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Second year students of Lady Shri Ram College have a stream of complaints relating to the lack of choice given between the different inter-disciplinary courses offered by Delhi University. Most of the Honours courses in this college have no say when it comes to which subject they need to opt for, leading to indignation in some students. “We’re being forced to study Environmental History. This really beats the purpose of an ‘inter-disciplinary’ course as we’re still stuck with a subject linked to history. How is this one of the premier colleges of the country when a simple choice offered by the University itself is denied to us?” says Diwita Mathivanan, an angry second year student pursuing History Honours.

This is not just the case with one or two courses. Political Science, Sociology, Psychology and Philosophy Honours students are left with no option but to take up Individual and Society, an English Credit course. “Ideally, we were supposed to be offered a choice between so many subjects, but at the beginning of this semester we were given Individual and Society without any questions asked or opinions taken into consideration,” claims Aarushi Chugh, a second year Sociology student. English is one of the only courses that offers a choice between Gender studies and Philosophy as Individual and Society is a credit course they complete in their first year.

When the teachers were questioned, almost all of them had the same answer. Due to the impossible cut-offs that keep increasing each year, complimented by the equally ridiculous marks doled out by educational systems, the number of students in each course is increasing by a big margin every year. Due to a disproportionate ratio between the faculty available and the students, courses with a larger number of students like History and Political Science are not left with any options for their credit courses.

Another requirement put forward by the teaching staff is that at least one-fourth of the class must be in favour of a particular subject for it to be offered, subject to sufficient availability of teachers. This is leading to the faculty making the decisions themselves and no options are given to the students. There is talk of General Body Meetings being held within the different courses with all the students involved, so that the faculty gets a better idea of what subjects are preferred, but as of now, the students continue to resent the fact that they’re forced to read something  which they would rather not spend any time.

 

A beautiful tune sails through the doors of a small green room packed with around 25 lively singers. Some touch high notes while others delve deep into lower scales. But despite the unique and textural differences in their voices, when strung together, they produce a beautiful melody that rings as one. This is the Western Music Society (WMS) of Lady Shri Ram College, a bunch of students brought together by their passion for music and their commitment to giving every event and competition their best shot. “It’s not just about winning. I auditioned for WMS mostly for the music. Apart from that, there seemed no better opportunity at getting a chance to nurture my talent and have fun at the same time,” Said Tanushree Sarkar, a core member of the WMS.

It seems like this society blossomed overnight, starting out as a small band singing during college assemblies, to a 25 plus choir, belting out complex and beautiful pieces, much to the awe and pleasure of the judges as well as the audience. The WMS reached its peak under the leadership of Grace Lalkhawngaihi and was continued under the guidance of Sadhvi Krishnamoorthy, the most recent president. Referred to as ‘Mother’ and ‘Compulsive Hugger’ by her troupe, Sadhvi’s warmth seemed to work its charm as the society members came together to shine not just individually, but more importantly as a group. The president for the coming year is Gitana Singh, who also promises to be as brilliant as her predecessors. When asked what her expectations for the year are, she said, “As president, what I hope for is to see every member giving in their best to the society. For the past two years WMS has become such a big part of me and we’ve had the best times together. I think that it is most important for everyone to enjoy being a part of the society, to feel a sense of belonging and a willingness to give in their best to it. I expect us to carry on this spirit of oneness and competition, friendship and most importantly, of music which we have upheld for all these years.”

Over the past one year, the list of laurels won by LSR for their Western Music Society has increased. Their annual piece was called ‘Nightingale sang in Berkeley Square’, a beautifully haunting jazz piece that took the crowd by storm. They won the first prize at the Stephen’s, Miranda, Venky, Gargi, CBS and Kirori Mal fests as well as LSR’s own Tarang. Apart from this, WMS came second at the IIT Delhi fest and third at the IP, JMC and the BITS Pilani-Goa fest. All of this, along with a special mention at the Kamala Nehru Fest. Many of the solos, duets and trios were also critically acclaimed. As for LSR’s rivals, Shruti Sharma had a point to add, “The toughest competition we have is from Venky and JMC. But some amount of competition is fun, it motivates you to do better, and you also learn a lot by observing and appreciating the other groups that perform.”

The competitive piece received a lot of praise as it was a unique and difficult composition to master. “This song was an exciting step for WMS LSR, towards the blue notes of jazz. I think it was a brave and brilliant idea put forth by our president, Sadhvi. As a team, both of us were happy about working on a versatile and well arranged song that gave all our members with different vocal ranges a fair shot at performing. As a singer, I enjoyed the challenge of the meter and key changing at certain parts of the song!” Said Shibani Budhraja, last year’s secretary of the WMS.

The strength of LSR’s Western Music Society lies in the bond they share with each other. The members work diligently, sometimes late into the day, just to perfect one paragraph, or the way a particular set of ‘OOHS’ sound. “I love the fact that we’re like a family. I personally believe that the group dynamics is brilliant. Everyone has got each other’s back. We may be a bit of a motley crew, as no two people are the same, nor do they have the same taste. But we all complement each other,” says Tanushree Sharma, a soon to be third year student who dreads the day she will have to leave the society for good.

Sure enough, the effect of watching these nightingales on stage is simply breath-taking as they stun you with their four part harmonies and soothing solos. There is definitely some ‘magic abroad in the air’ as you drift along with the music, mesmerized by their lilting tunes.

That certain night, the night we met,

There was magic abroad in the air.

There were angels dining at the Ritz,

And a nightingale sang, in Berkeley Square.

 

 

LSR has a very active sports organization and has been at the forefront of promoting sports since its inception. Every year, a fitness camp is held for all the students for two weeks on the campus grounds, and students are made to do rigorous physical exercises, ranging from strength training to agility training.

This year, Mr. Mahesh, the volleyball coach, alongwith Mr. Sudhir the basketball coach and Mr. Vivek, the archery coach, are conducting the fitness camp. The girls have to report for the camp at 7.15 am sharp and the camp begins with a jogging session of 15 minutes. According to Somya Gupta, the Treasurer, LSR conducts its fitness camp “a week after college begins to give the girls time to explore their college and indulge in other activities.” The speciality of the LSR NSO is the emphasis given to general candidates. Around fifty percent of the LSR NSO consists of general category candidates. This year the camp is being held from 30th July to 17th August.

The fitness camp is not restricted to physical training alone. The students also interact with prominent sports organizations and athletes as a part of the fitness camp, to learn more about the wide opportunities the sports field has to offer. Last Monday, members of the National Rope federation visited the students to interact with them about skipping and its evolution as a national sport. The students were shown some brilliant skipping techniques by professionals in the field. This week, Mr. Rahul Verghese, a specialist in running techniques, shall be visiting the students to take about running and its benefits, and Mr. Gupta, an eminent orthopaedician will be briefing them about the techniques of staying fit, and exercising safely.

The LSR NSO will begin with its individual sports practice on 20th August, and the annual cross country run, which sees an average participation of over 100 students, is also right around the corner.

 

Photo credits:-Additi Seth The second week of college at LSR was bustling with activity as various societies were holding their annual auditions. The corridors were swarming with enthusiastic freshers as they hopped from one society board to another, furiously scribbling down the dates for the different auditions. “I am going to try out for as many societies as I can. There are so many options here, from music and dance to film appreciation and social work. I can’t wait to take part!” said an excited Nimisha, one of the many first years. Boasting of about 21 active societies, LSR offers a wide range of options when it comes to extra-curricular activities. The past week consisted of NSS recruitments, where students were assigned NGOs of their choice to work for a year. The coming of this week began with both the Indian Music Society as well as the Western Music Society holding their auditions on Tuesday, 31st July. “75 students showed up for the IMS Auditions, out of which we chose 22. This was the preliminary round, where the candidates will be singing for the Special assembly put up on Independence Day. We asked them to sing any song of their choice. However, the second round of auditions, which will be held on 16th August, are for the core group of the society. This will only be open to people with a classical background,” said Parampara, the president of the Indian Music Society. The Western Music Society had a similar story to share. The numbers were larger, with 90 students turning up, causing the auditions to be split across two days. Gitana Singh, the president of WMS, was in quite a dilemma, “I asked each student to sing one or two songs of their choice that best represent their talent. After that, I tested their range to see how high or how low they could go. The students who auditioned were very talented. I honestly found it very difficult to choose between so many singers. In the end, I settled for 16 singers and 6 instrumentalists. Out of these, a few will be added to the already existing core group after the Independence Day assembly, for inter-college and out-station competitions.” Close to 300 students turned up to shake a leg at the Dance Auditions held on Wednesday and Thursday. Anandini, the president of the Dance society, was issued the hard task of selecting the gems among the sea of candidates. When asked how the auditions were conducted, she said, “The LSR dance society is divided into four sub groups-Choreo, Western, Classical, and Folk. Each student could audition for all four, and to facilitate this, our dance team divided itself into four groups and asked each hopeful to approach the group for which they wanted to audition. They brought their own music and danced for 2-3 minutes. There is no preference given to freshers or ECA students, and we encourage everyone to take part.” The end of Thursday saw the first round of dance auditions close with 60 students chosen. Out of these, only 20 students will finally make it after the final round of auditions, scheduled for early next week. “We would love to take more students, but we have to be extremely selective when it comes to selecting for our college dance team,” says Anandini. The Debating society held its much-awaited auditions on Thursday. These began at 4 in the afternoon and stretched on until 7 in the evening. “They gave us 8 different topics early in the morning, such as whether Sarkozy banning the Burqa was justified, should the UN be disbanded, and so on. My topic was concerning the Censor Board of India and the fact that it oversteps boundaries. They threw many questions at me, and then asked me to turncoat after that. I was given 5 minutes, and it was probably the most nerve-wracking argument I have ever had to give,” says Harnidh Kaur, a first year History student who hopes to get in to the Debsoc. Friday saw the arrival of the Dramsoc auditions, where 124 expressive students couldn’t wait to put on an act for their judges. They were allowed to prepare a piece of their choice in either Hindi or English. “The drama society is divided into street plays and stage performances, as well as on the bases of language-English and Hindi. However, the initial auditions are taken only for events that are coming up, in this case Independence Day. This is an open society, only the union members are a permanent part of it. Hence, every actor needs to re-audition for a new production. From 124 candidates, we have chosen 37. The second round will be on Saturday, when we will bring this list down to 15,” say Yama, the president of Dramsoc, LSR. She continues, “This year, the quality of acting was extreme. Some performances were brilliant and we were awestruck by their acting and enunciation. On the other hand, we had to face some performances that we hoped would end immediately.” With many more Society orientations waiting in line next week, such as Projekt-the photography and film club, freshers as well as the seniors can’t wait to begin exploring what LSR has in store for them this year. With its dynamic and talented crowd, one can easily say that LSR societies are ready to take the DU world by storm!  ]]>

So, who doesn’t fancy a little drama in their life? At the risk of sounding slightly presumptuous, I would have to say that most of us do. For those who prefer their dose of it on stage rather than off, Hindu College’s annual theatre festival—Masquerade—was the place to be.

The two day event hosted by the English Dramatics Society, ‘Masque’, saw some of the finest colleges of DU showcasing their acting prowess. On day 1 of the fest, IP College for women, LSR, St. Stephen’s and SRCC proved their mettle as masters of nuanced expressions; while on day 2, Kirori Mal College, Hindu College, Sri Venkateswara College and Ramjas College gave them a run for their proverbial money.

To judge the participating teams were two distinguished members of the theatre fraternity. Ms. Amina Sherwani, a distinguished theatre person, journalist and sculptor. She has vast experience in people’s theatre and has performed all over the country as scriptwriter, director as well as light and set designer and has produced and directed over fifty plays. Mr. Milin Kapoor, renowned cinematographer and special effects editor. He has more than 28 years of experience in film, video design, interactivity and cyber space. He has worked on over 400 productions and with some of the biggest names in the Indian film industry.

 

The most striking performances on the first day were that of LSR and SRCC; wherein SRCC stole the limelight with their witty mystery piece titled ‘Three Blind Mice’. While each member of the SRCC team did a commendable job; it is noteworthy that the IP team consisted of only three members and their dedication was par excellence. Their play ‘Sonata’ explored the world of a writer as the events of one night that occur in the lives of these women are penned down. LSR presented ‘Skeleton Woman’, a story about two people who defeat fantastical odds to be together. St. Stephen’s had put together a play that dealt with the phenomenon of False Memory Syndrome called ‘Anna Weiss’.

On the 22nd of February, Sri Venkateswara college mesmerised the audience and the judges with their play ‘Pulp’, a  comical journey of two playwrights and their rushed attempt to churn out one decent play after another, in order to pacify their producers. Hindu College won many accolades for their production ‘Dead Man’s Testimony’—an adaptation of Ayn Rand’s ‘Night of January 16th’, although they did not compete. KMC presented ‘Line’– a story about five people attempting to reach the front of a queue using all kinds of strategies and Ramjas told us what happens when a joke goes awry in ‘Mr. Kolpert’.

 

The results declared were as follows:

1st place – Sri Venkateswara College for ‘Pulp’

2nd place – LSR for ‘Skeleton Woman’

3d place – KMC for ‘Line’

Outlaw Award (For the team which did something different)  – St. Stephens for ‘Anna Weiss’

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most eagerly anticipated events of Tarang 2012 took place at 3:30pm in the auditorium yesterday. As expected the queue to watch this event resembled an overflowing Yamuna. The ten teams which were competing showed great variety in their performances and had the audience whistling, hooting and applauding in encouragement through the course of the event.

Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce started the show with immense energy, their expressions and formations were exceptional. Jesus and Mary College’s dance society ‘Mudra’ displayed great co-ordination, their song choices, skilful use of props, agility and overall tashan stole the show. The suspender wearing ‘Panache’ of SRCC kept changing the mood of the audience by alternating between a solemn and a party song. NIEC’s ‘Dazzlers’ must be given a special mention for their effortless lifts and for using the most unique prop – a rickshaw, during their performance. The performance of Sri Venkateswara College’s ‘Verve’ was marked with headstands, one handed handstand and innovative use of frames. The eccentric song choices of IP College from ‘chikni chameli’ to Govinda’s yesteryear hits was applauded by the audience, the performers seemed to have a great time on stage. The costume of KMC’s ‘Sensation’ changed colours in different lighting; they were the only team to use elements of robotic dance during their performance.

Girl’s colleges dominated the competition; DRC’s ‘Zenith’ was a perfectly co-ordinated piece and a pure delight to watch. Maitreyi college’s formations, use of elements of puppetry were engaging and interesting. KNC’s ‘Enigma’s piece was extremely enjoyable and enigmatic. The noise in the auditorium reached a crescendo when LSR stepped on to perform in the end. They chose to not compete in this event and brought it to a fitting close with great finesse and élan.

The winners of Baila 2012 were:

1st – JMC

2nd – Maitreyi College

3rd – DRC.

Pragya Lal
[email protected] 

Green Biz Plan
First- Gunjan, Nidhi (Dyal Singh College Evening)
Second- Namrata, Malvika, Anumita and Anurag (NIFT)
Third- Tanya, Kanchi, Charu, Sneha (LSR)

Authors Anonymous
Prose
First- Divyanshu Mishra(KMC)
Second- Akshita (LSR)

Poetry
First- Chandrima Chatterjee(LSR)
Second- Stuti Chandra(LSR)

Bazinga!
P.S Pranika (LSR)
Raaghav Aggarwal(ISBF)

Tongue in Cheek
First- Priyanka, Shambhavi (St. Stephens College)
Second- Sahaj, Radhika (Venky)

FOTOGRAFIA:The Photography Event
First- Raj Kaithwal (Ramjas)
Second- Chakshu Joshi (ARSD)

AMALGAM- Fusion (Group Singing)
First- Brahmanaad (Cross College Team)
Second- LSR Music Society

SANGAM- Indian Music (Group Singing)
First- Swaranjali (Hansraj)
Second- Alaap (Venky)
Third- Musoc (KMC), Geetanjali (Miranda House)

Nukkad- The Street Play Competition
First- KNC
Second- CBS, DRC

Best Actor– Bhupesh (Shivaji College), Lakshya(KNC)

CINEPHILIA- Film Making Competition
First- St. Stephens
Second- ARSD
Third- Venky

Pitch an Idea
First- Rishabh Khattar, Radhika Rajpal
Second- Vedika Aggarwal, Lavanya Bhamidipati
Third- Kavya Joshi, Sunaina Bhattacharya

BAILA- The Western Dance Competition
First- JMC
Second- Maitreyi College
Third- DRC

Mudra (Cassical Dance Competition)
First – Shobhna (LSR)
Second – Varsha Dasgupta (Miranda House), Ipshita (LSR)
Third – Shrija (JMC)

Quriosity (Quiz Competition)
First – Sourabh Choudhary and Dhruv Sharma (St Stephen’s)
Second – Anagh Mukherjee (Venky) and Shashank Malik (IGNOU)
Third – Mridul Kakkar (Thapar University) and Tushar Garg (CBS)

Kavyanjali (Hindi Debate Competition)
First- Manju (Gargi)
Second- Neel Parmar (RLA)
Third- Prabhaanshu (KMC)
Consolation Prize- Taarakeshwar Shah

Western Solo Singing Competition
First- Neeraja (Venky), Nirupam Sinha (Hansraj)
Second- Shreya Adhikari (Venky)
Third- Chetan Awasthi (Maharaja Agrasen College)

Western Trio Singing
First – LSR (Sophie, Gitana, Sadhvi)
Second – JMC (Esther, Rebecca, Imwabamgla)
Third – Venky (Krishna, Ketan, Chaitanya)

Doodle Art
First- Priyanka Tampi(JMC)
Second- Sneha Goyal(LSR)

Murlidhar Debate
Best Team- Bhoomika Kakawani, Upasna Thapar
Best Speaker- Saif Ahmed Khan(Maharaja Agrasen College)
Second Best Speaker- Shah Ikhlas Khan(Amity),  Saahil Menghani(Maharaja Agrasen College)

Best Adjudicator- Utkarsh Amitabh

The Western Trio Singing at Tarang 2012 began at 1.30pm amidst an enthusiastic bunch of western music loyalists in the infamous bamboo room H-2. The music resonated well to produce a serene harmonizing effect in the rather crowded room.

Following a two-teams-per-college format, the event was dominated by all-girls performances, particularly from Venkateswara and LSR college western music societies.

The very notable efforts from the Team 2 of Venkateswara of mixing well-controlled humour and good harmonies were greeted  very well from the audiences, even eliciting a smile from each of the judges.

The CBS team of Sagar, Krishan and Shrutika pulled off a very country-themed moment; their performance shaped up pleasantly with many of the audience members singing along and clapping in sync to the popular number.

The last performance by SRCC’s golden ladies seemed a little distinct as the team was not able to provide a cohesive unity, much to the dismay of the performers.

Just as the results were being compiled by the judges, Kamakshi and Nirupan performed ‘Look Into My Eyes’ by Bryan Adams to entertain the audience. Their chemistry or perhaps the lack of it added a very comical note to the waiting. The ‘Kamasutra’ song by the WMS veterans also worked as a time-filler.

The competiton was won by the team of Sophie, Gitana, and Sadhvi from LSR. Second prize was awarded to Esther, Rebecca and Imwabamgla from JMC, and the third prize went to Krishna, Ketan and Chaitanya from Venky.