Ever since the written word was invented, reading has been one of the most favorite hobbies among human beings. So naturally, as the human race has evolved, so has the art of reading. The latest and possibly the most dramatic ‘upgrade’ in this field is the advent of electronic books, or E-Books.

For a majority of book lovers, the sound of turning the yellowed and dog- eared pages, the whiff of old bindings, the inviting warmth of the printed word is a huge part of the whole reading experience. Granted, an E-reader provides its users with various personalisation options such as changing the brightness and size of the text, but it still doesn’t seem to live up to the charm of fading words on crumbling paper.

You can shelf a book and forget about it, but even if you come rummaging back many years later, rest assured, the book will be waiting for you, as patiently as ever. But can we say the same for an E-Book? The life of an E-Reader, like any other gadget, is limited. E- Readers need to be charged, and are certainly not the most sturdy companions on a mountain hike. Granted, you can have hundreds of E-books in one nimble gadget while you can only carry a couple of books with you at a time. But, a room full of books has an aura of brilliance- of mystery and of wisdom that a hard disk full of E-Books will never have.

E-Books may be dispassionate, transient, fragile and often expensive, but they are still garnering massive attention and support from readers all over the world. Ask any dedicated Kindle or Nook user, and they will harp about its convenience and ease of use. Belonging to a generation that is considered to be heavily reliant on modern gadgetry, I cannot deny that the idea having all my beloved authors’ at hand in one thin tablet seems tempting.

For some of us, the digitisation of the book destroys its very essence; for others, this new format lends to the longevity of literature and promotes the transition of the way we read into the next generation. Like any new technology, the E-Book is facing its fair share of apprehension and skepticism; and like any unfaltering loyalist, I plan to perpetually propagate the superiority of printed books over their digital counterparts.

 Image Credits: www.teleread.com

Jesus and Mary College is a women’s only institute situated in one of Delhi’s most well kept areas, Chanakyapuri. Only a kilometer and a half away from the hustle and bustle of other south campus colleges like Sri Venkateswara, ARSD etc, Jesus and Mary College enjoys the privilege of being an on campus college, yet has a quaint atmosphere with all the embassies around.

There are quite a few things that set Jesus and Mary College apart from most Delhi University colleges. The college was founded in 1968 by a Roman Catholic congregation, and is one of the only two Christian minority college in Delhi University, the other being St. Stephen’s College. The college is also one of the few in the University that is not affiliated with Delhi University Students Union, but has a strong and independent students’ body of its own. Unlike many other DU colleges, Jesus and Mary College has very strict attendance and discipline policies.

Spread over 15 lush acres, the college undoubtedly has one of the best infrastructures in all of DU. The ongoing construction of new classrooms has certainly hampered the current beauty of the campus, but the newly renovated library makes up for some of it. Jesus and Mary College’s library, which was already very expansive, is now state of the art, multi-storied, and almost fully digital. The huge multi-purpose hall, which was inaugurated in 2006, is something every Jesus and Mary College student is extremely proud of. The canteen, which has undergone several management changes in the past few years, is doing extremely well. Apart from the regular samosas, chhole bhature, chilly potatoes etc, the Coke Station stocks food items ranging from sour punk to Starbucks coffee and Häagen-Dazs ice cream. There is absolutely no dearth of hang out points for JMC girls. Apart from the well stocked canteen and famous Bhel Puri, Satya Niketan and Yashwant Singh Place are just a short auto ride away. There’s also Taj CCD, which is like a second home for lots of JMC-ites and their friends. Since the college is in quite a prime South Delhi location, Khan Market, Hauz Khas, Saket, Dilli Haat, Sarojini Nagar are all on our ‘hangout spots’ map.

Another thing JMC girls take extreme pride in is their performance in sports and other extracurricular activities like western dance, drama and Indian music, to name a few. The college has consistently been winning sports accolades like the Vice Chancellor’s trophy for many years, with the most recent feathers in their cap being the DU Inter College Tennis Tournament, Apurvi Chandela, a final year student winning the gold medal in the women’s 10m air rifle event and Manika Batra, securing the 4th place in the women`s singles table tennis, both at the 2014 CWG, Glasgow.

A very important aspect for any college is the crowd it houses. The college is renowned for having the right combination of beauty and brains. The college celebrates individuality, and successfully breaks many stereotypical beliefs every day: no, we girls don’t dress up for guys, we do it for ourselves; yes, we’re equally likely to show up in our track pants when we feel like it.

With its population of over one billion, India is quite the giant cauldron of different cultures, customs and traditions and naturally, this means we celebrate a wide array of festivals from across religions. Halloween is one festival that we all have a very vivid idea of, thanks to American TV shows and Hollywood movies. Ask me what a typical Malayali family does on Onam and I might not know, but I definitely know (or think I know) how Halloween is celebrated. From what I do know of Halloween, here’s why I think the concept will work well in India if it were to be an official holiday:

The Diwali festive season gets extended
For many of us, Diwali time is the best time of the year. Since Diwali usually falls a week ahead of or after Halloween, here’s one more excuse to party!

We are a creative people who love to dress up
Once this festival becomes official, I seriously hope the scope of dressing up for Halloween extends beyond the Angels versus Devils or Sexy Nurse themes that seem to prevail in the clubs that host Halloween parties currently. I’d love to see a zombie Indian bride or an armless Thakur seeking revenge.

Trick or treating late in the evening
Though I don’t think many families would let their preteen kids wander door to door for candies after sundown, the concept could work brilliantly under supervision and help rebuild the deteriorating neighborly relations. Plus, we already have the festival of Kanjak in North India, making the concept not so alien.

Carving kaddus
Honestly, who has seen this in a movie and not wanted to give it a try? Not only is carving faces on pumpkins to make decorations a brilliant way to put your creative genius at work, it also works as an outlet of any aggression you may have.

Nobody minds an extra holiday
For those who aren’t too keen on the festive season, Halloween could be just another day you get to sleep in till late!

Image source: www.bpcblockparty.com

Vani Vivek
[email protected]

The world lost yet another beautiful soul to the demon that is depression. For anyone familiar with Robbin Williams’ work, it was almost unbelievable to hear that the beloved comedian took his own life after battling with depression for long.

Though there’s much more to depression than sadness, staying upbeat is one way to ensure that you or a loved one don’t get consumed into this abyss. Without sounding too much like a self- help article, here’s a (generally) happy person’s guide to happiness!

Make peace with who you are:

There will always be someone with better grades than yours, someone with better hair, or someone with a better social life, but that doesn’t take away from who you are. Appreciating someone ? Depreciating yourself! The first step towards a cheerful disposition is being comfortable with your mind and body. Once you’re grateful for who you are, what you have, the world will definitely seem more inviting.

Exercise and sleep:

With the pace that our lives are at, it is easy to fall into a rut. Break away from melancholy! An active lifestyle is a scientifically proven key to a happier life, as is a well- rested mind. Exercise keeps you motivated, gives you a certain sense of accomplishment and also helps you sleep better.

If you’re one of those people who get grumpy after having to climb a single flight of stairs, you need to include some form of simple physical activity in your life now!

Listen to upbeat music:

At times when you’re feeling low, make a conscious choice of listening to peppy tunes. Your definition of ‘peppy’ may range from Pharrel William’s Happy to AC/DC’s Highway to Hell, build an instant stress- busting playlist and play it on loop. I’ve never seen someone tapping their foot and being morose at the same time!

Realistic goals:

One thing that gets a lot of us down is feeling demotivated, and even useless. This usually happens when we miss out on achieving a target or worse still, when the target we’d set looms ahead, bigger and more intimidating than it had originally seemed. Set short term realistic goals for yourself, achieving these will give you the motivation to take on the next challenge. The lesson here is not to underestimate your skills, but to make sure that you don’t overburden yourself.

Illustration Credits: Mehr Gill

College orientations are a great way to familiarize yourself with a glimpse of  the next three years of your life. Even though they aren’t mandatory to attend, we highly recommend that you do. Here are a few things that you should try and learn on orientation day that you probably won’t find on any online fact sheet:

College building and amenities: Chances are, that you’ve only visited the college once before the orientation, during the admission rush. With no classes or hurry, this is an ideal day to explore your college. Check out the common rooms, library, canteen, and of course, the photocopy shop. This way, you wouldn’t feel quite as ‘dis-oriented’ on the first day of classes!

Batch mates: Here’s your chance to get your feelers out and interact with as many people as you can from across all courses, chat up with the cute guy you noticed during the admissions, or get busy forming cliques. First impression might not necessarily be the last one, but it certainly has an impact, so make sure you put your best foot forward, shed all inhibitions and get to know your batch mates.

Seniors: These guys have been around for a year or more now, and they know how to get things done. Orientation day is a great opportunity for you to befriend a few seniors. Not only will they help you ease into this new life, they can also help you procure old notes and give tips on which teachers’ classes you can bunk!

 
Faculty: The faculty teaching at your department will be introduced to you at the orientation, and there’s no harm in trying to get into a teacher’s good books even before the classes commence. After all, a few extra marks never hurt!