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How Much Pythagoras Theorem do you use in Real Life?

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How many things have we learned in our school life expecting to use them in reality which, we found out were in fact, a total waste of brain space?

From a very young age, an average Indian student is fed a healthy diet of multiplication tables, and an abundant number of formulas that they tend to cram up and carry with them for a period of more than 12 years. We adhere to these concepts for so long that the very idea of education becomes restricted to the ability to score well and not flunk, doesn’t matter if we actually learn something from it or not. Hence, eventually losing the ability to question the system.

I am sure we all believed at the age of 12 that by the looks of it, we would be using geometry on a daily basis. Yet, another day has passed and how much Pythagoras Theorem have you applied in real life? At some point in high school, we all get into geometric theorems and proofs, comparing triangles to other triangles, and a few other things that the Greeks had already figured out for us. But when it comes to applying them in real life, people just don’t encounter triangles in the wild pleading to be proved identical. Let us not forget how much we struggled with long division back in fourth grade. It was added to our math curriculum in an era when people smoked for their health and calculators were rare. Basically, the only people who use long division now are fourth-grade teachers teaching it to fourth graders.

Archimedes, the famous Greek Mathematician that contributed his fair share of principles and theorems, was considered highly intellectual. Lesser-known truth about his life is the cause of his death. When his city was captured and there were rage and terror everywhere, he was killed by a soldier, who mistakenly thought, the mathematical instruments Archimedes was carrying were valuable weapons and thus, killed him with his sword in anger. Which tells us how there’s actually a quite thick line between Maths and intelligence.

Our education system judges the mental level of students by seeing how accurate they are with math. Doesn’t matter if it’s anyone’s cup of tea or not. And it’s just not mathematics. We wouldn’t have struggled with History so much if instead of Jhum cultivation, or about how different rivers were named, we were made to read chapters on the stories written by the great Sadat Hasan Manto, who did not write words, but wrote emotions, covering every detail of those dark times, how various people of the society were affected differently.

Ironically, the word “Education” comes from the Greek word “Edukos”, which means ‘To Draw Forth From Within’. How very different from the prevailing schooling system which seeks the child’s soul to conform to the demands of a consumer-driven society, leaving us hackneyed. Imagine an education system so abominable that we make extra coaching, a thriving multimillion rupee industry with enough money to buy front-page ads, billboards and bus wraps.

When it’s said that education is the solution to various catastrophes of the world, it certainly doesn’t indicate what we studied about Mitochondria being the powerhouse of the cell. Rather, it’s about educating and making the people aware about inequality, cyber crimes, taxes, poverty, homosexuality, and numerous other visions that give us the power and confidence to question the issues prevailing in the world. Seeing unhealthy patterns in the previous generations and deciding those patterns end with us is an extremely powerful decision which is, in fact, the basic expectation from this generation, something that can only be achieved from a liberal education system that doesn’t produce mules.

Now to answer the question, will you ever use Pythagoras theorem in real life? Dissentious. Unless one plans on making a career in mathematics, about which, are you sure?

 

Feature Image Credits: Pinterest

Avni Dhawan

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DUB Speak

Digitisation of Currency: India and Its Financial Future

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With the advent of plastic money, e-banking, Paytm, cryptocurrency, and other digitised methods of payment, can India become a cashless economy?

With the rise of Digital India Campaign, and the growth of e-commerce in the country, it looks like the future of the Indian currency is moving forward in the digital sphere. However, this is not as easy as it may seem. With problems such as the country having an internet penetration rate of just 27%, as compared to the global average of 67%, only 60% of the country having bank accounts, and with 98% of the economic transactions by volume being done through cash, it is evident that the journey ahead is long and difficult.

Adding on to all this, India is a developing country with a very high poverty rate, as a student from the University of Delhi (DU) points out, “I don’t know what our Government is trying to achieve by Digital India when half the people in this country can’t even afford the internet. There are people suffering all over the country but nothing has been done about that”.

Along with this, cryptocurrency has been virtually banned by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as stated in a circular, prohibiting banks, and financial institutions from rendering all services related to cryptocurrency in 2018. This, in turn, has also led to criticism from many who argue that the RBI has no right to pass this legislation on cryptocurrency, as it is not within the ambit of the Banking Regulation Act, through which the RBI draws most of its power.

In the face of all these statistics and opinions, why is the digitisation of currency even in the conversation? The positives of greater digitisation include paper trails which would make it harder to hide income, and would make finding black money easier, which was also one of the failed objectives of the infamous demonetisation done by the Modi administration. It would save the Government money, with the RBI currently spending INR 2,700 crores in the fiscal year 2018 on just currency issuance and management, it would be easier to conduct international payments, and the entire problem of fake currency would essentially disappear.

One of the arguments put forward against digitisation in India is that India is a majorly agrarian country, with most people depending on rural cooperative banks, most of which might not have an internet connection and the Government would not have the funds to provide it. However, this statement at its base can be proven wrong. According to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation, there are around 94,384 rural banks in India, as of the fiscal year 2017. Assuming all these banks do not have internet service, calculations of the initial cost can be made. Internet service would cost around INR one lakh for the initial licensing and legal admin fees, along with INR three to four lakhs to set up the infrastructure covering one square kilometre of the area around the tower. This leads us to a total cost of INR five lakhs on the highest end of the spectrum. Now, making the assumption that all rural collective banks do not have internet access, multiplying the number of rural banks with the initial cost would amount to around INR 4,719 crores or around USD 655 million. To put this into perspective, the Statue of Unity cost around INR 3,000 crores, and therefore, it is evident that funding this is not out of the reach of the Indian Government.

In this age of globalisation and technological revolution, the world economy and, more importantly for us, the Indian Economy is constantly changing and evolving. While digitisation of currency might be a part of this evolution further down the line, there is a still a long way for this country to go in order to make that possible, with work required in every sphere to even think about fully implementing it.

 

Feature Image Credits: 

Prabhanu Kumar Das

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Reality Check: Mental Health Care in the University of Delhi

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The state of mental health care is in dire need of improvement so that it can cater to what is now emerging as one of the leading problems among students.

College life is perhaps the most unique part of a person’s life. It is a world away from the idiosyncrasies of the school. It is the beginning of a new life; a life which brings joy, ambition, and freedom. A life which also brings in stress, and anxiety. The stress of living away from home for the first time, the stress of becoming productive, the stress of getting into new relationships, and the stress of internals. As we find ourselves in this whirlpool of emotions, it gets very easy to lose track of ourselves.

“When we enter college life, it is drastically different from school, you leave your protected bubble and enter the real world. You do things you have never done before. And all that takes a toll on you, especially adjusting to a new life when you barely know anyone around you. A counsellor is a really good buffer zone to help you adjust to the new life and even deal with the great academic pressure,” said Nighat, a student of Psychology from Aryabhatta College.

This is where a college counsellor comes in. A counsellor is a professional designated by the institution to help students deal with their problems — be it mental, psychological, academic, social, or economic — in a productive and effective manner. While some colleges like Hindu College, Miranda House, and Daulat Ram provide a counsellor, there are many colleges without the provision for one. Even when colleges do provide a counsellor, they are often inaccessible to the students. On speaking to a number of students, we found that most were not aware of the presence of a counsellor on campus.

“It is very important to normalise and remove the stigma around seeking a counsellor. Sometimes, just talking to friends does not work. A counsellor is someone who can guide you better. It is only recently that I have seen changes in the perception regarding mental health. I have been working here since 2014. Earlier, the students used to come with hushed voices and quiet footsteps, to not alert anyone else. It is only now that I’m seeing a change where students come in more freely,” said a counsellor from a University of Delhi (DU) college.

With the increase of awareness, there has been a surge in the mental health events or workshops being conducted during “Mental Health Awareness Week” by the Psychology Departments of various colleges. These workshops are usually in collaboration with mental health organisations, where several University students also volunteer. These organisations have become very popular among young college students as they organise poetry sessions, anxiety management activities, and much more. Apart from the college counsellors, there is also the Delhi University Women’s Association which offers counselling services at nominal charges.

What should be noted is that the onus to work for better mental health should not begin and end in a designated mental health week. It should also not be restricted to departments. There should be a regular availability of a skilled counsellor, authorities should take the onus to ensure interactions between the counsellor and the students, and basic facilities should be provided for the same. Few college societies have worked towards this, by using peer mentoring and understanding the importance of catharsis through sharing.

The counsellors should be more involved within the fabric of the college, since becoming a familiar and approachable face is of utmost importance. For a long while now the importance of mental health has been undermined, and it is time that it gains the momentum it deserves.

 

Feature Image Credits: Friends’ Corner via Facebook

 

Satviki Sanjay

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Shivani Dadhwal

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News

Delhi High Court Denies SFI’s Plea, the Party out of the Election Race

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The Delhi High Court rejected the Students’ Federation of India’s (SFI) plea to contest for the elections, as well as the postponement of the elections, making it impossible for them to contest the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections. 

On 4th of September, the DUSU nominations were scheduled. Many political parties, along with their candidates, waited in the restricted Chhatra Marg to file their nominations. Amidst all this, the SFI was allegedly attacked by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) “goons” at gate number four of the Faculty of Arts, North Campus, as said in their official statement which made them miss their deadlines. They even claimed that their nomination form was torn up and they were prevented to file a nomination twice. However, the ABVP denied any such accusation by saying it’s a political move by the SFI, and that they were present nowhere near the scene, as only candidates were allowed inside.

Demanding justice, the SFI filed a complaint at the Maurice Nagar Police Station, and had sent a petition to the Delhi High Court, demanding justice to file nomination later and to postponement the elections.

The party had filed the plea on 6th September, and the students had protested on the previous day about the issue on campus. Activists of the SFI and the All India Student Federation (AISA) were attacked twice by ABVP on the same day, as they say.

“No SFI member was able to file their nominations. However, one AISF member managed to file his nomination,” said Utkarsh, an SFI Delhi State Secretariat member.

The verdict on the case was announced earlier, while the Delhi High Court strongly condemned the violence against the candidates. They had denied the University of Delhi (DU) SFI student activists’ plea to let them file nomination for the just happened DUSU elections. The court also denied their plea to postpone the elections as well.

Tom Pious, a student of the Law Faculty at DU and a core committee member of the SFI Delhi unit said, “The judge condemned such acts of violence inside a university and asked the University to file a report on the same on 17th October. The verdict did not come as a relief to us because the elections were just happening. That’s why we weren’t able to contest the elections this time.”

Justice Sanjeev Sachdev condemned the alleged acts of violence on campus and asked the University to file a report by the next hearing.

This case also raises many questions regarding the tolerance of violence in the DUSU elections and the safety of candidates.

 

Feature Image Credits: Zee News 

 

Chhavi bahmba

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Campus Central

ABVP Alleges Attack on Joint Secretary Candidate by NSUI

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The student outfit alleged that the attack on its Joint Secretary candidate, Shivangi Kharwal, happened while she was campaigning in Zakir Husain College. 

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, in a press release dated 6 September, alleged that Shivangi Kharwal – the party’s candidate for the post of the Joint Secretary in the upcoming Delhi University Students’ Union – was “brutally attacked by political goons in league with [National Students’ Union of India], on the premises of the University’s Zakir [Husain] College.” 

The press release quoted Ms Kharwal, “the victim of this malicious attack,” as saying that the attack was borne out of the NSUI’S “desperation owing to their sense of foreboding, regarding the uncomplimentary electoral denouement approaching them with inexorable certainty.” She said that the alleged attack reinforced the “misogynistic disposition of the NSUI.” She was also quoted as saying that she will file a complaint with the police “in a little while.” 

While speaking to DU Beat, Siddharth Yadav, State Secretary of ABVP Delhi, told us that while Ms Kharwal was campaigning at Zakir Husain College, suddenly slogans of “ABVP Murdabad, SUI Zindabad” were raised. He alleged that around 40-50 people with sticks had gathered outside the college gate from where the candidate had entered. “The NSUI unit inside the college was in direct coordination with the people outside, which included some locals, few gundas and few of their sympathisers,” Mr Yadav said. 

Mr Yadav further said that Ms Kharwal did not want to get into a conflict with the alleged attackers and she decided to end her campaign in the college and leave. However, Mr Yadav further alleged that when Ms Kharwal was leaving, the car that she was in was attacked. “People with stones and sticks and what not attacked the cars and even a few of our women supporters were tried to be held back. They were stopped from entering the car,” he said. 

However, NSUI refuted the allegations. Saimon Farooqui, National Secretary of the student party, said, “When ABVP starts losing, they put fake allegations. NSUI was nowhere involved in the entire incident. ABVP’s candidate and [its] members brutally thrashed the students of Zakir [Husain] College last year and this year too, they were planning to do the same which wasn’t acceptable to the students. This resulted in students drawing them out of the college. All the students were ID card holders of Zakir [Husain] College. No one belonged to NSUI.” 

We contacted Ms Kharwal but could not get a comment from her on time. 

However, this does not seem to be a standalone incident; the DUSU elections, scheduled for 12 September, have seen multiple instances of alleged scuffles and violence till now. Almost all parties have accused each other of creating violence or attacking their candidates and supporters some or the other time. 

Feature Image Credits: India Today

Prateek Pankaj 

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Campus Central

Students Protest Against Fee Hike at Institute of Home Economics

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Students from the Institute of Home Economics, with the support of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), engaged in a protest against the increase in the fees of the college.

On Monday, 1st September 2019, the students of the Institute of Home Economics led by ABVP protested against the increase in the fees of the college. ABVP placed several demands before the college administration including reduction in the fees, improvement in the quality of food in college canteen, renovation of college washrooms, and re-opening of the closed book shop inside college premises.

As per the latest fee structure, the fees for many courses have been increased by INR 8,000-10,000 from last year. Last year, the fee for courses such as B.Sc (Honours) Home Science and Microbiology was INR 19,675. It has now been increased to INR 28,890. Similarly, the fee for B.Sc (Honours) Food Technology was INR 29,895 last year which has now been increased to INR 39,995.

According to the students, the fee structure of the college always seemed inadequate to them as it has always been more expensive than other colleges affiliated to the University of Delhi (DU), but they had accepted it as the courses offered by the institute are not widespread and not a lot of colleges offer the same courses. However, this immediate increase in the fees seemed unnecessary and requires change along with other issues of the college.

According to Jyoti Chaudhary, ABVP’s State Executive Member and former Joint-Secretary of Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU)  “The fees of various colleges of Delhi University are constantly increasing, it’s a matter of concern for the common students. DUSU and ABVP had protested against the fee hike in colleges and hostels in the past as well, following which they were assured by the Delhi University Administration that their issue would be resolved but there has been no result so far. The way the fees are being increased by more than 50% in colleges, is not justified in any way. Colleges will continue to struggle against the fee hike.”

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Image Credits: ABVP Media
IMG-20190903-WA0002
Students from Institute of Home Economics along with members of the ABVP protest against the fee hike.                                          Image Credits: ABVP Media

Pratik Gupta, ABVP’s Institute of Home Economics Unit Chairperson said, “The fee of Institute of Home Economics is twice or thrice the fees of that of other colleges affiliated to the University of Delhi. Moreover, the college administration has imposed a financial burden on the students in several other ways adding to the common problems of these students. Fees inequality is unfortunate, considering that the condition of the washrooms and canteen of the college is not worth the additional fees.”

According to sources, hundreds of students participated in this protest against the authorities, but no one from the college administration tried to listen and understand the problems of the students. ABVP will soon conduct a protest on a large scale against the college administration in this context.

Feature Image Credits: Shiksha

Avni Dhawan

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DUB Speak

The Curious Case of Cancel Culture

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Cancel Culture has gained both critiques and praise, its approach has helped many, but also often remained short-lived. This tool has emerged as a voice for the marginalised, but how effective is it?

Cancel Culture refers to the phenomenon of “cancelling” or boycotting a celebrity’s work, products, art and position, and as a practice has gained momentum in the past year. This process involves people expressing their anger towards the celebrity by collectivising in order to counter the social influence he or she has. This tool has been proven effective in providing marginalised groups with a voice and facilitating in the “takedowns” of people. Bill Cosby and Kevin Spacey’s careers were cancelled after several women, and men came out against them in cases of harassment.

Cancel Culture comes with its supporters and opponents. Its advocates talk about how in an attention-based economy, this is a medium to gauge the attention of millions of people towards problematic behaviours. It can help educate and enlighten. We can call out big companies or brands for their acts of fright. The notion of individuals with social capital getting away with their wrongdoings is now challenged. Furthermore, we can now raise awareness about issues which were never openly discussed before, such as sexual harassment, racist comments, and queerbaiting.

This practice goes on from a celebrity-fan equation, to also a person-to-person equation. A very recent example becomes the number of people who were called out as a part of the #MeToo movement. We have all heard these stories, read these posts on Facebook or Instagram or known someone who has experienced this. From offices to colleges, and mostly the circuits of different societies. After the incident is painfully reported, the retelling of the story begins. But even at this level, there exists this social hierarchy, with some people whose reputation will be unaffected and those with much to lose.

The accused tend to remain involved, while the accuser is forced to leave this situation.

Recently, several cases of this have come to light. From Logan Paul, Aziz Ansari, James Charles to Indian comedians like AIB’s Gursimran Khamba and Tanmay Bhat have been boycotted. But the question remains, is this an effective solution? We cannot guarantee its impact, and how long the impact lasts. Only so few people have had to face long-lasting repercussions of being cancelled. Aziz Ansari made a comeback on Netflix, and incorporated this period in his piece, James Charles made an apology video and regained his lost position, Kanye West also successfully returned with his reputation untouched.

It is believed that with every controversy that comes and goes, people tend to forget the past. So, most celebrities suffer a brief period of losing deals and fans. Their return involves three steps; they make a seemingly “raw” and honest apology, lay low for a few months and return with the persona of a “changed” person. The authenticity of these apologies and transformations seem questionable. Going back to how it pans out in college circuits, a similar trend follows.

With cancel culture, “cancelling cancel culture” has also gained some attention. It has risen as a messiah of the ‘cancelled’ and propagates that these individuals be made aware of their problematic behaviours. Some people even bring in the idea of cyberbullying in speaking out against cancel culture.

Short or long, the impact this new culture brings is a ray of hope in a world where even ‘Instagram famous’ people gain social capital which can be hard to fight. The idea is not to takedown celebrities or to oppress them, but it is to revoke the privilege that has been placed. This fights against people in positions of privilege who have gotten away with racist and homophobic jokes or demanding sexual favours. The exploitation has now collectivised many to rage against, not a few select individuals, but centuries of oppression.

 

Feature Image Credits: Lamar University

 

Shivani Dadhwal

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Events

India Youth Conclave 2019 – An Amalgamation of the Creative and the Technical

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The two-day long India Youth Conclave 2019, consisting of workshops, interesting panel discussions, and internship fairs, ended on a high note today. 

On 31st August 2019, My Captain organised its 10th India Youth Conclave at Dilli Haat, Janakpuri. Many young people, including aspiring entrepreneurs and budding content creators, attended this conclave, which began with a workshop on entrepreneurship and digital marketing by Ruhan Naqash, the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of My Captain.

The workshop began with Naqash asking the audience about how many of them planed on becoming entrepreneurs and he was amazed by the number of raised hands. He told them that as entrepreneurs more lessons come from failures than from successes. He also provided the audience with facts like how nearly 90% of startups fail, something that left the audience in dismay. He focused on the ideology of “customer being the King” and said that in entrepreneurship, it’s all about the idea and listening to the target market. He also focused on how one doesn’t really need investments in start-ups if that holds back some young minds and said a good idea requires zero investment, something which the audience fairly agreed upon. He shared his own journey as an entrepreneur, the story of how he got an idea of online workshops and educational seminars in his first year of college and how he went door-to-door in his college hostel gathering his friends to assemble with him on the idea and not keep it a secret confined to him. The room full of young entrepreneurs seemed highly satisfied and inspired after the workshop, which was very interactive. Many present even shared their ideas of start-ups with Naqash.

A Photography Workshop conducted by Rahul Singh Manral took place at the same time. The session took off from his experience as an engineering dropout, and covered his journey till here. He believes that his trip to Egypt in 2013 was a revolution in his career. His session was filled with motivational quotes and the audience could really connect with his light sense of humour.  When asked about the importance of rules, Manral said, “The Importance of any rule is to know it, but it is your responsibility to break it.” In his technical session about photography, he explored the development of light in photography and also shared some modern wildlife and action photography. Lastly, he ended his session by focusing on the fact that modern photography is not only restricted to Social Media, rather, his end goal is to make people want to do something when they look at his photographs.  You can check out more of his work on his Instagram here. 

The conclave also featured a great line-up of comedians. The show took-off with comedian Manekas Singh Mehta delivering some self-depreciation jokes. His set also talked about Punjabi and Delhite norms and was worth a watch. Next, Onkar Yadav talked about a lot of things ranging from childhood memories to the dating problems one faces in their college period, in his well-known dry sense of humour. Kushagra Shrivastava also delighted the stage with his presence. He talked about religion, tinder, and sports and even interacted with the production team and photographers. It was a show filled with laughter and even some very mature and well thought out jokes, which left the audience wanting for more.

A Creative Writing workshop with Dhruv Sehgal was organized after this where aspiring writers in the audience were familiarised with key concepts on how to write better. The audience was initially star-struck, and was keen to listen to the speaker’s journey and learn from the same. Sehgal said that one of the most important aspects of writing is observation. He said that observing content is free and that good writers can find content in the weirdest places. He stressed how “everyone has a story” and that a blank page is the most important instrument of a writer. He talked about the competition in writing, that being a writer for web series, your competition is not just Bollywood or Hollywood but other content providers like Facebook and Instagram as well, so to overcome that, one should be relatable to the viewers and focus on their unique style by being truthful. Dhruv insisted that rules are very important, contrary to the “rule-breaking” millennial generation as the real challenge lies in showing one’s creativity while following the rules and not while breaking them.

The Rap Battle followed next, which saw many young and enthusiastic students taking to the stage to beatbox and rap their original creations. From solo performances to duets, the performers were full of energy. This open platform gave many students a stage to showcase their talent which they don’t really get to otherwise since rapping is still an upcoming art form in India, and many people are yet to get acquainted with it.

The Psychology workshop with psychologist Prerna saw many students of Psychology in the audience. Prerna talked about how empathy and compassion are important when dealing with patients with mental disorders. She also narrated many incidents from her personal life where she emotionally went through a hard time when dealing with patients of sexual abuse and patients who had violent tendencies. She told the audience that if they wanted to pursue a career in Psychology, then they must follow their seniors and be strong when dealing with their patients.

During the YouTubing workshop, fans went crazy for famous YouTubers Sana, Shraddha Gurang, Kanishk Priyadarshini, Gaurav Taneja, and Himadri Patel. They inspired the audience with their personal stories of the rise to stardom and talked about how to make it big on YouTube. They talked about how YouTube, unlike Facebook and Instagram, provides them with a platform where they can post descriptive videos and how it is possible to build a huge community on it considering that the audiences know what they are looking for. On being questioned by an audience member on how to cope with negative public ideas of making a career out of YouTubing, the panel encouraged him and told hopeful YouTube stars that it is initially difficult to make a career on social media but that hard work and passion pay off in the end. This workshop concluded the first day of the conclave.

Day two of the India Youth Conclave organised by My Captain began with Naqash speaking to the audience about the story of My Captain.
He launched the My Captain app and discussed ideas about revolutionising online education. “To make online education sexy is my aim,” he said. He spoke about how the app works by removing barriers, making learning fun, and explaining concepts using practical examples.
The next speaker was the founder of Pet Street Cafe, Sonali Wadhwa who is an animal activist. Her team is her family. She spoke about her love for dogs and how dogs were her mental cushions, she narrated her story of Pet Street Cafe that went from two pet shops to a pet resort. “Being lost is part of the process,” she said.
“If you are not fearless enough to explore. You will not find what’s right for you,” she added. Wadhwa, ho is also a feminist, had this to say to the feminist hater: “If anyone hates the word feminist, I am sorry about you.”
 
With a six-year experience in Psychological counselling, Manvi Khurana, the founder of Karama Centre for Counseling & Well Being, explores the horizons of sexuality and the taboos that revolve around it in her enthralling session at the IYC’19 Delhi. Tracing sexuality back to the primary school Biology classes when a diagram of phallus served as the erotic recreation, how the myths and conjectures pertaining to masturbation make a crucial topic as sexuality turned into a giggle shot and Karma as somewhat of queer affirmative form.
Manvi further stresses on a sex-positive outlook and asks the youth to perceive it from a perception that carries the responsibility of being one, while claiming of being hopeful and optimistic of the future, she ends with a positive note in her valedictory words for the young audience”The future is bright cause the future is you.”
In the next session, popular author, celebrity journalist, live show host & motivational speaker, Surabhi Verma retrospected on her varied professional career as she talks about her 2018 release ‘And She Quit Her Job’. An alumna of Dayawati Modi Academy, Meerut and Kalindi  College, University of Delhi, Surabhi emphasises on the essence of being a good writer. he recalls about the 2012 Delhi gang rape which generated huge national outrage and how the incident propelled her to pursue journalism. Working rigorously to get a diploma in Media & Journalism from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, after cracking the entry to The Hindustan Times, she quits her first job owing to a certain introspection and then goes onto OYO Hotels as a content writer lasting there for 3 hours. While her third job at a media house provided Surabhi with opportunity to meet her childhood icon Kareena Kapoor Khan, after interviewing a series of celebs and working as a TV presenter at the Doordarshan she leaves this job as well and starts working on her  book ‘And She Quit Her Job’, Surabhi has worked with esteem organisations like India Today, ECI, ACMA & FSAI and has a reputed social media presence to her credit. She suggests the youth to be evolutionary & experimentative with their choices and asks them to give time to themselves, being grateful for what they have. She further quotes:
“Overnight Success is nothing and never let your circumstances take hold of your life, you are the master of your own life, do what you want to make of it.”
She ends her address with Maya Angelou’s lines:
“You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise.”

The event later witnesses a very fruitful discussion between prominent writers like Dhruv Sehgal, writer, Little Things, Raunak Ramteke, senior writer, Filter Copy, and Anuj Gosalia, CEO and Founder, Terribly Tiny Tales.

The panel discussion predominantly focused upon essentials of writing as a process, choosing a target audience and making the content relatable. Structure of videos is talked about and its relevance. How a writer should never forget what essentially the story is and it will only work if it surprises itself and the audience. Anuj Gosalia and Dhruv Sehgal said, “Writing should not be result-driven, but process-driven, and it’s the process that can make or break you as a writer.”

They recount the incidents that made them writers and they share their words of wisdom with the audience comprising of writers on how to enter the industry. The 25-30 minute long panel discussion gave key insights on how important it is to not be a yes man in the industry and how much quality feedback is valued. Dhruv Sehgal said, “I just emailed Varun Grover, writer of Sacred Games, a few days back regarding what could have been done differently in the season two and he literally replied saying that he was the first one to give a feedback which astonished him.”

The discussion also shed light on the lack of vernacular languages in the mainstream content. They say that adding regional and local languages makes the content very relatable, very easily. However; they as position holders in media company are still finding ways to integrate regional beliefs with content made for masses.

Gurmehar Kaur, writer and a Literature graduate from Lady Shri Ram College, enlightened the audience filled with young adults about her journey with politics, war, and writing. She spoke about how student unions and writing paved the way for her to have a political opinion. Being just an 18-year-old from Jalandhar, when she first entered the University, she recounted the events that led to her being who she is now.

She started with shifting the attention from content creation on the internet to the violation of human rights, internet and cellular blackout being faced by the people of Kashmir, and how dire their problem is. She spoke of how important student politics has been in her life and how it was such a powerful tool specially in such a politically-aware city. On being asked, how dirty student politics has become by an audience member, Gurmehar answered: “Student politics is very imperative for each student. It gives you an opportunity specially after 2014, to have a different opposition and perspective which national politics might not provide you.”

She told DU Beat, “I believe even if you’re not contesting or part of a political party. You’re still a voter and have an essential role. Students must vote and ask the right questions to their leaders.”

She even shared her experience while writing her two books, The Small Acts of Freedom and The Young and Restless. She adviced all the budding writers to know that their first draft will not be great and that is acceptable. She encouraged all to tell their truth and how you’re only a writer when you write and not when you get published.

 

 

Feature Image Credits: Hitesh Kalra for DU Beat

 

Akshat Arora

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Avni Dhawan 

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Juhi Bhargava

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Stephen Mathew
 
Md. Faizan Salik 

Chhavi Bahmba

[email protected]

 

 

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DUB News

ABVP Announces List of Shortlisted DUSU Candidates

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On Friday, 30th August 2019, the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) shortlisted seven candidates out of their previous ten, who would be contesting for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) polls.
On Friday, ABVP released the list of seven shortlisted candidates, out of their previous ten, who would be contesting in the DUSU 2019 elections.
These candidates are Tushar Dedha, Yogit Rathi, Akshit Dahiya, Pradeep, Tanwar, Shivangi Kharaab, Jaideep Maan, and Mansi Chauhan.
The ABVP also declared the composition of its Election Committee on Saturday, 31st August 2019. The Election Committee is headed by the State President of ABVP, Delhi Unit, Dr. Avneesh Mittal. The other members include National Executive Member of ABVP- Dr Manu Sharma Kataria, State Organising Secretary-Anand Srivastava, National Media Convener – Monika Chaudhary, State Secretary- Sidharth Yadav, Former DUSU President Shakti
Singh, and Central Working Committee Member- Abhishek Verma. ”

This committee will now start having meetings, and discuss about the candidates, how their performance is going on in the University, their background, and personality of the candidates- content generation and how they’re speaking (and) addressing the students, what content they are putting in front (of the students) and on the basis of these parameters, our Election Committee will decide who will be our four candidates,” Monika Chaudhary, the National Media Convener of ABVP and a member of the Election Committee reported to DU Beat.

The party generated talks with last year’s elected President, Ankiv Baisoya being found to have had a fake degree, landing the party, as well as DUSU in hot waters. “Actually, we are not having a very, like particular system of how to check out the degrees of the students, and last year also, we gave (a) ticket to Ankiv Baisoya for the simple reason that Ankiv Baisoya was enrolled in the University and that time he was having admission in University in the Buddhist (Studies) department, and his nomination also got cleared, so we had no clue that the past degree would be fake. This time also, we have checked the background of the students, their degrees, but we are not having a very authentic system that we would have gone into other universities and (checked) their background. We have a simple system (in which) we check their backgrounds and previous degrees from Delhi University, and if they are a student of Delhi University, they’re genuine for us,” Monika Chaudhary commented.

Ashutosh Singh, ABVP’s State Media in-Charge commented, “Toh iss time hum log aur hamari Election Committee, saare candidates ki saari information ki acche se scrutiny kar rahe hai… Ankiv Baisoya ki cheez hamare dhyaan mein hai. [This time, the Election Committee is scrutinising all the
information regarding the candidates properly; we’re keeping Ankiv Baisoya’s incident in mind.]
ABVP’s Election Committee will be declaring the final candidates for the DUSU elections on 5th September 2019.

Feature Image Credits: Janam TV
Shreya Juyal
[email protected]

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Arts & Culture

Frankenstein Day: Celebrating Mary Shelley and Her Most Celebrated Work

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On the occasion of Frankenstein Day, let’s look into the life of acclaimed author Mary Shelley and her widely celebrated work ‘Frankenstein’.

Born on 30th August 1797, Mary Shelley isn’t a name unknown to the literature enthusiasts. At a young age of 18, she made a mark for herself amongst the literary greats with her widely celebrated horror novel Frankenstein.

Her novel, born out of a friendly discussion and instigation by Lord Byron, earned her the title of “mother of horror stories”. With no prior writing experience, she displayed an exemplary display of her skills with Frankenstein, and reflected the literary genes she accrued from her parents- political writer William Godwin and famed feminist Mary Wollstonecraft.

30th August marks itself as ‘Frankenstein Day’ to honour and celebrate this literary gem and her masterpiece.

Touching upon the themes of incessant quest for dangerous knowledge, ambition, and monstrosity, Frankenstein, published in 1818 is a masterpiece, remarkable in every aspect of its being.

Victor Frankenstein, a scientist with his quench for forbidden knowledge discovers how to create a living being out of inanimate dead beings. Putting his research into practice, Victor creates a living monster which he abandons at its very first glimpse, filled with hate and disgust for his creation.

Little did Victor know that in the process of creation of the monster, he is writing his and his family’s doom.

What provokes the reader’s thoughts is the diminishing line between the monster and Victor with the question of what it is to be a monster, which underplays in the text. How human is the monster and how monstrous is Victor becomes the theme which prevents the novel from becoming a flat-read of black and white characters.

The novel masterfully puts forth the perspective of the monster, and the sense of alienation and loneliness which engulfed him after his creator Victor abandoned him. As Victor goes on to continually defend his actions, Mary ultimately questions his ambitions and, cryptically, holds him responsible for all the suffering he and his family undergo.

Frankenstein is filled with suffering, death, and sadness and many critics find it to be a reflection of Mary’s own life filled with suffering. She lost her mother when she was barely ten days old, eloped with and married Percy Shelley when she was 16, and she lost him a few years later and three of her four children before they even touched the age of three.

Thus, her life filled with tragedy is reflected in her most famous work.

This novel laid the foundation for all the coming science fiction and horror novels and earned itself a classic position. With pertinent themes and intriguing narration, Frankenstein becomes a poignant read.

It’s not every other novel that has a special day to its name. So, cosy up in your beds this rainy weekend with a cup of coffee in one hand and Frankenstein in another.

 

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a part of English Honours’ fourth-semester syllabus.

Feature Image Credits: Looking-glass Theatre Company

 

Shreya Agrawal

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