Latest
DU Beat – Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper
Archive

2017

Browsing
Arts & Culture

Bollywood Imitates Life and Vice-Versa

By

Bollywood movies take inspiration from real life but commits mistakes as well. People take the liberty of imitating anything from Bollywood which they need to careful about.

It is widely acknowledged that art imitates life. Movies as art forms constitute a big part of our lives. Movies take inspiration from real life whether the genre is comedy, romedy, action or horror.

Over the decades, Bollywood has imitated from life and produced movies like Mary Kom, Guru, Border, Chak de India, No One Killed Jessica and more. By turning a real-life story into a movie, it reaches masses that are free to form their interpretations of the same. Turning a real-life story into a movie gives a personal angle of the story to which people connect.
Some people complain that certain movies paint a rosy picture or don’t portray reality. For instance, the extravagance or grandeur of movies like Dil Dhankne Do or Ae Dil Hai Mushkil don’t lie entirely. To some extent, they showcase the reality of the upper strata or relationships in their crudest form.

On a funny note, Salman Khan’s signature step of Dabaang movie was inspired from his makeup-men or security guards. Movies like Dabaang and Singham try to reinstall our faith in the police force. We often come across similar stories.
To add to the touch of reality, celebrities often shoot on real-life locations and even campuses like Delhi University, IITs or IIMs. It so happens that most of the students seen in such movies are actual students of the institutions.

One of the most heated debates of recent times has been the endorsements of skin-lightening creams. Why does the country require them? It’s because girls are conditioned that beauty is only about fairness. When people started accepting their bodies, Bollywood changed its perspective too.

There are numerous instances that people imitate Bollywood as well and I don’t just mean clothes. Smoking is often portrayed in the movies as cool which the youngsters have adopted too. People are made to believe that drinking alcohol helps in solving problems but it never does. Bollywood movies often validate stalking of women by whistling or passing lewd comments. It even normalizes the fact that pursuing a woman aggressively will make her fall in love with you but all these notions are so incorrect.

There have been incidents in the past when young kids would imitate movie stunts endangering their lives but such things have finally stopped. But people often take inspirations from Bollywood movies to plan and execute thievery or even murders.
Both Bollywood and people need to be careful of what they portray and imitate.

 

Feature Image Credits: The Edge

Prachi Mehra
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

How is the Mahabharata Relevant Even Today?

By

The Mahabharata may have been written centuries ago but it has relevance even in today’s world. Let’s have a look beyond the story. 

The Mahabharata was written between 400 BC to 400 CE but what the text teaches us is relevant even today. The story is an epic because of its complex and long structure but it talks about issues present in the present as well as the past and future. Critics don’t call the Kurukshetra war a fight of good and evil for nothing, it is believed that the Pandavas were incarnations of their fathers who were all Gods and the Kauravas were incarnations of Asuras or demons. Draupadi, wife of the five Pandavas was born an adult woman from the fire of the Earth itself.

The Pandavas are considered to be the five elements of nature which nourish the land or the Earth, Draupadi. She was meant to marry the five elements and not Karna who is an incarnation of the Sun God. The land needs nourishment from all the five elements and cannot stay close to the Sun.
The disrobing of Draupadi is one of the longest episodes in the 18 chapters of the Mahabharata and has a meaning on the ecological plane. Draupadi’s disrobing is symbolic of mankind exploiting the land’s resources excessively. Duryodhana is a representative of humanity and all mankind. His greed and jealously leads to humanity’s fight against nature.

When after losing at the game of dice, the Pandavas and Draupadi are exiled for 12-13 years, it is symbolic of a calamity like drought or famine because the elements of nature are distanced from mankind.
Yudhishtra is the symbol of death, Bhim of wind and Arjun of water. The grotesque war of Kurukshetra is the result of excessive exploitation of nature by humanity for which they pay with their deaths. Only a handful of humans survive to repopulate the Earth.

Dharma and Karma are concepts entwined in a symbiotic relationship in the Mahabharata epic. Death comes to all because what takes birth has to die but your deeds decide your death.
Many critics believe the Mahabharata is only a story and they have evidences to prove their statement. It is a story which has anything and everything that happens in the current world. Devastation and death come to those who take nature for granted. All of us are heading to the very same doom because of our actions. Earth has started rebelling and indicating that we have exploited it to the brim. It is time we realize that our actions will have dire consequences. The latest one was the Delhi smog.

 

Feature Image Credits: MensXP

Prachi Mehra
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

Before and After Prep Leave: A Comparison

By

A comparison between those hectic days before the prep leave and the sudden tranquility of prep leave when you find yourself not always studying.

The last two weeks or so before the preparatory leave are very hectic for students as well as teachers. It is the time when everything has to be wrapped up on the teachers’ part while the students gear up to face the semester examinations again.

Some teachers take extra classes which go on for four-five hours at a stretch and the students brave through them. With a break or two in between these continuous classes, teachers as well as students grab a bite and get the crisp fresh air of winters, rejuvenating the mind; and then you are back to the same text or book.

During these long days, students often neglect their health. Burdened under the pile of assignments, normal studying hours have to be stretched and if you are somebody living in a PG, you don’t have your mother forcefully feeding you those dry fruits, fruits and snacks. Assignments and tests have coinciding deadlines or dates and the students have to deal with it and try to excel in them. In a way, it prepares us for the future when we have to manage multiple things simultaneously.
With all these deadlines comes the exam admit card work. The ID card work does not take long but too many students jamming the office in the last days can be vexing and exhausting.
On the last day or two, internals’ sheets are signed and you get a reality check of your attendance and your marks. The instant calculation of percentages and wondering whether you’ll be called for signing the undertaking are the first thoughts during signing the internals.
Then come the last day goodbyes, hugs and photographs. It dawns on the last day of the semester that the entire semester went by. For the first years, its feels like the orientation day was only yesterday or it was only yesterday that they were auditioning for those cultural societies.

We leave from college absolutely determined to study diligently in the prep leave and score good grades in the semester exams. But the first day of the prep leave begins and you find yourself binge-watching that episode or some new web series. Subsequently, you find yourself constantly on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat.
The health freaks get back to their exercising routines and many outstation students go back home. Most of the outstation students may just want to relish the home-coming for a few days before they kick start their studies. Whatever situation of passing time you may find yourself in, I hope reality kicks in before it’s too late. DU Beat team wishes you all the very best for your exams.

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Prachi Mehra
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

University of Delhi holds 94th Annual Convocation

By

The University of Delhi held its 94th Annual Convocation in the indoor stadium complex of North Campus, in the presence of Chief Guest, President Ram Nath Kovind, and the guests of the occasion were Prof. V S Chauhan, Chairman, UGC New Delhi, and Prof. Yogesh Kr Tyagi, Vice Chancellor, DU.

Addressing the enthusiastic scholars, the President began on a lighter note describing the University as one of the world’s biggest university and has always marched ahead in advance education. He firmly emphasised on the age of artificial intelligence which is largely impacting not only how the society is functioning but also the process in which society is thinking. At the same time, he took the opportunity to address the new courses that the University has introduced, as it is trying to break the barriers of the traditional educational system in order to prepare the Indian education system for the coming 25-30 years.

The President also appreciated the fact that 112 of the 171 medal and prize winners were girls. “Almost a two-thirds majority! This is in keeping with the trend in education of girls consistently outscoring boys. A welcome sign in our society,” the President said.

The guest of the occasion Prof. V S Chauhan, Chairman, UGC New Delhi brought to spotlight the emergence of a large number of women coming in the field of education. He stressed on the need of sharing knowledge with the marginalised and needy section of the society.

Approximately 600 scholars received their degrees and 175 medals were awarded.

The focus of the occasion was on a 60-year-old man, SK Sinha, an Associate Professor of Geography at DU’s Bhagat Singh Evening College, as he received the doctorate’s degree from the President, proving that learning and growing have no age barrier.

 

Feature Image Credits: India Today

Naimisha

[email protected]

 

Keep Reading
By
Arts & Culture

Advertisements – Breaking Stereotypes, Challenging Status Quo

By

Television and digital media have always been the medium of spreading awareness, knowledge, and opinions. In recent times, advertisements have proven to be the ground-breaking realities of the time. From fighting gender stereotypes to supporting LGBT rights, promoting election voting awareness to what not, advertisements have played a leading role in influencing minds and actions.

Let’s put our eyes on some of the stimulating and inspiration-evoking advertisements of Indian television.

Biba – The change begins from home

Change the Convention,  from Biba’s  Change series that targets the prevalence of  arranged marriage in India, is a fresh spin on the ‘boy’s family coming to see the girl’ scenario. The twist sees the girl’s father questioning the boy’s cooking skills. Making the arranged marriage setup fair to both genders doesn’t take much, does it?

Anouk – The Move

Part of their Bold is Beautiful campaign, the ad reflects what young urban couples face in India. When faced with decisions about relocation, the husband tacitly refuses citing reasons of job elevation. Their conversation reveals that the wife has made a similar move in the past for her husband, but this time since it’s her career on the line, he doesn’t think it’s important enough to leave his work life. Ultimately, she decides to move on in order to pursue her career. It’s time we spoke about a marriage of equals.

Havell – Hawa Badlegi

Breaking the stereotypes of changing surnames after marriages, this advertisement takes a new beginning by encouraging even husbands to dare to change surnames.

Titan Raga – #HerLifeHerChoices

They showed us a strong and independent woman who is capable of making her own life choices. She has aspirations and is not afraid to take control of her life in her hands.

Airtel – Boss

This ad features a modern-day couple. The woman is a multi-tasker who handles her office and juniors at work and then comes back home to prepare food for her husband, who is still at his workplace on his boss’ (in reality, wife’s) orders. 

Whisper – Ab Waqt Hai Badalne Ka

Menstruation has always been a taboo with a load of superstitions attached to it. Banking on the age-old Indian norm that pickles are off limits to a woman who is menstruating, Whisper outright defies this with ‘Touch the Pickle Jar’. It tries to break off from all the norms that restrain women from going about their daily routines when they are on their period. This ad has triggered a huge response from its viewers. According to AdAge, 2.9 million women pledged to go against the odds and “touch the pickle jar”. It also emboldened the dialogue around taboos surrounding menstruation.

 

Feature Image Credits: YouTube 

 

Naimisha

[email protected]

 

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

Keeping Up with the Body

By

Truthfully, I am one of those people who would actually go back home when the gym trainer says, “Go hard or go home.” So, any sort of advice from me regarding being healthy almost seems comedic. Yet, my first three months in college have made me realise, if anything, the essence of proper diet and exercise, thanks to the hours I have spent on gobbling masala maggi and honey-chilly potatoes. Through my horrible experience of food poisoning, I have realized the need to take control of my health through the following ways.

 “Fruits are a collegiate’s best friend” ~ Marilyn Monroe

Just kidding. Marilyn Monroe didn’t actually say that. You caught me there, but fruits are definitely going to be your well-wishers throughout college life if not others. You can carry bananas, apples, oranges, and guavas to college easily, and if you have the time, you can create for yourself a fruit chaat. Moreover, you can locate the nearest fruit vendor to your college and grab your daily dose of vitamins and minerals. It might not seem exciting at first, but it really helps. Also, have you ever tried guavas with chili powder and chaat masala?

Running away from aerated drinks

I am sure your mom has told you how Coke and Pepsi are good pesticides and you have laughed it out. Well, it turns out our moms are right. These aerated drinks have so much sugar that we might just as well welcome diabetes with open arms. One can really save themselves by finding healthy substitutes. In this case, locate the nearest juice corner to your college and make it your regular hangout spot. You’ll not just get rid of sodas from your diet, but fresh fruit juice is healthy and on top of that, you get a good hangout spot to discuss the recent episode of Bigg Boss.

Healthy fast food? Is that possible?

While it is true, you’ll have to let go of Maggi, honey-chilli potatoes, and momos if you wish to remain healthy, but you can still savor your taste buds by scouting for potentially healthy fast foods. While 100% healthy is not guaranteed, you can minimise the intake of flour and bloating-inducing spices. Subway is a great option as it allows you to create your own subs. Moreover, rather than eating at fast food chains or eateries, you can opt for cafes and restaurants. Idlis at any South Indian restaurant or steamed rice at a Chinese restaurant are healthy, wholesome, and tasty options.

Emergency eating

While you’re trying to eat healthily, your friends will still meet at Maggi point and eat burgers at McDonalds. How do you help yourself? Well, if at certain times when you’re really craving the greasy fast food, you should opt for the healthier variant. Opt for a McVeggie instead of a McAloo Tikki. Opt for a vegetable Maggi instead of the masala one. It might not be dramatically healthy but it avoids the guilt to a certain extent.

CHIPS!

No, chips are not my next how-to-eat-healthy advice.

Chips are a regular snack for a collegiate and honestly, there is no one on this planet who would refuse them, if offered. But, obviously, they are your biggest enemy if you call them your staple diet. So, if you really love potatoes and wish to eat healthy, you must make french fries yourself. Not only are healthier than packaged chips but, they’ll also remind you of your mom back home. Also, try to develop a taste for banana chips, they can be a delicious snack.

Dry Fruits

No, sire, they are not just meant to be given as Diwali gifts. Dried Fruits are loaded with micronutrients, fiber, and antioxidants. They are highly nutritious and salted ones are no less than your favourite Haldiram’s namkeen. If you haven’t heard about them already, you should try salted ‘makhane’. They are just like popcorn.

Other than the above-mentioned directions, it is equally important to exercise. A 30-minute workout can do wonders for your body and your mental health too. Also, water! Drink lots of water. It’ll help eliminate all the toxins and wastes from your body. This list is not meant to be exhaustive and it is your creativity to create healthy meals and snacks for yourself, but the general guideline is to avoid packaged items and fast food to make your college life free from regular visits to the washroom between lectures.

 

Feature Image Credits: iTunes, Connect Colony, YouTube, Remote Traveller 

Graphic by Varoon Tuteja for DU Beat

 

Varoon Tuteja

[email protected]

 

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

Digital India: Ease of a Cashless Economy

By

Digital India, a campaign introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 2nd, 2017, was a Government of India initiative to ensure the availability of government services to the citizens of the country, electronically. It also focused on increasing the channels of internet connectivity and building a digitally empowered society in the field of technology. “Faceless, Paperless, Cashless” is one of the professed roles of Digital India, as stated by the GOI.

While the country progressed towards a more cashless society as a direct consequence of demonetisation, its monetary implications and resultant outcomes still plague the minds of skeptics. Economic development across all sectors of the economy has been the government’s foremost agenda and it has come up with various schemes and rewards to incentivise the appropriation of a digital society.

One of the biggest motivations to switch to a digitalised economy is the ease of transactions that it has to offer. The need to carry heavy wads of cash in hand and the subsequent travelling that follows, are a major cause of inconvenience and distress to the potential customers. However, in the present framework, the physicality ceases to exist and paves way for constructive benefits.

Discounts are another attraction amongst people of all classes. It is the universal denominator of satisfaction for a rational customer, looking forward to barter transactions. The recent waiver of service tax on card transactions, along with a couple of price concession schemes and rebates has been introduced by the GOI to make digital transactions seem more lucrative.

Mobile wallet companies like Paytm offer rewards and loyalty benefits, both of which are inward benefits which help in increasing the cash flow considerably. ICICI Bank facilitates the issue of PAYBACK points to its customers on online shopping. PAYBACK is a customer loyalty program which helps its buyers earn reward points on their shopping across different product categories. It is the largest multi-brand loyalty program in India and provides its benefit across leading retail websites like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Jabong and others when they go Via PAYBACK through their website or application. In addition to these, it also provides its audience with a reasonable variety of redemption options to choose from.

Whilst the people have a lot of monetary compensation to link themselves to when dealing in the digital currency, a plethora of non-monetary benefits follow. Online transactions have a better chance at being systematised as against regular transactions. People will find it a lot more convenient to keep a record of their spending and sequentially, it will result in better budgeting.

Online transactions pose a lesser threat in terms of loss of cash. If lost, a card or mobile wallet can be blocked almost instantaneously but it is nearly impossible to do the same when hard cash is in question. Therefore, it is a relatively safer option and also obviates the hassle of dealing with heavy currency and change.

Needless to say, the digital age is a revolution in itself and we can be sure of its steady percolation to all strata of the society, given the untiring efforts of the government to accredit the campaign through its impeccable implementation.

 

Feature Image Credits: The Indian Express

 

Lakshita Arora

[email protected]

 

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

Proposal For Changing the Name of Dyal Singh Evening College

By

In a meeting held on Friday, the Governing Body of Dyal Singh College decided to rename the evening college to Vande Mataram Mahavidyalaya once it is converted to a full-time morning college. On September 21, Principal Pawan K Sharma, Dyal Singh Evening College received a notification from the Executive Council stating the approval for the evening college to become a morning college.

The college has been named after Sardar Dyal Singh Manjithia, the first freedom fighter of Punjab, founder of The Tribune and Punjab National Bank.

At first, the name Madan Mohan Malviya College was suggested but commenting on the finalised name, Amitabh Sinha, Chairman of the GB said, “Woh (Malviya) kiske bachche the? Hum unhi ko pranaam kar rahe hain. Maa ka darza sabse upar hota hai aur unhe pranaam karna hai. (Whose child was Malviya? We are paying respect to her. The stature of the mother is above all else). Vande Mataram means to pay obeisance to the mother. There is no politics in the name.”

Mr. Sinha said the decision was unanimously taken by the 16 members of the GB and added, “Whether it’s your own mother or Bharat Mata, mother is mother. Those who have a problem with paying obeisance to the mother, there is a question mark on whether they are human beings or not.”

In the Press Release by the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), it has been stated that they are against changing the name of the college at this point when the college is struggling to accommodate the students in the given infrastructure. Neeraj Mishra, the media coordinator of NSUI, comments, “The College has more than 5000 students and during exams with more than 95% attendance, the students have to sit in the canteen and mats or tents are laid out for them to take their exams. First, all infrastructural facilities must be provided and names can be changed to anything later.”

Kunal Sehrawat, the DUSU Vice President, was not available for a comment.

 

Feature Image Credits: Hindustan Times

Prachi Mehra

[email protected]

 

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

High Court Hearing of the Narendra Modi Degree Case: Date Rescheduled to February 28

By

The Court was left frustrated as the University could not file a rejoinder in seven months, citing the ‘lack of time’.

In keeping with the Prime Minister’s efforts to keep himself in the news, the degree controversy refuses to die down, but this one not quite to the liking of the Premier. This Thursday, when the matter came up for hearing at the Delhi High Court, after a gap of nearly seven months when the case was filed, the University came up with newer records in its lethargy in legal proceedings. According to the news report by The Wire which surfaced last night, the University, which in April 2017 was asked to file a rejoinder to a reply by the petitioner Neeraj within four weeks, first tried to get another extension by claiming that the no objection certificate for adjournment had been signed by the petitioner’s lawyer. It then pleaded that it could not find time to file a rejoinder.

The University of Delhi lawyer pleaded before the court for the case to be adjourned since the senior advocate Tushar Mehta, who was leading the case, was not present. Upon being asked why despite being provided with four weeks to file the rejoinder seven months ago it had not been filed yet, the University lawyer began pleading for additional time. The developments left Justice Vibhu Bakhru visibly perturbed and after the court assembled at 10:30 am, he kept insisting that the DU lawyer move ahead with the hearing. The court heard the matter twice after that, first at 12:30 pm and then at 2:30 pm, but each time in the absence of its senior counsel. Finally at 2:30 pm, Justice Bakhru said that he was barring DU from filing a rejoinder in the matter and listed the next hearing for February 28.

In May last year, Union Minister Arun Jaitley and had made public both the Gujarat University and DU documents. Both the Universities had validated the authenticity of the documents. What is unexplainable, however, is the way University, which ideally should have nothing to hide, has since then blocked any further attempts for further information on the subject, now attempting to adjourn the court case.

With inputs from The Wire

Feature Image Credits: PTI

Nikhil Kumar
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
News

Administrating Reforms in Civil Services Examination

By

The Civil Services examination that produces dozens of bureaucrats, diplomats, and administrators is likely to experience some of the most awaited reforms. The recommendations were made by the Baswan Committee, which is yet to be made public. However, sources said it has been forwarded to the Department of Personnel of taking a final decision on the same and its consequent implementation. It is widely believed in the official circles that the above two key recommendations may be accepted. 

The areas of contention which are being deliberated include the removal of optional subject paper and changes in the age limit. Previously, the upper age limit was 30 years for general category candidates, 33 years for OBCs and 35 years for SC and ST candidates. Presently it is  32, 35 and 37 respectively

Why was the Baswan Committee needed?

Baswan Committee report takes a comprehensive look at the requirement of IAS Officers over a longer time frame. The committee constituted of four members – B.S. Baswan (Former Director, IIPA), R.K. Barik (Professor, IIPA), Akber Ali (research Officer, IIPA), and Pankaj Kumar Singh (Research Officer, IIPA).

The main reason behind commissioning the report was the shortfall of IAS officers. In March this year, Union Minister Jitendra Singh had informed Lok Sabha that there was a dearth of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers in the country.

What does the student community think?

Many of the students who are presently preparing for the prestigious examination believe that the removal of optional paper will be a turning point. As many students depend upon subjects such as Public Administration, Psychology, and Sociology for fetching mark, this may now turn to a fair game where there is an equal display of knowledge.

“The main aim of UPSC is to find out whether the aspirants are able to handle pressure in varying situations or not. Static syllabus and pattern would not help them in recognizing the same. So I think it’s pretty much justified.” Says Sakshi Sundrani, a UPSC aspirant from Delhi University.

While there are also many students who strongly believe that this decision will adversely impact the students who thoroughly depend upon their core subjects. As an administrator must master at least in one field.

Now all eyes are anxiously on the Union Public Service Commission’s decision.

 

Feature Image Credits: FirstPost

Naimisha 

Keep Reading
By