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Unmasking Masculinity: The Boy Crisis

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We are at a historic moment in terms of gender equality. Masculinity, as you know it, asks men to be ‘tough and ‘strong’. However, this machismo-driven notion of masculinity is killing both men and women.

 “Fight Club”, said my best friend when I asked him about his favourite movie. Of course, it was. Tyler Durden was all he wanted to be. He was violent and aggressive, a man who showed no emotions. Don’t get me wrong, Fight Club is one of the greatest American classics but it thrives on toxic masculinity. The ‘Project Mayhem’ looked like an opportunity to men to prove their worth by traditional means at a time when all of them were struggling internally, searching for meaning in life.  As women are fighting against the system for equal rights and opportunities, are we able to understand the way patriarchy affects men?

Toxic masculinity is a concept in which men have a “supreme valuation of characteristics culturally associated with masculine and denigration of characteristics associated with the feminine”. Everybody knows what those ‘masculine’ traits or male stereotypes are. Men, right from the very childhood are told that they are not allowed to cry because ‘big boys don’t cry’. They should ‘man up’ whenever the situation requires them to and never be vulnerable. They should not do things ‘like a little girl’ does. They should be self-reliant and be ‘lone wolves’ in order to succeed. Men need to show dominance and be in control of things. Men also have this false sense of superiority and entitlement over women, which results in hundreds of women being killed, raped and mutilated every single day.

Such unwritten rules of behaviour lead men to limit the expressions of their emotions, primarily to anger. I have often seen men talk in excessive pride about the fact that they haven’t cried in years. Is it even a good thing to be proud of? When they find themselves unable to deal with their overwhelming emotions and feelings and they can’t talk about it, it often gets channelized into two ways. The first one is being physically violent.  Zach Greiner’s character in Fight Club found ‘Project Mayhem’ as an outlet for his anger against the identity crisis he was facing. It was all about enduring pain as much as possible. The second way is experiencing stress and depression. According to studies, men are four times more likely to commit suicide than women. Men who adhere to the traditionally masculine cultural norms and pressurize themselves to be stoic and socially isolate themselves are less likely to seek help for their mental health issues.

These are the tools of the patriarchy that we all need to fight against. We need to help boys become connected men. We cannot allow a destructive sense of manhood with ‘boys will be boys’ narrative to perpetuate anymore. We need to start having real conversations with men, conversations about feelings and problems and everything in between, conversations which are open and honest, just like girls have with one another. You know how girls tell every minute detail of their lives to someone close to them? Well, it helps. Talking about your problems may not be the solution but it does make you feel better. Stifling your emotions to avoid being judged by other men is going to kill you, both literally and figuratively; it is time to open up and break free.

 

Feature Image credits– Christian Hopkins

Disha Saxena

[email protected]

 

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Campus Central

Nishtha Dudeja, a Commerce Graduate from Sri Venkateswara College Wins Ms India Deaf 2018

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In heartening news, Nishtha Dudeja, a commerce graduate from Sri Venkateshwara College won the title of Ms India Deaf, 2018. The 22 year old, in a report by Amar Ujala, said that she had spent a year in preparing for the contest, learning ramp walk and dancing. A prolific tennis player, Ms. Dudeja also represented India in lawn tennis during Deaflympics 2013 (Bulgaria) and World Deaf Tennis Championship 2015 (UK) and Deaflympics 2017 (Turkey).

In the three-day pageant held from 24th to 26th February organised by the Rajputana Deaf Arts and Culture Society (RDACS) in collaboration with All India Deaf Arts and Culture Society (AIDACS), Ms. Dudeja showcased her skills at being the best on the ramp, which also included Bhangra dancing. Her father, B.D. Dudeja, mentioned how she had been a stubborn child since her childhood, learning speech therapy for several years. He also admitted to feeling unlucky earlier about his fate being the father of the differently-abled child. “We now feel very lucky to have her. She is very caring,” he concluded.  

The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 provides for both preventive and promotional aspects of rehabilitation in areas like education, employment and vocational training, reservation, research and manpower development, creation of barrier-free environment and so on. However, such measures have rarely been implemented. A recent survey by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) found that  thirty-two of India’s top universities and institutions of higher learning , including IITs, IIMs, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University, have together filled up barely 16% of the minimum quota for people with disabilities.  The survey also found women students with disabilities made up of 28% of the disabled students in these institutions. This was later followed by a statement in December, 2017 by the Vice-Chancellor, Yogesh Tyagi who resolved to start a centre for disability studies soon for further inclusion-oriented research.

However, there is a larger culture of silence and neglect that afflicts disabled people in the country. Speaking of her travels abroad, Ms. Dudeja remarked how people with disabilities were given equal opportunities there instead of mere compassion. In India, they are made to feel weak which is something very harmful.

Nevertheless, Ms. Dudeja’s achievement does bring in inspiration for people with disabilities to pursue their dreams against heavy odds.

 

Feature Image Credits: India Today

Sara Sohail

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DUB Speak

Cultural Appropriation vs Cultural Exchange- Understanding the difference

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Cultural Appropriation is a topic that gets a lot of people into debates and arguments. However, in this globalized society, it is important to know when cultural ‘exchange’ becomes inappropriate and offensive to minorities.

I first understood the essence of the term ‘cultural appropriation’ when I saw Selena Gomez’s MTV Awards performance of her 2013 hit single, “Come and Get it”. She had worn a flowy red dress and a red Bindi on her forehead. Members of certain Hindu groups argued that the Bindi holds religious significance and is an auspicious symbol, sometimes referred to as the third eye and cannot be thrown around to suit the convenience of white people.

Cultural appropriation refers to the act of taking elements from a culture which doesn’t belong to them; it refers to the act when a culturally dominant group takes elements of a culture which has been systematically oppressed over the years. However, it cannot be mistaken for cultural exchange. There exists a very blurry line between the two. One needs to know when the cultural engagement turns into cultural appropriation and becomes offensive. So, when does this happen?

If the culturally dominant group ‘borrows’ products which have deep symbolic meaning attached to them, and uses them in a way which dishonours and mocks them then that becomes disrespectful and is cultural appropriation. It trivializes the oppression and the violence which the people faced. The trauma resulting from it lasts for generations and using their products as fashion accessories is deeply offensive. One can also observe the difference between the way in which the products of a certain culture are received and how people belonging to them are received by the dominant group. They show love for their culture but are highly intolerant of the people belonging to them. It is a matter of concern as the dominant group is able to make money off of it and reap profits and the original creators of the product never get any sort of credit. Cultural appropriation plays a key role in propagating racist stereotypes of a certain culture and spreads false information about them.

It is important to know how one can appreciate a culture without degrading it. It is necessary to take permission whether a certain product can be taken/ used or not. One can also learn about their histories. One should always consider the context of borrowing before using things from another culture. We need to call out appropriation whenever we see any cruel stereotypes and make others aware of it too. As long as such toxic cultural ‘borrowing’ is kept in check, one can be assured that such cultural ‘borrowing’ never crosses the line and becomes appropriation.

 

Disha Saxena

[email protected]

Feature Image credit– Lucy Nicholson for Reuters

 

 

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DUB Speak

Reviewing the SC/ST Act

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The judgement of the Supreme Court that led to the “dilution” of the Prevention of Atrocities Act has triggered a debate regarding the tussle between personal liberty and social justice. This article takes a look at this discourse.

The recent judgement by the two-member bench of the Supreme Court in the Subhash Kashninath Mahajan Vs. The State of Maharashtra case brought an amendment in the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities (PoA) Act, 1989 and protests across the country leading to the death of nine people and several injured. The judgement excluded the PoA Act from exclusion of granting anticipatory bail to the accused after the lodging of FIRs and also made it compulsory for a public servant to have a written permission from the employer and for a non-public servant to get a written permission from the Senior Superintendent of the Police before any arrest can be made. It also allowed for a “preliminary enquiry” before an FIR could be lodged to find out if the accusation was “frivolous” or “motivated”.

The judgement is based largely on the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data which contrary to popular opinion do not reflect the misuse of the PoA Act, but the non-implementation of it. The NCRB data revealed that the conviction rate for cases filed under the Act was 15.4 percent. However, the judgement failed to note that in the same year, 40,801 cases of crimes against Dalits were registered (this ignoring the large measure of such crimes that go unreported).

The Indian Express featured a report on the same that had mentioned a senior official at the Director General of Police, who claimed, under the condition of anonymity, that the figures under the PoA for 2016 were around five to six percent, which has also been an average observed in the last couple of years. So, the claims that the Act has been misused seem to be unfounded. This is what the figures say. However, the judgement itself is largely on the basis of an acute sense of oblivion of the socio-economic reality of the country. As growing cases of violence against Dalits show, caste-biased forces are active not just in the public arena but also in the highest echelons of justice. P.S. Krishnan, the original author of the 1989 Act and renowned civil servant, points out the repercussions that come with any assertion of constitutional rights that SCs/STs take, such as massacres, mass arson, witness tampering, intimidation, physical and verbal abuse, assault etc. “These facts are so well-known and notorious that the Supreme Court will be required to take judicial note of it,” he writes in an open letter. As the premier law-enforcing institution in the country, the judgements of the Supreme Court need to be reflective of such a reality. The original 1989 Act, enacted under the Rajiv Gandhi government, was in response to the rampant atrocities faced by the SCs and STs. In such a sense, the 1989 heeds the caste-biased nexus between the law-bureaucracy-and the executive of the country while the 2018 judgement ignores it.

The recent judgement also stems from a desire to correct a so-called “misuse” of law, a claim (as already seen) that cannot be backed by facts and hence, has underpinnings of a desire for vengeance. Such an approach by the judiciary is unlikely to solve anything. While the judgement quoted the ideals of personal liberty and freedom of the individual as being central to its decision, it fails to see the rights of the individual in the context of a larger, community-based macrocosm. While this overemphasis on the individual might not necessarily be undesirable, acts like the PoA are part of the state policy of positive affirmation and hence, need to be seen in Dalit or Adivasi existing in a vicious web of hostile forces that begin from the local upper-caste politician to the unhelpful police force, such a decision is bound to be a catalyst for further alienation.

Noted Italian thinker, Antonio Gramsci’s ideas on the manufacture of consent through the cultural hegemony of the bourgeoisie, which lead to the exploitation of the already marginalised, find a place here. Gramscian ideas have inspired social movements that rely on explicit strategies to counter the knowledge and cultural systems created by the dominant classes, which propagate a preponderant notion of what is legitimate and what is normal. The opposition to the Supreme Court judgement seems to arise from such a desire, and very rightly so.

 

Feature Image Credits: The Indian Express

Sara Sohail
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Campus Central

Why the Delhi Metro is Every Student’s Lifeline

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The Delhi metro has helped students through hard times and good times. Snaking through the vast corridors of the state, it has become more than just a means of transport.

For students, the presence of Delhi metro has been a boon. We have now started to spend more time underground than above the ground, happy in our moleskins. No, it is not a place for Pritam and his band to sing romantic songs, and it is not a place for Amitabh Bachchan to let out his inner child in front of his ‘father’. It is our commute, our lifeline. The Delhi metro has served many purposes for the average student of the University of Delhi (DU) since its beginning. Despite helping students beat the strenuous Delhi traffic, the Delhi metro has many other amenities to cater to students. The Vishwavidyalaya metro station’s cheap INR 50 earphones become necessities; copies, books, earrings, and food are readily available right at the metro stations. Not to mention the utility of the bicycles for use on a leisurely day around the campus.

College students spend a substantial amount of time commuting in the metro. The average, broke DU student can hardly afford the luxury of an Uber cab. For the lucky few off-campus students, the metro sometimes serves the purpose of not just connectivity, but also as a completely acceptable excuse to be late to class, on the days the usually punctual metro is confronted with a technical snag.

For a few of us, the metro is also about chance encounters. We meet new people every day, whether it is that jhola-carrying cute guy who asked you what you are reading, or the aunty who threw you dirty looks for rocking out to AC/DC. The metro is a host of characters, and mingling with them is our very own capsule.

Recent expansion in the metro will prove to be more helpful in bridging the north-south divide. The 21.56 km stretch of the Pink Line which is operational now connects the North and South campuses of Delhi University, which would reduce the travel time to 40 minutes. The line also connects 12 stations and the Blue, Yellow, Red, and Airport metro lines. In December 2017, the Prime Minister opened a section of the Magenta Line connecting the Kalkaji Mandir metro station to Botanical Garden in Noida. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is hence slowly expanding and is expected to cover 700 kilometres in a few years as per the Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

 

Feature Image Credits: India Today.

Sara Sohail

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News

Students Lathicharged During the Protest against the SSC scam

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Protests against the leaked question papers for Staff Selection Commission (SSC) exams took an ugly turn on Saturday, as the protesters clashed with the police who resorted to lathi-charge and detained the protesters.

On 31st March 2018, student and SSC aspirants who had gathered at the Parliament Street were brutally lathi-charged by the Delhi Police. The detained protesters were taken away in more than four buses.

Kawalpreet Kaur, President of All India Students’ Association (DU Unit) said, “Police is saying that there was no lathicharge. Students demanding transparency from the Government are being silenced so that no one asks any question in the future.”

Notably, sources reveal that three of the protesters have fallen sick after police action on Saturday.

While the protesters had congregated at Parliament Street, trouble brewed when they broke through police barricades and tried to march towards Janpath, during their ‘Yuva Halla Bol’ protest. The police halted them at Janpath. Thereafter, a brief clash ensued, with some protesters running away and some charging the police line.

Geeta Kumari, the President of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union, while addressing the protesters had remarked, “Ye Nahi Kehte Ki Hum Bina Mehnat Ke Naukri Chahte Hain. Hum Bol Rahe Hain Ki Barabri Ka Mauka Toh Do.” (We are not demanding jobs without tests; all we demand is an equal opportunity).

Staff Selection Commission – Combined Graduate Level Examination (SSC CGL) is held to recruit staff for posts in ministries and departments of the government. The protests began by the end of February when news spread that the papers for the examination were leaked.

The protests have seen students taking to the streets to oppose such irregularities. The affected student community has asserted that it will not call off the protest until the demands are met. Talking about the commonality of such injustice in India, Sardar Singh, an SSC aspirant from Allahabad, said, “Papers have been leaking from 2013 and it’s only getting worse now.”
Feature Image Credits: Kawalpreet Kaur

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak
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Arts & Culture

The Future Belongs to Intersectional Feminists 

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Feminism has been the buzzword for a while now and rightly so. However, today’s feminist movement seems to be in danger as time and again it refuses to integrate intersectional feminism. It’s time that upper-class and upper caste women check their privilege.

Average Dalit Woman Dies 14.6 Years Younger than Women from Higher Castes, reported The Hindu on February 19, 2018. According to another report from UN Women, titled Turning Promises into Action: Gender Equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Dalit women face more unjust or prejudicial treatment as compared to higher caste women in India. They have less or no access to safe drinking water and healthcare. They have low mortality rates due to poor sanitation facilities. This report astonished me. My first question was, ‘What does mortality rate have to do anything with caste?’ I know this question of mine reeks of ignorance and elitism. I have been raised this way, with my parents never talking to me about caste. They made me believe that caste is a ‘non-issue’. However, they have judged people on the basis of their caste, whenever they ask someone’s last name. I have judged my fellow classmates and friends. I always thought, especially when I was in high school that they have had it easy. They wouldn’t have to worry about admissions and scholarships and jobs for they had reservations. This isn’t just me. Every fairly educated, upper or middle-class Indian thinks this way.

A lot of upper and middle-class parents wish to raise their kids away from the ugliness of caste system. As a result, they end up raising kids who are caste blind. They raise a whole generation of casteist, privileged kids who have no idea about what’s happening around them. Textbooks in schools also teach them that caste doesn’t exist anymore. Right from the childhood, kids like me, have been caste blind-folded. Same goes for religion too. Like they say. the first step of solving any problem is acknowledging that there is a problem. Refusing to cognize caste is an ostrich policy, not progressivism.

Consequently, another question popped into my head. Does my feminism talk about the women who face far more discrimination than me because of their caste, ethnicity, and religion? I think for a while now, my feminism has been about what you call ‘mainstream feminism’. With it being trans-exclusionary and caste/class-blind, it has been non-intersectional. I have been preaching about feminism without taking into account the experiences of women whose caste, religion, race, and social identities have stopped them from enjoying equal rights and opportunities like me. These forms of discrimination further marginalise women which leads to larger inequalities. I am privileged, for my life has not been affected by my social identity (i.e. caste, class, religion) in any way.

I may never be able to understand how much it hurts trans people to know that they’re not being seen as who they are. I may not be able to understand how caste dictates one’s everyday life. I might never be able to know the terror under which minorities live. All I can be is an ally. I can give spaces which I am occupying to them to speak for their rights. I should not speak for them. I need to recognize my privilege and learn from them. We need more trans women, Dalit women, women from the lower classes in leadership roles. It’s time for feminism to become more inclusive. We need to uplift women who are disadvantaged socially, politically and economically. Intersectionality matters and its time we listen to the less-privileged women for they are the ones who will be the pacesetters of women’s rights all over the world.

 

Feature Image Credits: Salmon Design

Disha Saxena 

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DUB Speak

The Indian Amalgam

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With the recent development in the country, it is easy to lose sight of what India, even as an ‘imaginary’ country, had to offer to the rest of the world in its past, be it collective or not. However, in order to move further ahead, we need to think about our past, present, and future collectively and take pride in all the potential that India has and can harness.

India, the  seventh largest in area and the wettest inhabited place in the world, is a country to behold! With a diverse terrain and history reaching back 8 millennia, she is home to the world’s largest number of religious communities and to more than 300 languages!

She is unique in the fact that she has had a glorious past in technology and knowledge and yet never invaded any other country in the several years of history. Civilisations throughout history have tried spreading their influence and dominance over other others through invasion, conquest, and colonisation but India is different. She has been able to spread her influence in a unique way through something genuine, that people themselves felt attracted to. The greatest example of that is the spread of spirituality through Buddhism, from India, to the whole of East without any military conquest.

She never needed to venture out for resources, be it exotic spices, unique Wootz steel, or knowledge. In the past India has always been self-reliant and the modern India has not lost this feature of hers, India had requested NASA for GPS assistance, but was denied. It was then that India built one for herself. Now, the  space programs have revolutionized space science and can contribute to helping the world understand the universe in the best way possible.

India has proven the potential to contribute to the world of space sciences by being the only country which has been able to launch a spacecraft into the Martian orbit on the maiden attempt. India’s Mars Mission, which discovered water on Mars, was monetarily cheaper than the movie ‘Gravity’. The Dalai Lama says “Everything in my head is from India. I am a son of India.” India’s soft power –  like that of no other country – is not just considered its manipulative potential, but is rather debated to be a reality, which can be justified through its past, and which gives a boost to all other ‘potentials’ of India in the future for contributing generously to the world.

India’s culture is put together after years of evaluation and each component of it can contribute to the world is various ways, if taken up by individuals all around the world. Ancient India has a lot of practices which can make the world a better place.

Vegetarianism, which originated in India and is the most prevalent there, is an integral part of India’s soft power. It is believed by some that it can end world hunger since the more people eat meat, the fewer people can be fed. To produce one pound of beef protein, over 10 pounds of plant protein is needed. If these grains were fed to humans instead of animals, more food would be available for the 925 million people in chronic hunger worldwide!

Another contribution of India to the world can be the betterment of health through Yoga and Ayurveda. Surya Namaskar, itself, is known to have over fifty spiritual and health benefits, and has taken the world by storm. Super brain yoga, a simple exercise, is said to be the “energy fuel” by science today that can keep our brain fit and functional. Along with that, Ayurvedic medicines have all been to be based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the “mind, body, and spirit.”

Even the ancient Indian languages have a life of their own. Sanskrit is the mother of all languages. It has some valid reasons. A general one is that no word in Sanskrit word has two meanings. One, very unique and special quality of Sanskrit is that the pronunciations of the words are chosen with great precision, The Sanskrit pronunciations are such that their sound makes the water in us vibrate in a certain manner which causes changes in us. That is why some words are ‘auspicious.’ Their sound itself can cause positive changes in us, like, ‘Aum’, which is said to be the vibration in all atoms and from the studies of NASA.

India is also a country which has proved her worthy of blending modern development with the colors of culture to create a refined amalgam. She can contribute to the world the most effectively by leading the world into a global environment of progress – in technology and spirituality, both. She has a lot confided in herself, unappreciated and unrecognized by the ‘outsiders’, and India needs to get in touch with her glorious past, become aware of her present potentials and move with vision into the future, to be able to offer the unique amalgam to the world.

AC Nielsen had recently conducted a survey in India. In response to a question on what are the best aspects of living in India, the top answer was the culture of this country. 45% of the respondents gave this as their answer that included factors like India’s diversity, its long tradition and so on.

It, therefore, seems like it won’t be long before India realises its potential throughout  history, which had later been twisted to make the Indians lose their pride in their culture.

 

 Feature Image Credits: India.com

Khyati Sanger
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Bazinga

Bazinga: DU to Impose a Dress Code, Bans Feminist and Queer Collectives

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The University of Delhi’s (DU) Administration has decided to make some regulations to “improve the condition of women” studying in the University, which will be enforced from 18th March 2018.

In order to retain women’s dignity, DU has imposed a dress code for all female students to “protect them from the male gaze.” Any woman dressed “indecently” will not be allowed to enter the college premises. One of the professors of DU claims that this decision was made only for the benefit of the female students and it must be respected.

A five-page circular has been released on the official DU website that specifies the dress code according to each season. Just a day after the circular was published, residents of the Rajib Gandhi Hostel for Girls burned the circular outside the warden’s office in protest. Similar news from other hostels also emerged.

Furthermore, in order to put the backbreaking efforts of Gender Sensitization Cells (GSCs), the Women’s Development Cells (WDCs), support groups, etc. to rest, DU has ordered a ban on the creation, functioning, and association with the queer and feminist collectives in all the DU colleges. When asked for a reason, one of the members of the administration made a claim that the history of these groups had been scrutinised before coming to the decision. He further added, “The feminist groups have historically shown a pattern of eventually turning into feminazi squads. Therefore, this decision is crucial in order to protect the minds of innocent female students from getting corrupted.” The ban on queer collectives is further defended by him as an adherence to Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Section 292-4 of the IPC (obscenity prevention).

Attacking these rules and the sections on the grounds of being “backward and ambiguous”, the WDCs all around the DU colleges have taken to the streets in protest. Though the women’s colleges were seen in the forefront, groups like Pinjre Tod and Nazariye have also joined hands with the WDCs. Meanwhile, GSCs have called for demonstrations to symbolise that women and the queer community are fully capable of making their own decisions and do not need any binding rules in order to decide for them.

In response to these protests that made the daily functioning of the office difficult, the administration has offered to establish a Redressal Committee headed by three men. However, this has not left the students satisfied. During a protest that took place on Monday outside the Vice-Chancellor’s office, Sheena Rawat, President, WDC, Cluster Innovation Centre, told DU Beat, “The fact that the Redressal Committee is proposed to be headed by an all male panel proves that they have not understood our demands.” “The protests won’t stop till these rules are revoked,” another demonstrator asserted.
Disclaimer: Bazinga is our weekly column of almost believable fake news. It is only to be appreciated and not accepted!

Feature Image Credits: TA Pinto

Khyati Sanger

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Misba from SGGSCC and Nrityakriti from Maitreyi shine at Nexus’18, Unplugged Band Closes Day One on a Musical Note

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Nexus, the annual cultural fest of Sri Venkateswara College began on 8th February 2018. The fest saw a decent turnout despite being right after the mid-semester break. The three-day extravaganza began with a lighting of the lamp ceremony held at the college grounds.

In her speech Ms. Hemlata Reddy, Principal of Sri Venkateswara College,  briefed the audience about the achievements and initiatives of the college. She also remembered Durgabai Deshmukh on the occasion of women’s day and informed the audience that the upcoming metro station near Sri Venkateswara College will be named after Durgabai Deshmukh. She concluded her speech by thanking the students and the council members for giving her an opportunity to pass off their (student’s) achievement as her own.

Mr. S.C. Batla was the guest of honour. In his address, he spoke about the importance of creativity and congratulated the council members for hosting Nexus. Eminent Odissi dancer and Padma Shri awardee, Ms. Ranjana Gauhar, was present at the ceremony as the chief guest. In her speech she said, “ Wherever there is a celebration there is dance and rhythm. Dance connects, like all arts connect. Hence, art must be pursued with sincerity.” She further acknowledged the occasion of women’s day and asserted, “Without honoring feminity one can’t know God.” With these words, she officially declared Nexus 2018 open.

Nirityangana, the folk dance society of Sri Venkateswara College, hosted Thirak, the folk dance competition. Disha Rawat, an eminent Kathak dancer, and Kalyani Behra, an Odissi dancer were the external judges while Professor Neeti Mehra acted as the internal judge. The competition saw colourful, energetic, and diverse Indian dance forms ranging from Bihu to Haryanvi. In the end, the members of Nrityangana gave a fun and power packed performance in which they incorporated sequences from every society’s performance. This performance was appreciated and applauded by all. Nrityakriti, the Indian dance society of Maitreyi College, bagged the first position in Thirak.

Petrichor, the creative writing society of Sri Venkateswara College, conducted Dil – e – Kalam, a bilingual creative writing competition.
Participants were given one hour to write anything from poems to essays on four topics that were given on the spot. The competition saw the participation of 30 students. Professor Debarati Sen from the English Department was the judge for the English entries while Professor Antasha of Sociology Department judged entries that were in Hindi.

Conquiztadors, the quiz society of Sri Venkateswara College held a the general quiz. The contest which witnessed the participation of 40 teams encompassed an array of topics like music, politics, geography, arts, etc. The first position was given to Gaurav and Arnav of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College of Business Studies and Campus Law Center. Second prize was secured by Rabin and Abhishek from Anthropology Department, the University of Delhi.

Leonci Art Society, the art society of Sri Venkateswara College held an advertisement designing contest. The participants had to design a promotional poster for any television show

Razzmatazz, the western dance competition was the most popular event of the day. Organised by Verve, the western dance society of Sri Venkateswara College, the competition saw best teams from across universities strive for the first prize. Misba, the western dance society of Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce bagged the top spot. Spardha, the western dance society of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College got the second prize. While special mention was given to Zenith (Daulat Ram College), Inertia (Amity School Of Engineering and Technology, Amity University), Crunk (Sri Aurobindo College), and Western Dance Society (Lady Shri Ram College for Women).

The crowd at the fest was in for an eargasmic experience with Crescendo, the western a capella competition. Pop songs like Feeling Good, Lolita, Toxic, Believer, and Hips Don’t Lie were performed. The event was judged by Kamakshi Khanna, a well-known singer-songwriter. Maintaining their winning streak, the western music society of Lady Shri Ram College won Crescendo, the a capella competition hosted by the western music society of Sri Venkateswara College. Echo, the western music society of Jesus and Mary College came second.

Adding to the musical retreat, Jugalbandi, a duet vocal and instrumental music competition took place. Upasna and Padmaja from Indraprastha College for Women were placed first. Rohan Prasanna and Aditya Madhavan from Hansraj and Kirori Mal College were placed second.

To end the day on a high note and leave the Nexus audience eager for the next day, Unplugged the Band performed their enchanting set filled with classic English and Hindi Songs like Shape of You, Rolling in the Deep, Dil Chahta Hai and Roop Tera Mastana. The eventful first day of Nexus came to an end with a groovy performance by the Unplugged Band. The band enthralled the crowd with hit songs like Kabira, Gulabo, and O Mere Dil Ke Chain.

 

Feature Image Credits: Ayush Chauhan for DU Beat

Bhavya Banerjee
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Niharika Dabral
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Raabiya Tuteja
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Vijeata Balani
vijeatab@dubeat com

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