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DU Annual Fest Season

Prof.Romila Thapar examines the Idea of Heritage with students at Miranda House

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Miranda House, 15th February: Eminent historian Prof. Romila Thapar along with Prof. Kumkum Roy (Centre for Historical Studies, JNU) participated in a conversation on ‘The Many Meanings of Heritage’ in an event organised by the History society of Miranda House. Pertinent questions on the idea of heritage were raised and addressed by the two speakers.
At the very outset, Prof. Thapar raised the central question of what constitutes heritage. “Is heritage something that each generation invents for itself? Is it representative of the entire society? Who gave us this heritage? Speaking of the process of selection of heritage, she said that it is bothersome that heritage is treated as if it were a package that we’ve inherited from the past, handed down virtually unchanged. Every entity considered as ‘heritage’ has a history of its own.”
According to Prof. Thapar, we tend to regard entities such as trophies of conquest, mausoleums, paintings and sculptures as heritage. She argues, however, that even as simple and non-consequential a thing as black-and-red pottery from an urban excavation site is heritage. This brought the conversation to an important question of how ethical the process of selection actually is. Should we allow people to select heritage or term everything as heritage?
Prof. Thapar believes that in this process of selecting and not selecting something as heritage, the sentiments of the people directly attached to that entity should be taken into consideration. To this effect, she cited the example of the Niymagiri Hills in Odisha, where tribals have opposed the usage of the site for bauxite mining as it is sacred to them. She added that heritage is something that can be celebrated by some people and negated by others. In this process, however, the opinions of the marginalised such as the adivasis should not be deemed inferior and suppressed by others who have a greater say in this matter.
On the responsibility of historians, she quoted E.H. Carr, “The historian that is aware of the concerns of the present very often becomes the one who is successful in studying the past.”
As it happens with most stimulating conversations, the audience were left with even more questions to discuss and ponder upon at the end.

Photo courtesy: Jasmine Chahal for DU Beat.

Swareena Gurung

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E-Issue

Old is Gold: The Comeback of Nokia 3310

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Nokia handset 3310

Nokia’s iconic 3310, a model which needs no introduction owing to the reverence and glorification attached to it, is believed to re-enter the market with its modern version!

 

 

At a time when The Humma Song and Tamma Tamma are endeavouring to strike chords in hearts as modern renditions of their Bollywood classics, it is only natural that the world of technology shall also put in its nostalgic bit. A phone which is the inexhaustible source of memes, a phone which endorsed the snake game like no other, and a phone which proudly carries the power to emerge victorious in the event of a zombie apocalypse, the Nokia 3310 is the proud Wolverine in the telephonic world. Its speculated return in our lives has sparked excitement and anticipation as a wave of nostalgia hits the hearts!

The tumultuous trajectory of Nokia was rectified with its re-launch in January, with HMD Global acquiring its rights and introducing the Nokia 6 smartphone. According to reports, the Finnish company HMD Global Oy is planning to release a 2017 Nokia 3310 version by the end of this month. The iconic phone has been regarded with admiration owing to its simplified structure, days-long battery life, and the ability to survive anything and everything. Fast forward to today, an age where lives are perturbed by fragile glass-screen phones, the revival of Nokia’s legendary phone would serve the dual purpose of satiating nostalgia and ensuring easy phone management.

Previously discontinued in 2005, the phone has since been glorified in the pages of history as indestructible and inexorable. Priced at USD 62, roughly Rs. 4200, the phone shall be adapted to certain modern features whilst sticking to its core attributes. This will act as a major element of competition in the contemporary market flooded with minimally priced Android smartphones.

Along with the blast from the past, HMD will also be revealing two averagely-priced Android phones – Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 – to continue their project of re-establishment. The former is set to come with a 5.2-inch display, 2GB of RAM, 12 megapixel camera, and Snapdragon 430 chipset, and is rumoured to be valued at around Rs.14,000. Nokia 3, designed along similar lines, will be initially priced at approximately Rs.10,500.

 

 

 

Image Caption: The legendary Nokia 3310 is speculated to be re-launched by HMD this February

Image Credits: Hindustan Times

 

 

 

Saumya Kalia

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Bazinga

University of Delhi to Reward Colleges with Top Fests

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Bazinga

The University of Delhi recently announced that colleges with the best fests his season will receive grants in the form of financial aid and higher NAAC rankings.

 

 

On 20 February 2017, the University Grants Commission (UGC) revealed that DU colleges must put in their best this spring as the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) will now also rank the annual fests of each college. This notice comes in light of University authorities realising that immense effort, both by students and teachers, goes into making the fests grand and entertaining for the student community.

The motivation behind rewarding colleges with the most successful fests is to promote the culture of commitment and hard work amongst students. An official of the UGC, Mr Sankalp Bharti, stated, “The students do excellent work around the year, but they are at their best during the fest season. We want to reward this behaviour. DU fests are just like DU academics – both require months of preparation.” While most students probably disagree with this comparison, it’s no secret that the students’ unions of colleges spend weeks in stress, ensuring the highest level of entertainment possible.

The UGC stated that it will give financial grants to colleges that have the best fests so as to provide the colleges and students with the incentives to conduct similarly successful fests in the future. DU is popular for its fest culture and draws huge traction as a result of star-studded evenings and celebrity performances. To maintain this reputation, the UGC has also added the likelihood of an increased NAAC rating for the colleges that come out on top this fest season. The college authorities often care more about external official rankings such as those of NAAC as opposed to providing the students with a memorable fest. For this reason, the UGC has decided to use NAAC as an incentive for better fests.

According to the notice, fests will be rated across a number of criteria. These include the audience turnout, the number of sponsored stalls, the total amount of cash prizes for all winners of the fest, and the amount paid to the star performers. A holistic analysis of all these parameters will then reveal which colleges qualify to receive their reward. While the details are yet to be finalised, there are already rumours that out of the top three colleges which will receive financial grants, the institution on top will receive an automatic A in the NAAC rankings. With regard to the fests that have already taken place this year, such as Tarang, Reverie, and Montage, the UGC officials reassured that they will take into consideration that these colleges were unaware of the new rule. Mr Sankalp Bharti stated that these fests will not suffer unfairly, and that they will be judged according to more relaxed criteria.

Let’s see whether the new move by the University will increase fest standards. Good luck to the upcoming fests!

 

 

Disclaimer: Bazinga is our weekly column of almost believable fake news. It is only to be appreciated and not accepted!

 

 

Image Credits: DU Beat

 

 

Vineeta Rana

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DU Annual Fest Season

Fests as an Organiser: Of Worries, Whines, and Woes

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Fests

Behind the curtains of the starry shows and the motley of events lined up lies the true endurance of the Organising Committee, for their perseverance makes the fest truly successful!

 

 Perspective is everything. An object of existence can be viewed with a mixed reception by a plethora of people – this is known. Having said that, the grand cultural affair organised every year by colleges which are home to the wanderers also harbour a melange of dreams and dedication. As students of the University of Delhi assimilate and revel in the glory of the fest season, a tiresome and consciously evaded entity of it is often pushed to the sidelines. Behind the brilliance of the spectacle witnessed and the magic created, there is the effort put in by the architects of the show which shan’t and won’t go unnoticed.

Months before the calendar indicates the period of February and March, their mind sets into a prudent mode of brainstorming, planning, and strategising the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ of their idealised cultural fests. Fancy the big fat Indian wedding, with the traditional pomp and clobber of an extravaganza which is delightfully put up for critique by relatives whose relation shall continue to remain a mystery. As viewers of the wedding ceremony, a million suggestions and points of criticism pervade our minds, with ideations of what could have been better. And as a member of the Organising Committee, the fest is their mini-shaadi where they are on the receiving end of these insatiable comments. The worries of what should and shouldn’t be done, of the whys and the hows, seem inescapable and inexhaustible, don’t they?

As the clock churns to move the wheels of time, plans are executed, and the weight of the work adds a tiresome sigh to their conversations. Mornings, days, evenings, and nights are spent in ensuring a successful implementation of what was promised. From team formation and task delegation to scavenging connections for sponsorship of any kind, their groans and despair in this period remain unmatched. A lack of sufficient funds, when combined with the incompatibility with the student union of the college or with another department, might add to the verses of whines narrated by them.

The final product of performances and hard work which grace the stage has a story of memories carved in it. The troubles and struggles endured in the making of an iconic fest are looked back as fond remembrances, for they were all worth it. The woes then fade away into waves of nostalgia, only to be transcended into anticipating a bigger and better fest next season!

 

Image Credits: DU Beat

 

Saumya Kalia

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DUB Speak

Soap Operas to Reality Shows: The Absurdity of Indian Television

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indian TV shows

From the very first Indian soap ‘Hum Log’ to present day soaps and reality shows, Indian television has grown undoubtedly, but not always for the better.

 

 

Indian television witnesses some of the longest running daily soaps with over 2000 episodes of over–hyped rhetorical drama. Their scripts have so far not been successful enough to conjure up a healthy dose of daily entertainment — without sending their audiences the wrong message. As the story of one serial after the other unfolded on screen, to be the “perfect” woman on Indian television, one needed to be a docile housewife and sacrifice everything for the family’s happiness. Drama is when people skip their meals, when someone is reincarnated with the same face, when even after taking leaps of six to ten years, they use the same technology that they used earlier. Mythological and historical series are somewhat information-bound, but paranormal shows are as unconvincing as forced smiles. Stories often drift away from the main plot. Adding to this are the visual effects used in shows like ‘Sasural Simar Ka’ aired on ColorsTV, ‘Baalveer’ on SabTV, and the conventional ghastly figurines in paranormal shows like ‘Aahat’.

Indian TV sow

 

With their upward sloping graph of TRP, reality shows are no less. The first reality show on Indian Television was ‘Bournvita Quiz Contest (BQC)’ which gained popularity in the 1980s. Reality shows not only break the monotony of drama series, but also serve as the perfect tool to satisfy voyeurism and, for some others, the irrepressible temptation to get their 60 seconds of fame. Though various shows have various formats, some of them have had their fair share of controversies and their credibility has occasionally been questioned with allegations that they are not as real as they claim to be. Shows like ‘Love School’ and ‘Emotional Atyachar’ are some reality shows that have often reeked of pretension and orchestrated drama. Shows like ‘The Bachelorette India’, ‘Mere Khayalon Ki Mallika’, and ‘Rakhi Ka Swayamvar’ are indubitably bogus.

Indian television entertainment will seemingly never change, or revolt, but it certainly offends. Its limits will be set by the ‘Indian’ morality, which will internalise and proselytise. The smaller screen is constructed in a way that is antithetical to the urban or modern life which has always pandered to what social scientists call ‘the agenda’ – issues of concern to the viewing audience.

 

 

Image Caption: While Indian television continues to provide us with a wide array of shows, it fails to be logical and convincing in the least

Image Credits: Youthbuzz.com

 

 

Radhika Boruah

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DU Annual Fest Season

Multiple competitive events and an EDM night lend energy to Day 2 of Montage, JMC

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The second day of Montage at Jesus and Mary College started off slow but soon picked up with multiple events taking place simultaneously. The Nukkad Natak or street play competition and the western group dance and choreography events had the audience enthralled. The energy was high in the front lawns as well as the auditorium, with the spectators hooting and cheering for their favourite performances.

The street play event saw the participation of ten teams from colleges across the University of Delhi. From drawing the crowd with their boisterous voices and contagious energy, the teams charged up the atmosphere in the fest. Among these, the theatre societies of Sri Venkateswara College and Shaheed Bhagat Singh College emerged victorious. Anubhuti bagged the first prize while Natuve came second. DramaNomics of the College of Vocational Studies was awarded a consolation prize.

Swaying to the rhythmic moves and portraying the brilliance of artistic bodies, Mudra, the western dance society, organised the choreography competition and western dance competition. After a confluence of soulful songs, endearing moves, and heart-warming stories, Terpsi Chorean from Hans Raj College bagged the first prize, and Sensation from Kirori Mal College received the second prize in the choreography event. This was followed by the Western Dance Competition. Zeal, Maitreyi College’s dance society, Misba, of Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, and Enliven, of Gargi College, were awarded the first, second, and third positions respectively.

Infusing an element of earful endearance, Tarannum organised the Single and Group Classical Singing Competition. Gargi College’s Indian Music Society, Samranjini emerged as the winner, followed by Alahyaa of Daulat Ram College and Hindu College’s Alankar.

The fest closed with a power packed performance by DJ Kerano, one of the biggest DJs and music producers in the country, where the crowd grooved to the beats, mixing up some amazing tunes such as ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ and ‘Yellow’!

Feature Image: Gerush Bahal for DU Beat

Anagha Rakta ([email protected])

Vineeta Rana ([email protected])

Nikhil Kumar ([email protected])

Saumya Kalia ([email protected])

Priyal Mahtta ([email protected])

 

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Uncategorized

Five Reasons Why Riverdale is the New Gossip girl

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riverdale tv series

 

It’s been only four years since one of our favourite dramas; Gossip Girl wrapped up its last season and left us wanting more. Luckily, the lord has mercy and with the emergence of Riverdale, a dark take on Archie and his crew, our weekly quota of gossip and glamour promises to be satisfied.

The leading ladies – honey and coal: Betty and Veronica remind us a lot of another iconic blonde and brunette duo, well yes Serena and Blair. Just like their hate-love relationship that survived through all odds, Betty and Veronica seem to share the same passionate dynamic.

The mogul mom -Veronica’s mother, Hermione Lodge, reminds us of a certain fashion mogul mother from Gossip Girl. Although she isn’t the founder of a successful fashion line like Eleanor Waldorf, she happens to be a newly single mom finding her way through.

The Manhattan Wardrobe – Veronica Lodge and Blair Waldorf seem to share the same outfits with their very prim and proper demeanor.

The writer – Jughead is clearly 2017’s version of lonely boy. Just like Dan Humphrey, Jughead is already painted as the moody, tortured writer who has an interesting past with the main characters. He’s also interestingly the narrator of the show so far, which is giving us major Gossip Girl vibes (XOXO).

The psychotic interjection – Cheryl Blossom, sister of the late Jason Blossom, gives off major Georgina Sparks flashbacks.. Just like Georgina’s scandalous friendship with Serena on Gossip Girl, there’s clearly some sort of history between Cheryl and Betty, and we’re intrigued to find out more. If this character is anything like Georgina, there’s only a matter of time before epic stuff goes down.

 

Anahita Sahu

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Arts & Culture

An Ode: 20 years of Harry Potter

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Harry Potter is a series of fantasy novels written by J.K Rowling which first appeared in 26th June, 1997 after being rejected by several publication houses. The books have found immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide. The series has now been translated into multiple languages including French, Irish, Spanish, German and Swedish to name a few. They have attracted a wide adult audience as well as younger readers, and are often considered cornerstones of modern young adult literature. As of May 2013, the books have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide, making them the best-selling book series in history, and have been translated into seventy-three languages. The last four books consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history, with the final instalment selling roughly eleven million copies in the United States within twenty-four hours of its release.

The plot of the story needs no introduction, it seems that almost every young adult in this generation is familiar with Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, studying at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Their struggle against Lord Voldemort, the dark wizard who killed Harry’s parents has become an urban legend. Even after 20 years of Harry Potter’s first appearance, the hype created around this magical tale has persisted over time. As our generation grew, we saw parts of us and our lives reflected in the character’s laughter, tears, struggles and determination. A part of us waited with bated breath for our Hogwarts letter to arrive as we yearned to be a part of their magical world. We fantasized about being on Platform 9 ¾ , using Floo Powder, disappearing into the Room of Requirement, exploring Hogsmeade and Honeydukes, eating our hearts out at the grand feasts, possessing a Marauders Map, fighting in the resistance against Lord Voldemort and hoping for a love as deep as Severus had for Lily.

Harry Potter and his story lives amongst us and our hearts. It is a story we grew up with and we hope our future generations would grow up with as well. Today, we celebrate 20 years of Harry Potter in our lives, and here’s hoping we celebrate this momentous occasion again in another 20 years from today.

Till then, I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!

Feature Image Credits: YouTube

Joyee Bhattacharya

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DU Annual Fest Season

Montage’17 at JMC: Battle of Bands and Jasleen Royal steal the show on Day 1

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The first day at Montage 2017 – the Annual Cultural fest of Jesus and Mary College – began with Sister Rosily T.L. r.j.m, the officiating Principal of the college declaring the fest open which was followed by melodious gospels sung by the students of the college.

 

This was followed by ‘Adaah’- an event organised by Nrityanjali, the Indian Dance Society of JMC, which included the Indian Classical Solo competition and the Group Folk Dance competition. The competition was judged by Radhika Kathal and Hemant Pandey. The Indian Classical Solo saw energetic performances from the participants and Aishwariya and Raghav from Sri Venkateswara College won the first and second prizes, respectively. The third prize was won by Nimisha from Janki Devi Memorial College while Neha from Gargi College won a special prize.

In the Group folk dance competition, the participants filled the auditorium which tunes and energetic beats from across India. The competition, in which a total of nine teams participated, the first prize was won by Nupur, the folk dance society of Kamala Nehru College. The second and third prizes were won by Nrityakriti of Maitreyi College and Nazaakat of Gargi College, while the singer of the SGTB Khalsa’s team won a special mention for his exceptional performance.

Nupur, the folk dance society of Kamala Nehru College bagged the first spot in the Group Folk Dance competition

Echo, the western music society of JMC organised ‘Madrigal’ which included western group singing competition where students of the Western Music Society of Lady Shri Ram College bagged the first position followed by Sound Machine of St. Stephen’s College winning the second position and Aria of Hindu College securing the third position. In the event of ‘I like to duet x2’, Sparsh and Alankrita of LSR bagged the first position. For the event ‘Tap That Treble’, which was the western solo singing competition, Sparsh from LSR won the first prize and the second prize was bagged by David from St. Stephen’s College while the third position was jointly won by Sumer from Venky and Zachariah from Ansal University. ‘Battle of Bands’ was judged by Siby Mathew and Roshan Roy, with a total of seven participating bands and Tantrik Steve of Hansraj College gave the award winning performance.

LSR bagged top spot in the Western A capella 

The English Theatre Competition which was organised by the dramatics society was a patience testing game. The champion prize was bagged by Hindu College whereas the Runners Up was bagged by Shahid Bhagat Singh College. Zoya from DCAC won the best actor award.

With the competitive events calling it up a day, the enthusiastic crowd gathered to enjoy the concert by Jasleen Royal. The singer enthralled the audience with popular tracks like Kabira and Iktara along with her popular tracks from the film ‘Dear Zindagi’.

Featured image credits: Sahil Chauhan

Photography team: 

Prateek Singh ([email protected] )

Alex Arthur  ([email protected])

Sahil Chauhan ([email protected])

Correspondents: 

Anagha Rakta ([email protected])

Radhika Boruah ([email protected])

Baani Kasyap ([email protected])

Srivedant Kar ([email protected])

 

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DUB News

A pledge for misogyny? St.Stephen’s ANGA comes under fire for V-Day oath promoting misogyny

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ST Stphen

The latest video, showing the members of St. Stephen’s College’s ANGA taking a pledge on Valentine’s Day to promote misogyny, has caused a furore on the internet.

 

A video making the rounds of social media since 14th February, showing the members of St. Stephen’s College’s Alnutt North Gentlemen’s Association (ANGA) taking a pledge, has been grabbing a lot of eyeballs lately. The oath is taken in the Alnutt North men’s residence block alongside the block tutor every year, and has been a part of ANGA’s V-Day tradition for quite some time now. It is a ritual not unlike Hindu College’s Damdami Mayi Puja of the Virgin Tree on every Valentine’s Day. An eyebrow-raising aspect of it, however, lies in the fact that the men, in the name of “Liberty” and building a “paramount egalitarian fellowship”, simultaneously pledge “to philander exclusively with men” and to “promote among them all misogyny”.

A source, not wishing to be named, clarifies that though most of the boys participate in the ritual and head out for an ice-cream afterwards, it is nota compulsory oath. They are even told in advance, ‘supposedly’, that the pledge is all in good fun. It is not meant to be taken seriously under any circumstance, and the issue was never given such publicity or brought under the limelight before. With social media providing instant access these days and the video going viral, however, ANGA has come under direct attack from various student groups, some of which even claim to have been protesting in vain against the ritual for quite some time.

Responding to the immense backlash, ANGA states, “We as members of the ANGA family and the larger Stephanian family have always upheld its values actively, supporting the ideas of gender equality. The ANGA oath has traditionally been a mockery meant to take a dig at the institutionalised inequality that exists in our society. It was a clear expression of sarcasm… we believe that it is not right to exaggerate it to such a large extent… at the end of the day, we all belong to the larger Stephanian family. We will, in the future, continue to fight for issues of gender inequality. We are extremely saddened by this kind of misinterpretation of our intentions… [This was] never intended to start a war against the other gender.”

Caught between a battle of interpretations by DU’s various feminist students and women’s groups, and a round of clarifications by ANGA itself, the ritual stands contested. Whether this, or even the rituals like the one followed by Hindu College, ought to be followed or not, is an entirely separate debate altogether. As of now, the spotlight is on ANGA.

 

Deepannita Misra

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