No one thought it was possible, but yes Federer, the hitherto undefeated player lost in the semi-finals in just three sets. The recently concluded Australian open was one of epic five setters, and of major upsets, with the unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga making it to the finals and the number one players in both the men’s and women’s draw making straight set exits.

Roger Federer, who has been number one for no else than 208 consecutive weeks, has been hearing time and again that his crown is threatened but this time, it was for real, Djokovic prevailed. Federer withdrew from the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament due to a stomach illness but claimed to be fully fit. He was pushed to a five set in the third round against the world number 49 Tipsarevic which he won 6-7 (5/7) 7-6 (7/1) 5-7 6-1 10-8 but came crashing down in the semi-finals to Novak Djokovic, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(5), thus ending his record of ten consecutive grand slam final appearances and 37-match winning streak in best of five set matches on hard-courts. Novak went on to win the championship in four thrilling sets 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 against Tsonga. The final was fast paced, fierce and closely fought till the very end.

Roger Federer, who has been number one for no else than 208 consecutive weeks, has been hearing time and again that his crown is threatened but this time, it was for real, Djokovic prevailed.

Rafael Nadal, the number 2 player in the world also lost in semi-finals to the unstoppable Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in under two hours, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 despite having not lost a set in his previous 5 matches.

Marcos Baghdatis put away two former champions, Thomas Johanssonand Marat Safin to reach the third round where he battled it out with the home favourite Leyton Hewitt, in a match lasting 282 minutes, beginning at 11:52pm and finishing at 4:34am Melbourne time. In the fourth set Hewitt squandered a match-point, and fighting against all odds, Baghdatis made a courageous comeback from 1-5 down to eventually win the set. After losing 6-4, 5-7, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4),3-6, the mentally and physically exhausted Cypriot wiped away tears and got a standing ovation.

The 6th seeded American Andy Roddick, made an unfortunate third round exit losing to the 29th seed Philipp Kohlschreiberfrom Germany in 5 sets: 4-6, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-8. Despite losing, Roddick served a career high of 42 aces.

The women’s draw saw both the William sisters failing to impress. Serena Williams entered the 2008 Australian Open as the defending champion and the seventh seed but lost in the quarterfinals to Jelena Janković 6-3, 6-4. Venus Willaims was defeated by Ana Ivanovic 7-6, 6-4.

An interesting side story though was the match being called ‘Shriek vs. Squeak’ as Maria is infamous for her high decibel shrieks while returning the ball and Ana for her squeaking feet when the other player is serving.

The women’s final had two of the most glamorous and well know players, pin up girl Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic contesting the final. An interesting side story though was the match being called ‘Shriek vs. Squeak’ as Maria is infamous for her high decibel shrieks while returning the ball and Ana for her squeaking feet when the other player is serving. Sharapova won the title, beating Ivanovic 7-5, 6-3 in the final, thus becoming the first Russian woman to take the title. It is the first time she had won a Grand Slam without dropping a set, and has now won three of the four Grand Slams. She proved her fitness from the very start by putting away Lindsay Davenport

(who’s back from retirement after having a baby) and Elena Dementieva en route. She stopped world number one Justine Henin’s 32-match winning streak with a 6-4, 6-0 victory as well.
Mahesh Bhupati and Sania Mirza just missed getting a Grand Slam title by losing in the mixed doubles final to Tian Tian Sun and Nenad Zimonjic 6-7, 4-6. The match was close and exciting, but Sania had a tightly bandaged thigh and was possibly tired from two weeks of heavy duty tennis as she had an exhausting match in the women’s singles draw against Venus Williams, losing in the third round 6-7, 4-6 and also the women’s doubles event which she teamed up with Australia’s Alicia Molik losing in the third round again 5-7. 3-6.

The biggest winner though was the tennis fan, because the quality was excellent and every match raised the bar a little bit higher. It was a pure delight to watch with the Safin-Baghdatis, Hewitt-Baghdatis and Fedrer-Tipsraveic and Tsonga-Djokovic matches which are surely going down in record books.

By Anaita Sabhikhi

By: Anjani Kumar Sharma

There are two reasons why I like to begin my day with a visit at Mamu’s, First for the ever refreshing and very filling Tea & Bun butter combo, second (The more Important one) for the most entertaining session of information exchange one gets to witness here. Mamu is a small roadside Tea stall near SRCC at Patel Chest. The place accounts for the Bread and Butter (Literally) for hundreds of students of DU, including graduates, freshers, residents and IAS aspirants. It is always difficult to find an empty seat and an idle newspaper during the morning hours at Mamu’s.

Today was no exception but what fascinates me about this place is the smooth flow of thoughts between the students. From world politics to climate control, Stock Exchange to Sports, one can get an expert opinion instantly on anything under the sky over a cup of tea. I too joined a small group of 4, engrossed in the post mortem of an absorbing week of sports. Everything and everyone from Tendulkar to Sania, Australian Open to Formula1 was effortlessly discussed, dissected, operated and diagnosed in less than an hour. I tried playing a moderator in the discussion which has its own glossary of words and meanings. What follows is the summary of what I witnessed.

Glossary

Sania./ Saaneea/ .n. adj. v. 1. At times Pride of India 2.Poster Material 3.Scandal or inviting
trouble 4.Fodder for TRP. 5.A state of constant improvement. ORIGIN Indian Tennis.

Ganguly. 1. Sania of Indian Cricket 2. Also considered freedom fighter and worshipped in
West Bengal an Indian State.

Tendulkar. n. adj. 1. Someone who brings extreme joy or hatred. 2. Punching Bag

The Discussion

It all started with a candid comment on the fall of Federer in Australian Open, but not for long. Mahesh Bhupati and Sania Mirza’s loss was the matter of national importance here. The defeat in finals, eclipsed their successful run to the Final of the year’s first grand slam. To begin with, 3 out of 4 were of the opinion that Bhupati lost because of Sania. Some felt that the couple looked better together than they played. Nevertheless It was resolved here at Mamu’s that Sania Mirza should marry Mahesh Bhupati so that they don’t fall out the way Leander and Mahesh did. Before I could absorb what was thrown at me with utmost sincerity, somebody snapped “Sania has a slow serve, For quicker deliveries she should marry Shoaib Akhtar�. No Comments.

I asked them about Dada’s (Saurav Ganguly’s) exclusion from the ODI’s. Everybody present had something different to offer. Two arguments stood out.

A hard core Ganguly fan was aggressive and assertive “This announcement is a conspiracy to loose the Adelaide test by creating division within the team. Dada is the second highest run getter in the world and second only to Tendulkar in the runs scored in 2007 in India.� He continued “…Whereas no Pakistani appears on the top ten batsman list.� Finally the verdict “its apparent, a well planned conspiracy by BCCI, helped and abetted by Pakistan Cricket Board. This is called Selection Fixing�. I thanked him for ruling out any hand of ISI in it.

The second gentleman disagreed with the above logic and was vehement that Dhoni threw Dada out. Before I could ask why, he quipped “The Logic is simple, Dhoni selected Raina over Ganguly. Raina saves 20 runs by his fielding; Score 30 runs each time he goes out to bat, adding 50 runs to the team total, Whereas Ganguly cannot score a 50 in each innings; Hence Proved: Raina is a better option�. No comments on that one.
Going by this logic I raised a question to myself, What has been Sachin’s contribution in this series? Except a couple of hundreds that too for a lost cause, hitting 70’s … even Harbhajan did that!
So, the conclusion is “Harbhajan is a better batsman than Sachin�. Period.

After a moment of silence Bob Fischer became our next victim. My friend spoke “Do you know Bob Fischer died a few days ago? He was a great soul, perhaps the greatest chess player of all time� commented a follower of the game. “Although, a bit eccentric�. Yes he was, but then most of the brilliant people have been this way. I took the last bite of my bun butter, when he made a valid observation “Look at the irony, Bob died at 64. Check mate at the last square of the chess board�. May his tribe grow.

It’s a cold Sunday afternoon and the whole country has just regained its patriotic fervour from the Republic day telecast and a gamut of movies being aired on television.

DUB correspondent Navneet Vasistha sits with five French students on an exchange programme at the Department of Financial Studies, South Campus and chats about their adventures and their culture.

NAV: What made you come to India in the first place?

Nebille: We come from the Business School in Pau (South France) and are here to specialise for a semester in Finance. Out of the list of 30 odd universities we got to choose, the Department of Financial Studies at DU was the best and so we’re here.

NAV: What’s the difference between Indian and French universities with respect to students, classes and teachers?

Nebille: Universities back home are bigger with larger campuses. There a more students doing different things. Also there’s more freedom in class, we can get up and leave if we don’t like it (the lecture). Attendance isn’t as important.

Sebastian: In France, teacher-students relations are more cordial. We can directly talk to teachers about anything; I think that is not as much here. But then teachers in France are made to take classes compulsorily, so not all of them put enough effort as Indian teachers do.

NAV: When you think about India, what are the few things that come to mind?

Together: Long trip, afraid to fall sick, casteism, poor people, no toilet paper (everyone laughs). Bollywood movies are well known all over France, SRK is famous and everyone likes to dance to Punjabi music at pubs and discotheques.

India has a large set of traditions and it’s good. There’s no need for it to change and adapt to the way it is in Europe and elsewhere. Not everybody has to be the same.

NAV: What about Indian students?

Sebastian: Lots of Indian students are doing second degrees. Approximately only 5-10% students in France do a second degree. Students here are keen to help the poor and do something to change things around them.

NAV: So today is India’s Republic day and your president is here as the Chief Guest. There’s a lot of talk about his involvement with Ms. Bruni. What do you make of it?

Mohammed: I think he’s just playing with the media.

Nebille: Since she’s not the First Lady, he should respect Indian traditions and not bring her here.

Sylvan: It’s not a problem in France, but he should be careful with the countries he visits.

NAV: What about cultures, what is different?

Sebastian: Lots, we don’t have as spicy food there. Parents give more freedom; we can marry the girl of our choice even if our parents don’t agree. Like we heard that in India if a girl makes love to a guy and doesn’t marry him, nobody marries her. It’s not so back home.

NAV: From whatever you’ve seen in Delhi, what has been good and bad?

Nebille: Once seven of us came in an auto and the driver was completely drunk. Autos are a problem.

Mohammed: There are a lot of poor children, maybe because of the large population and they keep asking for money.

Sebastian: We gave them food because we felt bad for them but no money; we gave money only to the physically challenged.

NAV: There were reports about the turban row in France, what do you make of it?

Mohammed: It is constitutionally correct for the state doesn’t allow any special advantage to any religion. So it’s alright in one way but it hurts religious sentiments I guess. It’s debatable and it depends on which part of the country you are from.

NAV: Thank you all so much for talking to us.

Sylvan, who has been quiet all this while suddenly beams into a smile and gets up from the chair he was sitting on. What follows is a group photo…

RANKED HIGHER THAN ANY OTHER INDIAN UNIVERSITY

For the first time in its history Delhi University has been ranked among the Top 500 Universities in the world by the reputed Times Higher Education Supplement, QS World University Ratings, 2007.

The THES-QS World University Ratings are generated by giving differential weights to the following criteria, Peer Review Score (40%), Recruiter Review Score (10%), International Faculty Score (5%), International Student Score (5%), Faculty/Student Score (20%), Faculty/Citations Score (20%), in order to determine the research quality, graduate employability, international outlook and teaching quality of the University.

Delhi University (254) is the highest ranked Indian University, ahead of IIT Bombay (269) and IIT Delhi (307). This represents a significant achievement for DU, however, the state of higher education in India still leaves a lot to be desired. As Mr. Deepak Pentel, Vice Chancellor, DU, succinctly pointed out in a recent interview “I am not very happy with the ranking. It should improve and rank among the top 200 by next year”

TOP 5 UNIVERSITIES IN THE WORLD, ACCORDING TO THE THES- QS RATINGS-

1 HARVARD University United States
2 YALE University United States
2 University of OXFORD United Kingdom
2 University of CAMBRIDGE United Kingdom
5 Imperial College LONDON United Kingdom

There is still a long way to go before Delhi University breaks into this list, but with the steady progress and development of higher education in India, one day DU will realise this dream.

DO YOU THINK DU DESERVES A HIGHER RANKING OR ARE WE REALLY NOT THAT GREAT AFTER ALL OR IS THIS RANKING BUSINESS JUST RUBBISH?
HAVE A VIEW?
MAIL US AT [email protected]

By Akshita Agrawal

O.M.R. or Optical Mark Recognition is the process of capturing data by contrasting reflectivity at predetermined positions on a page. A scanner can detect the marked area because it reflects less light than an unmarked surface. This year, the Delhi University has introduced examination forms which use this concept. DU Beat provides you with comprehensive evaluation of these forms as DU students fill them out for the first time.
It is for the first time that Delhi University has introduced this concept for the annual examination. The form is comprehensive and asks for relevant details such as the subjects and fee. The process itself is not as time consuming as the earlier form, both for the student and the college administration. However the OMR has its disadvantages too. There is the possibility of missing data in the scanning process. Also, unless safeguards are in place, a page could be rescanned providing duplicate data and skewing the data. The students’ reaction towards these forms is mixed.

For the most part OMR provides a fast, accurate way to collect and input data. However the process itself proved to be quite tedious for many students. As many students who stood in lines for the form, armed with an HB pencil, will tell you – the whole process of looking for codes of subjects from a list can be quite tiresome. A student of Delhi University complained to DU Beat saying, ‘There is a section of the form in which fees details are asked and it said R.NO. When I went to ask the administration person he told me to write my roll number and when my friend asked, he said it’s the fees receipt number. This makes the form even more confusing!” The fact that, in some cases, the administration itself is not aware of how the form must be filled adds to the chaos.
Many students seem quite happy with the form because it simplifies the otherwise monotonous process of filling up the examination forms. However even various college officials admit that the form should have been introduced earlier. This would have ensured better administration and hence less confusion during this period.
Nevertheless, introducing these forms is definitely positive move by DU. OMR forms are more efficient and there are less chances of error as they are read by a computer. As DU becomes innovative and makes progress, the initial hiccups are inevitable. Hopefully, this progressive step will benefit the students.

· British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will be conferred an honorary doctorate (honoris causa) by Delhi University in recognition of his achievements in the field of academics and public services.

· The foundation stone of the auditorium of Gargi College was laid by the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dixit on Jan 17th, following a ‘puja’ in the morning, which was attended by the governing body of the college.

· A young man of 25 died after being hit by a Metro at Chawri Bazar station, at 2.35 pm on Thursday. The train operator attempted to brake on noticing him walking in the tunnel, but could not prevent the train from hitting him before it stopped.

· DU and GGSIPU are engaged in a tussle over the affiliation of post graduate courses at the Safdarjung Hospital and the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. The courses were affiliated to DU before 2008 and have been passed on to GGSIPU this year. However, there is confusion about the percentage of seats earmarked for students who have completed their MBBS from either of the two Universities.

· For the upcoming events this week, turn to page 7.