Quick service, scrumptious filling food and a next door library , all contribute to the upbeat chilled out atmosphere of the open air pseudo canteen, a popular hangout of students during winters. The food is as delicious as the prices are cheap. A word of caution to the health freaks: probably not your sort of place if you want to keep your stomach light. However for those desiring to keep both their wallet and their stomach comfortably full, it is the perfect haven. In a measly sum of Rs. 50 one can get a complete meal. Specialties: The lip smacking sesame toast and sinful chocolate brownies are much hankered after by the regulars. We hear the macaroni and cheese too is particularly delicious. One can wash it all down with a drink ranging from the oh – so – healthy Prov and energy drinks to the creamy cold coffee. The crispy potatoes, on the other hand , are not much to write home about. Beware of the rather enticing service lane in front of the Bhavan if you are on the look out for a parking spot. Like the DUB team, the tow away crane, we hear is a regular visitor here too.]]>
Q: Periods are a pain. I know a lot happens during this time of the month but I’ve started to get diarrhoea. Why this now?
A: Arrey for this one I had to do so much research. Went to the libraries, stood on those ancient stool and didn’t fear falling. It was fun. Thank you, question woman.
Ok, so this is what Ifound out. You have to sit back and blame it on natural chemicals called prostaglandins. Now these are responsible for the uterine contractions that help expel blood from your body. Prostaglandins also trigger contractions in your bowels, resulting in diarrhoea — particularly during the first few days of your flow. To stop the runs, pop an anti-inflammatory painkiller. These over-the-counter drugs reduce prostaglandin production, so you’ll still have a regular period yet won’t have to hightail it to the toilet as often. And try to consume bland, plain foods like white rice, bread, and bananas, which help prevent loose stools.
That’s all i got for you. Now I got to go and spray some Volini on that muscle pull i got after i tripped off the stool at the library. See you folks!
Q: Tell me something amma. Am I prone to more vaginal infections when I’m in a relationship because I wouldn’t like to believe that I’m that unhygienic. Please tell me I’m not.
A: What is that you people say, LOL? Yes, I would like to ‘lol’ at this one. Such funny ideas people get. But you know what? I should stop ‘lol-ing’ . During sex, the man can actually propel rectal bacteria present near your vaginal opening into your urethra. But that’s not very grave an issue. All you need to do is wash your genital area with soap before you hit the sheets. That’ll kill the bacteria. And since you already are very hygienic, I’m sure you’re doing that already! There, problem solved!!
and Aina
Winged and hoofed, horned and haloed, these fantastical friends of ours have guided us through many books and movies, showing us glimpses of their magical world. DU Beat opens the door to their realm a little wider.
Dragons
You may have caught a glimpse of one breathing fire in underground Gringotts in your worn- out copies of Harry Potter or chanced upon a full blown battle between one and Beowulf. Yes, the legendary, fantastical, majestic Dragon. In most European myths, Dragons are large, reptilian creatures with large bat like wings and two or four legs. The Chinese dragon, on the other hand, is typically portrayed as a long, scaled, serpentine creature. The Chinese dragon is believed to be benevolent as opposed to their European counter-parts. The Dragon was historically the Chinese Emperor’s symbol and has come to represent China culturally.
There was much furore about dragons existing in the Middle Ages but the good old archaeologists have established that there were no dragons. There is proof that the bones believed to belong to dragons are actually those of dinosaurs or wooly mammoths.
So that makes the dragons mythical, but that only adds to their splendor and magnificence.
Trivia
- Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus
(“Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon”) is the motto of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. - Smaug, the dragon was the chief antagonist in The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
- Dragon images have been found on the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, on scrolls from China, in Egyptian hieroglyphs and Ethiopian sketches, on the prows of Viking ships, in bas relief on Aztec temples, on cliffs above the Mississippi River and even on bones carved by Inuits in climates where no reptile could live.
Elves
Few beings arouse more awe and interest than the infinitely fair, light- haired immortals. Elves were first introduced in the Norse mythology. Although the concept itself is never clearly defined in the exact sources, the elves appear to have been conceived as powerful and beautiful human-sized beings. The myths about elves have never been recorded. Full-sized famous men could be elevated to the rank of elves after death, such as the petty king Olaf Geirstad-Elf.
The most common rendition of an elf today is drawn from Tolkien’s version who himself was greatly inspired by Norse culture. Elves, in the Lord of the Rings and other books by Tolkien , are described as immortal, fair and agile. Elves are also, in a lot of popular literature, considered to be rather small, pixie like creatures. In Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling depicts house elves as 2-3 feet tall, with spindly arms and legs and over-sized heads and eyes. They are bound to their masters and their nature is servile.
Trivia
- In the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland the modern children’s folklore of Santa Claus typically includes diminutive elves at Christmas; green-clad elves with pointy ears, long noses, and pointy hats as Santa’s assistants or hired workers.
- William Shakespeare imagined elves as little people. He apparently considered elves and fairies to be the same race. In Henry IV, part 1, act II, scene iv, he has Falstaff call Prince Henry, “you starveling, you elfskin!”, and in his A Midsummer Night’s Dream, his elves are almost as small as insects. On the other hand, Edmund Spenser applies elf to full-sized beings in The Faerie Queene.
- The original German elves (Old Saxon alf; Middle High German: alb, alp; plural elbe, elber; Old High German alb, by 13th century) are thought to be light creatures who lived in heaven during the era of Germanic paganism, and may have included dark elves or dwarves underground (as understood to be similar to the álfr of Old Norse mythology).
Vampires
With Twilight being all the rage these days, vampires have re-made a foray into popular culture. Although the series shows them in a very positive light, vampires were traditionally evil figures who feasted on the blood of humans and other living creatures. They were reported to be bloated and purplish or ruddy in colour owing to their intake of blood, in sharp contrast with present day descriptions of vampires as being fair and pale-skinned. Clad in the shrouds they were buried in, most representations showed blood dripping from their mouths and with long hair, nails and teeth. Though typically believed to be “undead”, some minor traditions believed them to be living people. The vampire as we know today was first created by John Polidori in 1819 in his book The Vampyre. However, it is Bram Stoker’s Dracula, published in 1897 which is considered the true vampire novel and continues to inspire modern vampire fiction even today.
Trivia
- In Slavik and Chinese traditions, corpses were supposed to become vampires once animals, particularly a dog or cat, jumped over it. On the other hand, according to Russian folklore, vampires were once witches or people who rebelled against the Church when they were alive.
- Vampiric elements are found in Indian mythology as well. For example, the Baital Pachisi mentions vetalas who were ghoul-like beings that inhabited corpses. Goddess Kali, with her flaming red tongue, garland of skulls and fangs was also linked to the drinking of blood.
In the 18th century, there was a frenzy of vampire sightings in Europe that later came to be called “The 18th Century Vampire Controversy” and gripped the nation for almost an entire generation, fuelled by superstitions and causing mass hysteria
Sustainable development never got so innovative. It’s not unlikely that at some point you may have admired the intricate workmanship of Indian handicrafts. Well, it isn’t surprising considering India is one of the largest handicraft producing countries in the world, with a range of crafts and products that is almost unlimited. What is surprisingly ironic is that all these products of lasting beauty and value are often produced in conditions of abject poverty ( under neglected and often poor conditions) the craftsmen often live in bondage to local money – lenders. It was to do away with these challenges faced by local artists that the idea of the Happy Hands Foundation was conceived in the November of ‘08. Conceptualized by two twenty two year olds, Happy Hands Foundation became a registered NGO early this year. At Happy Hands, the focus is on creating sustainable development opportunities for artisans and craftsmen of India, while reviving traditional culture through contemporary and innovative platforms and development programs to showcase their talent.
“The idea was borne of providing dignity to these artists, by retaining their craft as well as giving them a fresh approach to modern product ideas”, comments Medhavi Gandhi, Founder and Director HHF.
As cofounder and vice president of The Happy Hands Foundation , Suneera puts it,” These crafts are losing their lustre. The Happy hands foundation looks towards reviving this form by creating economically viable markets for them both locally and in metropolitan cities.”
This has been done through the organisation of various out of the box activities that help establish a unique aura around handmade products and traditions unheard-of making it. To increase visibility and expand markets cultural festivals and development programs like Purple Street and Green Room have been organized as ways to facilitate display of handicrafts and even encourage product development workshops.
The products made by these artisans: apparel, accessories, jewellery, stationery, paintings, cater to all classes creating an awareness about eco-friendly goods and at the same time promoting Indian Handicrafts.
One of the prime target audiences for The Happy Hands Foundation is the youth who they feel are the ones capable of imbibing fashion into culture. For garnering this market as well, the HHF has collaborated with the Pearl Academy of Fashion for an annual event which would involve students in to the different forms of product development and designing where students and rural designers could learn from each other. Recently, they also made their presence felt at the JMC Diwali mela as well as the Sunder Nagar Diwali Mela, gathering a positive response. More recently, they have developed Red Earth, a cultural programme involving a art appreciation\management course followed by student rural exchange programme that helps open up the rural landscape for young students, simultaneously providing them a hands on experience in terms of marketing , developing and designing the particular product of their interest.
Basically HHF works with artist clans all over India who produce high-quality apparel, handicrafts, etc and market them locally and globally to make these groups financially independent, thus providing the opportunity to empower those who can make a difference to their own lives and to those around them by providing them the required avenues and platforms. (For those of you who want to lend a helping hand, you can volunteer ( do not mention event management), communications , product development and research at www.happyhandsfoundation.info)
1) Principalstein: Monster Supreme. Reigns over institution and inspires fear in the other monsterettes as well. Mission – To exterminate students’ happiness and convert college into self-styled deluxe prison
2) Professaur: Inordinately stingy when it comes to marks and even more so in the case of attendance. Efficient substitute for sleeping pills
3) Librarianator: Hobbles about yelling at people to keep quiet while contributing significantly to noise levels her/himself. Main aim is to rob poor students by charging them for every second past the due-date
4) Canteen Hag: Devoid of change at all times but more than happy to substitute it with inedible toffees. Takes sadistic pleasure in making students wait for the maximum time possible before food is served.
5) Class Nerdatron: Prime informant for the monster outfit. Annoyingly regular with assignments and permanent resident of the front row seat. Serves mainly to facilitate execution of various tortures on classmates by fellow monsters
Celebrated on the 31st of October, Halloween is a much anticipated festival in Western countries but has yet to make a mark in India. It supposedly has its origins in an ancient Gaelic festival called Samhain, roughly translated to mean “summer’s end”. On this day, the borders between this world and the Otherworld were believed to become thin, allowing spirits to pass through them and enter the world of the living. To ward off evil spirits, people would wear masks and costumes which would later inspire the elaborate fancy-dress parties that are now intrinsic to Halloween celebrations. The term itself was originally spelt as Hallowe’en, short for All Hallows’ Evening, which we now know as All Saint’s Day. Though Halloween precedes All Saints’ Day by a day presently, there was a time when both events used to take place on the same day. In fact, Halloween used to be celebrated on May 13th but the date was shifted to November 1st to coincide with the Christian festival of All Saints’ Day by the Church in an effort to dilute the pagan connotations.
The Jack-o’-lantern was initially a device to scare off evil spirits like the costumes and masks. The ancient Celts believed the head to be the most powerful part of the body since it contained the spirit and the body and hence, would place skeletons carved out of the “head” of vegetables like turnips and rutabaga on their window sills to protect themselves from ghosts.
The popular custom of “trick or treat” has surprisingly grave origins. It is possibly inspired by the practice of “souling” which was practiced in the Middle Ages by poor people who would go door to door and receive food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls’ Day. The custom firmly established itself with Walt Disney portraying it in their cartoon. Later on, UNICEF even conducted a national campaign in US for children to raise funds while doing the rounds on Halloween, asking for “trick or treat”.
and Mehak Batra
The Common Admission Test or CAT as it is popularly known, one of the most competitive exams in India, is just around the corner. Being touted as one of the toughest exams to conquer, primarily due to the sheer number of students appearing for it, students all over the country are burning the midnight oil. The basic eligibility criterion for the CAT has been carried forward from previous years. The eligibility criterion includes graduation with minimum 50% marks. However, there have been major changes in the way it is to be conducted. It will now be a 10 day affair starting from the 28th of November and will go on till the 7th of December. It will be a computer based test (CBT). Instead of reading the questions in a paper booklet and darkening the ovals on the answer-sheet, a candidate will read the questions on a computer terminal and choose an answer by clicking on an option. It will be held over a span of 2 hours and 30 minutes. A candidate will have to encounter 60-70 questions testing verbal and quantitative ability as well as data interpretation.
The competition among the candidates has become cut throat. Only the best of the best performers in the CAT get calls from the prestigious IIMs, which are every aspiring management student’s dream. And the contest keeps getting tougher by the year. According to the data available, only the candidates scoring above 99 percentile and clearing sectional cut-offs, that is, who score better than 99 percent of the students giving the exam, are the ones who generally get into IIM’s. Last year 99.89 percentile was the overall cut- off score at IIM-Ahmadabad, whereas the same for IIM-Calcutta was 99.32 percentile. So, let’s see who bells the CAT this year.
October was a busy time for the colleges this year with two major fests taking place one after the other in quick succession. IIT Kanpur’s annual fest Antaragani was held from 22nd to 25th October and immediately after that, BITS Pilani is hosting Oasis 2009 from 27th to 31st of this month. Both being equally popular and anticipated, societies had a hard time choosing between the two. This time, BITS reported a turnout of over 1400 students compared to last year’s figures of around 1000 participants. They credited this to increased sponsorship which translated into more events being held, and better organization and management. Certain untoward incidents which took place last year in IIT K involving students from DU may have also been responsible for a shift in preference for Oasis this time round with some girls’ colleges switching to BITS for the said reasons. Since IIT Kanpur also celebrates its Goden Jubilee this year, Antaragini 2009 was slated to be bigger and better than ever with performance by the likes of KK, Jaded Suns, Sitar Funk and Advaita. Oasis, on the other hand, has Rahul Bose gracing the awards ceremony and handing them out to the winners.
Most societies with the exception of ICS (Indian Cultural Society) and several music societies were represented in these fests but with a huge variety of competitions taking place in both, involving activities for almost all societies and a limited number of participants slotted for each college, there were internal disputes as well regarding which societies would be sent for the events. A disgruntled student of the Expressions Magazine Society of LSR,on conditions of anonymity complains against the unjustness of the procedure where certain societies have to suffer at the expense of others due to a lack of coordination. She alleges that the members of their society were not given a fair chance simply because they happened to be a minority and were dropped at the last minute. This itself is indicatory of the intense competition between college societies seeking representation in this prestigious festival and the high standard of the competition that is to be expected at both these outstation festivals this year
**
JMC – English DramSoc, Hindi DramSoc, Magazine Society and Photography Society attended Oasis
LSR – Music Society and DebSoc attended Oasis
Hindu – Participated in Antaragini
Ramjas – DebSoc attended Antaragini
Stepehens – Participated in Antaragini
Miranda House – With the exception of Indian Music and Western Music, all other societies went to Pilani
SRCC – Fashion Society and their stage play went to Pilani
**
SUMMARY
Two major fests, of IIT K and BITS Pilani, took place back to back. Antaragini in Kanpur from 22nd to 26th and Oasis in Pilani is taking place from the 27th to 31st. BITS reported higher turnout due to better sponsors and improved management. IIT K also celebrated its Golden Jubilee alongside. Excessive competition within colleges regarding selection of representation in fests , with some societies complaining of being ignored because they’re in the minority.
Name: Pragya Sidhwani
College: Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University
Course: Biochemistry(H) 2nd y
Read on to know more!
DAY1: 24TH SEPTEMBER
English play prelims
Blitzkrieg prelims (the annual rock show)
DAY 2: 25TH SEPTEMBER
Western solo prelims
Eastern instrumental
Classical solo
Street play prelims
Mr. and Ms.Rendezvous
Hindi play finals
Quiz
Clash of the titans (English debate) prelims
DAY 3: 26TH SEPTEMBER
Eastern solo prelims
Western group song
Street play finals
Western instrumental
DAY 4: 27TH SEPTEMBER
Kombat, the general quiz
Fusion band competition
Eastern solo and group finals
English Debate finals