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December 2013

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Celebrating 102 years of Delhi

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Delhi turned into a 102 year old city on 12th December, 2013. Just as the city dwellers got down to celebrate the experience of being a ‘Dilliwallah’, our team went back to all the small occasions when we had featured the city you all love. Be it food and heritage or the lifeline known as Metro, Delhi has it all. Here is a list of our favourite five posts about Delhi:

1. Top 5 State Bhavans in Delhi: A Guide to Regional Delicacies

When in a different city, a direct ticket home is the authentic cuisine of our state. Like international embassies, Delhi has State Bhawans, which bring authentic regional dishes to the national capital. These canteens prepare dishes as you could imagine them back home. The best part is that you can devour all you want without hurting your wallet.

2. Top 5 ‘hubs’ in Delhi to eat, shop and explore

Each city has a hub, a center around which people come to eat, shop and work. With time the place develops a character and slowly turns into a brand that promises a culture that is unique to it. Some are recognized for its food offerings while other for its range of boutiques.

The city of cities has more than one such hub. The post is our take on the most active, bustling, varied and happening markets in the city.

3. Exploring Music in Delhi!

With new venues and a growing audience Delhi has seen a phenomenal rise in the music scene, especially in the last few years. Bands are coming up ever so often and are given ample opportunities to promote their music in venues around town. We’re bringing you a few of the collectives, bands and artists we’ve thoroughly enjoyed listening to, and where you can watch them play, LIVE.

4. Top 5 monuments to explore in Delhi

Delhi is a city where history comes alive! Rulers, scholars and artists from all over the world have traveled here, and their contributions have influenced us in ways that are tangible and intangible. The most evident reflection of this is seen in the magnificent monuments that are scattered through out the city. Each of these architecture marvels is projection of culture, society and people of those times; interestingly enough, and especially once you’ve heard the stories behind these places, you’ll find pieces of our past in our day to day lives.

5. Seven types of people you find in the metro

Be it people who sleep and read or those who simply check others out, the Delhi Metro supports varied types of people everyday. This one is a stereotypical list of the kind of travellers one would generally find in the metro.  Read on to know more!

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DUB Speak

If Sexuality Were Celebrated

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If sexuality were celebrated, and people were free to choose their partners from whichever sex – gender roles would diminish. The concern over who will make the sandwiches and who will earn the bread would be nobody’s business. If sexuality was celebrated, comprehensive sexuality education would be the norm – children would be given the space to discover who they really are and teachers would be comfortable using words like ‘masturbation’ in biology classes.

If sexuality were celebrated, same sex couples would be choosing to marry (or not marry) on their own terms and families and friends would love them for it. If sexuality were celebrated, government forms wouldn’t ask us to choose between ‘male’ and ‘female’. If sexuality is celebrated, more and more famous people would speak about their own. If sexuality is celebrated, section 377 wouldn’t exist.

If sexuality were celebrated, marital rape would be punishable and recognized in a court of law. A woman wouldn’t be the property of her husband. Heck, she may never have a husband! If sexuality were celebrated, self proclaimed God men who see homosexuality as a disease would be hiding their faces and publicly apologizing to all of us. If sexuality were celebrated, honour killings wouldn’t happen – marriage would be a personal choice which we would all be free to take as and when we wish. If sexuality were celebrated, the Supreme Court of India would first look into the several pending cases of sexual assault and discrimination (many of which are against Judges, lawyers, police and government officials) before even thinking of attending to an appeal as regressive as de-legalizing ‘gay sex’.

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If sexuality were celebrated, one’s homosexuality wouldn’t be one’s primary identity – a ‘gay’ doctor, a ‘gay’ lawyer, a ‘gay’ artist would simply be a doctor, a lawyer, an artist. If sexuality were celebrated, many of us wouldn’t be criminals in our own country today. If sexuality were celebrated, desire and passion would be good things, and people wouldn’t be made alien to their own bodies. If sexuality were celebrated, the word ‘gay’ wouldn’t be used as an insult, or to refer to effeminate behaviour by men (as if being feminine is an insult in itself!)

But then again, sexuality is more tabooed than celebrated and we still live entrenched in a patriarchy that separates us from ourselves and where every desire is colonized and repressed. Not only does the Indian state today control our food, water and electricity, but who we’re having sex with and what ‘legal sex’ is. Sex today isn’t simply seen in terms of pleasure – an activity between two consenting adults, but an activity strictly limited to a man and a woman (preferably married), belong to the same religion, caste and class. Anything – absolutely anything – disrupting this is against the law. When I see it this way, the Supreme Court ruling that read own the Delhi High Court judgement that decriminalized homosexuality doesn’t come as much of a shocker.

But the fight for free love and free sexuality continues. Even in dire disappointment, this is an opportunity to press for progressive laws and subsequently, progressive mindsets. This is our opportunity. Don’t lose hope. Keep your faith, continue your fight.

Image credits: Pallab Deb

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News

Aurobindo College appointed Vice Principal without interviews: DUTA

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On the 23rd of November, members of the Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) were barred from entering the Aurobindo College campus by the police, and allegedly on order of the College principal. The clashes were just short of being classified as violent, with police manhandling and rowdy conduct by temporary teachers towards DUTA officials, which the latter claims was ordered by the principal.

The primary reason was these clashes is said to be the problematic appointment of the Vice Principal of the college, whose appointment was made without interviews, and in disrespect of the ‘’norms of seniority among Associate Professors of the college’’, according to the DUTA press release dated 6th December 2013. The DUTA claims that despite the reassurances they received from the college, the Governing Body appointed a teacher as Vice Principal without holding any interviews.

For the DUTA, this violation of norms (that of the appointment of VP taking place by rotation according to seniority) does not only disregard a long standing convention, but is also unfair to incumbent Vice Principal Dr. Meenakshi Gupta, who was removed mid way through her term.

No information has been received from the side of the college administration, but these clashes are only yet another sign of the Vice Chancellor’s administration being almost always at odds with students and teachers organizations across the university.

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Flicks

Movie Review: Catching Fire

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It is Francis Lawrence making you delve into the world of science fiction again with the sequel of Hunger Games –  Hunger Games : Catching Fire. Adapted from the novel by Susan Collins, part two of the proposed four part franchise certainly leaves you hungry for more. Although being a sci-fi, this particular movie connects more with the public sentiment than the previous one, specially due to its dark satire on those in power. It highlights the fact that people’s minds are run by the state and it could do anything in order to resist change. Yes, it always wants the status quo to be maintained for its own benefits. A certain example of exercise of power given by Steven Lukes.

Unlike the previous part, which focused more on the deadly game, this one is an amalgamation of ‘The Mortal game’ and with it, squalid politics. Focus is on the role of Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss Everdeen) whose initial anxiety in the movie is shown in the form of a trope, i.e. sitting in a vacant compartment looking out of the window, as if stuck in a cobweb.

Having won the last hunger games, she has again been manouevered by the state to play the next years’ games, so as to silence the revolution of District 12 against the Capitol. While she competes with the reality, she hasnt been able to overcome her past. And with the capitol wanting more from her, will she be able to resolve her anxiety issues and see things clearly and instead of  supporting the capitol, will she be able to lead an uprising? Yes, the end leaves you in a state of dilemma, to think about what comes next.

The cast also includes Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark) who partners Katniss in the game. Along with some great sets and costumes, the cinematography is of an excellent level giving a synergic effect. The computer stimulated graphics too take the movie to an unprecedented level.

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Top Picks

5 things to do in the Post-Exam Break

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After almost a month of last minute cramming, pulling off all nighters (successfully or not) and running on endless caffeine, the post-exam break is now here. Here’s our compilation of the top 5 things to do in it:

1.  Watch Breaking Bad

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You cannot miss this! Watch all the seasons of this amazing TV show called Breaking  Bad, if you haven’t yet. In case you are already done with it, download a TV show which you have been waiting to see all this while but were too lazy to download. Do complete AT LEAST one TV series. Other must-watch shows suggestions include Sherlock (the UK release date of season 3 has been announced as 1st January 2014), Suits, Parks and Recreation and Arrested Development. Even while you are reading this, keep the downloading tab open!

2. Read

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Read everything written by  Gabriel Garcia Marquez and/or Amitav Ghosh. You are going to cherish reading their work and one day, you will be glad that someone gave you this piece of advice. Winter holidays are the best days to have some good reads since you can creep into your blanket with a cup of hot coffee beside you and have a great time while reading.

3. Go for  road trips

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Road trips are fun. Push yourself inside a car with your buddies, keep the music volume high, break the 60km/h or the 80km/h speed limit and see how amazing life can get. This should not be done on busy roads of course. STAY SAFE.

4. Sleep

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Among all the other things, do not forget that this is the only time when you do not have to wake up early for classes and it is going to last only for some days. So sleep as much as you want to. But, remember not to perpetuate yourself into a state of total inactivity.

5.  Experiment with your looks

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Let those people who have been seeing you in the same look since like eternity heave a sigh of relief. New looks are usually given the best compliments. Even if you don’t do it for people, do it for yourself. Everybody needs changes. You too. Try while you can.

One last option? Hunt for an internship through our internship updates! With these words, I hope you make your break worth having. Have a good one people! 

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DUB Speak

Winds of Change: The 2013 Delhi Election Results

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For the past year or so, especially after the alarming lack of safety for women in Delhi, and in India by extension, has assumed center stage in all the political discussions that I came across, the concluding note was always that the future of this country is in bleak hands.

The economy isn’t in shape (and the future shows no respite), the Indian currency has sunk to an all-time low (so we are being degraded internationally as well), everyone from a technician who is supposed to repair my landline to an official who has taken the oath to serve the people before his personal interests responds to cash (ranging from a mere Rs. 50 to a few lakhs, depending on what you need fixed) and women’s safety is in jeopardy. In short, everything that our founding fathers stood for has been traded for a bottle of vodka, cash or blind sense gratification. The part that bothered me the most was that no one was willing to do anything about it. We all complained, went to the market and bought some pepper spray and that was it. A movement started by Mr. Anna Hazare surfaced but that too fizzled out with time.

Even though Hazare’s efforts were in vain, one of his close associates, Mr. Arvind Kejriwal formed his own political party- The Aam Aadmi Party- in his attempt to fight back and save what’s left of our city. No one expected much from him and up until the day before the elections, everyone expected AAP to win a few seats at best, with Congress or BJP hogging up all the power. Surely, we’d have to put up with another 5 years of corruption and avarice (after all, AAP was only promising a better city, while its well heeled competitors promised food, alcohol, a grand for a vote).

But 8th December proved everyone wrong. BJP won 31 seats and Congress managed to retain 8 seats in its feeble grip. The most delightfully surprising result was that AAP- the party that was formally launched just last November, not only managed to sweep congress off its feet with 28 seats in the 70 seat assembly, Kejriwal defeated Dikshit, who has been Delhi’s CM for 15 years, from her own constituency by a staggering 22,000 something votes.

 Even though everyone is expecting astronomical change in Delhi’s administration, I am not worried whether AAP or BJP (who ever finally comes to power) is able to bring some welcome change and clean some of the mess Congress has made. The fact that Delhi has proven that it’s had enough and that running a country is no-one’s family business has proven that maybe democracy isn’t dead. The wave of change that started with discontent in people’s minds has finally started making way to the parliament. Maybe, it isn’t such a bad time to be an Indian after all.

Image courtesy: timesofindia.com

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QWERTY

Game Review: Batman Arkham Origins

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The Plot

You are Bruce Wayne, a playboy millionaire by day and a kick ass vigilante known as the Batman by night. But your quest in stopping crime has got the attention of the infamous Black Mask, an underworld boss of the largest organized crime syndicate in Gotham city. Your constant disruption to his plans has forced him to place a bounty of $50 million on your head, for whoever kills you by the end of Christmas Eve (Bad guys have wishes too you know).

But the Batman in Arkham Origins is at its rawest. He is in his second year as the caped crusader and has almost no experience dealing with professional assassins such as Deathstroke, one of the 8 assassins who are after the bounty.

The plot seems rather simple but it is the storytelling that keeps you glued as the story unfolds. It is very engaging to watch Batman trying desperately to save Gotham (and himself) while following his one rule: no killing. It is in Arkham Origins that Batman makes acquaintance with some of the most memorable villains which will pave way to eternal rivalry, including the clown prince of crime – the joker.

Graphics

Using the unreal engine 3, the graphics are a marked improvement since the last instalment, Batman Arkham City. There are a lot of particle and lightning effects that give a very solemn feel to the game. Better yet, it does not require a beast like machine to run the game. A decent graphic card should play the game in medium and low settings and still look good.

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Gameplay

The game is played from a third person perspective, giving a nice view of Batman’s inhuman trapezius. Batman is a fighting game where you dish out ruthless combos and lightning fast counter attacks with the simple click of the appropriate buttons. For all those new to the series: the combat mechanics of the game is divided into two types – the overt combat mode, where you can show off Batman’s martial art skills, and there is the covert predator mode, where you have to use every gadget in Batman’s utility belt to take out armed thugs, stealthily. The veterans will know exactly how it works because…it is exactly the same mechanics as before. There is nothing new in the game combat mechanism which will make you jump up from your seats.

What Arkham Origins does have however is a bigger map. But bigger does not necessarily mean better. You can zip from roof top to roof top for miles and not meet a single soul, except for some occasional goons spawning randomly. The world map also has a fast travel point that you unlock by completing certain side quests. This proves handy as the map is very large.

The new gadgets are nothing very fascinating. The remote claw is useful to slam two targets together, the concussion grenade can prove useful while dealing with a tightly packed mob, the glue bomb is just a generic copy of the Freeze bomb from Arkham City and the shock gloves proves to be some sort of kill switch that can knock out normal goons in an instant and stun shielded ones.

While the combat and gadgets fail to deliver, the detective aspect of the game has seen a major overhaul. Unlike in the previous games Batman can now use his superior technology to virtually reconstruct the crime scene and deduce what might have happened.

Of course, what is a batman without his batcave? A homeless bat! Forgive my attempt on humour, but yes there is a batcave in the game and its fully interactive. You can reach it via the fast travel system in the map and there are quite a number of things you can do. For example you get your special equipments from the workshop. There is also a training arena where you can practise against new foes such as the martial artist, a new addition to the Batman’s enemy roster. These goons are just as good as batman and can counter Batman’s attacks. If not careful these guys can be an utter nuisance and become the reason for numerous game over screens. There is also Bruce Wayne’s loyal family butler, Alfred, who will make occasional sarcastic remarks which will make even the most serious of Batmans out there to crack a smile. Alfred also serves as a moral beacon for Bruce and it’s nice to see the world famous butler get a little more face time.

There is also a competitive multiplayer that requires a lot of players to play to be honest. I have not tried the multiplayer due to my horrendous network so I am not the best to judge this aspect of the game really.

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Verdict

For newcomers to the Batman series, this game will be a real treat. It has all that a newbie would want in a Batman game: gadgets, villains, stealth and Batman! But for all the battle hardened Veterans, this game provide nothing new. It still is a great game at its own right but it lacks innovation and its uninspired combat system will get very tiring.

The Good: Nice, visually stimulating graphics. Intriguing storytelling. Excellent voice acting. The joker.

The Bad: No departure from the original games. Occasional glitches and navigation issues. Unchallenging boss fights.

Available for: Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo 3DS, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii U, PS Vita

By Ambiso Tawsik ([email protected])

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DUB Speak

5 Steps to Become the Flag Waving DU Hipster Student Activist

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1. Get the kurta right

Before you decide on the issues(s) you want to start hunger strikes on, you must get the look right to compliment your now-future leaner physique. Look into your father’s closet and find the oldest kurta that you can find. If your father is the only-shirt-pants wearing bourgeoisie, don’t worry, FabIndia will come to your rescue. Sources tell us that the brand was formed to supply DU-JNU student activists with socialist-chic clothing which can also be worn for their Pammi Aunty’s Diwali parties. Step it up with the thickest nerdy glass that you can find, regardless of your need for glasses. More accessorising opportunities come with the winter, when Nehru jackets and shawls become the ‘It Things’ to have. It goes without saying, a jhola is a must.

Tip: While kurtas are mostly unisex, lady activists can also wear khadi saris, monotone or tribal prints, at seminars and other occasions of importance where you might get photographed. Male activists can try cross dressing to up their game.

2. Networking at D School

Now, as a rule every student activist worth their swadeshi salt hangs out at D School. Transcending the North Campus-South Campus divide, D School is the K Nags and Satyaniketan for students with enlightened views. Now as activists, you must network with others of your community to know about the new cool issue to raise your voice for. And what better place than D School! Though it was established as a premier institute for studying Economics, actual students of the school are hard to find with students from all over encroaching their habitat. A burgeoning issue amongst actual D School students is the ‘Gair D Schooli Chatra Bhagao Andolan’, which as a defender of the secular public space, you must oppose.

Tip: Brownie points to you for hanging out at the JNU campus at times. Try to regularly post pictures of you with your JNU/media/professor friends on Facebook to let others know that your network is wide and radical.

3. Deciding on Your Issues

With the look right and the networking done, now you can decide on the movements you can lend your support to. Try to listen in on what is bothering your senior activists and try nodding your head to them. You might not understand them much initially but a quick Google search later will take care of it. Try keeping up with the news. Immediately make an account on change.org and sign petition after petition without any discrimination. Keep only a couple of issues as your primary ones but you can always make your presence felt in others. But try not to take up all the issues as your projects as this will only cause people to take you less seriously.

Tip: Read up on gender, sexuality, poverty, Kashmir and Israel. Your ability to quote case studies will decide your position in the hierarchy.

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4. Learn to talk Much without saying Anything and understanding Everything

Remember the time when the darling of your hipster circle was talking about something and all except you were nodding their heads? Then you did not read the previous point closely. Nod your head to everything; that is the single most important thing you can and should learn. The ability to let people believe that you know more than they ever can is necessary for you to leave any kind of impression. One of the ways is nodding along but a greater method is to actually talk a lot and mean nonsense. Engineered by Literature students to pass their exams, it has now been adopted by the larger artsy population as one of the languages they are fluent in. Learn to speak in paradoxes as soon as you can or you will remain in the training period for longer than you need to.

Tip: Take a recorder along the next time you go to a talk, which should ideally happen weekly, and listen and try to replicate the way the speakers were speaking there. Remember, practice is the only way.

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5. Learn how to belittle others because of their choices

While ‘Right to Choose’ and ‘Right to Express’ are one of the rights you must bring in any conversation and defend them whenever they are in danger, you must learn the proper way to judge people on their choices and letting them know that. Notice your classmates hanging out at Starbucks? Call them enabler of the war on Palestine. See them reading Chetan Bhagat and/or Durjoy Datta? Call their literary taste trashy and low. See them eating McSpicy Burger? Call them sell-outs to Multinational Corporations. See them parading their spoilt asses around in branded clothes? Scream BURGEOISIE! This may lead to multiple ‘unfriending’ on Facebook and subsequent stoning of your popularity in your college, but who cares about those merchant-minded dimwits when you can get popular in D School? This skill to belittle others will also come in handy later when you get promoted in the corporate world you joined right after college and want to make the minions know who the boss is now. Then you would also need to quash those two rights of your juniors mentioned above.

Tip: While still learning the ropes of the game, your senior activists may call out on the still lingering signs of your middle class upbringing at times. Don’t lose your patience and tell them “thank you, you are helping me mould my consciousness into the example of enlightened perfection that you project.”

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P.S.: The author is only half serious and would still like to enjoy his Keema Dosa and Iced Tea at D School.

Image courtesy: quickmeme.com, tumblr.com, thehindu.com

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DU Dhaba

Food Review: Café Hi5

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Anand Vihar’s market in Shadara is no Khan Market or Connaught Place. The market is small, crammed and mostly has general stores, chemists and dry cleaners. But a rare luxury that this market can afford, that too recently, is a surprisingly good café- Café Hi5. The most interesting thing about Café Hi5 is that there are two entrances and a kitchen in the middle such that the two opposite ends of the room are completely disconnected from one another. So each side of the kitchen makes for a small sitting area seating about 8 people.

The servings are large enough that even if you go in a group, everyone manages to get a bite. There is no particular cuisine but Chinese and Italian are served, among others. Also, I have been told that the non-vegetarian food is excellent. You can try their sandwiches, burgers and a variety of desserts. But one of the main attractions of menu is the Iced Tea- it’s not your regular instant Iced Tea mixed in water and served at an overpriced rate and undersized glass. It tastes much like a peach flavored mocktail and is definitely worth a try.

The Café targets mostly school and college going students so the interiors complement the young and energized atmosphere that they have tried to create, complete with a TV and music playing in the back ground.

As far as money matters are concerned, a meal at Café Hi5 won’t throw your budget overboard. It’s decently priced, with a meal for two costing around Rs.400.

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After semester exams, FYUP students agitated by Foundation Courses

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The shift to the Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) in Delhi University also led to the incorporation of the much hyped and criticised Foundation Courses. The University also sanctioned some books and extra classes in adherence to the same. The courses sublimed into the regular college hours easily and students accepted them as a part of their curriculum. But now, with the culmination of the 1st semester exams, many eyebrows are being raised on the mere basis of these courses.

The emerging concern here is with respect to the questions that propped up during the examinations. As we approached the students to gather their sentiments on the same, one could easily figure out the angst in them. “I came to college to receive education of higher quality and learn things my school life prepared me for 13 years, not to do things as juvenile as writing a paragraph on national harmony”, said Saptarshi Lahiri, pursuing political science from SGTB Khalsa College. The questions which came in the exams merely connoted themselves to the respective courses.

For example, a student had to write an essay on the ‘Importance of festivals in integrating different religions of India’, in the exam of FC-Hindi, something which he/she could have written on the basis of mere general knowledge. Not only Hindi, but various other FCs had similar questions.

“Anyone could have answered them (questions) without even attending a single class”, said Roopali Handa, a student from SRCC, while referring to a question, ‘To write an article on social networking sites’ which came in the exam of Information Technology. Similar reactions were seen from those who came out after giving the exam for FC – Maths. ‘The material provided in the book and questions asked in the exam were irrelative. For example, Q5 required a person to make a bar graph or pie chart for which there are few methods, which were though not mentioned in book’, said Kalee Kapoor of Matreyi college.

One can easily figure out the increasing rage pertaining to FCs among the students. With DUTA demanding a rollback and the rising sentiments of students who are unhappy with the inclusion of FCs, along with 44 colleges against the FYUP, the Foundation Courses as well as the FYUP seem to be in deep trouble.

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