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Niharika Singh

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Film maker, actor and activist Nandita Das was present in Kamala Nehru College on 13th Feb, 2014. The actor was invited by the English Department of the College as part of their annual fest LitLuminous. Ms. Das attended the session after the screening of her directorial debut- Firaaq.

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An informal session, Ms. Das answered questions from the audience ranging from her profession to her views on Narendra Modi and society in general. For her, Firaaq and eventually her career in directing came about from a deep desire to tell this story.” I became an actor by default.The transition from an actor to director has happened like everything else in my life, by default.” said the film maker.When questioned on the almost negligible effect of the film on the public’s conscience, Ms. Das replied, “No film creates a revolution. it creates slow changes and the only way we can get influenced is by the way we relate to it.”

Mr. Narendra Modi and his politics became a huge part of the discussion. According to Ms. Das, Mr. Modi has stayed in power for so long because he is a “reflection of what we want”. She explains that the globalized world makes people feel small and insignificant. In such a scenario politicians use identity politics to help people relate to them and create an identity for themselves separate from others. This way people are falsely empowered but yet they strive and act on this empowerment.

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Patriarchy is one of the biggest concerns in society today and demystifying it, the biggest task. Ms. Das talked about how men and women are both victims of patriarchy. She called the deep linkage of a woman’s identity to that of a man the biggest challenge in the women’s movement today. She asserted that change happens in one generation and all that it needs is one parent deciding to raise her/his child differently to end patriarchy.

On the difficulty in survival of independent cinema, Ms. Das said that the fault lies with the people themselves who undermine their intelligence to watch this kind of cinema and tag it as ‘elitist’. According to her, people want to watch it but low distribution and unawareness makes these films difficult to be obtained.

image courtesy : Suryanshu Hooda

Delhi University is facing a drought in its internet services. The alleged reason for such a situation is a strike by the company providing the services.

The Delhi University Computer Centre serves as the hub for computer related services on the campus. The network, consisting of a gigabit fiber backbone provides connectivity to all departments at the North & South Campuses, all Colleges as well as 64 off campus Colleges.
Services available to users include access to the internet through 36 Mbps bandwidth in North Campus and 24 Mbps in South Campus. The service has been withheld as of now, reasons being unknown. It has been a few months since colleges have reopened and wi fi services in colleges yet remain to be functional.

This has created a lot of problem on the university colleges as students and teachers now have to fund the internet service themselves even though the university spends lakhs on it.As for the preparations for e-learning in FYUP with the coming semester, a doubt remains that with the withheld service whether students would be able to access international scholarly articles and online books.

In a statement published by Neeraj Tyagi, Deputy Dean Works, DU, the University has had no discrepancies in its administrative and financial functions for these services. The problem he said is being caused because of the strike of the service provider. He hopes that the problem will be solved within a week.

imagecourtesy:siliconangle.com

In the second day of the three day theatre festival, Kamala Nehru College’s Concoction was witness to some of the admirable theatre in the Delhi University circuit. It commenced with the host college, KNC performing its annual production The Cover Story, which revolved around the story of two young and ambitious reporters  trying to uncover a businessman running a sex racket with the children on the streets. The play utilized the concept of lights and shadows to portray scenes which were happening undercover.Of the 23 teams that participated in the preliminary rounds, 8 performed at the finals of ‘Archlight’ on 28th and 29th January, 2014.

The competition was judged by Ms. Nilanjana Banerjee and Ms.Sanchita Mukherjee both of whom have been involved with theatre intimately. On 28th Jan, Miranda with its play ‘Tax-free’ was the first to perform in the competition, followed by Hindu College’s Batch of 2002, which revolved around a bunch of college friends and their re-union. KMC’s Room for doubt was recipient to thunderous laughter as they portrayed a committee of teacher’s resolving issues in the University. The final day of the festival saw performances by SRCC (The Black Comedy), Shiivaji College (Mission 31), Gargi College (PFV), Khalsa College (Can’t pay? Won’t pay!) and Ramjas College (The Private Ear).

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Hindu College performing ‘Batch of 2002’.

SRCC’s ‘Black Comedy’ was declared the winner of the event. Talking about the concept of the play, says Rupali Singhal, Co-Director, “A lot of comedies are made every year, but we chose this script because it stands out. It has a plot which keeps you gripped and uses the concept of reverse lighting so that it no longer remains just another slapstick comedy.” When asked about the level of competition they faced she said, “Theatre in DU has become professional. The judges in the preliminary round did a brilliant job of selecting the plays. The win feels much more deserving when you know the competition was hard.”

The audience at this event flouted many rules of theatre. While the organizing committee strived to keep distraction of the artists to the minimum, there was little they could do about the hooting and clapping of the audience. Reflects Rupali, whose play witnessed the loudest cheers, “Laughter is acceptable and especially in a comedy. In such a moment the artist pauses and then resumes their role. But hooting is a complete distraction for the artist and the fellow audience.”

In a version of Ad mad titled Phata Poster Nikla hero, a group of three had to make a poster in the preliminary round. The selected participants had to then enact in the final round. A team from Zakir Hussain College (Evening) emerged as winners in the same.

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Together for a cause, a Non Governmental organization, organized a n enthralling session of spoken word poetry by visually impaired children from National Association for the blind and Save the Quest.This was followed by an interactive session with Rupa Das Gupta, founder of Sarhana, a school for special children and the closing ceremony in which 50 sky lanterns were lit and released in the sky. The principal of the College, Ms. Minoti Chatterjee lit the first lantern and inaugurated the ceremony.

Winners

Archlight

1st Prize: Shri Ram College of Commerce for Black Comedy
2nd Prize: Kirori Mal College for Room for doubt
Best Actor: Keshav Moodliar, Ramjas College

Phata Poster Nikla Trailer: Zakir Hussain College (Evening)

Image Credit: Yashika Sunaria, Kamala Nehru College | Featured Image: SRCC performing Black Comedy

With the ongoing preparations for the annual cultural festival of Delhi University, Antardhvani, the University released applications for one of its recurring competitions, the Annual Flower show.

In its 56th year now, the competition has gained wide fame for the variety of flowers that competitors showcase. Says, Prof. Ved Pal Singh, Secretary Garden Committee, “The Flower show is one of the core events of Antardhvani and now in its 56th year it’s even bigger. We have entries from across Delhi, from outside and even from Rashtrapati Bhawan.”

As a prelude to the Annual Flower Show which is to be held on February 14, 2014 at Sports Stadium, between 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm, a number of events are being organized by the Garden Committee of Delhi University. Says Prof. Ved Pal, “A week before the flower show we have a painting competition, in which many students participate. There are wonderful events for everybody to enjoy.”

The On- spot painting competition is being held for college students and school students on 7th February,2014 and 8thFebruary,2014 respectively at 10:00 am at the Sports complex (University Stadium). The entry fee for the completion is Rs.20 and the results will be announced on the day of the Flower Show.

As part of the tradition of the Flower Show, the committee asks each participating College/ Institution to send the name of their best gardener for a special award called the ‘Best Mali’ (best gardener) award. A certificate of merit or cash is awarded to the best mali.

The Flower Show Booklet/ Entry Forms for participating in the Painting Competition will be available in the Garden Committee Office from 10.00am to 5.00 pm on all working days. A complete information of the competitions involved in the Flower show and the required forms can be found on the DU website.

 photocourtesy:epaper.indiatimes.com

 

Celebrating its Golden Jubilee Anniversary, Kamala Nehru College was host to a number of dignitaries and festivities on Wednesday, 15th January 2014.

What began as a small community of 209 female students and 60 staff in a government school building in 1964 has now, 50 years later progressed as a well established institution for women education in the field of arts, science and commerce.

Speaking at the event, Chief Guest Justice Leila Seth, the first woman judge of Delhi High Court in the year 1978, said, “It is a privilege to be associated with an eminent college like Kamala Nehru. Education is the route for all kinds of empowerment.”

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The event commenced with the inauguration of Maaia, a sculpture created by eminent sculpture artist, K.N Radhakrishnan. Adorning a central position in the college garden, Maaia is the dancing girl from the Harappa civilization. On one hand she holds a tablet which symbolizes education and on the other she holds a Chhatim leaf symbolizing wisdom and knowledge. As the Guest of Honor, Mr. Radhakrishnan congratulated the college for being able to successfully contribute in the empowerment of women.

The audience was witness to a host of performances beginning with those by the music societies of the college, Sangeetika and Zephyr. The contemporary dance group Saadhiya performed various dance forms such as Bharatnatyam, Odissi, Mohiniattam, Kathak, Kathakkali and Kaalri. A short film on the college made by Tarishi Verma and Sakshi Kapoor was also screened at the event.

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Listing out the success achieved by the institution, the Principal of the college, Dr.Minoti Chatterjee said, “Kamala Nehru College is a vision of providing equal opportunities to all its members, but a lot still remains to be done.” Dr. Chatterjee addressed the various issues prevalent in society like violence against women and harassment for which KNC has been working continuously to eradicate.

As part of  its golden jubilee celebrations the college will be hosting many academic and extra –curricular activities such as the theatre festival(27th  -29th  of January), a mono act play on Kabir (8th of February) by Shekhar Sen, two days folk festival in collaboration with Crafts Museum (28th Feb-1st March).

Photo Credits: Yashika Sunaria, KNC

In a performance that lasted a whole of 10 mins, Akshay Labroo and Nikhil Saha of Ramjas College delivered speeches that made them the winners of a one-week sponsored tour in the UK, which includes visits to historical sites, academic institutions, cultural events along with peer group interactions. The Great Debate, organised by the Delhi University in collaboration with The British High Commission  was witness to  participation of 46 teams of the 54 that registered.

In an interactive session on 8th January,2014 at the the British High Commission, Paul Rennie, Head of Political and Bilateral Affairs released the motions for the debate to the participants while , the coordinators of the debate Ms. Suchitra Gupta and Ms. Sumitra Mohanty explained the rules and regulations . Present at the event was Ms. Priti Patel, Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom who encouraged the participants to visit the country.

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The debate was divided into two rounds with the first being held on the morning of 9th Jan, 2014 and the final at 3 pm at the Viceregal Lodge, University of Delhi. The five teams that made it to the finals were Dayal Singh Collge, Janki Devi College, Miranda House, Ramjas College and Sri Venkateshwara College. The teams debated on the motion, “This house believes that it is the best time to be young” and were  judged by a panel of eminent judges including Ms. Ktty Tawakley, Deputy Head Press and Communications and Mr.Stephen King,General Manager Virgin Atlantic which had partnered with The British High Commission to sponsor this debate.

The Vice Chancellor Mr. Dinesh Singh and Sir James Bevan, UK High Commissioner joined the participants a little later in the session. In his speech ,Sir James Bevan listed the top ten reasons on why an Indian student must choose UK as the place to continue their studies over its other competitors. As for the amount that goes into sponsoring a UK education he said, “Studying in the UK is not cheap. But in life you get what you pay for,quality costs money and the cost of a UK education is possibly the best single investment you can make in your own future”. In his speech the Vice Chancellor regaled the the history of debating in India with the example of Mahatma Gandhi and stressed on the importance of form and matter in a debate.

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While everybody enjoyed the debate and the opportunity it presented,the participants were made to wait a long time before the declaration of the results of the preliminary round. At the feedback session, the coordinators were suggested to have an award or recognition for not just teams but also speakers individually, which they promised to include in the next season of this debate.The organisation of the programme under Pradyumna Bora was well performed and managed to resolve issues of late participants and disqualification of a team timely.

imagecourtesy: British High Commision

For more photos visit : http://www.flickr.com/photos/ukinindia/sets/72157639548562095/

For the transcript of Sir James Bevan’s speech :https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/uk-education-the-best-for-the-brightest–2

It is a common practice for Universities across the world to have a song dedicated for them. Delhi University is all set to enter this foray with a song for the University written and composed by a University student, alumnus or a teacher.

As a prelude to Antardhvani 2014, the DU cultural festival, the University has launched an open competition. Under the same, it invites members of the DU community to compose theDelhi U Song and win an opportunity to present the University a song that is “youthful and full of promise”.

“Since 1920’s, the University has never had a common song for any kind of function. This song will bring uniformity in the system.” says Dr. Satish Kumar, UIC in-charge and Member Secretary of Antadhvani. He urges the students to come forward and participate in this competition and produce a song that becomes as popular as ‘Sare jahan se accha‘.

The entries will be judged by a competent jury, which Dr. Satish suggests will definitely consist of experts from the extracurricular and arts department. Whether they would be from the University itself or an external would be decided later.

The proposed song should be of approximately one minute and the lyrics should be in Hindustani. The last date for submission is 20th January 2014 and the results will be declared a week before Antardhvani which is scheduled to be held on 14th- 16th February, 2014. The entire rules and regulations for the competition can be found here.

The Delhi High court finally heard the PIL filed by the NGO Moksha Foundation, last week. The PIL demands an 85% reservation for all Delhi domicile students in the state funded colleges of the university and at least 5% in the partially funded ones.

The bench including Acting Chief Justice Badar Durrez Ahmad and Justice Vibhu Bakhru issued a notice to the University to probe into the possibility of allowing this particular  reservation.

The predominant argument of the NGO’s council was that “large scale migration” denied admission to undergraduate students in the capital and also, the University was formed with the prime objective of fulfilling the needs of the students of Delhi which it has failed to perform.

Some of the 12 colleges to be affected by the PIL are Deen Dayal Upadhyay College, Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Maharaja Agrasen College, Shaheed Raj Guru College and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies.

Devesh Lalwani, founder of Moksha Foundation says, “The decision was not exactly what we hoped for, but we are moving in the right direction. The University has been given a time frame of three months to consider the proposal and give a response to us in writing whether they agree with it or not. if we are not satisfied with their decision, we will go back to court for again.”

The court has issued a period of two months to the University of Delhi and UGC to deliver a decision on the issue.

Moksha Foundation, an NGO based in West Delhi recently filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Delhi High Court. The PIL seeks 85% reservation of the total seats, for Delhi domicile students in the Delhi state funded colleges in the University and further reservation in colleges which are partially funded by Govt of NCT of Delhi.. Devesh Lalwani, Founder and Executive Director, Moksha Foundation in conversation with Niharika Singh reveals his reasons for filing the PIL and the subsequent benefits it will yield.

What provoked Moksha Foundation on filing this PIL in the Delhi High Court?

It came to my notice when my family and friends had to face the burden of getting admission in the Delhi University. My friend scored 93.5% but he got admission only in the 6th cut off. Even scoring a 93.5% will not get you to a good college and on top of it there are other reservations. Also, The University of Delhi is so cost worthy, making it an added perk. Such an opportunity is essentially missed by the students for who it was created for in the first place.

2.87 lakh kids pass out from CBSE board in Delhi each year, out of which 1.87 lakh are from Govt funded schools. DU has 55,000 seats which is anyway insufficient, so if these kids do not get admission in Delhi University, where will they go? IIPM, Amity is anyway colleges which are way beyond their financial capability. The Government should either create more seats for them or reservation is the temporary solution.

What does the filed PIL entail for exactly?

I want reservations in a certain few colleges, till the time the government opens up more new colleges in order to keep students from having to leave Delhi. There are 12 state funded and 15 partially state funded colleges in Delhi University. Therefore, we want 85% reservation for Delhi domicile students in aforementioned colleges. What we are proposing is not something new, it is being followed in other states and in Delhi itself. We are following the pattern of NSIT, since it is an already tested and implemented pattern. If a college is being funded by the state, it should be utilized for the benefit of the states students.

Delhi University is a Central University. Does the PIL imply that the University be converted into a state funded entity?

Many Central Universities such as Tamil Nadu University, Sikkim University and BHU have their own kind of reservations. Apart from reservations for the socially backward classes, many universities include domicile reservation. Within Delhi University, colleges like Lady Irwin and NSIT do have similar reservations.

Delhi University follows the pattern of merit based admission. How does your argument that “students are denied admission due to large scale migration” hold account?

We come down to the basics over here. The DU website mentions that, it was established with the purpose of serving the students of Delhi. Secondly, when it expanded about four decades back into South campus, it had expanded with the objective of serving students of South. This objective clearly hasn’t been fulfilled, since about 70% of students in DU DO NOT belong to Delhi. Also CBSE is a notch higher in terms of competition and dissemination of education. Getting a 95% in CBSE and a 95% in Haryana Board is not the same thing. Scoring in CBSE is a little more difficult. In this process, CBSE students lose out. Indraprastha University and Ambedkar University do have reservation for Delhi domicile students but they offer selected courses. There is no substitute for Delhi University.

One of the biggest challenges India already faces is the reservation system. Do you think introducing this reservation in a Central University would lay grounds for further region based discrimination?

I am not for reservation at any point of time. But looking at the situation in Delhi, temporary reservation seems essential. My prime objective is creating opportunities for students of the Delhi domicile. In the past 15 years, no new college has been opened in Delhi University and neither have they expanded the available seats. This has put the students in Delhi at an extremely unequal footing. As of now when there is no intention of opening colleges in the next 3-4 years we have to have a certain method where they can cater to the Delhi population.

Are you aware of the PIL filed in 2004 by Delhi Study Circle regarding the same issue? Has it in anyway inspired your actions?

Yes, they filed a petition for 85% reservation. I went through their petition but it did not include the source of funding of colleges, like we have.They did talk about influx from other states resulting in regional imbalance though.They were asked to refile the petition but I don’t think they did.

Have you received support from the authorities of the 12 colleges in question?

Not as such. We have not really spoken to colleges. The conversation has been between Government officials and the foundation. Anyway, I don’t think it should matter to colleges where their students come from. They should be concerned with imparting wholesome education to these students, no matter where they are from.I know colleges will support us because In the long run, it will benefit the college itself. There will be students, the only difference would be that they are Delhi centric. Also, everybody who is from Delhi will be sympathetic to our cause.

Due to reservation, the admission cut offs might lower in these colleges. Is that what you are looking for?

The lowering of admission cut offs is not my biggest concern but yes, it is one of the constituents. I believe that your marks do not reflect your actual capability and in a way the lower cut offs would be more reasonable and sensible. I scored an 82% and I thought I had done amazingly well, my sister got a 95% but she still doubted her admission prospects. Students who are not in the higher brackets will not have to look for options outside of their home state.

What is your next plan of action?

We were scheduled to have a hearing on 17th July, but it was postponed as the judges were on leave. It is now scheduled for 31st July. As of now, we are waiting for the decision and hopefully it’s favorable.

The Quiz circuit quizUnlike common perception, winning a quiz competition is more about how much you can analyse and deduce than how much you can memorise. Societies around the university will second to this opinion. Quiz culture in the University is not many years old and has a small but dedicated team of enthusiasts. “It’s a group of like minded people participating in quizzes together and learning together as everyone brings something to the society,” defines Abhaas Mohan, founder of Conquiztador, the Quizzing society of Sri Venkateswara College. As for the auditions, societies have their separate method of evaluation. “Every person has their own interests, therefore we cannot expect them to be good at everything. we have a written test which has questions from every field. Then based on overall score and sectional score on our personal we take people in, There are also people who join us after the auditions,” says Abhaas. For Quest- the Quiz society of SGGSCC, it’s all about testing while having fun. “We have fun and interesting questions, where we can entertain them as well as test their aptitude and decide if they are good enough for quizzing or not,” says Utkarsh. As for preparing for a quiz competition, everyone agrees it’s about what you read, the movies you watch and the number of quiz competitions you attend as it gives you a fair idea on the way questions are based and what to expect.

“Frankly, there is nothing like preparing for a quiz. There might be moments where you think you know everything, but you actually know nothing,” relays Utkarsh.
Lookout for
  • Landmark Quiz- if you win this you are apparently a legend in the field.
  • Cannot Place? – a quiz conducted by the Delhi NCR Quizzing Fraternity
  • Karnataka Quizzing Association
  • World Quizzing Championship
  • Competitions organized by various colleges in Delhi University.
creative writingWrite a little Writing is one of the most immaculate form of human expression. For an activity of such kind, it is imperative that there be a society which brings together individuals with a special gift in the play of words and help them enhance their qualities. Almost all colleges of the University have a Creative writing society, which regularly hold workshops and sessions and also competitions. Auditions, usually involve submission of original pieces be it prose, poetry and then the shortlisted go through an impromptu writing session. Look out for:
  • National Novel writing month
  • SRCC- Zephyr fest
  • LSR- Expressions
Catch the Photo bug With the availability of camera’s which are smarter than it’s users, highly professional online editing tools and a captive audience, it’s not hard to declare oneself as an amateur photographer and why not, photography is all about how you perceive things around you and if that only includes your self reflection in the mirror, so be it. But then there are these and they are individuals who take it to another level, who strengthen their foundation and learn from their peers.
photography206“I have been into photography, so the next logical step was to be a part of a society where you meet other photographers and get to go to photo walks and learn from professionals,” says Jayati Bhola, a member of the Fine Arts and Photography society of Kirori Mal College.
Giving an overview of the auditions she explains,”We have ECA trials, with grading systems in which 20 or 30 marks are for certificates, then some marks for portfolio and then on spot. We give random themes to people and a limited time in which they have to submit their photographs.” Things in St. Stephens are done a little differently though,”Technically, everyone who wants to be a part of the society, is a part of the society. but the working committee is decided on our own. We notice their work for 6 months and if we think they can contribute well, they become a part of the executive council,” says Satender Singh, President of Stephen’s Photography Society, which also might be the only society to have it’s own dark room. Like all societies, this society also receives funds from the college but they are nominal and a lot of expenditure is self incurred. “We get sponsors for our fest. Also, our team is in charge of the college calender and so we get the calender printed and get some profit out of it, but that money is not much,” explains Satender. Look out for
  • Various competitions by colleges in the University.
  • Online competitions.
  • Nikon School workshops
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