A strike on 16th January called by central university teachers forced DU colleges to postpone internal examinations slated for that day.
The strike was called in protest against the UGC’s Career Advancement Scheme meeting to decide on the teachers’ service conditions.
FEDCUTA president Aditya Narayan Mishra, who is also the chief of DUTA, said: “The UGC had assured that the proposed service conditions would be suitably amended, but now it is going ahead with the meeting without consulting the teachers. It is going to adopt conservative service conditions recommend by the committee.” The recommendations enlisted criteria for promotion of teachers, which is an academic performance indicator. Based on these parameters the teachers would have to earn points for their promotion.
The teachers will earn 150 points for their performance – teaching, familiarity with up – to date teaching material and participation in external/internal examination work. Another 50 points will be awarded for contribution to professional activity by dint of being members on different boards of studies and higher education committees.
Also, they will get 10 points for writing in research journals; 20 points for publishing books or chapters in books by international publishers; 20 points for participation in seminars, conferences and workshops; and 15-20 points for recognition at international, national and regional level.
Furthermore, they will get 10 points for responsibilities such as vice-principal, dean, director or bursar. Membership to professional associations would also earn them additional 5 points.
Awards from recognized international and national associations carry 50 points, while recognitions like a Padmashri or anything from international organizations such as UNESCO would be another 50 points.
Presidents of FEDCUTA affiliating from various universities said the parameters for promotion were baseless.
On a chilly winter morning, what can be better than a delicious plate of fat, drippy momos served hot and fresh with spicy chilly sauce , or mouth-watering, thick soup that burns its way down your hungry throat as you sit on a rickety bench in a cosy little shack, listening to the soothing tunes of old Hindi songs from a nearby radio? Yashwant Place, a ten minute auto-ride from JMC and Maitreyi College, offers just that. Both pocket and tummy friendly, this neat row of dimly lit eateries seems like the answer to a starved, broke student’s prayers. Though a few shops here serve North India as well, the Chinese cuisine definitely takes the cake. From honey chilly potatoes baked to perfect golden crispness and rich, creamy shahi paneer curry to go with your soft butter naan for the vegetarians to juicy Drums of Heaven and sliced lamb in oyster sauce for the meat-lovers, there’s always something here to match everyone’s tastes and preferences. The service is pretty good too, considering the almost non-existent staff (I think the same guy changes the radio station, takes the orders, cooks the food and gets it to the people), and the food reaches the table well within ten minutes of giving the order. With a meal for three very hungry people coming to just about Rs250, Yashwant Place scores when it comes to affordability as well. If food is on your mind, especially cheap Chinese food, then this is one place you would definitely want to come visit.
20th-21st Jan, Miranda House
Kalidasa’s Abhijnana Shakuntalam occupies a significant position in the history of Indian classical texts and surprisingly, many of these issues covered in this celebrated text have an uncanny resemblance with today’s ideology. The ideologies belong to 19th century elite Indian societies influenced by Brahmanical values and occupy a significant role in this day and age. The text is the best possible link which unites history, culture and art. The Department of English, Miranda House organized a one-of-its-kind International Seminar to cover the various aspects of Kalidasa’s text including caste, Brahmanical patriarchy as well as control of sexuality and reproduction.
The talk which was held over a span of two days saw eminent literary figures who enriched the audience with the power of their knowledge. Both the days saw enormous participation from south and north campus colleges. There was a dash of cross cultural harmony observed, especially due to the presence of professors from across the seven seas. Ipshita, An English Honours student, Miranda House affirms, “This was a very rare insight into the life of Kalidasa. It was such an enriching experience, a world-class seminar I would say.”
Another student from Gargi puts across the message,” The moment I saw the posters put up in my college, I just knew that I had to be present for the seminar. Not only did the idea seem interesting and innovative, it also imparted knowledge in a very different way”.
The much anticipated annual fest turned out to be as amazing as promised. The event partners which ranged from Goldman Sachs to Merrill Lynch, British Council to American Centre, Indian Council for Cultural Relations to the Asia Literary Review, were as varied and versatile as the events organized over a period of five days. The same could be said for the speakers which comprised of an eclectic mix of writers, lyricists, actors, social activists, journalists and economists.
Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, Girish Karnad, Gulzaar, Mark Tully, Alexander Mccall Smith, Lord Meghanand Desai, Hanif Quereshi, Indrajit Hazra, Anne Enright, O.P Valmiki, Chetan Bhagat, Barkha Dutt, Rahul Bose, Om Puri, and Javed Akhtar were some of the speakers amongst the many other eminent personalities.
The cultural heritage of Diggi Palace provided an ideal venue with its sprawling lawns and intricately designed but spacious halls and baithak. Where literature is, can music be far behind? The literary events of each day were concluded by a well enjoyed musical night.
Day one: Though there was a slight deviation in schedule due to Girish Karnad’s delayed arrival, a host of remarkable events like Shabana Azmi’s reading from her mother’s memoirs Kaifi and I, Gulzaar’s poetry reading. Some people did express disappointment at Jamaica Kincaid’s non appearance as had been promised earlier.
Day 2: The festival picked up in full flow on the second day with Nandita Das and Om Puri talking about the latter’s controversial book An Unlikely Hero. Mark Tully and Prasoon Joshi’s discussion on The Queen’s Hinglish too drew a large crowd. Amongst the attendees of this event were Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi as well as former chief minister Vasundhara Raje , who got no preferential treatment as, to put it in the words of the organizers, “ this was a democratic event”. The highlight of the day was Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka’s readings from his book The Road. There were requests for a reading of his immensely popular poem (coincidentally a part of our Delhi University Individual and society syllabus) ‘Telephone conversation’. In the open session which followed after the reading, he answered questions ranging from his views on politics, the situation in Nigeria, apartheid and his imprisonment under the dictatorial regime of General Yakubu Gowon
Day 3: The events on day three explored the dimensions of literature in economics, gender issues, politics and music. Well attended events on this day were ‘Wanderlust’ by Isabel Hilton , Geoff Dyer and William Dalrymple which unfortunately clashed with Claire Tomlain and Andrew Lycett’s discussion, “Two Lives : Jane Austen and Kipling”. The presence of Chetan Bhagat as a moderator in the event “Teen Deviyan: Anjum Hasan, Ira Trivedi and Meenakshi Madhavan” was a crowd puller. The Lonely Planet Story and Migrant Words were other interesting events on Day 3
Day 4: The morning session of “first fictions- reading” by Tishani Doshi, Tania James and Mohyna Srinivasan proved rather interesting.
“Diana Chronicles” with Tina Brown and Vir Sanghvi as the key note speakers got a good response from the audience. Alexander Mc Call Smith with his joviality and wit made “Scotland Presents Under the Kilt” a very interesting session.
Other events on this day included “Tagore – the singer and the song” and the myth about short stories.
Director’s cut which had Hanif Quereshi , Roddy Diyle and Stephen Frears as the key speakers was another interesting session
Day 5: Day 5 saw the culmination of this event with talks by Shobha De, Hanif Quereshi, Vikram Chandra and Alexander McCall Smith. “What are you like?”, an event which had Indrajit Hazra in conversation with the prolific Anne Enright, was the highlight of the day. This 5 day long festival concluded with a charged intelligence debate on State Vs people: The state has declared war on its poorest people in the name of development.
The Federation of Central Universities Teachers’ Association (FEDCUTA) called a strike on Saturday, the 16th of January against the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) proposed service condition for college teachers. As a result, the mid term exam schedules in several colleges were disrupted.
The contentious proposals have been outlined in the Draft Notifications on Revision of Payscales and Service Conditions, etc for the maintenance of Standards 2009. This draft talks about introducing a three tier hierarchy of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor with the number of these posts being in a fixed ratio. The teachers believe this will be inimical to their interests as their upward mobility would be restricted. The UGC has also laid emphasis on activities like campus development, consultancy projects etc. which according to teachers is the responsibility of the Administrative Department of the college. This, teachers say, will incentivise teachers to focus on activities apart from maintaining and improving the quality of teaching which is their primary responsibilty.
In many colleges, including Sri Ram College of Commerce, Kirori Mal, Sri Venkateshwar, JMC and Hindu, mid term exams that were scheduled on Saturday were postponed to other later dates. However colleges such as Hansraj, Miranda House and Ramjas among others remained unaffected and continued with their examination schedule as planned.
Several students were pleased with the effective prolonging of their preparatory leaves. However, many other students were left fuming due to the postponement. A student of a North Campus college said, “These strikes are really getting ridiculous now. They are causing a lot of harm to the students who have been preparing for the exams and the administrators and teachers who planned the datesheets. I just want the exams to end, not be extended for so long for no apparent reason.” A teacher contended that when ridiculous and unfair laws come into practice they need must protest against it, even if it inconveniences a few people. She said that students should be aware of the reason behind the strikes, which is a matter of concern for them as well, and should join the initiative rather than condemn it.
The January Tests for students at St. Stephens’ college, which started on Friday, January 8, literally took off on a dark note as commonwealth games construction work in the North Campus led to a power cut that lasted nearly two days.
“Trenches are being dug up right outside the college. Our power supply cable snapped during this work on Wednesday night,” said Nandita Narain, Dean of Students’ Welfare, when questioned by the press.
The resident students were worse affected and resorted to studying under candlelight or shifted to their friends’ places. The college hall and dining room were lit by generators and most students managed to write their exams comfortably. When power finally came back on Friday evening everyone heaved a sigh of relief.
I am at a loss as to where to begin. From the non- existent story or the blatant lack of effort put in the film; the painful predictability or the frozen faces of actors?
Frankly, I am offended by the lack of respect the Director and Uday Chopra have for the movie patron. We are not retarded that we will accept whatever trash is produced and thrown at us. This movie is casually offensive and downright ridiculous at points.
A self- conscious, unattractive geek is smitten by the most gorgeous, not to mention popular girl on campus. They don’t bother to tell us where this campus is, they do not deem it important enough. Some songs thread together a series of events which show the geek (Uday Chopra) saving the girl ( Priyanka Chopra) from drowning and the girl not thanking him. Oh, she doesn’t even know who saved her as she’s too preoccupied screaming and throwing. Abruptly, albeit conveniently, we are transported to Seven Years Later. Abhay (Chopra) has designed a world altering software, Unity. Again, the director does not feel the need to tell the viewers what exactly the earth- shattering software does. Er, he mentions something about it being able to unite all operating systems.
Sidhu (Dino Morea) a self- proclaimed businessman in slick suits manages to steal Abhay’s software. I shout, “Serves him right!” In a rare bout of bravado, Abhay travels to Singapore to reclaim his software and stand up for himself. There he finds Alisha, still beautiful, still perfect and still unattainable. Enter the most annoying kid ever seen on the big screen and the plot gets stupider still. Uday Chopra pushes all thought of the software to remote reaches of his mind and becomes a loving, submissive nanny to the tyrannical spawn of his beloved. Priyanka Chopra waltzes into office wearing practically nothing; flirts annoyingly with a business partner and is the only one who is consulted for the biggest deal her company has ever made. So what if she is PR Head.
The climax is embarrassing. A seven year old could write wittier dialogues. Priyanka Chopra has a strange accent; I’m still wondering where she got it. Everybody in Singapore is Indian. Uday Chopra’s character is spine- less and contradictory. Dino Morea’s face is frozen in one single expression. Oh, and that little monster girl is not cute.
If somebody offers you free tickets for Pyaar Impossible, run in the opposite direction. And run fast.
My Rating- 0/5
Director: Guy Ritchie
Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Mark Strong, Rachel McAdams
Sherlock Holmes is brought to you in a glossy new package – A movie, which portrays the iconic character with a remarkable convergence of innovation and reverence.
The basic plot is woven around Holmes (Downey Jr.) and his partner Watson (Jude Law) as they begin to unfold the murder plot surrounding the mighty Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), whose occult skills allow him to rise from his grave and kill again. Further on, Watson’s declaration that he will move out of Baker Street permanently because he is engaged creates a tricky situation. This disclosure is compensated by the entry of the femme fatale, Irene Adler (Rachel Adams), a former Holmes love interest who needs his help. The very foundation of Watson’s and Holmes’s relationship is challenged. Watson has plans to marry Mary. Holmes acts like an obsessive jealous lover and the humour rests on their regular bickering. They know each other too well, and it transcends beyond the normal ties, a relationship-that-need-not-be-named.
If the plot seems daunting, worry not. Holmes is an out-an-out adventure film on the lines of ‘The Hound of Baskervilles’. There are a few scenes of such cinematic brilliance as to keep you riveted to the edge of your seats-The dockyard scene and the underground boxing match being the best instances. However if the direction is excellent the special effects are a bit lacking, used sparingly or not at all.
Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes is a treat to watch. A man shown to have a brilliant mind and the ability to solve any mystery comes across as convincing and charming at the same time, and not to forget, he has the enigmatic Jude Law for company as the sidekick Watson. The dialogue between Jude and Robert flows in wit and their bickering can even be compared to married couples. It’s rare to see the lead actors have such crackling on screen chemistry, but again it’s rare to find a movie as enthralling as this one.
Director Guy Ritchie should be showered the much deserved credit. The skill with which he has presented the legendary character on the silver screen is highly remarkable and Downey Jr. too conveys his act with dexterity and precision. The only minute brickbats I could muster are to the make-up of the artists which seemed overdone in parts, and the repetitive nature of some gags. However these are minor issues indeed and the film is undoubtedly a masterpiece.
Don’t miss it for the world!
My rating: 4.5/5