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Bazinga

Bazinga: Candidate’s biceps grow 6 inches from shaking too many hands

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It is well known that elections in the Delhi University leave deep environmental impact in colleges. In a bizarre turn of events, we’ve been introduced to a different impact as well this time. Mast Dola, a candidate for the post of a Central Councillor from an off-campus college, realised his biceps have beefed up when he finally went to the gym after losing the elections that involved a lot of handshakes.

“I love shaking,” he said. “Sometimes they would tell me they don’t want to shake my hand but I would shake their hand anyway. I thought that’s what wins you elections”. Dola said he did feel a little stiff but didn’t realise the extent of the impact until he measured it. “I biceps grew by 6 inches. My parents were shocked. My gym trainers have introduced a special package in the gym now – they call it the ‘DUSU package’. It’s only available for DU students,” he said.

Dola has now moved on in life from the loss in the elections. “I may have lost the elections but I won at life,” he said. He is doing public speaking sessions these days and is also known to be finishing his autobiography called ‘6 inches’.

Disclaimer: Believe Bazinga only at your own risk!

Image Credits: niticentral.com

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Jesus and Mary College

Team from St. Stephen’s and Ramjas wins big at Comquest 2015 at Jesus and Mary College

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The Commerce department of Jesus and Mary College (JMC) and Curiosus, the English Quiz Society of JMC in collaboration with Jagganath Institute of Management Studies, Kalkaji (JIMS) organised the Annual Business Management Quiz – Comquest 2015 on the 23rd of September. With Quiz Craft Global as their knowledge partners, the event had Mr. Adittya Nath Mubayi as the Quiz Master.

Comquest 2015 JMC

 

Participation in teams of one or two, from both Graduate and Post Graduate students was allowed. The quiz was attended by 300 teams. Among the eminent faculty, Chairperson, Director General and Director of JIMS were present, along with the Quiz Coordinators of both the colleges. The event began with the Welcome address by the principal, Sr. Marina John. A keynote address by the Chairperson, Dr. Amit Gupta followed.

The quiz consisted of two rounds, 300 teams took part in the elimination round, consisting of 25 business oriented questions. Out of 300, only 6 teams that managed to correctly recognise the most number of logos and brands correctly and answer the MCQs were selected for the final quiz round. The final round was divided into 6 levels that included clue based points system. The winning team consisted of Apratim Chandra Singh from St. Stephens College and Tushar Anand from Ramjas College. Sreshth Shah and Abhimanyu Bhadauria from Amity University  came second whereas the third prize went to Mukul Marodia from Ashoka University and Viraj Morabia from Mithibai College, Mumbai.

The other three qualifying teams consisted of Samridh Kudesia from Ashoka University and Pranshu Agarwal from Acharya Narendra Dev College, Ashhad Qasmi from Keshav Mahavidyalaya and Shiv Shanker Gaurav from Amity University, Anurag Gupta from Indian School of Business and Finance and Tanmay Garg from Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce.

The winning teams received a cash prize of Rs 20,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively. The prize was presented by Dr Satish Seth, Director General and JK Batra, Director of JIMS Kalkaji. Comquest 2015 ended with a vote of thanks by Dr. Preeti Singh of JIMS.

The results of all the events are:

Sudoku
1 Sachin Sharma STGS
2 Neha Garg – Daulat Ram College

Red letter Quiz
1 Chirag, Sajal and Yogi – Sri Aurobindo College
2 Abhishek (Hansraj) Rohini(JMC)
3 Naman Varun and Shubham- KMV

Faking the Research
1 Saksham dewan- SSCBS Vaibhav gupta-SGGSCC
2 Priyanka and Ayushi – SVC

Mictionary
1 Prashant, Abhijeet and Pankaj- ARSD
2 shared by
Mukund, Devika and Akhil – SSCBS
Bhavana, Giselle and Apoorva – JMC

Decoding
1 Bhavya, Avni, Ishpreet and Aarti – JMC
2 Abhishek(Hansraj) Rohini (JMC)
3 Sheetij, Harshit and Giriraj – KMV

 

Photography credits: Preeti Sridhar from JMC

Lovleen Kaur

[email protected]

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Campus Central

India Vision 2020- Are we there yet?

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Markandey Katju speaking at Kirori Mal College Markandey Katju speaking at Kirori Mal College[/caption] Katju was of the view that every nation makes a transition from feudal agricultural society to a modern industrial society, but in case of India, we are stuck somewhere in the middle of these two phases. He not only commented on the sad state of affairs of the parliament and bureaucracy by calling politicians ‘a bunch of rogues and rascals’, but he also presented the unfortunate state of the Indian media that is more interested in covering Sheena Bora Murder, Radhe Maa and Bollywood, rather than bringing forth the plight of farmers who are committing suicides. Interestingly, he pointed out the pitiable condition of Police investigations in India, stating that the ‘Darogas’ must see and learn from Sherlock Holmes. For him, India would soon face a social revolution and things will become terrible and turbulent by 2020. However, our national aim should be to make India a modern, scientific and industrial state, for which a revolution is increasingly necessary. After Mr. Katju’s words of wisdom, academician- Dr. Indira Bhardwaj spoke about her vision of India. A faculty member at Delhi School of Business, she highlighted the ever pervasive problem of employability, explaining it as the art of doing routine things in a better way. She criticised how Indians lack innovation and how we make an imagined hierarchal difference between jobs by bifurcating them into either menial or sophisticated jobs. She stressed on learning and respecting ‘dignity of labour’, by treating all job platforms with equal respect. After former Justice Katju and Dr. Indira, the final speaker that enthralled the audience was politician, Subramanian Swamy. According to the former Cabinet minister, a DNA study claims that, ‘all people of India are originally Hindus or their descendants had a Hindu identity.’ Taking his genetic research adventure forward, he stated how he got the DNA structure of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray matched with a person from Uttar Pradesh, claiming that Thackeray, who mocks North Indians himself has ancestors from UP. By virtue of these anecdotes, he aimed to highlight that every person in India is an Indian first, a north or south Indian next. [caption id="attachment_34918" align="aligncenter" width="269"]Subramanian Swamy speaking at Kirori Mal College Subramanian Swamy speaking at Kirori Mal College[/caption] Sharing his teaching experience at Harvard University, he said, “ Whenever I used to ask students what kind of a job they would vouch for after the completion of their degree, 99% of Indian students in my class would say they’ll go for a secure job”, hence throwing light on the never ending search for stability by Indians. Stating about the problem of corruption and bringing back our money from ‘foreign lands’, he said, “It is not that difficult to bring black money back to our country, but for that, I should be made Finance Minister.” He mockingly argued that India is in a questionable state because of the idealism of Jawahar Lal Nehru, who didn’t listen to anybody, but listened occasionally to Lady Mountbatten, Swamy claimed. He made an effort to project a hopeful picture of India as a developed country if we get our act together. All in all, the conference, though meant to discuss about the future prospects of the Indian Subcontinent, majorly dwelled on the present, but it did establish a connect with the students and teachers as was apparent with the loud roar of applause at the end of the session. Image Credits- Chirag Sharma for DU Beat Riya Chhibber [email protected]]]>

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Campus Central

UGC Sponsored national mathematics seminar organised in JMC

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IMG-20150922-WA0027 A talk on Resume Building followed, where students were given information about having an impressive resume, developing confidence and facing interviews. Then, an interactive Campus to Corporate session by the alumni took place. Lastly, an innovative presentation on ‘Real time application of mathematics’ was displayed to the students. The event will continue tomorrow, with math oriented events like Sudoku, Red letter Quiz, Faking the research, Mathematical tambola, Mathematical pictionary and Decoding the map. Image Credits- Uzma Rehman for DU Beat Lovleen Kaur [email protected]]]>

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Campus Central

Admissions and First Day at Maulana Azad Medical College

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Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), the 2nd best medical college in Delhi after AIIMS doesn’t allow the medical aspirants to easily enter the arena of accomplishment. As rigorous as it sounds, students need to undergo spiral maze to reach this imperial college. To begin with, every student has to give All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT), an annual medical entrance examination. The exam is conducted by the  Central Board of Secondary Education  (CBSE) for admission to  MBBS  course in several medical colleges across the country. Results are declared within a month following which a merit list is prepared for admission against seats under their control. The meritorious students are invited for counselling for the Delhi based medical colleges at the conference center of Delhi University (DU) where their documents are verified after which they are allotted seats for the preferred college according to the ranks. In MAMC 250 students are admitted annually. The distribution of seats is as per Delhi University Norms.

1. 15% of total seats are filled in through the entrance examination conducted by the C.B.S.E. on All India basis.
2. 85% of total seats are filled in through the Delhi University Norms.
3. 6 seats are reserved for Government of India nominees.
After allotment students need to visit MAMC along with the documents received from the DU and final strings of admission procedure are tied up with students receiving their provisional roll numbers and information booklets. The student is now a “Maulanian”.
Drowned in an ocean of inexpressible emotions, the journey which will take them to the title of doctor starts. What goes in the mind of an individual is a mixed nectar of enthusiasm, accomplishment, passion and a deep desire to learn. The first day is always the orientation day. It is a day when the students enter the era of independence, a day when they meet the other companions with whom they will slowly create deep bonds for life, a day when they will meet all the gurus who will shape their careers and probably the last day when they will be attentive during lectures.
 MAMC is obviously a big brand and the first week is probably the time when people are most excited, so much so that a selfie with dissected upper limb, white coat, the M-gate and almost hundreds at each place can be found. Happy faces which include those of proud parents, seniors and juniors alike, also it is time for two events:  hostel night and Goonj (the intra college fest).This journey is sure a long and hard one and pretty soon the week brings its share of grief and tears (obviously the crocodile tears of formalin). This may take some time but the students are also made to prick themselves and the first sight of blood may faint some.
Different kind of dimension can be experienced in the hostel. Every hostel room is a big stage with the an awesome audience which premiers late night movies, endless gossips and selfies, dancing sessions. Those so called PDP’ by seniors, discussion of the crushes, commitments of some and broken hearts of many, It is safe to say that  everyone is lost in the zeal and zest of the new found facet of life.
All in all the first week embarks the most alluring and malleable period capable of metamorphosing a novice sailor to the veteran surfer.
Guest post by MAMC students
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DUB Speak

5 IAS Myths Debunked

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The greatest myth the UPSC ever pulled was convincing you that it was after your IAS Prep Strategy! Every now and then, the student feels that UPSC is following his/her daily schedule and re-arranging its paper to beat him in the game.

Things couldn’t be less dramatic, right? But to be fair, when you set out to prepare for an examination that is as extensive as Civil Services, your mind is bound to play some tricks.

It is here that we attempt to dispel a few of those myths regarding the Civil Services Exam conducted by Union Public Service Commission.

 

#1. UPSC is looking for the crème de la crème but I never got past the last bench!

It is, obviously. Administering the country is no mean task! But not quite the way in which the normal junta has been raised to perceive them. If all that UPSC ever wanted were toppers and rankers from the best colleges, it would have made 90%+ a qualifying criteria, right?

UPSC is looking for well rounded personalities who are sincere, meticulous and can think clear in the face of adversity. This is not to say that a good academic background wouldn’t give you a headstart. It will, most definitely. But for all the others, the trick lies in emulating the tortoise in that proverbial race and keep up!

A good place for college students to start is reading up this beginner’s guide to IAS Prep.

#2. The English Vinglish challenge

Don’t fret a lot on your language capabilities. UPSC is not looking for Mr. Darcy and if you can form small meaningful sentences to put your point across, you are in safe hands.

But in case you identify yourself with Mr. Bachhan here, then you might have to start reading up some light english novels and then build up the capacity to read and write better. Take small steps!

Bachhan_English

 

#3. The IAS Exam is an engineer’s delight

 

To be honest, it used to be. There was a  time when the Prelims had a CSAT Paper 2 (Aptitude Paper) which was an easy cakewalk for most of the engineers or math afficanadoes!

But come 2015, it’s just a qualifying paper and you only need to get around 33% to see yourself through. So the field is almost level playing again and you can start your preparation for Prelims in advance by going through the syllabus for IAS Prelims.

syllabus-initiation-pre_1442278755362_block_1

#4. How I wish I had 25 hours a day to prepare for IAS

You are in college and it is understandable that you have to juggle between a lot of activities (not all curricular but pace yourself slow. You have studied well through your school syllabus – UPSC expects a good command in general studies and expects you to be a Jack of all trades and Masters of a Few!

The exam is just a gateway to an opportunity which lets you service the nation in one way – possibly the best way and it would be make sense to wish for a 25 hour work day there!

Want to take inspiration? Check out this senior IAS Officer who spent one night at graveyard just to make sure that the investigation is not tampered with.

#5. There is a sea of Current Affairs and I have been mostly a Page 3 person!

You need to be well versed with current affairs – True.

You need to mug up every day’s newspaper – False.

Try to understand issues and not news. Try to know what goes beyond the making of news. If you are reading up on Yemen Crisis, try to know more about the events which led up to it – the Arab Spring, the Shia-Sunni conflict etc etc.

Still confused about how to approach newspapers for IAS Prep? You might want to have a look at this 3 step guide.

 

Guest Post by Rohit Pandey

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Arts & Culture

TEDxFMS provided an insight into Discovering Passion

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TEDxFMS, an independently organised TEDx talk around the theme of “Discovering Passion” took place on 20th of September, in the Conference Hall, University of Delhi. It was organised by the Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi.

“In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event.” ( http://www.tedxfms.com“>www.tedxfms.com)

IMG_2975

TedxFMS invited the attention of an audience keen to know and get inspired by the stories and assessment of distinguished speakers.
The event flagged off with a talk by the Vice Chancellor of University of Delhi, Dinesh Singh. A mathematician, he narrated his first encounter with his passion, mathematics, while in school, upon an acquaintance with the “beauty of Euclidian Geometry”

IMG_2971

It was followed by one of the most engaging talk by India’s leading psychological illusionist, Karan Singh. He performed one of his acts, which was followed by an account of his story. Karan talked about passion in terms of the experience of being in love. An alumini of  Khalsa College, he left the audience in scores of laughter, when he said, ” In my college days, I went to every college, but my own “. This he mentioned to reiterate the inner urge for performing that which one pursues and loves.

The talks which followed were from similar people, with queer passions who created successful and satisfying spaces for themselves. Vikram Poddar, who gave up his work and blended it with his passion, explained his journey towards being the first Corporate comedian of India. Similarly, Kaustubh Khade, a national kayaking athlete also spoke about his love for his sport. His series of slides with photographs, was a foreplay of the risks yet the satisfaction and happiness in pursuing ones passion.

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Ankur Warikoo, the CEO of Groupon India, had his talk filled with relatable tales of middle class struggles. He talked about creating a world of ones own by being uncomfortable in the world which we were born into. He said he pursued money not because of a constant lure of it, but a presence of the sorts which would demean it’s significance.

The event also had Shazia Ilmi, A politician and Journalist. She demystified anti feminist idioms and quotes, while recounting her strife towards her passion through constant questioning.

IMG_3030

Guneet Monga, a prolfic producer with works like Gangs of Wasseypur and The lunchbox, concluded the event with her account of the ambiguities and obstacles on the road towards “Discovering Passion”.

Image Credits: Chirag Sharma for DU Beat

Tooba Towfiq
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Features

Tree Plantation Drive undertaken by NSS in association with Helpiez

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The National Service Scheme active in colleges across Delhi University in association with Helpiez has been conducting tree plantation drives in a number of colleges this month. The NSS society of Hindu College held one on the 17th of September and the event saw participation from students across DU colleges such as Kirori Mal College, Indraprastha College for Women, Kalindi College and Shivaji College. Volunteers were divided into 4 groups and and took turns and worked on each of the front lawns of the college grounds. A similar event was held in Ramjas College in which nearly 200 students actively took part. Helpiez intends on conducting similar events in other colleges across the city including Jawaharlal Nehru University, Netaji Subhash Institite of Technology and Delhi Technological University as well.

An organisation created for the sole purpose of encouraging participation in community service activities among the youth, Helpiez feels that the biggest loophole in the NSS program of Delhi University is the lack of unity across colleges. With the belief that there is more power in unity than division, the organisation intends to use tree plantation as a common platform to bring NSS societies across colleges together who at the moment tend to operate only under the names of their respective colleges. The organisation intends on covering more colleges as it simultaneously attempts to conduct open NSS events in selected areas across the city. Having acquired a plot in Mayur Vihar already, they intend on holding their first open event wherein students from across colleges who have already seen the impact of plantation drives can take part and make a difference.

Although Helpiez has worked with numerous private and government bodies including the Ministry of Environment and the Delhi Parks and Garden Society, they wish to thank the following students without whose support none of this would have been possible: Prachi Sharma (KMC), Monika Bari(IPCW), Chirag Kalra(Ramjas), Aarna(Gargi), Arshad Nihal(Hindu), Shridhar Singh(Hansraj), Neha Balram(Kalindi), Tanya Chadha(Shivaji), Rashmi (IIT-D), Gaurav and Garima (NSIT), Nikhil (DTU) and Gaurav (JNU).

To organise a similar event in your collage, contact Sumit from Helpiez at 9650879552

 

Shraman Gosh

[email protected]

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DU Dhaba

Spoon Delhi University: Everything you need to know about food and more

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spoon university delhi

Food, affordability, knowledge and taste is what sums up the University of Delhi chapter of Spoon, turning it into a fast growing online food resource for college students in Delhi. The chapter comes under Spoon Media Inc. – an international corporation based in New York which is a food publication “for the students, by the students.”

Spoon has everything ranging from the best local restaurants and simple unintimidating recipes to how to navigate your first kitchen and coverage of various food festivals; all written by people under 25. Spoon is powered by student contributors across the world, they now make up a network of over 3,000 contributors at 100 college campuses.

spoon

 

The Delhi chapter was started by Kritika Narula, a student of Indraprastha College for Women, in December 2014. “The decision to start Spoon came as a surprise to me too, but once I came across the concept, it was the most obvious thing to do. As I entered sophomore year, I realised that 1, we are perennially broke and 2, we always want to eat out. Spoon is here to fill that gap bringing all hangout places, recipe hacks to survive in hostels, affordable snacking etc,” she says.

For a chapter to start, it is necessary for the founder to get signatures of at least 300 college students through social media and word-of-mouth, who’d testify that they like the concept and would welcome it in Delhi as well. As college students, the HQ founders Sarah Adler and Mackenzie Barth realised how important it is for students to know their food. Andrea Jacobs, Director of Campus Growth, New York who has been keenly involved in mentoring the students says, “We could not be more proud of the Spoon U-Delhi chapter! They have created incredible content and community and continually bring fresh perspective to Spoon. We hope that they serve as a gateway to others in the international community to bring Spoon to their schools.”

At the core is the website, directed by Editor Aakanksha Joshi. The whole idea of Spoon is to build a community of foodies, who enjoy and also learn by dabbling in various roles, from photographers to event managers to writers and graphic designers. They are also currently recruiting for the academic session for graphic designers, marketers, writers, and photographers/videographers.

Featured Image Credits: Spoon University (Delhi)

Shaina Ahluwalia

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Features

Youth Forum on Foreign Policy: Let Borders be bygones

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As Brijesh Mishra, the late National Security Advisor under Vajpayee government had once bluntly remarked,” The only thing straight in Kashmir was the poplar tree”, a similar discussion on the K-word and other significant issues unfolded at the Youth Forum on Foreign Policy as part of its Embassy Dialogue Series with the honourable High Commissioner of Pakistan, Mr. Abdul Basit, at the Pakistan High Commission on 9 September 2015.

Amidst an august gathering consisting of students from Swedish and Sri Lankan embassy, students of International Relations and other varied backgrounds from Delhi, the High Commissioner started the discussion by defining foreign policy and differentiating it from the concept of diplomacy. He connoted that Pakistan had been through difficult times and their foreign policy was influenced by security interests.
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Coming from a country that is both reflective and complimentary to the unique diaspora that both neighbours share, he expressed a desire of having normal relations with India as he remarked, ” Our main issue is the problem of Kashmir. Had that issue been discussed we would have been discussing a different paradigm. India -Pak need to sit across the table to debate and solve these issues.”
He strongly voiced how our countries become hostage to our own rhetoric as he said, “There is a lack of understanding of my country. It is always seen as a hub of terrorism, instability and a state where women’s voices are suppressed. We are a confident country and are developing in different areas”. He pushed across the fact that Pakistan is not the country we see on TV and read in the newspapers.
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The lecture was followed by an interactive question and answer round where he played off all the questions with a straight bat.
While both India and Pakistan make individual claims for having won the 1965 War, on being asked, ‘Who won the 1965 war?’, given the war’s 50th Anniversary this year, Mr. Basit unabashedly said, “Pakistan won the 1965 war”. And to not many people’s surprise, questions related to Kashmir were asked too.
When he was quizzed as to whom does Pakistan consider as the true representatives of the people of Kashmir, the High Commissioner bodaciously uttered, ” We believe that Hurriyat are the true representatives of Kashmir. A plebiscite or referendum in Jammu and Kashmir is the most honourable way of determining the aspirations of that region.” He also assured that, If after a plebiscite, the people of Kashmir want to join India, Pakistan would readily agree.
Though the agenda of the talk was ‘India- Pakistan talks post Ufa’, this segment was seldom deliberated by the High Commissioner in his address. All in all, the address provided hindsight into our neighbour’s perspective as his excellency called upon the youth to play a pivotal role in deluding years of animosity between the two countries.
Riya Chhibber
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