Latest
DU Beat – Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper
Author

DU Beat

Browsing
News

LSR MUN

By

After a year long conspicuous absence from the Delhi University curriculum, the much awaited LSR Model United Nations made a comeback this year, this time on a much larger scale with bigger finances and even bigger participation. About 130 students from colleges across and outside the nation participated, including delegates from NALSAR Hyderabad, NLS Pune, Dubai and Pakistan. The event, which was a three day long affair commencing on the 29th of January and closing on the 31st of January, got a handsome sponsorship this time with the main sponsors being Titan, unlike last year when the event had to be cancelled due to the financial crunch.

Three of the five principal organs of the United Nations were in council in the LSR MUN: the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, and the Historical Security Council. The General Assembly, was the source of most of the gossip owing to the “diverse” delegation it had – from the overtly sophisticated United Kingdom to the passionate and patriotic Iraq to the irritating United States and Lebanon. They debated on the issues like that of transnational terrorism and racial discrimination. The agenda for the Human Rights Council included gender bias and discrimination while the Historical Security Council discussed the representation of China in view of the PRCs appeal for the transfer of the permanent UN membership and the situation in the Middle East with special emphasis on Palestine.

The international press had much to report, considering the humungous amount of gossip in the air which kept the vigor alive in the three days of deliberations. Not to mention the fact that the Chair of the General Assembly gave the girls much to talk about, which doesn’t seem to show any signs of dying down anytime soon, with the MUN-ing season on in full swing.

All delegates were given certificates and trophies for participation along with multiple special mentions in each committee. The LSR MUN 2010 closed with a performance from the renowned LSR dance society and a lot of hooting and applause. In totality, the event was worth attending and ended on an amiable note with not many grave controversies entering the picture. LSR hopes to host an even better MUN extravaganza in the following years but until then, prepare well!

Keep Reading
By
Interviews

In conversation with William Dalrymple

By

(As told to Janhavi Mittal and Shraddha Gupta)
As one of the festival directors for the immensely successful Jaipur literature festival, Mr. William Dalrymple was generous enough to spare a few minutes to DUB out of his extensively rigorous schedule, where he would not have been unjustified in shrugging us off. He talks about his never-ending romance as a travel writer in India and about the festival itself.
Q: Sir, how do you feel about living in India?
A: Well there is no answer to that since India has always been home. A lot of my friends are here. But yes, I do go back to Scotland for two months, usually in the summer to visit my family there.
Q For such a well versed travel writer it would be interesting to know what your favourite Indian city is…
A. Well, Delhi is where home is. In spite of all its drawbacks, which we all are well aware of, it is still a wonderful city. I feel it has evolved greatly during the past twenty years. Rajpath, Old Delhi, C.P. and Safdarjung are some of my favorite places in the city. Other than Delhi, which is definitely home, I think Kochin is an amazing city, though a few years back I think I would have said Lucknow. I visit Kochin if I want to take a holiday from Delhi.
Q. Do you plan to travel to the parts of India that you visited so far, for example the North East which is yet to feature in your books?
A. North east is one of the regions in India I have yet to travel to but that trip is due sometime in February I figure. Another city that I am eager to visit is Varanasi.
Q. You are known to be a disciplined writer yourself. How do you inculcate this habit?
Well, to be disciplined in one’s writing, organization is important. Specially for my kind of writing (travel writing ), time needs to be made when I can sit down in a room with everything else in order . I feel that when everything else is in place, there is space for inspiration to come. To overcome that white piece of paper, I need a distraction-free atmosphere.
Q. You undoubtedly have a great number of readers within Delhi University and among them quite a few budding writers as well. Any advice for them?
I feel that for any writer, it is extremely important that they have good things to read. I always feel that is more helpful in the wrong run than the numerous writing courses that people sometimes take. I would say that it is important that one discovers and learns to refine their tastes. Mozart was an important influence on the early works of Beethoven. Personally speaking, I enjoy the works of Robert Burns and he has been a great influence in the shaping of my first book, In Xanadu: A Quest. On another note, I think gaining confidence in one’s own writing is very important. Most writers start off with writing for a student newspaper or a magazine. It is not too often that someone may produce a novel as their first sample of writing. Perhaps , one can start off with writing short profiles , long profiles, reports etc. before moving on to novels.

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

From Paper to Canvas

By

Transitions from graphic novels to movies have one inherent difference as compared to those from novels. While written works leave directors with leeway in terms of visuals, a graphic novel already has set visuals. The director, then, has to grapple with balancing his own vision, the writer’s, and the view of fans. Graphic novel writers (and fans) can be an unforgiving lot, when it comes to judging on-screen adaptations of their work. That being said, such movies are quite a vision to behold with their other-worldly effects and at-times dystopian and disturbing storyboards.

Take for example, the James McTeigue-directed V for Vendetta, starring Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving of ‘Agent Smith’ fame. This 2006 film is a favourite of quite a significant number of people. The movie is set in a Britain of the future and deals with a political terrorist, known only as V, and how he goes about subverting a totalitarian government. However, inspite of being a well-made film, it seems inferior to the original. Alan Moore- the creator of V for Vendetta, a genius in his own right, disagreed with much of the movie, and, if one were to read his original, it is hard not to see why. It does not do justice at all to the theme of anarchy that is so central to the graphic novel. Instead, a revolution-like feeling seems to serve as a convenient substitute. The makers of the movie also seemed to take the story away from the original setting and place it in a time-frame conducive to present movie-goers’ tastes. They also took themes from war troubles involving the USA to put the film in a place that isn’t too far removed from the present. While all this made sense in the film itself, McTeigue’s work seems incomplete because of it. This is a perfect example of why film adaptations don’t always work out.

On the other hand, there is the 2009 screen adaptation of another of Moore’s works, Watchmen. The original is a huge vision of a world with an alternate version to ours, including the end of the Vietnam War, and consequently, a completely different setting. The graphic novel is full of dystopian themes, but ends with hope; similar, in a sense, to V for Vendetta. There is a Cold War on the brink of turning hot; there are murders, rapes and conspiracies; megalomania reigns supreme. While Moore himself is critical of any attempts to translate graphic novels onto the cinema screen, I think this one is a pretty good effort. Directed by Zack Snyder, the movie to a large extent is faithful to much of the original. Additionally, the makers released an animated feature of Tales of the Black Freighter, a comic book within the original that serves as a counterpoint to much of what is happening in the story. The danger of such a movie is that it does not do much by itself in terms of creativity, an issue that is completely opposite to the one posed by V.

For a sample of what imagination can do to real events, there is 300, written originally by Frank Miller in the ’80s. The story is based on the Battle of Thermopylae, fought between the Persian and the Spartan armies. A heroic tale of epic proportions, it tells the story of how 300 brave Spartans fought against a million invading Persians. Honour, valour, treachery, political intrigue, hubris – all find their place within the story. Extremely macho and in parts full of clichés, the graphic novel, and Zack Snyder’s 2007 movie version, are not for the peace loving or the politically correct. Persians have been treated as pretty much barbarians, and the Athenians are referred disparagingly as ‘boy-lovers’. With Miller as an advisor aboard the project, the movie is surprisingly loyal to the original in form and style: the movie was shot using blue-screens to stay as stylistically true to the original as possible. The results are at times breath-taking, with some scenes replicated exactly as in the graphic novel.

So, what exactly is the point of such comparisons? First, Alan Moore is a disturbed genius. Second, graphic novels are grossly underrated works of art. Third, making movies out of graphic novels definitely isn’t the easiest job in the world. You’ll either end up making the artist unhappy, or the critics will pan it for being a copy job, or it’ll end up being a flop. If all this didn’t deter the above three movies, and more, from being made, I don’t see why that should stop directors from going ahead anyway.

Keep Reading
By
News

IIT Kharagpur Spring Fest 2010

By

RESULTS
Wildfire (The Rock Band Competition)
1. Kaivalya
2. Banned
3. Weaponshop
Rangmanch (the stage play competition)
1. IIT Kharagpur
2. Lady Sri Ram College and Punjab Engineering College
Nukkad (the street play competition)
1. KIIT, Bhubaneswar
2. Kamala Nehru College
3. Punjab Engineering College
Centrifuge (the dance competition)
1. Techno India
2. IIT Kharagpur and Lovely Professional University
3. Jaypee Institute of Information Technology
National Level Debate
1. Kamala Nehru College
2. Loreto College, Kolkata
3. Army Institute of Law, Mohali
Mocking Bird (the moot court competition)
1. Government Law College, Mumbai
2. Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law
Lights Camera SF (the movie making competition)
1. IIT KGP
2. IIT KGP
3. NSHM Kolkata

Keep Reading
By
News

Vaktavya

By

The discussion forum of Hindu College, Caucus is organizing, “Vaktavya” – The Group Discussion Fest on the 4th and 5th of February, 2010.
Caucus was founded three years back with the objective of promoting group discussion in order to create increased awareness amongst the youth about pressing issues and work towards finding a possible solution. The society believes that group discussions facilitate the amalgamation of the many ideas and thoughts prevailing in the society into an acceptable solution, which is refined through criticism and compromise. This fest is a platform for the participants to voice their opinion about various relevant issues faced by the society, and hence make a difference.

The event has the following format: there will be a total of 5 preliminary group discussions – three will be held on Day-1 and two on Day-2. Two prizes will be awarded in each GD, which will have individual participation. The top 3 speakers from each GD will sit for a final round of group discussion on day 2, in which 3 prizes will be awarded. Cash prizes worth Rs 20,000 will be up for grabs.

Keep Reading
By
News

THE JAIPUR LITERARY FESTIVAL

By

For all the literature maniacs, it’s all at the same place. The Jaipur Literary Fest, which has been described by an international magazine as “the greatest literary show on earth”, is back for the fifth consecutive year and on a much grander scale. The fest has a history of hosting some of the biggest and most well-known names in literature, theatre, art and music such as Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth, Kiran Desai, Pico Iyer, Nadeem Aslam, Thomas Keneally, Donna Tart, Suketu Mehta, Chetan Bhagat, Vikas Swarup, Hari Kunzru, John Berend, Christopher Hampton, Julia Roberts, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Anoushka Shankar and many others. The five day fest kick starts on the 21st of January at the Diggi Palace in Jaipur.
The fest this year offers the finest mélange of literature, art, theatre and music. Each day will host a variety of events such as thought-provoking and invigorating talks, panel discussions, films, theatre performances, lectures and dramatic readings by renowned personalities. Moreover each day shall culminate in some refined and delightful music. The festival aims at showcasing the best works in Indian languages as well as in English. This year it will host some of the best of literary talent the world has to offer, including a Nobel laureate, a winner of the Samuel Johnson prize, two Booker prize winners, and five winners of the Pulitzer prize for literature. Accompanying them are writers who have won acclaim in the field of travel, literary criticism, history, biography, fiction as well as non-fiction. Some of the eminent writers who will be present at the fest this year include Wole Soyinka, Orhan Pamuk, Haneif Kureishi, Niall Fergusson, Amit Chaudhari, Tina Brown, Vikram Chandra, Claire Tomalin, Mahasveta Devi, Shobhha De, Indira Goswami, Steve Coll, Pavan Varma, Krishna Baldev Vaid, Stephen Frears, Lawrence Wright, Christopher Jaffrelot, Wangmo Wangchuk, Alexander McCall Smith, Krishna Sobti, and many many more.
Some of the most anticipated events are readings from Girish Karnad’s ‘Tughlaq’ by the much acclaimed actor Om Puri, readings by Shabana Azmi from her mother’s memoirs, performances by Titi Robin, Cheb I Sabbah, Susheela Raman, the Baul singers of Bengal, Rajasthan Roots, Djaima and readings and performances from William Darlymple’s Nine Lives.
The fest wraps up on the 25h of January. By the sound of it, there is a lot to look forward to in just five days alone. It’s the perfect way to celebrate the end of exams, especially since its located in the beautiful Pink City!

Keep Reading
By
News

Litmus

By

Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, is organizing its Annual Literature Festival, LITMUS, on the 29th and 30th of January. The fest will see a wide range of literature related events, both competitive and otherwise, over a two day period. The festival is one of the most popular of its kind in Delhi University, and draws participants from numerous colleges.

LITMUS is a vibrant platform for students from across disciplines, with literary interests, to interact and exchange ideas on contemporary culture, society and politics. This year Litmus is hosting two central, academic events. One will be the students’ seminar, the topic for which is Indian Literature. The second, is a book discussion on ‘In Search of Sita: Revisiting Mythology’, with the editors of the volume. Professor Malashri Lal and Ms. Namita Gokhale shall conduct the discussion, examining the role of Sita in the Ramayana and develop issues that have been raised in the anthology through the collection of essays, conversations and commentaries.
The key note speaker for the seminar shall be Aijaz Ahmad and the chair will be headed by eminent professor and writer Alok Rai. The seminar will include a paper presentation competition on the topic ‘Indian Literature from the Canonical to the Popular’ and is open to all students of DU.

Day 1 (29th Jan):
Key Note Speaker Professor Aijaz Ahmad on ‘Indian Literature’: Revisiting the debate.
Paper Presentation: ‘Indian Literature form the Canonical to the Popular’
Book Discussion: In Search of Sita: Revisiting Mythology

Day 2 (30th Jan):
Creative Writing Competition
Literary Quiz
Literature based JAM (Just a Minute)
Pictura Poesis (A competition where participants will be required to illustrate a poem/piece of prose)

Keep Reading
By