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Miranda House, Delhi University. DUTA and the Miranda House Staff Association have raised their voice against the termination of the teachers, who had otherwise been appointed till November of this semester. The Principal of Miranda House claims that she made an administrative lapse in appointing 210 teachers. According to the authorities, the college can only provide the salaries for 160 sanctioned teachers and up to 193 posts that were promised as a part of the second tranche of OBC expansion. However, MHSA and DUTA oppose this and claim that the cap should have been considered prior to the appointment of the new ad hoc teachers. MHSA had even volunteered to raise funds from the permanent staff. College teachers had also been asked to redo their timetables in MH, which had recognised 16 ad hoc teachers as ‘surpluses’. Departments, such as the English Department of Miranda House had refused to make these changes on the grounds of being contrary to the guidelines set by the UGC. Earlier UGC had attempted to change the workload but this decision was withdrawn later. The work load had then slipped back to 16 Hours per week for assistant professors and 14 hours for the associate professors and professors. Nandini Dutta, who teaches Economics at Miranda House said to Times of India, Our Timetables were drawn up as per the 16-14 hour norms. Now the college is insisting on 15 and 18. None of the documents placed before us to justify this are recent or valid.” According to MHSA and DUTA, the Principal had taken a decision without having consulted the governing body of DU or UGC. They have extended their full support and are demanding that the ad hocs should be reinstated. Thus, MHRD has taken up the matter and demanded an explanation for the same. Meanwhile, a large number of classes and study slots remain untaught and unattended because of the unavailability of teachers post the termination. DUTA and the MHSA will be organising a joint Press Conference addressing the issue at the DUTA office at 1.30 p.m. on September 5, 2016, and invite everyone to attend the conference to extend their support. Featured image credits: dailymail.co.uk Tooba Towfiq [email protected]]]>

Someone has rightly said, “You don’t need a silver fork to eat good food!” and being a DU student which epitomises the availability of economical lip smacking food, we couldn’t agree more with the statement! Take a look at some of the canteens across DU and their signature dishes loved by the students.

1. Maitreyi College

Fried Rice and Manchurian (Maitreyi)
Fried Rice and Manchurian (Maitreyi)

Maitreyi College has a canteen which provides a great range of lip smacking dishes and nutritious drinks that wouldn’t make you feel the need to step outside to fulfill your appetite. In summers, a chilled glass of freshly squeezed mosambi juice (Rs.20) with a little chaat masala is exactly the kind of refreshment every student needs. A plate of wholesome Rajma Rice (Rs. 40), which finishes within only two hours of its complete preparation has a perfectly balanced, rich sweet and spicy flavor and one that is bound to make you nostalgic about your ghar ka khaana anytime. The second most sought after dish would be our Vegetable Manchurian and Fried Rice (Rs.28). This heavenly combination of its tangy and juicy gravy with soft sticky rice can be proudly chosen over any Chinese restaurant’s dish. If you try the Honey Chilli Potatoes, they will not only leave you thirsty because of the fiery heat from all its spices but also wanting for another plate because of its sweet flavorful veggies and amazing relish.

Rajmah Rice (Maitreyi)
Rajma Rice (Maitreyi)

-Shagun Marwah, 3rd Year student, Maitreyi College

2. Kamala Nehru College

KNC Canteen
KNC Canteen

Having a regimented timetable with almost no breaks and early morning classes, the little ‘dabba’ that my mom packs in the morning gets finished within the first hour of college. However, KNC’s canteen becomes the ultimate saviour for mid-class hunger pangs. A plate full of Pav Bhaji (Rs. 30), Macroni (Rs. 20) and a cup of Cold Coffee (Rs. 25) is the most filling meal that the canteen offers. The Rajma Chawal are to die for too!

-Riya Chhibber, 3rd year student, Kamala Nehru College

3. Ramjas College

Chilli Potato (Ramjas)
Chilli Potato (Ramjas)

Ramjas canteen recently changed its catering staff and a few new items like chilli potato (Rs. 50), potato manchurian (Rs. 50), egg and bread combos( Rs. 30 for 2 eggs) and fried rice ( Rs. 40) were added to the menu. Chole Bature (Rs. 30) is a hot seller and is claimed to be the best item. Apart from that juices (Rs. 20), tea/coffee (Rs. 10) and bottled drinks like coke maaza and sodas are also available at MRP. The best things about the canteen are that we can eat in the open and the new amphitheatre being constructed beside it.

-Arindam Goswami, Final Year student, Ramjas College

4. Hindu College

 

Shahi Paneer (Hindu College)
Shahi Paneer (Hindu College)

 

Facing an avid competition from various eateries in Kamla Nagar and Hudson Lane, the Hindu College Canteen still outshines others. Catering to the college students seeding all around North Campus, here you can munch delicious food at reasonable prices, leaving you not only with a filled in belly but also with satisfied taste buds. The menu lists various delicacies from North Indian, South Indian and Chinese cuisines along with a few anytime snacks. Chhole Bhature, Dosa, Shahi Paneer served with Butter Naan and Pav Bhaji must be tried. So do grab a bite here next time you’re around the campus. Shaahi Paneer with Butter naan ( Rs. 45) and Dosa (Rs. 25) are a delight to the taste buds.

-Hardik Kakar, Hindu College

5. Sri Venkateswara College

Dosa (Sri Venkateswara College)
Dosa (Sri Venkateswara College)

Sri venkateswara college canteen reminds one of Amma’s canteen in south. With the indistinguishable delicious sambhar and inexpensive south indian dishes it provides a complete package for foodies. ‘Mysore masala dosa’  with the special south indian spicy touch is able to make a  mark on the student’s tongue. Its eccentric location and chilled out atmosphere makes it the most popular hangout place for students. The graffiti walls beside the seating arrangements ups the ambience level. Despite being a new canteen students have found their love and reasons to stay at college than preferring Satya lounges.

-Gerush Bahal and Lakshya, DU Students

6. Jesus and Mary College

JMC Canteen
JMC Canteen

The canteen of Jesus and Mary College is one of the most popular ones of the varsity. With a diverse food menu, consisting of South Indian, North Indian, Italian and Chinese dishes among others, the level of hygiene is also decent. Though the taste of various food items seems average, yet few dishes do attract students of the neighboring colleges to the place. With the price being slightly higher than most of the other colleges, Dishes like Bhel Puri, Sev Puri and Chowmein/Fried Rice captures the hearts (and obviously, the stomach!) of all the JMCites. The favourite dishes – Bhel Puri and Fried Rice, cost 40 rs each.

Fried Rice (JMC)
Fried Rice (JMC)

-Lovleen Kaur, Jesus and Mary College

7. Miranda House

Dosa (Miranda House)
Dosa (Miranda House)

At Miranda House, a satisfactory quality of food is maintained across the menu. From the honey chilli potato (Rs 40) to the chicken manchurian (Rs 50) and masala dosa (Rs 30),the canteen churns out quality food at affordable prices. The fresh juice stand is also a favourite amongst students. To the dismay of many students however, the ‘momo-bhaiya’ has quit his job this year, and chicken momo is no longer on the menu. Come back Bhaiya !

The level of hygiene maintained at the  Miranda House canteen sets it apart from other colleges. A committee of faculty members carries out regular inspections to ensure that cleanliness standards are maintained.

Miranda House Canteen
Miranda House Canteen

-Swareena Gurung, Student, Miranda House

Compiled by Riya Chhibber

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Celluloid, the film society of Miranda House kick-started the new academic session with a two day Short-Film Festival on 16th and 17th August, 2016. 

The film festival was in line with the previously organised Comedy Film Festival and the like. Short movies which were chosen for the festival served to create a scope for freshers-friendly and an easy critical evaluation to brace up the newcomers. On the first day of the festival, short movies such as ‘Bypass’, ‘How I Raped Your Mother’, ‘Kriti’ and ‘Ludo’ among others were screened. The response on this was overwhelming. The seminar room was jam-packed with frequent applause from an engaged audience.

The second day of the festival was successful albeit some glitches. Hindrances were caused due to the restoration of the renovation of the venue without prior notice to the organisers. Students from Miranda House expressed their concern about the slow progress of the construction work taken up in different parts of the college. However, with the assistance and co-operation of the college authorities, the construction was stopped and the venue was temporarily made feasible for the event. The turnout for the second day was decent. Short films which were screened included, ‘French Toast’, ‘Geri’s Game’, ‘Alarm’ etc.

The event concluded on a productive note and the organisers were satisfied with the responses. The society members seemed positive about a new year ahead and had chalked out plans for the current session. In addition to organising discussion sessions, making and screening documentaries and movies, the film club also maintains a blog. The blog called, ‘Celluloid: The Official Blog of Miranda House Film Club’ can be followed at http://mhfilmclub.blogspot.in/?m=1

Featured Graphic Credits: Celluloid, MH Film Club

Tooba Towfiq
[email protected]

Miranda House hosted its Annual Cultural Fest, Tempest‘16 from 18th to 20th February, 2016. Apart from numerous cultural events, the highlights of the event were the EDM Night on day one with DJ Rahul and Kunal; Karachi based band RAETH on day two and renowned Bollywood singer Neeti Mohan along with sister Mukti Mohan, both Miranda House alumni.

Day One: Battle of Bands and DJ Night

The day started off damp and dull after a brief spell of rain but it was eventually revived.  The Indian classical solo competition was won by Ashutosh from Hindu College followed by Shivangi Barman (Daulat Ram College) and M. Rudresh (Sri Venkateswara College) as first and second runner ups. The second event, semi-classical solo competition saw Saptak Chatterjee (Hansraj College) taking the first position. The second position was tied between Namrata Natrajan (Hindu College) and Rambhajan Bedi (Zakir Hussain College). Dhruv (IIT-D) stood third.

The highlight competition of the day however was the Battle of Bands, organised by Orpheus, the Western Music society of Miranda House with 8 bands from the University participating. Hindu College Collective emerged as the winners with their composition ‘Black Sheep’ with Playtime (Hansraj College) and Musoc (Kirorimal College) as first and second runner ups.

#Live: Hindu College’s band, Hindu College Collective were declared the winners of ‘Battle of Bands’ at #MirandaHouse’s Annual Cultural Fest, #Tempest2016. Image Credits: Shubham Kaushik for DU Beat

Posted by DU Beat on Thursday, February 18, 2016

 

The day was brought to a close with an EDM set by DJs Raghav and Kunal, who enthralled the crowd by playing around with popular tracks like Seven Nation Army and Hey Mama.

DJ Kunal and Raghav enthrall the crowd on day one of Miranda House's Tempest'16
DJ Kunal and Raghav enthrall the crowd on day one of Miranda House’s Tempest’16

 

Day Two: Acapella and performance by RAETH band

The day started with the solo Indian dance event with Ananya (Daulat Ram College) emerging as winner. This was followed by the group folk dance competition where the team from Maitreyi College emerging as winners with Sri Venkateswara College as runner up.

Sri Venkateswara's folk dance team were the runner ups of Folk Dance competition at Tempest'16
Sri Venkateswara’s folk dance team were the runner ups of Folk Dance competition at Tempest’16

Another highlight of the day was the Acapella competition saw 8 teams performing after which Zephyr (Kamala Nehru College) were declared the winners for their rendition of the Harry Potter theme song. The second position was tied between Aria (Hindu College) and Crescendo (Sri Venkateswara College). The third position was bagged by the Western Music Society of Lady Sri Ram College. The solo singing event which took place after the Acapella saw Isha Chakrabarty (Gargi College) taking the first position, followed by Shivash Chagti (Hansraj College)

The day closed with a performance by the band RAETH who were greeted with cheers. They performed popular numbers like Baag DK Bose, 7 Din, and their original song Bhula Do, Bhula Do.

 

Day 2 at Miranda House’s annual cultural fest #Tempest’16 ended with Karachi based band RAETH performing numbers like ‘…

Posted by DU Beat on Friday, February 19, 2016

 

Day 3: Miranda House alumnae Neeti and Shakti Mohan and Western Dance

Day 3 began with Indian choir competition which was won by the choir from Swaranjali (Hansraj College). They were followed by Alankar (Hindu College) and Alahyaa (Daulat Ram College). One of most well-attended and energized events of the day was Halla Bol, the nukkad natak event organised by Anukriti, the street play society of Miranda House. Gargi College’s ‘Holy Shit’ and Lady Shri Ram College’s ‘Sun, Tu Rehn De’ were praised by many.

 

Burlesque, the Western Dance event by Tanz, the Western Dance society, attracted quite a crowd with Misba, Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, winning the first position and Verve, Sri Venkateswara College won the second position.

 

 

 

Tempest 2016 ended on a high as Neeti Mohan and Shakti Mohan, alumnae of Miranda House, performed to a huge crowd in the college grounds. While Neeti Mohan enthralled with her powerful voice, belting out crowd pleasers like Jiye Re, Jiya Re and Paani Da,  Shakti Mohan danced to foot-tapping tunes like Chiitiyan Kalaiyan. In their enthusiam, the crowd broke the barricades twice. The sisters proclaimed themselves to be proud Mirandians as Tempest was brought to an emotional and fitting end.

 

 

Tempest’16 in an overview –

 

Read highlights of individual days:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

 

Check out DU Beat’s entire album of Tempest’16 here.

 

Kartikeya Bhatotia

[email protected]

The third and final day of Tempest dawned rainy and damp with the Western Dance competition, nukkad natak, and the star night with Neeti and Shakti Mohan being the main attractions.

The Indian choir competition by Geetanjali, the Indian music society was the first event for the day. Being judged by Ms. Srimanjari, faculty in the Department of History of Miranda House and associated with SPIC Macay of the college, and Dr. Bharat Bhushan, who is a Ph.D in Music. The choir from Swaranjali, Hansraj College were awarded the first position. They were followed by Alankar, Hindu College, and Alahyaa, Daulat Ram College.

One of most well-attended and energized events of the day was Halla Bol, the nukkad natak event organised by Anukriti, the street play society of Miranda House. When enquired about why Halla Bol was non-competitive this year, Shivangi Tewari, one of the members of Anukriti revealed that the event this year was dedicated to one of their members who passed away recently- Mokshi Wadhera. She said, “Mokshi was a free spirit and also lifted those of people around her. This year, we wanted our event to not only encapsulate her spirit but also be a platform that’s being denied to people right now in light of recent events. We wanted teams to not be bound by expectations or competition, and just traverse the entire genre of nukkad and express freely.” The feeling of solidarity with one another and freedom could be felt as 10 teams performed plays about diverse and often, controversial, topics. The event was presided over by Mr. Kushagra Singh, an artist with the Asmita Theatre Group, and Mr. Fahad Khan, who has his own theatre group.

Burlesque, the Western Dance event by Tanz, the Western Dance society, attracted quite a crowd. It was judged by Tarun Sharma, choreographer of Tanz, Mohit Raj Thapa, a member of Dance Works, and Caroline Prada, an international dancer. Misba, Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, won the first position and Verve, Sri Venkateswara College won the second.

Tempest 2016 ended on a high as Neeti Mohan and Shakti Mohan, alumnae of Miranda House, performed to a huge crowd in the college grounds. While Neeti Mohan enthralled with her powerful voice, belting out crowd pleasers like Jiye Re, Jiya Re and Paani Da,  Shakti Mohan danced to foot-tapping tunes like Chiitiyan Kalaiyan. In their enthusiam, the crowd broke the barricades twice. The sisters proclaimed themselves to be proud Mirandians as Tempest was brought to an emotional and fitting end.

Image Credits: Chirag Sharma, Paurush Bhardwaj, Mridul Kumar, Alex Arthur, Jasmine Chahal  and Gerush Bahal for DU Beat

Arushi Pathak, Kartikeya Bhatotia, Shubham Kaushik and Tooba Towfiq

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

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The second day of Miranda House’s annual cultural fest saw higher attendance and more events, along with a performance by the Karachi-based band Raeth.

The day started with the solo Indian dance event organised under the umbrella of Tarangini by Mridang, the Indian Dance society of Miranda House. The event was judged by Smt. Vidhalal, a graded artist from Delhi Doordarshan, Deya Roy, and Dr. Vijaylakshmi Nanda. Ananya from Daulat Ram College was awarded the first position from amongst the eight students who performed. This was followed by the group folk dance competition where teams from colleges all over Delhi University performed, including Daulat Ram College, IP College for Women and Maitreyi College. The panel of judges for the group event was mostly the same as the one for solo dance, with the addition of Poonam Bhargava instead of Dr. Vijaylakshmi Nanda. Poonam Bhargava is a faculty member of Department of Chemistry, Miranda House and an avid dancer. The crowd was energized and receptive despite the harsh sun, powered on by Aman Kalra, the guest host. After performances that celebrated the rustic charm of the various folk dances of India, the team from Maitreyi College was declared the winner for their colourful number, followed by the team from Sri Venkateswara College for the second position.

tempest22
Zephyr, Kamala Nehru College, winners of Acapella at Tempest 2016

After grabbing the most crowds of all events on Day 1 with the Battle of the Bands, Orpheus, the Western Music Society, returned with two more events for Euphony. The Acapella event, being judged by Worshom Muivah, member of Minutes of Decay, and Nilot Pal Sinha, director of House of Symphony, saw 8 teams performing after which Zephyr from Kamala Nehru College were declared the winners for their excellent rendition of the Harry Potter theme song. The second position was tied between Aria, Hindu College, and Crescendo from Sri Venkateswara College. The third position was bagged by the Western Music Society of Lady Sri Ram College. The solo singing event took place after the Acapella and saw Isha Chakrabarty from Gargi College taking the first position, followed by Shivash Chagti from Hansraj College.

tempest23
Maitreyi College emerged the winners at the Folk Dance competition

 

Enactus Miranda House organised The Women Entrepreneurship Summit which had the PopXo co-founder Priyanka Gill, and the Enactus India programme manager, Niharika Bhatia, launching Enactus India’s new initiave RACK- Random Acts of Kindness.

The day closed with a performance by the band RAETH who were greeted with cheers. They performed popular numbers like Baag DK Bose, 7 Din, and their original song Bhula Do, Bhula Do.

Also read: Day 1 at Tempest 2016

 

Image Credits: Tejaswa Gupta, Alex Arthur and Jasmine Chahal for DU Beat

Sudisha Mishra, Shubham Kaushik and Tooba Towfiq

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

Miranda House’s annual cultural festival Tempest 2016 kicked off on 18th February, 2016. Themed ‘Rainbow in Flight’, Day 1 saw several music and quiz based events as well as an art exhibition by the Fine Arts society of the college.

The day started off damp and dull after a brief spell of rain but it refused to dampen the spirits of the organizing committee as the college was adorned with colourful streamers and other eye-catching decorations. Mridang, the Indian Music society of Miranda House, organised two instrumental competitions. The Indian classical solo competition was judged by Mrs. Dipti Mishra, an instrumental music teacher, and Mr. Ranjan Biswas, an artist of All India Radio and a staff artist of Delhi University.  After a morning of ear-pleasing, classical instrumental music, Ashutosh from Hindu College was declared the winner, followed by Shivangi Barman from Daulat Ram College and M. Rudresh from Sri Venkateswara College respectively for the second and third positions. The second event, which was the Semi-classical solo competition, was judged by Abhipsa Deb, a vocal music instructor, and Mr. Sunil Kumar,a  faculty member of Department of Music and Fine Arts, and saw Saptak Chatterjee from Hansraj College taking the first position. The second position was tied between Namrata Natrajan from Hindu College, and Rambhajan Bedi from Zakir Hussain College. Dhruv from IIIT-D stood third.

tempest2
Hindu College Collective, Winner of Battle of Bands

 

Perhaps the highlight of the day was the Battle of the Bands, the first event of Euphony, organised by Orpheus, the Western Music society of Miranda House. With 8 bands from colleges across Delhi University and others performing covers and their personal compositions, the event drew the most crowd and saw the audience swaying and cheering on the performers. Worshom Muivah, a member of the band Minutes of Decay, and Awarthanga Chiru, who plays for Blending Chords, judged the event. Hindu College Collective, who went on to win the first position, wooed the crowd with their blues-inspired composition Black Sheep. The second position was awarded to Playtime, from Hansraj College and the third to Musoc, from Kirorimal College.

The Foreign Students Society also hosted an event, Mosaic, which gave foreign students studying in Delhi a platform to perform and express. Chanda, a student from Zamibia currently studying at Hindu College , was declared the winner for her poem on Africa.

The day was brought to a close with an EDM set by DJs Raghav and Kunal, who enthralled the crowd by playing around with popular tracks like Seven Nation Army and Hey Mama.

Shubham Kaushik, Tooba Towfiq and Shreya Srivastava

Image Credits: Jasmine Chahal and Gerush Bahal for DU Beat

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

th to 13th of February by The Women’s Development Cell,Miranda House, in collaboration with One Billion Rising, Men Engage, CFAR, WFS,CHSJ and other civil society partners. This synergy of various groups organised a critically aware,culturally tuned and a very carefully articulated event to celebrate the power of love and to accentuate Gender equality, Queer politics, the Rights of the LGBT community and issues such as the recognition and Rights of sex workers. The Mela also witnessed various cultural performances. Inaugurating the Gender Mela, Dr. Pratibha Jolly, Principal of Miranda House acknowledged that, “Colleges are spaces where we necessarily have to be reflective”. The need for the participation of men was also reiterated. The first session about “Gender, Masculinity and Sustainable Development” was presided over by Dr Bijaylaxmi Nanda, convenor WDC, Miranda House; Kamla Bhasin the spokesperson of One Billion Rising (OBR); Abhijit Das from Men Engage;  Smita Khanijow Project Officer Action Aid;  Dr.V.Rukmini Rao ,Executive Director of Gramya Resource Centre for Women and Rakhee Bakhshee,Director,Women’s Feature service (WFS). Explaining the issues of Gender, Masculinity and Sustainable Development, Kamla Bhasin, who has been very closely associated with WDC, Miranda House said, “Nature believes in diversity, not inequality or hierarchy. With inequality, development will not be sustainable”. Similarly, Abhijit Das explained that Men being in positions of power find little need to bring a change or be sensitive towards the cause of equality of sexes. It was emphasised that it is imperative for men to participate in bringing about a change. Numerous stalls were also put up by CFAR, Cequin, NASVI, Kriti, CHSJ, UN Women: He For She campaign. The stalls sold recycled products which included mugs, jewellery, t-shirts with witty quotes using attractive puns related to ‘Masculinity’ and thereby facilitating an understanding of the politics of Gender. A Debate with the motion proposing, ’Religion Adversely Affects Women’ was conducted, in which students from various universities participated. In addition, a very engaging seminar called, “Understanding Queer”, examined “Queer” and its politics. Jaya Sharma, a Queer Kinky Activist elucidated that, “Queer is not about our desires but about understanding the politics of our desires; about breaking rules shamelessly towards justice”. Aditi Angiras, a Queer poet and Rituparna Borah also exposed the inadequacy of the societal obsession with binaries and heteronormativity. The discussion gave insights into the flexibility which being Queer is committed to and a corollary of the session left everyone in retrospection, “Are we Queer Enough?” Various other events and discussions were also organised such as, “Multiple Masculinities in an Urban World and implications on struggle for Gender Justice”. The first evening of Gender Mela concluded with a performance by Goonj;The Sufi Rock Band. The Second day of Gender Mela started with a Round Table Discussion with the campaigners of contemporary social movements. Representatives from youth led movements like Happy to Bleed, The Pinjra Tod Campaign, The Rohit Vemula Campaign and the North East Network were invited. All the campaigners and participants agreed that the space of dissent is fast diminishing. However, the pressure has led to an equally powerful emergence of numerous student movements. It was observed that students and people from various walks of life are forming alliances.Student movements now do not merely see participation from a few parties. But individuals and autonomous movements are fast growing. An inter college street play competition, “Nukkad p charcha hai ki….”  was also organised. Memesis, The Theatre Society of Daulat Ram College won the first prize for their street play, “Humai Maramat ki Zaroorat hai”. Films such as ‘Mardistan’ and ‘The Danish Girl’ were also screened. A flash mob also happened as a part of the One Billion campaign, which is a global movement aiming to raise awareness in order to end violence against women. The Mela stretched into the evening with a performance by song writer and singer, Dhruv Vishwanath. The last morning of Gender Mela 2016, was charged with a distinct kind of energy to give it’s vision a powerful articulation. The highlight of Gender Mela, was a seminar “To Understand the Perspectives of Sexual Minorities”. This session was presided over by representatives from the communities of Sex workers. Ms Kusum, President of All India Network of Sex Workers (AINSW), Ms Tripti Tondon (Lawyers collective), Ms. Abhina Aher (Transgender Right Activist) and others closely associated with the Rights of Sexual Minorities and Sex Workers. The discussion was set into the right direction from the beginning, when the President of AINSW very powerfully asked the audience, “What do you think about us? What do you think about sex workers?”. The panel highlighted the unjust stigmatisation of the sexual labour of sex workers. They emphasised the need of recognising sex work as labour, it’s decriminalisation and their inclusion. It also called to attention the exploitation of Sex workers and the need for the recognition of their rights. The discussion raised awareness about the role of Sex workers as Health workers in helping the government in their HIV programmes and their efforts to stop trafficking by organising a Self regulatory Board. An independent series, “I Am a Girl”, by Rebecca Bary was also screened. The Mela witnessed yet another play, Dayar-e-Ulfat by Hansraj College. Simultaneously,another Round Table on issues of Marginalisation, intersectionality, Literature, Culture and History was conducted. The circle of participants included social activists, researchers, Writers and Practitioners like Rakhi Bakshi, from WFS (Women’s Feature Service), Ms Kalpana Mishra (Author of ‘Love Forever @Rajpath), Ms. Vinita Bakshee and Ms. Mansi Mishra. The Gender Mela concluded by a musical evening with Loknaad (people’s voice) ,the activist couple, who use the energy of music to express the plight and power of people.   Tooba Towfiq [email protected]]]>

Miranda House hosted its annual sports event Erobern over the course of three days, from 10th to 12th February, 2016. With participation from over thirty teams from colleges like Lady Sri Ram College for Women, Jesus and Mary College, Daulat Ram College and most women colleges of Delhi University, along with women teams from co-educational colleges, the winners’ position for all events was well fought for. Erobern saw five main competitive events- Netball, Ball Badminton, Basketball, Chess and Taekwondo.

The three day celebration of women-in-sports started off with an opening address by Dr. Pratibha Jolly who voiced her support for the event. She was accompanied to the opening ceremony by Professor Pasquale Sgro, the head of the Department of Economics of Deakin University, Australia, who was in the college for delivering a lecture. The opening ceremony was followed by a yoga demonstration by the students of Miranda House and a rope-skipping presentation by the Dutch Dragon Crew who enthralled the audience with over 450 styles of rope-skipping.

Tapasya Changkakati, the president of the Miranda House Sports Society, was happy with the turnout. When asked about her experience with Erobern, having been a familiar face from the previous year’s event, she said, “It’s a great experience to host fellow sportspersons. We always learn a lot from them. We hope all participating teams take away good memories of a fair and fun event from Erobern 2016.”

Erobern 2016
Erobern 2016

While Day 1 mainly saw knockout matches, the second day was full of action with Chess and Taekwondo being the main attractions, along with the league matches for Netball, Basketball and Ball Badminton. Proving that playing on home turf is indeed advantageous, Miranda House took the first position for both Chess and Taekwondo. The second and third positions were grabbed by the teams from LSR and Laxmibai College respectively for Chess, and Daulat Ram College and Aryabhatta College respectively for Taekwondo.

The finals of Netball, Ball Badminton and Basketball took place on the third day. After a well competed match between LSR and Miranda House, the latter emerged as the winners of the final. LSR took the second position, followed by the team from Kirori Mal College in the third position. It was a special moment for the Miranda House team as they had earlier lost to LSR in the basketball event at Kirori Mal College. Komal and Meena, two first-year players on the team were all glee as they said, “We were nervous about the match but our seniors were phenomenal and we had an 11 point lead in the first quarter itself!”

The Miranda House team again reigned supreme in the finals of Netball, fighting off competition from JMC for the first position. The teams from JMC and Maitreyi College followed, making up the top 3. The winners for Ball Badminton were the teams from Gargi College, Miranda House and Maitreyi College respectively.

Image Credits: Jasmine Chahal for DU Beat

Established in the year 1965, the Department of Geography, Miranda House is celebrating its Golden Jubilee this academic year. Among many other activities taken up by the Department this session, the recent ones were its Annual Fest Globe and the Alumni Meet.

Globe 2016 was hosted on the 5th of February and saw massive participation from various colleges across Delhi University. Centred on the theme of India in the New World Order, the Fest started with a talk on ‘The American Perspective on India and Its Neighbours’ by Prof. Chintamani Mahapatra of the School of International Studies, JNU.

The daylong event included Competitive Debating on the motion that the world’s biggest climate polluters should open their borders to climate refugees; Poster Making Competition where students were at their creative best to depict the theme of International Year of Pulses: the Future of Food; followed by a thrilling Quiz and a Treasure Hunt with a geographical twist. The Fest was an unmitigated success, made possible through the efforts of the organisers under the constant guidance of Dr. Anindita Sarkar, the teacher in-charge of the Department of Geography, all faculty members and needless to say, the enthusiasm of the participants.

Globe 2016 was followed by the Alumni Meet of the Department of Geography on the 6th of February. It was a journey down the memory lane, where batches of 60s to the 2015 got together to celebrate, to cherish and to reminisce the great moments of the yesteryears. The day was peppered with much joy and fun. The current batch of students put up a great show of cultural performances. The meet was much like a beautiful song with new bonds forged and old ones renewed.

The Department is also a conducting a one day Seminar celebrating The International Year of Pulses as declared by the 68th UN General Assembly on February 16, 2016. A speaker session by three eminent speakers would be the major attraction of the event.  Ten shortlisted candidates will be presenting a paper on ‘Does India Need a Pulses Revolution?’ on the same day. Also, the Annual Magazine of the Department of Geography, ‘Geographica’16’ will be unvelied on the same day. The event is powered by ‘Geography and You’.

Guest Post by Vasudha Singh