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Humour – But The Cost?

By Anwesh Banerjee September 15, 2021

On the occasion of Teacher’s Day here is looking at one of the most loved scenes of comedy, from one of the most beloved comedies of our times and asking if we realise the cost of the humour we so amply glorify.

It was genuinely all fun and games.

Every time people, peers, and elders, would sit down to discuss 3 Idiots, the film, invariably the Teacher’s Day speech would come up. Look at how Rancho so smartly explains his point to Raju. Did you see how Chatur was put in place? Serves him right. Love watching Virus being put in his place, it’s such fun!

Growing up around people who revered the now cult classic as a rip-roaring comedy on the farcical nature of our education system and parental expectations from children, aspects of the film ever hardly struck me as odd. Until recently while speaking to one of my high-school teachers I was pleasantly taken aback to hear,

I have no respect for a film that makes such comedy out of a public humiliation of teachers and that too by making them the butt end of rape jokes. It is obscene and crude.

Here was a man, a teacher at that, who disliked what is arguably one of the most impactful and successful films of recent years. Not because it spoke about herd mentality, and emphasised excellence over success, but because of the way it treated it’s teachers in the process of proving a point.

Of course not all teachers deserve to be worshipped on altars. Some are mean, insensitive and just bad at their job. But is it okay to make an entire nation laugh by making your professor the butt end of rape jokes? Think about it.

The scene in question serves a dual purpose in the narrative of the film. It is to explain to Raju the importance of excellence and enjoying your curriculum as opposed to rote learning the same. But at the same time it is yet another widely lauded vilification of the figure of the nerd, who is close to his professors, knows nothing but studying, is socially awkward and of course is the butt end of bullying and abuse. And in the context of the film, this very same stooge of the professor becomes the instrument by which the cool students get back at the professors they hate so much.

My argument is simple. In no way am I endorsing a cut-throat competitive world or a teaching persona who believes your life is of no worth unless you pursue engineering or medicine. My problem is simple and different. How can we, as a society come together to hate b laughing at them and making them the butt end of rape jokes? The perpetrators of the crime literally go on to celebrate the victory of the same in the next scene and by the end of the film are hailed as heroes. The nerd is the one who is made to appear in poor light.

Humour is tricky business. Comedy is purposely designed to critique societal norms and the establishment but if the core purpose of comedy is to relieve through laughter then isn’t it important to question where that humour or laughter is coming from? Really think about it. Sexual harassment and abuse in academia is a widespread problem across the world. Horror stories of students, male and female, being abused by professors and teachers galore. We all have that one friend who confided in us about that one evening, in one empty tuition class, when the teacher they revered for so long transgressed from all acceptable social norms.

Another, easily overlooked aspect of the scene in question is the use of language as a tool of oppression. The student in question, Chatur, grew up in Pondicherry and Uganda and speaks, quite unconvincingly, broken hindi. How is it alright to use this as an excuse to vilify him and the teachers he so deeply adores? As a student of a university as large as Delhi University, every day I see students from distant parts of the country, struggling to convey the most basic of questions. Why? They do not know Hindi and their English is not perfect. But they still try. And even as they try and helplessly request people to not speak in hindi, there are people in abundance who think it fun to reply to their questions in hindi just for the sake of a few laughs. It is 2021 and yet linguistic chauvinism is a tool of abuse in the student community.

In the post-MeToo scenario, films, especially cult classics like the one in question, need to be recognised for their casual humouring of abuse. As an outcast nerd myself, I do not know how long it will take for society to actually come around to stop vilifying us. But that is a different issue altogether. But what we can start off, as students, is to recognise these instances of trivialisation of deeply troubling issues such as abuse in educational spaces. Our teachers are not without their faults and by god we are part of a deeply fundamentally flawed education system. But really our teachers and by large our students deserve better representation than this.

Now that I think, is it really all fun and games?

Anwesh Banerjee

Arts & Culture

Breaking Down the DU Aesthetic

By Naina Priyadarshi August 25, 2021

The tote bags, the kurtas, the jhumkas, the sandals, the Sarojini of it all!

Diversity is possibly the primary thing that counts as a niche when it comes to DU. While it is claimed proudly, the inherent urge of wanting to belong and recognize another as one of your own has quite conveniently led to one of the most diverse and heterogeneous institutions developing its own separate, sense of style.

Beginning with the one that has aesthetic pages in a universal chokehold, the tote bag. While, in my own humble opinion, backpacks are more convenient, tote bags have gained popularity by targeting the need to be seen as individuals. Instead of a generic-looking backpack of primary colors and zips, tote bags can be customized to reflect your politics, your interests, or your favorite Taylor Swift lyric. (Also, for us introverts, isn’t it convenient to have something to hold?)

This arm accessory, which goes well with everything, is frequently paired with a kurta. It can be simplistic or bold, plain or intricate, and not expensive. From Sarojini to Lajpat, shops abound in every color and design you can think of, all for a low price (lower still, if you know how to haggle).

And of course, no good outfit is complete until it is complemented by the right footwear. Flip-flops, sandals, and sports shoes are the most prevalent kinds on any varsity, and with good reason. People often underestimate just how much of college life is essentially just walking. And as much as I’d like to show up in fabulous boots, just the idea of having to endure that pain that excruciating is enough to make me reconsider. Style loses yet another battleground to comfort and sandals reign as the supremely preferred and situationally appropriate choice of shoes.

Once your basics are good to go, in comes jewelry. Rings, bangles, oxidized jhumkas, the works. Just pop on one (or all) before leaving your house and you will have succeeded in guising yourself as a DU student.

And despite all these, the best part of the DU aesthetic is its affordability. Of course, you’re free to turn up in your Louis Vuitton but know that Sarojini is going to the showstopper. While money doesn’t dim entirely here (or anywhere), any judgement you might get from strangers in the corridors does not exist.

It’s impressive how the massive student body has found a style in which they can all come together and exist as one, while also retaining their individual identities and celebrating them as often as they can.

Naina Priyadarshi Mishra

Daulat Ram College

Touching unexplored realities: DRC Innovation Project

By DU Beat November 4, 2016

Electric rickshaws have garnered huge popularity ever since their inception as cheap, accessible and affordable modes of transport. Though a lot of discussion and debate has been taking place regarding the legality and benefits of this recent innovation, research in this segment is still scant.

University of Delhi facilitates innovation projects where the students from different colleges take up potential topics and conduct extensive research upon them under the guidance of a mentor and teachers. One of the projects undertaken this time is by the students of Daulat Ram College on the topic ‘A Comprehensive Analysis of Electric Rickshaws in Comparison to Conventional Fuel Vehicles’.This Project is brought together by Ms. Ritu Khanna, Ms. Shikha Singh and Ms. Raman Arora and 10 students under the mentorship of Mr. V. Packirisamy. The team of students comprises of Harshiel Chahal, Aleena Khan, Arushi Gupta, Aishna Sharma, Gajal Jain, Aswitha Visvesvaran, Astha Goyal, Garima Goel, Talat Khanam and Muskan Gupta.

DRC innovation project — Primary surveys of e-rickshaw drivers were undertaken

The main objectives of the project were to study the socio-economic impact and environmental effects of e-rickshaws and to make policy recommendations for future action. A primary survey of 220 passenger electric rickshaws was conducted across Delhi with the comprehensive questionnaire designed to include social and economic profile of drivers and the vehicular profile of e-rickshaws. It has also questioned the regulatory and legal ambiguities in the e-rickshaw industry and suggested key improvements in the urban public transit governance for the same. Based on the findings of the survey and methods of calculating carbon emissions accepted globally, electric rickshaws have been found more environmentally sound than other conventional fuel vehicles.

The most significant contribution of the project has been the quantification of socio-economic impact to e-rickshaws, which had been an ignored area of study till now. The project could make several conclusions encompassing many socio economic indicators like income, working schedule, education, and living standards among others. These results play a pivotal role in putting together an inclusive report to the grass-root realities and make it possible for policy makers to look beyond a veil of fabricated understanding.

The project also facilitated a comprehensive understanding of the on-ground situation of e-rickshaw drivers, which pointed towards several loopholes and administrative failures. Along with a pragmatic study of evolution of the regulatory framework, this helped us make necessary policy recommendations, which account for problems faced by the drivers that is often overlooked in the face of need for rapid development. Thus, it will prove to be an indispensable piece of literature and act as guiding study for future researchers and policy makers .

This project has provided the students a first-hand experience of working with the target group along with the academic curriculum.The team has presented papers at prominent conferences including the International Conference on Corporate Finance, Governance and Sustainability, the National Conference on Social Science and Economics (NCSSE) and the National Conference on Emerging Issues of Climate Change: Sustainability and Economic implications, receiving immense appreciation for the research and innovation undertaken. It will also be presenting a paper at the International Conference titled ‘Socio-Economic Justice after Seventy Years of India’s Independence: Domestic and Global Challenges’ organized by Faculty on Law in November, 2016 and International Conference on “Green Chemistry in Environmental Sustainability & Chemical Education” (ICGC-2016).

Innovation Projects 2015-16: KNC assesses financial literacy in different consumer segments

By Shubham Kaushik August 20, 2016

In order to empower consumers and make them financially literate Kamala Nehru College (KNC) undertook an Innovative Project entitled KNC-304 “Consumer Evaluation of Financial Services in India”. In the month of December 2015, the project team visited the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) and State Helplines established by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs to understand their complaint handling system in the banking sector.

Team:

Principal Investigators: Dr. Sheetal Kapoor (Associate Professor, Kamala Nehru College), Dr. Azka Kamil (Assistant Professor, Kamala Nehru College), Ms. Vibhuti Vasishth (Assistant Professor, Kamala Nehru College)

Students: Sugandha Vir Anand, Priya Chawla, Vatsala Mansharamani, Shalini Jha, Shreya Jha, Rhythm Mathur, Sreedevi N. Kurur, Neha Sharma, Twinkle Shukla, Aditi Khanna.

Mentor: Prof Sri Ram Khanna and Co Mentor: Mrs Nutan Lugani

To address the nature of problems faced during banking, workshops based on financial literacy were organised by the team at Sagar (Madhya Pradesh), Patna (Bihar) and Rajender Nagar (Delhi). Informative pamphlets in Hindi language were distributed and the problems relating to banks were noted. The attendants were also guided about the mechanism of lodging a complaint with the bank or banking ombudsman. Few workshops especially catered to women in the lower income group.

The framework of the work was based on analysing customer segments in different income groups, each demanding specific types of services and attention from the bank. The results were:

Lower income group customers: Through face to face interviews with 257 respondents, it was found that these customers faced problems while opening a bank account and 23% do not have a nominee for their account. So, after their death the left over amount remains unclaimed. The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has also not penetrated deeply into the society, as a lot of people are still unaware of this scheme. Many banking users do not realize that they should keep their PINs and passwords secret, and are unaware of the right place to visit in case they seek redressal.

Middle Income and net savvy customers: They use banking services such as online banking, Credit Card/Debit cards, ATMs and do not physically go to bank branches for doing transactions once they fulfil the Know Your Customer (KYC) norms. A study on 524 respondents found that, users are unaware of the need to keep a strong password and frequently change them while using online banking. Majority of the respondents are unaware of the safety features of their credit cards and are dissatisfied with the charges taken by their banks. Various customers have faced incorrect debits, and this problem was not satisfactorily resolved by their service providers. Customers feel that banks should provide more information while availing their services.

Lovleen Kaur

Dyal Singh College

Dyal Singh College witnesses a workshop aiming at active learning in classrooms

By DU Beat May 20, 2016

Dr. Vishal Gupta, Associate Professor in the Department of Management, University of Mississippi, USA was invited to speak at Dyal Singh College (Morning) on 19^th May 2016 by Dr. Rupa Basu from Kamala Nehru College. Named “eCognitio: An Innovative E-learning Workshop Promoting Student Participation and Collaborative Learning,” this initiative has been taken up as a pilot study under a Delhi University Innovation Project.

Over the years, with the advent and growing popularity of internet and social media sites like Facebook and YouTube, the job of the faculty has become even more challenging as students can seem disconnected from the classroom experience. Bearing this in mind in his presentation, Dr. Gupta drew attention to several factors that often contribute to ineffective teaching and how the use of e-learning and collaborative learning tools can be used to make the learning process more engaging for students.

Followed by Dr. Gupta’s informative session, the second session was presented by Dr. Anita Goel and Dr. P.V.Arya from Dyal Singh College’s the Computer Science and Zoology Department respectively. They spoke of Open Education Resources and MOOCs and how the use of videos and animation can assist in the teaching-learning process.

Though primarily meant for Delhi University professors, apart from an enthusiastic participation by professors from numerous colleges, the workshop saw participation by professors from Meerut as well as Hapur. Dr. I.S Bakshi, Principal, Dyal Singh College, also reiterated the need for change in the methods of teaching in order to meet the expectations of the present generation of tech-savvy students who have a number of distractions that students did not face a decade back. “Student engagement with their learning experience is the key to academic success,” said Dr. Bakshi.

With inputs from Dr. Rupa Basu, Kamala Nehru College.

Kamala Nehru College’s Innovation Project’16: Switch to Energy Efficient Lighting and Home Appliances like CFL/LEDs

By Shagun Marwah May 2, 2016

In the current world scenario warm surface temperatures and worsening climate impacts have become an increasingly common problem. Delhi University’s Innovation Project team of Kamala Nehru College: KNC-301 with an earnest desire to limit all the activities leading to high energy consumption and save the world by teaching everyone to be as energy efficient as possible, in the smallest and yet, most significant of ways.

This young group of student researchers is therefore working on a project entitled- Implementation of a Successful ‘Switch to Energy Efficient Lighting and Home Appliances’ Campaign in Delhi: A Social Marketing Strategy. The team comprises of the following students: Aakanksha Gupta, Alisha Allagh, Anushka Agarwal, Diya Mukherjee, Meghna Tripathi, Nitima Jain, Chetna Ahuja, Tanya Gupta, Priyal Kalra and Shubhi Singh. The team is supurvised and guided by Principal Investigators Dr. Soma Sen Gupta, Dr. Sona Mandal, and Dr. Pankaj Kumar; and Dr. Anjan Sen, from the Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics as their Mentor.

Even though our society is fully aware of the benefits of the efficiency improvement of home appliances, a large majority becomes apprehensive on buying and using products which promise the same. Some of the major concerns addressed by them are either in the favor of extremely high costs of LEDs and ‘Star-rated’ appliances or safety risks caused due to the fear of the ultraviolet radiation leakage from CFL bulbs. The main aim of the innovation project is to study social marketing approach which can be used to eradicate such myths and introduce a behavioral change among the masses so that they switch to energy efficient lighting like CFL/LED bulbs in their homes without any hesitation.

The innovation team of KNC critically evaluated the measures undertaken by different stakeholders in the promotion of energy efficient home appliances. On 5^th March, 2016, an interactive session was organized with the officials of Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), New Delhi. They learnt that Mr. Sanjay Seth (Secretary) and Mr. Saurabh Diddi (Technical Head) had initiated various policy measures like, the Domestic Efficient Lighting Program (DELP) and #iledtheway campaign to promote and distribute four LEDs per household at Rs.93 per bulb, on the production of their electricity bill and aadhar card. They had even issued ‘Star Rating’ labels for as many as 21 products.

The second session was held with Phillips (India), one of the leading lighting companies of the world in which Mr. Tapas Roy Chowdhury (Regional Sales Manager) and Varun (Sales Executive) explained that through continuous technological development in the lighting sector, Philips not only envisages energy efficiency, but even a reduction in the prices of LEDs. Moreover, their process of distribution and promotion through celebrity advertising has made LEDs gain popularity as well as acceptability.

Priyal Kalra, a student member of the project is of the view that, “as the youth of the nation, we wish to be more involved with taking care of the environment and persuading others to do so as well. Hence, the project gave us an opportunity to know how a social marketing strategy can help in changing the attitudes and behaviors of people and their perceptions regarding energy efficiency”.

On a field trip to Vishakhapatnam, the first city in India to implement energy efficiency through one hundred percent use of CFLs, the project team organized a survey and witnessed a high level of awareness and cooperation in the adoption of LED technology and high star-rated appliances, not only among the people of households, but even with road side vendors and street lighting. Less materialistic lifestyles, higher levels of education, and a better distribution strategy of the government were found to be the reasons behind this success.

A questionnaire based data was then, collected from 250 households in Delhi and NCR to determine the factors preventing a shift from traditional incandescent bulbs to CFLs/LEDs. An effective campaign will be designed for the acceptance of these energy efficient appliances in Delhi through a social marketing strategy by blending the eight Ps together- product, price, promotion, place, public, policy, partnership, and purse string.

Image Credits: KNC-301, DU Innovation Team

Shagun Marwah

[email protected]

KNC’s Innovation Project: Switch to Energy Efficient Lighting and Home Appliances

By Shagun Marwah April 27, 2016

In the current world scenario where warm surface temperatures and worsening climate impacts have become an increasingly common problem to bear, here arises our very own Delhi University’s Innovation Project team of Kamala Nehru College: KNC-301 with an earnest desire to limit all the activities leading to high energy consumption and save the world by teaching everyone to be as energy efficient as possible, in the smallest and yet, most significant of ways.

This young group of student researchers is therefore working on a project entitled- Implementation of a Successful ‘Switch to Energy Efficient Lighting and Home Appliances’ Campaign in Delhi: A Social Marketing Strategy. The team comprises of students such as Aakanksha Gupta, Alisha Allagh, Anushka Agarwal, Diya Mukherjee, Meghna Tripathi, Nitima Jain, Chetna Ahuja, Tanya Gupta, Priyal Kalra and Shubhi Singh; Principal Investigators like Dr. Soma Sen Gupta, Dr. Sona Mandal, and Dr. Pankaj Kumar; and Dr. Anjan Sen, from the Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics as their Mentor.

Even though our society is fully aware of the benefits gained from the efficiency improvement of home appliances, a large majority becomes apprehensive on buying and using products which promise the same. Some of the major concerns addressed by them are either in the favor of extremely high costs of LEDs and ‘Star-rated’ appliances or safety risks caused due to the fear of the ultraviolet radiation leakage from CFL bulbs. The main aim of their study is to explore how a social marketing approach can be used to eradicate such myths and introduce a behavioral change among the masses so that they switch to energy efficient lighting like CFL/LED bulbs in their homes without any hesitation.

The innovation team of KNC, thus, decided to critically evaluate the measures undertaken by different stakeholders in the promotion of energy efficient home appliances. On 5^th March, 2016, an interactive session was organized with the officials of Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), New Delhi. They learnt that Mr. Sanjay Seth (Secretary) and Mr. Saurabh Diddi (Technical Head) had initiated various policy measures like, the Domestic Efficient Lighting Program (DELP) and #iledtheway campaign to promote and distribute four LEDs per household at Rs.93 per bulb, on the production of their electricity bill and aadhar card. They had even issued ‘Star Rating’ labels for as many as 21 products.

The second session was held with Phillips (India), one of the leading lighting companies of the world where Mr. Tapas Roy Chowdhury (Regional Sales Manager) and Varun (Sales Executive) explained that through continuous technological development in the lighting sector, Philips not only envisages energy efficiency, but even a reduction in the prices of LEDs. Moreover, their process of distribution and promotion through celebrity advertising has made LEDs gain popularity as well as acceptability.

Image Credits: KNC-301, DU Innovation Team

Shagun Marwah

Acharya Narendra Dev College’s Innovation Project on ‘Digital India: Challenges and Opportunities’

By DU Beat April 16, 2016

Acharya Narendra Dev College, University of Delhi, is undertaking an inter-disciplinary innovation project entitled “Digital India: Challenges & Opportunities” under the aegis of University of Delhi. The project team comprises of mentor, faculty and students. The project mentor is Professor Monica Singhania from Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi. While the faculty involved is Dr. Sunita Narang from Department of Computer Science, Dr. Surinder Kaur and Dr. Shalu Mahajan from Department of Commerce are also a part of the team. There are five students from Department of Computer Science and five from Department of Commerce.

The team is working on 9 e-services under the project viz. MyGov, e-Sign, DigiLocker, e-Basta, e-Scholarship, e-Hospital, Biometric Attendance System, Jeevan Pramaan, and e-Greetings. The project team is examining the awareness of various initiatives taken by Government of India under Digital India programme and the extent to which these initiatives are being utilised by the citizens of India. The project also involves identification of the main barriers/challenges restricting utilisation of e-services under the initiative. It further examines the common complaints of users and suggests measures which need to be incorporated to make the system more user-friendly. Further, to popularize the Digital India initiative the project team is also making an android based mobile App and a website. Also, a Facebook page is being used as a forum for e-debating on the initiative.

Moreover, a few workshops have already been organized under the project to spread awareness about the Government’s Digital India Initiative. On April 11, 2016, the college organized a one-day inter-college Faculty Development Programme in collaboration with Center for Development of Advanced Computing, Pune, on digilocker and e-Sign services. A live demo on use of Digilocker for saving important documents will also be shown.

The program witnessed members of the faculty, academicians and researchers. The resource persons were from the college and Center for Development of Advanced Computing. Gaurav Dwivedi, CEO, MyGov, Deptt. of Electronics & Information Technology, will be the chief guest.

Image Courtesy: educrib.com

Nidhi Panchal

Innovation Projects 2015-16: Kalindi College takes up issues faced by the elderly

By DU Beat April 14, 2016

One of the 300 Innovation Projects for the session of 2015-2016 approved by the University of Delhi is ‘A Socio-Economic Study of the Condition of the Elderly In the Old-Age Homes of Delhi’. The study aims to undertake an examination of the facilities provided to the elderly residing in old age homes and seeks to conduct an assessment of their well-being.

Principal investigator: Dr. Ruchi Tyagi, Ms. Indu Choudhry

Co-investigator: Ms.Kanika Gaur

Student Members: Priyanka Tiwari, Ayushi Jain, Chanchal Aggarwal, Harshika Sondhi, Banni Chug, Chhaya Gandhi, Cheshta Wadhwa, Anshul Jain, Avisha Alawadhi and Jaidita Seth.

With its findings, the study will contribute towards sensitization of people towards this much neglected and discarded section of the society. This research will be relevant at all times as one cannot eliminate old age from a person’s life; one needs to understand and appreciate all phases of human life.

According to Priyanka Tiwari, a student involved in the project, “Our innovative project will help sensitize people to the issue and bring about new alternatives to the problem.” Therefore, the project aims at revisiting, researching and re-creating aspects of traditional Indian society.

The age-old joint family system has been instrumental in safeguarding the social and economic security of elderly people in the country. With rapid changes in the social scenario, India currently sees an increase in nuclear family set-ups. The elderly are likely to be exposed to emotional, physical and financial insecurity in the years to come.

Keeping in mind the growing numbers of the elderly and the increasing levels of urbanization and modernization, it is imperative to understand the needs of the elderly and to assess if institutionalization of care services for the aged may act as a reasonable substitute for the support to be provided to them in future. Moreover, research on this subject is likely to suggest a way forward for the government to plan and implement policies regarding the elderly and to sensitize the youth (through visits, documentaries and seminars) about the condition of the elderly in old age homes.

Featured image credits: www.dnaindia.com

Shreya Srivastava

[email protected]