite Viswanathan since he is currently the CEO of Inventor Robotics, which aims to revolutionise the field of AI enabled hardware in India. He has also founded and been a part of various IT, Fintech and Edtech based ventures. All of this resonates with the students of CIC. Besides, meeting the most followed Quora user is anyway exciting.”

 

You can find the live recording of the event here.

Feature Picture Credits: HashInclude
Niharika Dabral
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In a First, HC Orders Special Exam for Visually Challenged Aspirant Who Missed Train

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Setting an example of upholding the rights of disabled students, the Delhi High Court ordered the University of Delhi to conduct another entrance exam in order to aid a visually challenged aspirant.

On 22nd August 2017, the Delhi High Court directed the University of Delhi (DU) to conduct an entrance examination for the visually challenged youth who could not appear for the M.Phil. Sanskrit entrance test. The candidate was unable to take the examination as he could not board the railway coach reserved for disabled persons, owing to the irresponsibility of the Indian Railways.

Background

On 4th July 2017, Vaibhav Shukla booked a ticket for Delhi in the Jharkhand Sampark Kranti. He was going to Delhi to give an entrance exam which was scheduled for 5th July, 2017. When the train was delayed, he decided to catch the Gorakhdham Express which departs from Unnao at 10:45 p.m. on 4th July and reaches Delhi at 5:55 a.m. the next day. However, Gorakhdham Express arrived 13 hours late from its scheduled arrival. When Vaibhav and his driver tried to board the train, they found that the reserved coach was locked from inside. Since the stoppage was only for two minutes, he could not make it to another reserved coach as it was at the other end of the train, thus, ended up missing the train. Once in Delhi, he told the University authorities about his plight, but the officials refused to help him.

Legal Proceedings

After coming to know about Vaibhav’s situation, a bench of Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar initiated a suo moto cognizance on 7th July. Subsequently, they sent notices to the Union of India, North Eastern Railways, and the University of Delhi.

In response to the notice, DU argued that relief cannot be granted to Mr. Vaibhav Shukla. One of the arguments was that since all candidates must be judged through the same test, it is not feasible to conduct another exam. DU also contended that if entrance test is repeated it will set a precedent for future where anyone who turns up late can demand another chance.

All these arguments were contested by amicus curiae Mr. S.K. Runga. He pointed out that for all exams, DU prepares two question papers that are of the same level of difficulty. While one paper is already utilised, the second paper remains with DU and can be used for Vaibhav’s test. Therefore, the inconvenience of having to prepare a fresh question paper is irrelevant. With regards to the concern that the present case will be used as a precedent, it will be made clear that the order has been passed in the special circumstances and this case cannot be cited as a precedent.

After hearing all arguments, the court ruled for another entrance exam and said, “It is directed that within ten days from today, the University of Delhi shall conduct an entrance examination for the respondent no. 4 for admission to the M.Phil. (Sanskrit) 2017-18 session forthwith and declare his result.”

Feature Image Credits- The Hindu

Niharika Dabral

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