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Bazinga: Delhi University all set to throw an after-exam party

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Disclaimer: Bazinga is DU Beat’s weekly column of almost believable fake news!

In this exam season, students are flipping with exam phobia. Students take to unhealthy living and unhealthy food. They run around while sleeping for 2-3 hours every day or not sleeping at all! Everyone feels the exam heat, and teachers are no exception. Their workload increases and the process of allotting marks and distributing copies can be a tedious one. So this year the Varsity has decided to give a post exam party of sorts where all the teachers, as well as the students can celebrate the end of the exam maha yuddh. The varsity this year had appointed additional squad members to keep an eye on invigilators and supervisors, alike. So with more than required number of teachers in every room no one time had time for breaks, courtesy of exam-malpractices. “Exam time brings with it increased workload for us as well, and this year it was even more so. A party like that would be welcome refreshment”, said a senior official sharing her views on this.

Even more unexpected was where this idea came from which was, if reports are to be believed, from VC Dinesh Singh. Apparently the VC knows when to throw a party. Calling it ‘Exam ke Baad‘ they are planning to have games and few local DJs to turn it up, adding to the fun. The cost for all this is surprisingly economical. The university has tie ups with numerous local ventures and for a contract they have agreed to sponsor the event allowing DU to go forward with negligible cost. Also with most students leaving home for the summer, less turn ups are expected from outstation students. The venue for this has yet to be decided, but it will happen in three or four campuses simultaneously, both South and North. No more details have been given.

Bazinga is DU Beat’s weekly column of almost-believable fake news!

Feature image source: globe-views.com

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DUB Speak

Five ways to give a memorable farewell

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farewell

That even enemies become friends on the farewell day is known to every student. With creative decorations and innovative events, the day either leaves good memories or plays a spoilsport. The final semester students, some of whom are already dripping in existential crises deserve the former! A test of team spirit, the day becomes an important one for the organisers too, who wish to bid adieu to the “ideal assignment makers” and their future selves. To go beyond the obvious and make the most of the occasion, here are some offbeat ways to give a memorable farewell:

Having  satirical sequence of the classroom on stage

With incessant questions pouring in from some students and funny remarks by others, the classroom becomes an interesting place due to breakages by nerds, fitness freaks, love birds, sportsmen, music lovers and other interesting personalities including teachers. Class’ mini world which has comical as well as serious people would be interesting to watch on stage. Idiosyncrasies of students and teachers in a hyperbolic sense represented on stage through specific sequences will drive some people in the audience to tears and others to laughter.

Lyrical representation of college life

Through poets, choirs and solo singers, the college life’s journey, which begins at the college website or the bulletin board to see the cut off list can be depicted in a memorable way. Inspiring oscillation in time, a metal or an indie band in the department can steal the show by invoking good and bad times spent at college.

Competitions between the graduating students and the rest

Be it a Bollywood quiz or a spontaneous dance competition, seeing the graduating students compete against the rest of the department would ensure a lighter touch to the day, giving it a diversity of emotions. Teachers taking part in the games would just add to such competitions!

Rapid Fire round

We’ve always had certain questions for seniors that have been left to decay. This can be a chance to ask questions anonymously through chits, collected and compiled before the event (the best are chosen) and then using them for a Rapid Fire round. This would bring an air of satisfaction to the juniors and would reveal the seniors’ personalities.

Decorations and gifts with a difference

Conventional decorations apart, having cartoons of your seniors on posters around the venue would be a novel thing to do. College building carved out of thermocol used as a decoration and organisers dressed by a common theme would serve as icing on the cake. Giving mugs, pencil stands or t – shirts with unique impressions of their batch as mementoes would remind them of this day and the college life, always.

Feature Image Credits: www.fuccha.in

Sidharth Yadav

[email protected]

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Miranda House

HansRaj Projekt wins the Western Band competition; KNC takes away the Indian Choir Singing on Day 3 of Tempest

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The last day of Tempest saw six Bands competing in the Battle of Bands. Each band had 15 minutes to perform including their preliminary sound check. The judges for this event were Mrs. Subhadra Kamath and Mr. Amarthanga Chiru. Mrs. Kamath is a well known indie artist and has worked with Tank Bund (A Music Association). On the other hand, Mr. Chiru is a lead singer and composer for the band called “Blending Chords”.

The shortlisted bands played a variety of genres; some of them even showcased their own compositions. The results were declared and The HansRaj Projekt stood first, followed by Rangrez and PaperBoat ( St. Stephen’s College).

The Debating Society of Miranda House College organised the Shama Kohli Conventional Memorial Debate on the third day of Tempest. The motion of the debate was ‘This House Will Let It Be’ and was open to interpretation. The judges for the debate were Monika Vij and Namrata Singh, members of faculty of the Geography and Political Science Department of Miranda House.

The debate saw few teams but heavy discourse on the interpretations, with the interjectors keeping the speakers on their toes with poignant questions. The interpretations ranged from general to specific issues like feminism.

 The team from Miranda House, comprising of Karishma Koshal and Chandni Jain, was adjudged to be the best team. Pritha from KMC won the prize was the best Interjector and Wajahat Jilani from AMU was awarded Best Speaker.

The Vocal Duets and Indian Choir were also held on the closing day of Tempest. The judges for these events were Mr. Avinash Kumar and Ms. Komal. Mr. Kumar is a student of Pt. Tushar Dutt of Agra and Kirana Gharana and is currently pursuing his PhD in Music from the University of Delhi. Ms. Komal is a professor at Maitreyi College and is pursuing her PhD in Sociology from JNU.

The genre for the duets weren’t specified. Divya Sabhapthi and Keerati Ballabh from KMC stood second. They sang Kahe Ched from the movie Devdas. Sagar Garg and Gaurav Gaur were adjudged first position. They sang Raga Shree along with their ‘tabalchi’ Mahavir Chandrawat.

On the other hand, Kamala Nehru College stood first in the Indian Choir Singing, followed by Sri Venkateswara College at second position. The third position was shared by Gargi College, IP College and SSCBS. The judge gave reviews to individual teams and deducted marks for repetition. Mahavir and Manohar (accompanists) received a special mention from the judge’s side.

 

Sidhant. R Seth
[email protected]

Shaurya Sahai
[email protected]

Shubham Kaushik
[email protected]

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Campus Central

Antardhvani 2015 commences with dreams of making DU the Takshashila of today

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th February, 2015 with an inaugural ceremony at the University Stadium. Prof. Dinesh Singh, the Vice-Chancellor, addressed the packed-to-capacity hall, applauding the efforts of the NCC cadets. He further thanked the Chief Guest Dr. Chandan Mitra, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha for his incessant support to the university. The VC revisited the independence era, and then traced the glorious roots of the university to those times, and inspired the students in the audience to “march to the drumbeat of his or her inner calling” as the name Antardhvani goes. Following his speech, the book on Gyanodaya- DU’s educational expedition was also released by the Chief Guest, and the team that put it together, including Mr. Vipul Tiwari and Mr. Anil Taneja, was called onstage. The inauguration was followed by a plethora of cultural performances. The Music Faculty put up a soulful rendition of Mangal Dhwani, a performance prepared especially for Antardhvani. The audience also had a visual treat in the solo Kathak Performance by Malvika from Janki Devi Memorial College. The Innovation Plaza was also inaugurated on Day 1; the plaza displayed all the innovation projects displayed of the university. Sir Timothy O’Shea, Principal and Vice Chancellor, University of Edinburgh, U.K., was the Guest of Honour. “The conception of the Innovation Projects was done last year only and the Innovation Plaza is an outcome of the innovation projects of different colleges. In its first edition itself, it had received more than 100 applications, shattering all apprehensions the research center had about research at the undergraduate level,” the Chairperson of the Research Council informed the audience.  

Post by DU Beat.
  The Folk Dance Competition had thirteen participating teams six of which danced to the energetic beats of Punjabi folk songs. Garba and Lavani were the other popular forms. The competition concluded with a combined performance by two teams from the North East performing the traditional folk dance of Assam- ‘Bihu’ and one of the many graceful Manipuri folk dances. Up next was the Choreography Competition which saw three participating teams take up vital social issues as their themes. The first performance was by Sri Venkateshwara College which dealt with the taboo around homosexuality. The second performance was by Bharati College on how Bollywood music has been influenced by Western music. The students of Shyam Lal College put up an emotional last performance on female Infanticide. The first position went to Sri Venkateswara College, second to Shyam Lal College and third to Bharati College. Arindam Goswami [email protected] Kritika Narula [email protected] Image credits: Kashish Madan]]>

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College of Vocational Studies

Sri Venkateswara college and CVS emerge winners at KNC’s theater fest, Concoction 2015

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With three days of vibrant stage and street play performances along with an exuberant hustle-bustle on the campus, Concoction 2015 coloured Kamala Nehru College in dramatic hues. The three-day fest of the theatre society of the college- Lakshya, saw some exceptional performances by various theatre-enthusiasts from across Delhi University and various other colleges.

Day 1 was dedicated to street plays. Aghaaz, the street play competition was a day’s paradise for all street-play lovers who were seen congregated at Chaupal, the open amphitheatre on the college premises. Covering a wide range of themes- from the impacts of religious fundamentalism to dying indigenous cultures, the event saw performers bringing out the best in them within 30 minutes. Theatrekingdom.com, the world’s first social-networking platform on which theatre talent can share their work with other theatre professionals also gave away T-Shirts to the drama enthusiasts in the audience.

Drama-Nomics, College of Vocational Studies was awarded the first position for their play, ‘90 second ki red-light’ which talked about the plight of beggars on red-light crossings and what we could do to make a difference.

Hansraj Dramatics Society, Hansraj College was declared the Runner-up for their play, ‘Tamaasha’ which highlighted how day-to-day are often converted into sources of entertainment and the tamaasha that follows. The day culminated with the crowd going into a frenzy with the pulsating beats of ‘Daphli and Djembefola United’.

Day 2 and Day 3 saw the college auditorium being proclaimed house-full as the stage play event, Archlights, saw a myriad of hour-long stage plays of multiple genres. The audience was caught in a fit of laughter with SRCC’s ‘Pune Highway’ while many were moved by GTBIT’s ‘Waqt’.  The crowd was also truly impressed by the bold, unabashed and hilarious ‘The Goat or who is Sylvia’ of Sri Venkateshwara College which earned them the first position. Kirori Mal College’s ‘Words Words Words’was declared second. SRCC also received an honorary mention from the jury for its performance.

Along with the plays, informal events such as Treasure Hunt and Beg Borrow Click added a lot of zeal to the atmosphere. Karan Singh Magic’s performance took the audience by amazement and “was like watching Sherlock in real life!” The closing ceremony with the band performance by Agastya managed to win all hearts and sky lanterns twinkling in the dark ended the event on a note of exuberance.

Image credits: Ridhi Kharbanda 

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Events

Book lovers and authors unite at Jaipur Literature Festival 2015

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The literary event is one festival that many people in the country look forward to and plan ahead for. It’s a huge platform for the present, future and accomplished writers, publishers and book enthusiasts.

I attended the third day of the Jaipur Literature Festival and one talk that I found particularly interesting, in my opinion, was the one about the declined use of the Rajasthani language due to the global use of the powerful English language. An interesting debate took place regarding the consequences of the sudden increase in English speaking individuals and how this language is creating barriers between tradition and modernism. The talk was then compared to the gradual decline of the Sanskrit language in our country, where spoken English is spreading like a domino effect.

The other talk was called the ‘Basic Instinct’ during which speakers shared their personal encounters regarding the first and most influential sexual fantasies that they read and what inspired them to depict sexual content in their books. Lastly, ‘Reading Africa, Writing Africa’ was a in which four Africa based authors shared their encounters as writers in Africa during the 1970’s and the difficulties that they faced with their political and apolitical writing.

Judging by the crowd, most people seemed excited about the presence of Shashi Tharoor and Dr. Abdul Kalam in the literature festival. The Chayos’, Fat Lulu’s and Dunkin Doughnut’s stalls were the new arrivals this year. These joints successfully grabbed attention of the major part of the crowd and served the delicious food and beverages. Also, the showcase of a personally designed Mini Cooper in the entrance attracted a lot of attention with innumerous selfies.

Overall, the day was well spent with the amazingly intellectual talks and the enthusiastic crowd heating up the literary environment.

Meghna Mitra
[email protected]

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Beyond the Obvious of Delhi University Colleges

Beyond The Obvious: Shaheed Rajguru College

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One of the leading applied science colleges of The University of Delhi, Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women offers you some courses which have nation-wide demand as well as recognition. The college is known for its courses like B.Sc. in Instrumentation, B.Sc. in Food Technology and B.Sc. in Biomedical Sciences to name a few. It is an institution which is dedicated to give hands on training to women and educate, enlighten and empower them.

Situated on the eastern border of Delhi, the college’s infrastructure and facilities will provide a conducive environment for learning. Anyone entering the campus might as well mistake it to be a private college. This particular college justifies the actual definition of a college. Here you can see that studies and fun go hand in hand. The well ventilated, bright and beautiful classrooms are always full of students seldom without a teacher in class. But to compensate this view, if you peep into the wide open amphitheatre, you will always find our vibrant dance society, Aharya or the fashion society, Glamfire practicing and performing.

The college building is surrounded by huge gardens and greenery on all the four sides. It’s really a treat to catch the night view from the balcony of the hostel on a nice full moon night. It also is the perfect place where you can enjoy a nice sunny afternoon in winters. Our dramatics society, Mukhauta can always be found here practicing, packed with zeal and enthusiasm. For nature lovers this is just another reason to fall in love with their college. On rainy days it looks like a perfect film location and provides a perfect background for perfect selfies!

The campus is also the proud possessor of a three floored fully air conditioned library. It also has well equipped e-libraries and RFID system while it is the first one to get it among all the colleges of DU. The newly built auditorium is always occupied by some or the other event. But it’s worth it too! The campus is surrounded by a lot of eateries like the Kathi Junction, something you should not give a miss! You get student favourites like Momos, Chilli Potatoes and Gol Gappas.  And if at all you need something branded, Dominos comes for your rescue.

Rajguru College is more colourful now with all the artworks done. All the walls are beautifully done and the entire campus looks splendid. It’s all set to host the most happening event of the college, the annual cultural fest, Karvaan.

–   Kaavya Raveendran

 

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DUB Speak

Christmas past and Christmas present: Reliving childhood memories

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The alarm is set for 6 am but you’re already up before that. You throw off the covers and rush to wake your parents. From the moment you wake up you’re filled with this warm, joyous feeling. The front porch is decorated with wreaths and a large light in the shape of a star is hung overlooking the street. It’s Christmas. It’s Santa. It’s the season of carols and hymns. It’s the time of the year when we wait eagerly for our gifts and look forward to spending time with family. Its one of those rare occasions when you’re given free license to pester everyone with charming questions like, ‘’ Why does Santa use the Chimney?’’ and get pretty decent answers too. Every joke cracked ends with a typical hohoho.

Christmas Past

At school, on Christmas Eve, there would be a grand function where the teachers would distribute chocolates and someone dressed up as Santa, usually one of the teachers a bit inclined on the ‘healthier’ side, would give gifts to the kids already tugging at his clothes.  And afterwards everyone would gather together and prayers and hymns would be sung.

At home, children would excitedly recite to their parents what they want from Santa this year and hang empty stockings on the windows in the belief that Santa would fill them with gifts in the morning. And our parents would fulfill our Christmas wish list, without us knowing of course.   Christmas night always witnessed friends and relatives coming over and there would ensue an exchange of gifts followed by shrieks of excitement from the kids. The radio stations would play Christmas music, Christmas specials aired on every other show on TV (favourite cartoons on repeat!), family visits, lots of hugs and cuddles accompanied with of course, the yummy food.

Children would remain awake in the hope of seeing Santa but ultimately succumbing to sleep as always. Remaining ever hopeful that one day we would catch Santa coming down the chimney was what kept alive the spirit of Christmas for us as kids. The excitement of believing in Santa Claus gave Christmas a magical thrill. Which kid won’t love the idea of a magical being on a sleigh pulled by reindeer that can FLY comes down all the way from the North Pole, slides down the chimney and leaves the gifts that you had asked for?

Palpitating excitement was what drove us. From putting up the lights and decorations to helping mom prepare mouth watering favourites while going ho ho ho, everything had a christmassy feel to it. Bubbling with excitement many days before Christmas, every chore was driven by a contagious peppiness.

Christmas Present

Then suddenly, one morning we wake up and the magic is gone. Lying in for a few more minutes feels more satisfying as opposed to when we were younger and sheer excitement woke us up earlier than the alarm. We know what to expect. The Christmas tree will be in the living room and the decorations will be put up like it is every year.  It’s just another holiday. Those new headphones that we asked for last week or those brand new shoes that we had your eye on are wrapped and ready for us to open. We know it. We don’t exclaim with happiness upon opening gifts. There is just no mystery anymore. That magical presence that filled Christmas mornings is replaced with a dull certainty about what will ensue. That childlike peppiness has vanished and we know that we have grown up. Dad gets busy with the usual decorations, mom starts preparing the holiday feast which she dishes out every year.  We no longer pester our parents with demands to meet Santa nor do we tauntingly ask them to guess what we have for them this year.  Our doubts on the existence of Santa or his identity have vanished. The magic of Christmas Past has been left behind in the past.

So now that the veil of fantasy has been lifted, what do we do? We still do the same things but not with that level of emotion. We don that Christmas cheer and carry on the traditions. Traditions which are important.  Just as we lost the magic of our childhood, our parents came to terms with the same long ago. Their happiness stems from reliving some of that magic through us, vicariously. And that is what Christmas is all about. Its about keeping alive the traditions even though the magic has been lost. It is not just about traditions; it is also the celebration of love. So no Santa Claus does not make for any less of a Christmas. There’s always food. Ho Ho Ho. So let the festivities begin and a Merry Christmas! Have fun!

Feature Image Credits: bethanylcsermons.blogspot.com

Arindam Goswami
[email protected]

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DUB Speak

A first year student looks back at the past six months

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FYUP? No FYUP? Wait, Dr. Dinesh Singh refuses to budge. FYUP. Well now, Ministry of Human Resource Development refuses to budge. No FYUP!

It was late June when (thanks to the media, and the DU Vice Chancellor, and UGC Chairperson, and the MHRD) the Four Year Undergraduate Program had bagged all headlines. It was the one thing that everyone, and especially experts, was talking about. Meanwhile, we, the current first year students were in a dilemma of our own. And at one point of time, FYUP or no FYUP ceased to matter. Could we just get into college already?

Amidst the highly ‘inflated’ first cut off and chaos about the course structure, the 2014-17 (yes, no FYUP!) batch joined with a disturbing uncertainty. The teachers too were waiting, hoping, expecting for a response from the University officials- as if not knowing where and how to begin wasn’t confusing enough.

While most of us spent this time bonding with new comrades or grabbing a bite at the newly-discovered canteens; there were others who questioned themselves if it was a wise decision to join India’s top-rated university. Finally, sanity returned after two weeks of the ‘going-to-college-and-not-knowing-what-to-do’ mode. Course meetings, department meetings, principal-staff meetings… College seemed just like that in the movies- going out with your friends as much as you want, other things could always wait!

But the ‘other things’ couldn’t wait anymore. With the course finally adopting back its original structure, students were seen rushing to stationery shops buying whatever readings/books they could get hold of. After a stumpy beginning, the course kick-started itself and things weren’t the same anymore. Back-to-back classes, tutorials, extra classes (which usually turned out to be mass bunks), -Internals-, mid-semester break, -Internals-, Diwali-break, -Internals- and then some more Internals.

And just when things in college had started to make sense, semester examinations stood staring right into our eyes. Wait, where did the semester go? More than that, are we ready to give the first examinations of the university? The struggle to catch up with attendance has turned into a battle for some, while the other minority of the population is all set for the examinations with the entire course done (and mind you, revised too!)
Irrespective of all turmoil in the beginning, the semester fared out to be a memorable one. With outstation students discovering a whole new world in Delhi, each of us realised the enigma of being in the top ranked university of India. And even though there are things to be bothered about (yes, exams!), just being a part of the University of Delhi brings a contentment of its own.

Arushi Pathak
[email protected]

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Uncategorized

Bhopal gas tragedy, 30 years on

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The incident:

The plant was was built in 1969 to produce the pesticide Sevin (UCC’s brand name for carbaryl) using methyl isocyanate (MIC) as an intermediate. In November 1984, most of the safety systems were not functioning and many valves and lines were in poor condition. In addition, several vent gas scrubbers had been out of service as well as the steam boiler, intended to clean the pipes. One of the major issue was that Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC which was much more than what safety rules allowed. During the night of 2–3 December 1984, water entered Tank E610 containing 42 tons of MIC. A runaway reaction started, which was accelerated by contaminants, high temperatures and other factors.  This forced the emergency venting of pressure from the MIC holding tank, releasing a large volume of toxic gases. About 30 metric tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC) escaped from the tank into the atmosphere in 45 to 60 minutes.

Casualties:

The tragedy also left over 550,000 people with partial or chronic injuries and ailments. The effects of these ailments were seen for years after the disaster, and can be seen even today. Bhopal saw a dramatic rise in its stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates?the stillbirth rate increased by almost 300%, and the neonatal mortality rate by nearly 200%. Hundreds of children were born with physical deformities or other problems. Even today, 30 years later, several innocent children suffer from the aftermath of the gas tragedy?they are born with physical or mental defects.

In June 2010 a court in India handed down a verdict in the case.  It found Union Carbide India Ltd. and seven executives of the company guilty of criminal negligence.

Lawsuit: 

The company was required to pay a fine of 500,000 rupees ($10,870) and the individuals were each sentenced to two years in prison and fined 100,000 rupees ($2175) a piece. The names of those convicted are: Keshub Mahindra, former non-executive chairman of Union Carbide India Limited; V. P. Gokhale, managing director; Kishore Kamdar, vice-president; J. Mukund, works manager; S. P. Chowdhury, production manager; K. V. Shetty, plant superintendent; and S. I. Qureshi, production assistant.
On 2 August 2010, the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking a harsher punishment for the accused in this case.  This petition sought to reinstate charges of culpable homicide against the accused; a September 1996 order had reduced the charges from culpable homicide to criminal negligence.
In May 2011, the Supreme Court rejected this petition and declined to re-open the  case to reinstate the harsher charges.

 

Sources: http://bettercallsaul.quora.com/1984-Bhopal-Gas-Tragedy

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/facts-and-figures-about-the-bhopal-gas-tragedy.html

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