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Prateek Kuhad Lives Upto the Hype and Closes Reverie’19!

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From niche events like Sanskrit singing contest and crowd favourites like western dance, the last day of Reverie 2019 had something for everyone.

The day three of Reverie’19 witnessed the Sanskrit singing and speech competition Sangchhadhwam conducted by the Sanskrit Department. It was divided into two segments. The singing and speech competition. Sonali from Gargi College bagged the first position in the singing competition followed by Vrishabh and Bharati from Janaki Devi Memorial College. The Speech competition saw Ambrish Gupta from Rajdhani college secure the first prize, followed by Reenu from Gargi College and Sohan Arya from Ramjas College, who got the second prize.

Eight western dance societies which cleared the prelims on 24th January performed with great enthusiasm and set the stage on fire at Zenith, the western dance competition organised by Enliven, the western dance society of Gargi College. Adjudged by Mr Anand Singh the event saw powerpack performances in which Crunk from Sri Aurobindo College was awarded the first position. Vdfyne of IIT Delhi came second, while Electra of Motilal Nehru College came third.

Glass Eye, the film making society of Gargi College, organised a 48-hr film making competition and a Cine Quiz. For the 48-hour film making an event, themes were sent to eight teams across colleges who had to submit their short films within a deadline of two days. Three shortlisted films were screened and were announced winners. The first position was bagged by First Cut, film making society Ramanujan College. Xposure of Dyal Singh College came second and 35mm of Amity University came third. Cine Quiz saw on spot registrations of cross-college teams. Cinephiles came first, Buddies came second, and Go Glass Eye came third.

Rangchunaav, the open theme mix media painting competition, witnessed participation from 17 painters. The event was adjudged by Mr Avinash Gautam.  As many as 40 contestants participated in Reverie’s T-shirt painting competition. Archana Jaideep, a freelance artist, who has put up exhibitions in London, and also serves in the ECA committee of Delhi University was the judge. The contestants were given a plain white T-shirt, which acted as a canvas for their artistic talent.

The last day of Reverie 2019 came to an end with a melodic and beautiful performance by Prateek Kuhad. The over-enthusiastic crowd went silent and enjoyed his soulful love ballads. He sang some of his famous songs like Tum Jab Paas, Tune Kaha, and 100 Words and ended his enthralling performance with his most loved song ‘cold/mess’. The student Union followed with a vote of thanks and the crowd dispersed peacefully. Reverie was all the beauty and grace it had promised to be and was a prestigious platform for young and upcoming talent. Stay tuned for the fest season has just begun, DU Beat will go on to cover the largest fests of Delhi University.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Anoushka Sharma

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Avnika Chhikara

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Maumil Mehraj

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Sakshi Arora

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Hindu College

‘Casual Sexism’ Discussion at Hindu Gives Us Something to Think About

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The nearly two-hour discussion on ‘Casual Sexism’ organised by the Women’s Development Cell (WDC) of Hindu College following some sexist comments made on Facebook by a cabinet member of the college did more than just holding the said person accountable – it raised larger principled questions.

Does a person making casual sexist comments deserve the same platform as the victim to voice their side of the story? Is it right to target the perpetrator in such cases? Who or what should even be targeted – the act or the doer? Is the public complicit, to what extent?

No dirt was swept under the rug when some time back, a student of Hindu College, Sachin Gupta, wrote a sexist post on Facebook, which was then followed by further sexist comments by the PWD Secretary of the College Parliament, Devashish Singh. Social media outrage erupted. DU Beat covered the story and more and more people became aware of the story.

Perhaps when the Hindu College WDC decided to have the discussion, the idea was to focus on these particular incidents, to facilitate dialogue and to hold people accountable. However, in retrospect, it raised some thought-provoking questions.

 

Let’s get some perspective. When senior journalist Seema Mustafa wrote about her reservations against the #MeToo on The Citizen, saying “…these campaigns have become more about social media lynching of those who dare disagree with even one aspect of it, than about the campaign itself”, she wasn’t opposing the movement but pointing to a trend, which she saw as self-harming – the trend of not giving space to dissenting voices, such as hers and perhaps those of the accused.

Of course, Devashish didn’t sexually harass someone. A sexist comment and an incident of sexual harassment aren’t of the same severity, and thus the type or extent of platform given to the respective offenders in either of those incidents can’t be compared either. But, the principle remains the same – who should be given the platform?

This becomes more important considering the existence of a unique situation, wherein, on the one hand, victims are blamed and on the other, dissenting voices are not given enough space for expression on certain platforms.

In this regard, the WDC managed to do a commendable job. Not only was the discussion open to all Hinduites, but the cabinet was also invited, along with Devashish and Sachin (the latter didn’t turn up). Devashish was given a chance to explain his actions and was equally subjected to questions by the audience.

Hence, when Sakshi, the Vice President of the WDC told me that “not giving Devashish an equal opportunity to speak is wrong because…the main motive of this discussion was to make him understand”, or when a student in the audience urged others not to villainise him, the idea was to encourage dialectics over vilification; to tackle the larger issue of the mindset and culture over a particular individual. Else, essentially only echo-chambers are created on either side of the fence, rather than uprooting the fence itself.

Many people got the chances to speak,
Many people got the chances to speak.

However, problems exist. Yes, Devashish apologised – even though it didn’t seem very convincing. So, when asked what his mindset was while writing that comment, his response was essentially that if something was illogical, then why not just ignore it – drawing a rather weak analogy that if someone said something illogical like “two plus two equals five”, then why even bother. Or when Sakshi asked, who according to him could be called a ‘whore’, his answer was dodgy and rhetorical. He answered that while short clothes didn’t make someone a whore, one could just google the meaning of the word. He also said that since he had accepted his mistake, perhaps others should accept his apology too.

Sure, maybe he isn’t the most articulate person around, and clearly, tried dodging questions. But the problem here isn’t one individual. Such responses are also perhaps symptomatic of a tendency to deny the responsibility of your actions simply because you “accepted the mistake”, especially when even that acceptance is often a mere formality.

But the problem also lies in how we approach these issues. Since a mindset like this exists in people around us, cornering them can’t be a wise solution as it simply excludes them, without addressing the root cause of their action. Not only would that leave the larger problem untouched, but also potentially cause more hostility among both sides – creating conditions for the possible repetition of these incidents.

Yes, the burden shouldn’t lie on the victim. But the responsibility does lie on the community as a whole. For the people are complicit both, when they do not actively oppose particular incidents, and also when they fail to address larger issues.

These are complicated questions.

 
Image Credits – Prateek Pankaj and WDC, Hindu College

Prateek Pankaj

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Campus Central

Tough Questions Raised Amidst Loud Applause at Stephen’s Dialog 2019

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Comprising of Mrs, Anjana Om Kashyap, Mr. Vikram Chandra, and Mr. Saurabh Dwivedi, the panel discussing ‘Lok Sabha Elections: Mahakumbh of Indian Journalism’ was subjected to some pressing and thought-provoking questions at the Q&A session at St. Stephen’s College on 23rd January.

Moderated by Dr. Amna Mirza, Associate Professor at the University of Delhi (DU), the panel first invited Mrs. Anjana Om Kashyap, Executive Editor at Aaj Tak, to speak about television rating points (TRPs) and political bias in journalism, among other issues. After Mrs. Kashyap’s presentation, Mr. Vikram Chandra-Founder, Editorji Technologies, and Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO), NDTV– shared his insight on the changing face of journalism and transmission of news, while emphasising a solution through his news app Editorji. Mr. Saurabh Dwivedi, Founding Editor of The Lallantop, was subsequently started on a rather humorous note, and then delved into rural issues which have often been overlooked by mainstream media.

In the Q&A session, students from various colleges raised a plethora of socially and politically charged questions for the panellists. On being questioned by Honey, a Kirori Mal College student, about the intervention and regulation of news broadcasted by mass media channels like Aaj Tak by their top advertisement-providers that were companies like Patanjali, Mrs. Kashyap stated, “Aapka sawaal mujhe out kar gaya (Your question has stumped me).” She maintained that news channels had to work the best from within the system. “News is what someone wants to suppress; rest is all advertisement,” she said. Mr. Chandra and Mr. Dwivedi further added that no advertiser directly called shots on the content of reputed news channels.

The second part of Honey’s question dealt with representation in the newsrooms. To this, Mr. Dwivedi responded by highlighting the lack of representation of journalists, especially from areas like Manipur and Kashmir. In the same breath, he added that journalists tended to overlook caste and socio-economic backgrounds during recruitment, which might be the reason for such disparities in number.

“Kaunsa mudda, kiska mudda, woh koi nahi poochta (Which issue it is, whose issue it is- nobody asks that),”said Shorya, a student from the PWD category, emphasising how national issues do not matter much to common people, for ground-level issues like the absence of ramps in colleges for PWD students are not even covered by mainstream media. His concerns evoked a massive emotional response not only among the panellists but the audience as well. While no one from the panel was able to offer a concrete solution, they all agreed to his concerns, offering to help him run a Twitter campaign for the same.

The next question raised to baffle the panellists was about Kashmir. A student asked the panel about why the stories based on Kashmir began with a metaphorical full-stop. In response to the one-line question, Mrs. Kashyap responded with a one-line answer-“…because Kashmir is an ongoing story”. However, all the panellists agreed, without saying much that the sentiments in Kashmir were often different from the versions presented on TV. Mr. Chandra went on to state that certain sections of media should be ashamed of how they had covered Kashmir.

Another student enquired how anonymity could be a useful tool especially in the present-day society where one was easily labelled as an ‘anti-national’ for speaking up against the government. Mr. Chandra responded by saying that the day one feared to speak in a free country, it would not be free at all. Mrs. Kashyap then encouraged the student to not hide behind anonymity and to stand up for her views.

A student from Ramjas College requested Mrs. Kashyap to comment on the alleged misrepresentation of information reported by an Aaj Tak anchor regarding an ABVP rally during Republic Day last year, asking whether the channel should be held responsible for the same. She responded by saying that due action had been taken against the anchor and that Aaj Tak had employed an exclusive fact-checking team to avoid such incidents in the future.

Evidently dissatisfied, the student further followed up by commenting that the anchor in question had also allegedly misreported about a chip being present in the INR2,000 notes post-demonetisation. At this stage, Mrs Kashyap refused to answer, saying that she couldn’t comment on someone else’s behalf. On the other hand, Mr. Dwivedi said that mistakes often happen, and he himself had misrepresented information at times but believed that journalists should own up to such mistakes.

Despite being difficulty they may present in resolution, the need for asking tough questions was recognised and appreciated by all present at the event. As the guests departed, the students applauded and cheered with their ideas regarding journalism-its challenges, economics, and politics- appearing to be stronger.

Feature Image Credits: Leadership Cell, St. Stephen’s College.

Prateek Pankaj
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Sakshi Arora
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Campus Central

Pinjra Tod Accuses Cops of Stopping Film Screening; Cops Deny

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On 25th January,2019, the Delhi Police shut down the screening of Father, Son And Holy War, organised by Pinjra Tod as a part of its ‘Humara Mohalla’ initiative.

Pinjra Tod, organised a screening of the documentary ‘Father, Son And Holy War’ directed by Anand Partwardhan on 25th January from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in D.D.A Market, Hudson Lane.‘Father, Son, and Holy War’ is a 1994 film made in the wake of the Babri Masjid demolition, which explores the links between toxic masculinity, nationalism and religious violence.

Halfway through the screening, the police arrived, forcefully cutting off the electricity supply, stopping the screening, and coerced all the shops to shut down. They stated that they received a complaint that the film encircled on the lines of ‘deshdroh’. The girls showed immense resistance and still continued to watch the screen the film on laptop.

Subhashini, a member of the organisation who attended the screening said,  “The film dealt with the relationship between right wing ultra-nationalism, the patriarchal fervour, and models of hyper-masculinity that it both uses and propagates. However, a few policemen started gathered around during the screening, later followed by a van.” She informed that the organisation had already submitted an information letter at the Police Station, yet they were forced to shut down the film.

According to The Indian Express, Additional DCP, A K Lal, denied the allegations. “We received a call from a local that some documentary on religious clashes was being screened. We went, saw what was happening and returned without stopping the screening,” Lal said. However, some reports claim that the screening was being carried without any prior permission.The police claim that they stopped the screening, but deny cutting off the electricity supply.

 


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ABVP USES STATE MACHINERY AND POLICE TO SHUT DOWN PINJRA TOD FILM SCREENING While we were half way through the screening of Father, Son and The Holy War as part of Pinjra Tod’s Humara Mohalla initiative in Hudson Lane, the police arrived to stop the screening claiming they had received a complaint as apparently we were screening a ‘deshdroh’ film, even though we had provided them all the required information in advance. The police forcefully cut off our electricity supply and shut down all the shops in the area. We have refused to move and are continuing to watch the film on a laptop. On the eve of Republic Day, this is the state of our democracy, where the police exactly demonstrates what the film also shows us, how the state police machinery is complicit in the perpetuation of this violent masculinist Hindutva ideology that is built on the oppression of women and marginalised and minority communities. We are not going to be scared, we will continue to collectivise, continue to fight and resist for our freedom, for the values and dreams that this constitution stands for. RSS, ABVP, POLICE KHABARDAR, MAHILAYEIN HAI TAIYYAR! bharat ki mata nahi banenge. saare pinjro ko todenge, itihas ki dhara modenge. ABVP called the police to stop the screening of this ‘deshdroh’ wala film, they did not even know the name of the film. The police forced shopkeepers to close down the shops in the market. SANGH PARIVAR KHABARDAR, MAHILAYEIN HAI TAIYYAR! hindu rashtra ko todenge, itihas ki dhara modenge! bharat ki mata nahi banenge, sangh parivar khabardar! #pinjratod Despite all the threats from the police, we refused to move, we successfully finished our screening on the laptop with our mic, and also had a discussion. woh darte hai itihas seh, woh darte hai inquilab seh! #WAR(Women Against the Right)

A post shared by Pinjra Tod (@pinjratod) on

A bunch of young men tried to record the representatives of the organisation. During a confrontation, a stone was thrown at the students, against which no action was taken by the authorities. The men also shouted, “Hindu-Muslim ke baare mein baat karna is a law and order issue”.

DU Beat spoke to Paroma Ray, co-ordinator of the Humara Mohalla initiative. She  said,“The Police blocked the screen, but we managed to push them away and continued with the screening. Seeing this, they shut down all the stores and dispersed the crowd. They also shut down the power supply to the projectors.” Paroma further informs that Pinjra Tod has conducted many such screenings in the past.

It is to be noted that Pinjra Tod has alleged Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP) called the police to stop the screening. Despite this, the girls were successfully able to complete the movie screening on their laptop. Slogans such as ‘Naari-Shakti Zindabaad’ and ‘ABVP khabardaar’ could be heard post the screening of the film.

Feature Image Credits: Pinjra Tod

 

Sakshi Arora

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Lady Shri Ram College for Women

Campus Placement Drive 2019: LSR Graduate Bags a Whopping 38 Lakh Package

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DU has seen tremendous growth in placements this year, with LSR, SRCC, and St. Stephen’s coming out at the top.
The Placement drives in most University of Delhi Colleges for undergraduate students passing out in 2019 are slowly coming to an end. Students from Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR), St. Stephen’s College and Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) are usually the top performers, with respect to packages offered. B.A. Economics (Hons), B.Com. (Hons) and B.A. Statistics (Hons) continue to be the most sought after degrees by companies. Highest offers have increased, and so have the average salaries offered.
This year, the highest package was provided to a student of B.A. Economics (Hons) from LSR. The student received an offer of Rs. 38 Lakh per annum, which is a Rs. 1 lakh per annum increase from last year’s highest package offered, which was Rs. 37 Lakh per annum.
A B.A. Economics (Hons) student from St. Stephen’s, Nitish Korada bagged a packge of Rs. 31 Lakh per annum, from consultation firm Ernst and Young-Parthenon. St Stephen’s College has seen an increase of 12 Lakh per annum, from the highest salary being 19 Lakh per annum last year. At SRCC, a B.Com. (Hons) student has been offered a package of Rs 31 Lakh per annnum from EY-Parthenon. At Hindu College, the highest offer witnessed an increase from Rs 29 lakh last year to Rs 31 lakh this year. It is observed the most generous packages have been offered in the consultation field, which attracts many young students aspiring to carve a niche for themselves in the corporate world.
Average packages at St Stephen’s have increased from 8 Lakh p/a last year to 8.9 Lakh p/a this year. At Hindu College, the gross offer has increased from Rs 2.9 crore last year to Rs 3.2 crore this year. A marginal increase was observed all over, and can be attributed to the success of placement cells in coordinating and organizing the placement drives, as well as to the qualifications of the aspirant.
Top Companies look for Extra Curricular activities, Social Work, Analytical and Logical abilities and communication skills, apart from good grades.
DU Beat congratulates all students for their extraordinary achievements.

Feature Image Credits: The Millennial Post

Nikita Bhatia
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Beyond the Obvious of Delhi University Colleges

A Transition Against the Trans Bill: Inside the Jantar Mantar Protest

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An account of a widespread protest against the parliamentary Trans Bill 2018 which would have a negative impact on the transgender community if passed.

Amidst posters and hoardings criticising the controversial Trans Bill, a corner of Jantar Mantar was filled with a crowd, a crowd questioning parliamentary amendments and personal stereotypes. They were the trans-people from all over the country, proud of their identity and raging at the proposal of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill. And not only members of the transgender community, college students, activist, laypersons also joined the procession. Some of the provisions of this Bill which are cited as “biased” and “unfair” are that members of the transgender community would be subjected to a screening committee to have their gender assessed and it also reduces the punishment of convicts in sexual crimes against them, among other things. South India Transgender Federation had a major presence in the protest but activists from other states like Manipur, Maharashtra, and Haryana were also present.

Jatin, an alumnus of the University of Delhi says, “As a theatre actor, I have often worked on productions that revolve around queer issues, but after some point, you realise that theatre is just talking. By coming here, I am trying to show the little support that I can from my own side. It’s important to be physically present for the protests about which you preach via your art form.” Jatin’s point gets clearer in the face of a need for students to get educated and know more about the issues that ostracised groups face in their city, in their country. “The problem lies in the education. It’s like we are brought up to mock transgender people or just look at them as if they’re criminals even if they are just earning their living”, another college student remarked.

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’ Brien also attended the protest and used it as an opportunity to show his support for the cause, while also pushing for the political agenda of his party. Image Credits: Shaurya Thapa
Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’ Brien also attended the protest and used it as an opportunity to show his support for the cause, while also pushing for the political agenda of his party.
Image Credits: Shaurya Thapa

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’ Brien highlighted how the Mamta Bannerjee government in Bengal is working towards the betterment of trans persons and guaranteed that this controversial Bill would definitely not be passed at Rajya Sabha (receiving several cheers). His monologue ended with “Do hazaar unees, BJP finish!” (BJP’s rule over in 2019!).

Politics aside, this protest represented a struggle for personal rights. Radhika Naik from Tamil Nadu questioned how the government can impose a Bill on determining trans identity without consulting transgender people. “The police beats us if we beg and sometimes for just wandering. Tell me isn’t this harassment? And if someone really harms us, how can we even go to the police? We live in troubled times. The government gives us a ration card and voter ID card but that’s just equality for the namesake. You give us cards but what about our basic rights, what about our roti (food), kapda (clothing), and makaan (shelter),?” Radhika said on an emotional note. “More than the government’s perspective, it’s the people’s perspective that matters and this will ultimately influence the government,” Selvi Naik, Radhika’s friend added.

sdr
The protesters claim that the Bill has been made without any community consultation, lacks accountability measures, and doesn’t have provisions for reservation. Image Credits: Shaurya Singh Thapa

Radha Chatterjee from West Bengal complained about how the government can’t as much as make separate seats or washrooms for the third gender, leave alone other facilities. Still, on an optimistic note, Radha added how the revolution will live on and these protests will turn nationwide. “They’ll call us chutiyas, but if you think of us as chutiyas then let us be chutiyas! We will still fight. You see even though we have faced atrocities, we are still surviving. My guru survives as a trans, I have survived as a trans since a teen, and we all will live on no matter what,” this statement probably captures the optimism that everyone felt in this protest.

On a pavement, photographs from the ongoing protest were exhibited and sold by a middle-aged photographer who has been covering sit-ins, campaigns, and dharnas in Delhi for quite some time (even if he himself didn’t seem to show that much of interest in the movement). "I have been covering protests around Jantar Mantar for the past 15 years. I participated in the 2012 protests about the Nirbhaya rape case, but all other protests feel like a routine and a business opportunity," he added honestly as people bought their pictures. Image Credits: Shaurya Singh Thapa
On a pavement, photographs from the ongoing protest were exhibited and sold by a middle-aged photographer who has been covering sit-ins, campaigns, and dharnas in Delhi for quite some time (even if he himself didn’t seem to show that much of interest in the movement). “I have been covering protests around Jantar Mantar for the past 15 years. I participated in the 2012 protests about the Nirbhaya rape case, but all other protests feel like a routine and business opportunity,” he added honestly as people bought their pictures.
Image Credits: Shaurya Singh Thapa

After shouting slogans and singing rebel songs, the mood turned light as several drum players arrived at the scene. And for a brief moment, many joined from the crowd dancing merrily on the beats of the drums, melting the anger into a celebration of collective struggle and hope for a better future.

Feature Image Credits: Shaurya Singh Thapa for DU Beat.

Shaurya Singh Thapa
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DUB Speak

New Semester Blues

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The beginning of a new year is  followed by a whole new semester to look forward to. New semesters can be a lot of fun, but extremely demanding and confusing at the same time.

Right after the New Year has been welcomed, and the party shoes have been carefully taken off and kept back in the cupboard for another year, the new semester begins without much of a wait. The semester break granted seems too short, and the idea of getting back into the grind is almost painful. Sleeping seems like the best option, the cold only aggravating the situation. The freshers are now well-acquainted with college life, and do not seem to harbour the same kind of curiosity, the sparkle almost completely lost from their eyes now.

New semesters also mean the arrival of the much-awaited fest season. The usual college hopping to check out the happenings, pestering your friends from SRCC or LSR to get you passes to their fests, skipping classes to go to North Campus from South Campus.  Students who are a part of a society might find their hands full, as this is the busiest time of the year for extra-curricular activities. The various cuisines, exciting games, attractive people, and engaging performances, create an enchanting atmosphere. People from all over the country come to attend the brilliant shows put on by Delhi University colleges. No expense is spared to make fests the brilliant affairs that they are. 

However, competitions of various kinds, fests, after-parties, and the unnecessary bunking of classes eventually comes to an end. What follows is a feeling of emptiness, and a general glooms overcomes the same people, and buildings, which were once covered in gold streamers. Once individuals and institutions are striped of their decorations and party-faces, getting back to a routine becomes a task. The good old blues, associated with mundanity, kick in, and the anxiety of existence slowly creeps back in.

One finds themselves short of attendance at the end of it all, be it society or a non-society member. Academics take a backseat, and one may find themselves cursing their decisions during end semester exams, for not being more vigilant. Moreover, it doesn’t help that the semester is shorter. The duration might not seem like a huge problem at the beginning, but towards the end, when the end-semester pangs set in, you would be wishing for more time.

The only piece of solid advice here would be to relish this time as much as you can, since you are only young once. Managing your time efficiently during this period, is also imperative, along with the ‘fun’ part. After all, attending lectures, and learning new things, can also be as much fun as dancing till dawn to EDM. The goal lies in defeating the ever-present semester blues, and facing each day with as much zeal as possible.

Too many things packed into five months would just fly by in a wink and one does not really want to be seen wishing for lost time back.

 

Feature Image Credits: The Indian Express

Anoushka Singh

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Review of The Jigsaw Analogy by Daniel Sloss

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A jigsaw analogy taught to a seven year-old Daniel by his father is being re-evaluated by a 28 year-old Daniel who knows better. He shares his treasures – life lessons and perfectly timed profanity – with the world.

Spolier Alert: If you are planning to watch Jigsaw by Daniel Sloss, I’d recommend you not to read this article.

Daniel Sloss may be a comedian but he is sure to throw brutal truths and life lessons right at your face, in the middle of his bits. And it almost seems like his Netflix specials were made for no other purpose.

He has released two specials until now named Dark and Jigsaw. The second one focuses on what he calls the ‘Jigsaw Analogy’ that his father taught him when he was seven years-old. That analogy, which is centered around the truth of relationships, has made 14000+ people break up, got 60 engagements cancelled and was the reason for 65 divorces. He says “I can’t break up true love. I’ve asked you questions that you might be terrified of answering. ”

He began the routine in which he introduces this analogy to the audience by blatantly saying that life is meaningless. However, that does not mean that your life, or any other individual’s life is meaningless. He says your life can have a meaning but he strongly recommends giving it more than one meaning. It is so because he believes that having one core, intrinsic meaning to one’s life can be really damaging especially if one picked it up as a naive child.

When Daniel was seven, he asked his father, “What’s the meaning of life? Why are we all here?”

His dad tried to explain it to him with the use of the Jigsaw Analogy that would stay with Daniel all his life. He said that every life is a jigsaw puzzle and everyone is slowly piecing it together with experience and lessons that they’ve learned, for creating the best possible picture. There is one problem, though. We all have lost the boxes of our jigsaws. So we don’t know the image. We’re just confidently guessing.

So when we don’t know the image, we obviously start from the outside-the 4 corners-which is  family, friends, hobbies and a job. Now, you may lose friends, or your hobbies and your job may not be able to co-exist or one of your family member may die. So, you move the puzzle pieces about a bit. You have got to fill those voids so that you’re not incomplete forever.

So Daniel loved jigsaws and he understood the analogy well. However, he questioned what is the middle piece that we are all working towards.

His dad told him that “it’s your partner who completes you and makes your whole”, like his mom did for his dad. How that translated into our little Daniel’s mind is that if you’re not with someone, you’re incomplete.

We have made all children feel that way-as a society-at least in last 40 years through movies, shows and fairy tales. He says that the society has made divorce a taboo because every relationship on the outside is perfect and “none of us are ready to admit we don’t know what we are doing.”

So when we are trying to be adults, we are so terrified. We take the wrong jigsaw piece, our “better halves” or love interests, and just jam them into our jigsaws anyway. We move other pieces away like hobbies to make the wrong jigsaw piece fit. And that’s because we much rather have ”something” than nothing.

Every relationship is perfect for three months because after that, you realise that nobody else is a jigsaw piece. They have their own jigsaws. You can’t expect them to give up theirs to fit yours and vice versa. But now that you are “in love”, you want to make a jigsaw together and we all know how frustrating that is.

It may seem awesome initially but time does not equal success. Years years later, you won’t recognise your own jigsaw. So, were the last five years a waste? Daniel says you might as well admit that they were or waste the rest of your life.

Daniel strongly believes that we have romanticised the idea of romance and it’s “cancerous”, and that people are more in love with the idea of love than the person they are with.

It is not impossible to find love but he strongly argues that 80% of the relationships in the world are “horseshit” because they are actually just a bunch of people who never took time to learn how to be alone and to love themselves so they “employed” someone else to do it for them.

He asks us all to listen to his relationship advice which is ‘nothing’. He says the relationship should be easy to handle and you must get out of it the moment it turns difficult. There must be no compromise involved, if it doesnt come to you naturally, because that would mean changing who you are. And that would mean hating yourself. And if you have to change yourself, your partner does not love 100% of who you are but loves only an idea of you.

He says that most of us are in a relationship because it is easier to be in it than to get out of it. He questions if at any point you have had the thought that “If the person I am with dies, it would avoid the emotional pain of breaking up and would free me from the relationship too.”

A 28 yearl-od Daniel knows better. So he has now changed the analogy. He asks you to find something that makes you happy and make it the centre of your jigsaw. Everything will naturally fit around it. For his dad, he recognized it was his mom. However, it may not be their partners for everyone else.

He reminds us all that you have to learn to love yourself before you allow someone else to do it as well. There’s nothing wrong with being single and working on yourself to know who you are and what you want. And that happiness is beyond a single relationship.

He questions, “there are 7 billion people on this planet and you found your soulmate 20 miles from where you live?” The old people would retaliate by saying, “We worked on our relationship! That is how you make it beautiful.” And he says he hopes they are right because if at all they’re wrong, it would mean they were so terrified of being alone that they forced themselves to love someone.

Last but most importantly, he remind us that jigsaws are not forever. He says he has a perfect jigsaw but he’s paranoid to lose it.

Feature Image Credits: Brisbane Powerhouse

Khyati Sanger

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Beyond the Obvious of Delhi University Colleges

The Move of the #MeToo Movement

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Movements that start on social media have a way of fizzing out into oblivion on their own, so it is important to analyse their impact, by following up on regular intervals. What happened to some of the men named in the movement? Read on to know.

Women from all over the world grow up experiencing one or the other form of sexism, and even harassment by the time they leave their childhood years behind. Men are either on the causal end of this, or in a vicious cycle experience it in the form of toxic masculinity themselves. The individuals who do not identify with the conventional genders are, in fact, more prone to assault and sexual humiliation in their lives. The evidence of such harassment seldom exists because there are no security cameras recording inappropriate groping in a crowded place, or seemingly casual grazing of the thighs by well-meaning relatives behind closed doors.

The #MeToo movement has been criticized as a witch-hunt that aims to further the character assassinations of celebrities, especially famous men, without substantial evidence to support the allegations. But allegations have been made, nonetheless, because a small fraction of the society decided to stand by imperfect feminism, instead of perfect misogyny and patriarchy in a fortunate and well-deserved change of events.

It is not only significant to stay informed on the subject of predatory behaviour perpetrated by the widely admired personalities, but it also becomes integral for the moral fabric of the society to hold the accused accountable to their victims, and for their actions. As the public not directly involved in the occurrences, one part to play is in following through once an accusation has been made. Here is a list of the some Indian celebrities who were ousted for their sexually predatory behaviour, along with the details of what happened to them, and to justice, in the aftermath of the allegations against them:

  1. Shamir Reuben (Writer/Poet)

According to a report published in The Quint on February 11, 2018, Kommune- a storytelling platform, for which the content and social media were headed by Reuben- suspended his association. Accused of predatory behaviour with minors since his ask.fm days, Reuben issued an apology through a post on Facebook.

Harnidh Kaur, a poet claiming to be a feminist, and a writer from Mumbai, had extended support to the women thinking of pursuing legal action against Reuben. Sources reveal no further legal action has been taken against Reuben, despite the accounts of over ten women accusing him of lewd and obscene behaviour.

  1. Chintan Ruparel (Writer)

The co-founder of the popular storytelling platform, Terribly Tiny Tales, and a former advertising brain, was accused by Gauri Awasthi of inappropriate conduct in a professional setting. His former girlfriend, Shrutee Choudhary, then came out to share her own experience of abuse and toxicity with Ruparel. Accounts in double digits started a flurry over social media platforms as his former wife, and numerous women who attended his workshops, spoke up against him.

Terribly Tiny Tales removed him from his position as the Chief Content Officer on 8th October, 2018. According to Anuj Gosalia, the Chief Executive Officer and founder, Ruparel’s name was dissociated from the company’s lease officially on 3rd November, 2018.

Ruparel has not spoken on any social media platform regarding the allegations and his removal from the company, but the platform set up an Internal Complaints Committee, and reached out to its community of writers to encourage the reporting of any inappropriate behaviour on behalf of the employees’ part.

  1. Alok Nath (Actor)

Originally ousted by writer-producer, Vinta Nanda, and then named a habitual predator by personalities like Sandhya Mridul, Amyra Dastur, Navneet Nishan, and some other former colleagues, Nath has termed the allegations baseless. As per a report published in the Times of India, he hit the foundation of the entire movement by stating, “In today’s world, whatever a woman says, only that will be considered.” Following up with his publicly claimed outrage, Nath demanded a public apology from Nanda, and went on to file a defamation suit against her in the realm of civil law. By November 21, Nanda had lodged an official complaint at the Oshiwara Police Station in Mumbai, regarding the 19 years’ old incident. Alok Nath also faced expulsion from the Cine and TV Artists’ Association (CINTAA), and the Indian Film and Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA) promised legal action against the actor after he failed to respond to their notice concerning his misconduct. The legal proceedings are underway against the man who gained fame as the symbol of ‘sanskaar’ (values) in the world of celluloid.

  1. Gautam Adhikari (Journalist)

Despite his denial of the allegations made against him by multiple subordinates and colleagues, the founding editor of DNA resigned from his position as senior fellow at the Centre for American Progress (CAP) located in Washington DC. According to The Wire, the officials at CAP confirmed his resignation after an internal investigation was initiated in the issues concerning his conduct.

  1. R. Sreenivas (Journalist)

After over seven accounts of sexual misconduct and molestation were shared with regard to the Hyderabad resident editor of the national daily, Times of India, he was sent on an administrative leave on 9th October, 2018. According to The Print, Mr. Sreenivas resigned by 13th October, and was to be investigated by an internal committee of The Times Group (BCCL). As of December 1, 2018, the committee is independently investigating the former editor based on the substantial evidence against his inappropriate actions.

  1. Rajat Kapoor (Actor/Director)

Accused of sexual misconduct and forceful behaviour by women journalists and a few anonymous accounts on Twitter, the actor issued an apology for his wrongful actions towards ‘other human beings’. He did not accept outright responsibility for his actions. The actor’s work, titled ‘Kadakh’, was dropped from the lineup of the 20th edition of the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) festival in lieu with the allegations against the actor.

There are numerous other names which have been brought to question by the power of the movement. Women like Kangana Ranaut, actress, and Aditi Mittal, comedian, were also accused of toxic actions in a relationship, and forceful physical contact, respectively. Acclaimed singer, Sonu Nigam, offered negative criticism of the accountability in the movement while speaking up in support of the accused musician, Anu Malik. Debates and differing opinions continue to make a whirlwind, but the bottom-line of the #MeToo movement is to bring perpetrators down from the pedestal, and question them as effectively as possible.

Image Courtesy: Medium

Anushree Joshi

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Delhi School of Journalism

DSJ Students Table Their Grievances Before the Former President and Kapil Sibal

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Intending to bring the protracted tussle between the students and the DSJ administration to a close, Mohammad Ali, a DSJ student and NSUI youth politician, submitted a petition to Pranab Mukherjee and Kapil Sibal.
Reaffirming its solidarity with the students of Delhi School of Journalism, who have been involved in a bitter protracted wrangle with the collegiate administration over the non-fulfillment of the salient promises and facilities mentioned in the college’s prospectus, the NSUI, at the behest of Mohammad Ali, submitted a petition to the former President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, as well the former HRD minister, Kapil Sibal.
Despite a slew of vociferous protests and agitations by the students, most of the promises touted by the administration were never fulfilled, which led to tremendous discontentment and upheaval amongst the students, who viewed such affront as a terrible betrayal and blatant fraud. For the past year and a half, DSJ students have been interminably beseeching the DSJ administration to fulfill its commitments to the institution, none of which ever materialized.
The institution, which was launched amidst much fanfare, has turned out to be a perennial bone of contention between the administration and the students, as DSJ lies in a derelict state on account of the former’s inept handling of the imbroglio and lethargic implementation of the promises facilities and infrastructural capabilities, much to the chagrin of the students. This prompted the students to spearhead the “Stand With DSJ” movement, which has been galvanizing support from major quarters to raise its petition with the relevant authorities and influential stalwarts.
Mohammad Ali also stated that the former President assured the DSJ students of his support, and declared that he would send a letter to the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Delhi. Furthermore, Ali claimed that Kapil Sabil assured him that he would table the DSJ logjam in the Parliament in case the impending sessions don’t turn out to be a washout.

Mohammad Ali, in conversation with the DU Beat correspondent said, “I talked to Pranab Mukherjee apropos to the issues plaguing Delhi School of Journalism, on account of which students have been agitating for the past year and a half. The issues that find prominence are around the media lab, library, hostel, and the steep spikes in the fees. On account of DSJ and DU turning a deaf ear to our pleas, we were forced to approach the chambers of the former President of India.”

 

Feature Image Credits: Mohammad Ali
Adeel Shams
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