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

Geetika Varshney

Browsing
Uncategorized

After months of delay, Delhi University holds its 93rd Convocation

By

University of Delhi held its 93rd convocation on 19th November, 2016 in the indoor stadium complex of North Campus. In the ceremony, the university awarded about 666 doctoral degrees, 37 DM/M.Ch. degrees, and 181 medals to students of various department and colleges. The degree certificates of the students who had passed other various examinations in 2015 were also conferred degrees in absentia. The program was telecasted live on the university website.

Professor Ved P. Nanda from University of Denver was the chief guest for the event. Krishna Gopal Sharma, the joint general secretary of RSS, also attended the event. Prof. Nanda, an expert in international law with a centre named after him in the University of Denver, was the first president of the Delhi University Students’ Union and was a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. Delivering his convocation address, Prof. Nanda said, “None of the Indian varsities are in the top 100 universities of the world rankings. With good infrastructure and foreign university tie-ups, a university like DU could make it in the top 100 list”. He underlined the fact that universities solving problems of the society and the world around is the need of the hour.

img_20161119_120017
Innovation projects on display

The convocation, which usually takes place in March or April, took place after months of delay. The event was rushed in a matter of weeks which caused some inconvenience for the awardees. Even the notice for the convocation appeared on the website merely two weeks before the program.

The event started with ‘Saankh Naad’ which was followed by a Guru Vandana. This was followed by recitation from the Quran and singing of Gurbani and ‘My Jesus, My Saviour’. In a departure from tradition, where the only uniformed men in the program used to be NCC Cadets, this time the procession of DU officials was accompanied by an Army band and buglers from Delhi Police.

As a part of the convocation, selected innovations projects were displayed by numerous colleges of Delhi University by the Innovation Council of the University. The innovation projects plaza, which was inaugurated by Prof. Pami Dua, Dean Research (Humanities and Social Sciences), was on display from 10 AM to 2PM.

Many students and teachers who attended the programme were happy that the convocation ceremony at least brought the Delhi University fraternity on a common platform after a long time.

Feature Image: Srivedant Kar for DU Beat

Srivedant Kar

[email protected] 

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

Moksha'15 kicks off with Bollywood night featuring Sachin-Jigar

By

Luka Chuppi, Raabta, Phir Le Aaya Dil along with some traditional ghazals and sufi songs. Due to large number of participation, the OC had to reduce the individual performance time from 3 minutes to 2 minutes. The judges for the competition were Manish Thapyal, the leading man of the band Roots, Akash, a student of famous composer A.R.Rahman and Ravinder Singh who is an 8th grade guitarist from Rock School of Music. The finals for this competition will be held on 22nd March. A folk dance competition, Kalakriti, was held on stage 2 under the scorching sun. Teams from colleges like JIIT, Gargi College, DTU and Maitreyi College participated in this contest. “The weather condition was harsh but in the end it was worth it,” said a member of the bhangra group from NIT Kurukshetra who were adjudged the winner for this competition. Vipul Goel, Jitendra Kumar (Kejru) and Deepak Mishra (Raghu) from The Viral Fever (TVF) brought the house down at NSIT with their stand-up act which was one of the most awaited events of the day. They pleasantly joked about other engineering colleges, including DTU. TVF members invited audience members on the stage and moderated a debate on topics, “Are engineers romantic or not?” and “Should Sunny Leone by awarded Nobel Peace Prize?” Vipul Goel also performed his famous ‘Kashmir’ act.

The last contest for the day was Mudra, the choreography competition. A technical glitch delayed proceedings but the issue was resolved within 15 minutes and Venky’s chorography society, Nritya, took the stage again, to the cheer of all present. Terpsichorean, the choreo society of Hans Raj College was awarded the first prize. Fahrenheit, the Bollywood night featuring Sachin-Jigar, Divya Kumar and Priya Sariya, commenced 2 hours later than the scheduled time. The restless crowd sat on the ground as they waited for the famous Bollywood duo to take the stage. Sachin-Jigar opened the show with their famous hit Bezubaan from ABCD. They enchanted the crowd with hits like Saibo, Babaji Ki Booti and the crowd’s favorite, Jee Karda.
]]>

Keep Reading
By
Kirorimal College

AAP’s Ashutosh and RJ Naved addresses young crowd at KMC’s Virtuoso’15

By

The Round Table, Kirori Mal College had its two day annual fest on 12th and 13 march, in the college premises. The first day showcased the Indian culture through artwork and photography. Mr Satish Gupta, Owner of Zazen studio displayed his art pieces of Navdurga .The portraits were a combination of sculpture and painting. Ms Rathika Ramasamay ,India’s foremost wildlife photographer also showcased her photographs. Mr Hukum Chand Jain ,a well known photographer also displayed his work.

IMG-20150313-WA0044

The last session was by Mr Naved Khan (RJ Naved),his personality and sense of humor brought the house down.

Day 2 of the fest was a Leaderpreneur summit .It was a platter of knowledge on various disciplines. Dr Suvrayamanam Dutta a renowned Foreign Affairs and Economic Expert, Mr Ashutosh ,spokesperson of Aam Aadmi Party and Mr Nishant Chaturvedi Deputy Editor, AAJ TAK were the speakers for the summit. The sessions were useful for the students and the speakers shared their valuable life experiences and motivated the students to lead and succeed.

Keep Reading
By
Sri Venkateswara College

The Hans Raj Projekt wins the Battle of Bands on Day 2 of Nexus

By

The second day of Nexus began with the Western Vocals Group competition organised by Crescendo, SVC’s Western Music Society in the Audi Lobby right before noon. The competition was judged by the former president of Crescendo, Mr. Ritwik De, along with internal judges Rupleena Bose and Neeraj Sahay. The event saw participation of 10 teams. Genres used varied from rock, pop to retro. The first team to perform was Gargi College. Shubham, a participant from Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, appreciated the environment at Nexus 2015. “The arrangements are conforming to my expectations. I’m almost acquainted to everyone here,” she said. The judges gave a special mention to Sri Aurobindo College’s band which was considered to be the underdog. The group from Lady Sri Ram College was adjudged winner while Jesus and Mary College’s and the home college’s teams were lauded with the second prize. Sparsh Bajpai from the winning team said, “We just came to have fun, but winning is a cherry on top of it.”

The next event that kept all the crowd at bay was the Battle of the Bands competition that saw cross-college bands perform under the cloudy afternoon sky at the main stage. The competition saw participation from 6 bands who were given 18 minutes each. The bands had to mandatory start with a Nescafe jingle. The judge for the event was Suyash Gabriel who is a drummer for the popular alternative rock band, Barefaced Liar.

The first band to set their foot on stage was Kazaryth, which played post rock songs. Their Nescafe jingle was also a post rock composition. The next band on stage was Alanwesha, which played its fusion rock original composition. They were followed by Paperboat who were a 6 member band comprising two guitarists, one beat boxer, one keyboardist and two singers. Speaking to DU Beat, Rahul, Paperboat’s lead singer, said, “We started a few months back and formed a band by accident when our drummer and bassist ditched us at a competition outside Delhi. We met our beat boxer, who is primarily a dancer, at the competition. We ended up winning the competition.” Their influences include John Mayer and Ed Sheeran.

The next band was a band from SSCBS named Inside Out. They played a slow track and kept the crowd engaged.They were followed by Hansraj Project who went on to win the competition. They performed two originals and the jingle in their fusion-rock style of music. The final band to perform was Rangrez, who came second after they performed their original as well as an A.R Rahman mashup.

Ishaan Gambhir
[email protected]

Ishaan Sengupta
[email protected]

Sudisha Mishra 
[email protected]

 

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

Bhaskaracharya College marks Martyrs' Day by organizing ‘Songs of India’

By
Bhaskaracharya College

The Cultural Council, Delhi University and Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences marked Martyrs’ Day on January 30, 2015 by organising an inter-college group singing competition, ‘Songs Of India’ at Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences.

Professor Devvesh Kumar Sinha, Chairman of Governing Body, Bhaskracharya College presided over as the Chief Guest. Dr. Suchitra Gupta, Deputy Dean of Culture and Youth Affairs, Delhi University lit the ceremonial lamp as the Guest of Honour to mark the beginning of event.

The groups were instructed to perform a non-film composition from varied categories like semi-classical, folk, sufi, qawwali and patriotic. A total of four teams from various Delhi University colleges participated in the competition. The choir from Sri Venkateswara College stood first while the team from the host college was awarded the second position. The winners were awarded a cash prize of Rs. 4000 and Rs. 2500 respectively.

The event came to a close with the prize distribution ceremony. Owing to the impressive conduct put up by the compères, they have now been invited to host events at ‘Antardhvani’, the annual cultural fest of Delhi University which is going to be held from February 20th to February 22nd, 2015 .

Geetika Varshney [email protected]

]]>

Keep Reading
By
Uncategorized

Job Opening in Cyber Media

By

Profile: Executive Digital Marketing
Education:- Graduate in any stream (B Tech./ MCA/Comp. Science will be added advantage)
Exp.: 6months-2 years

Scope of Work:
Adsense knowledge: Good Know-how of Adsense Account optimization, Website Monetization expert.
-Good knowledge of Ad placements/Optimization, DFP, Adv. Exchange
-Good Knowledge of SEO techniques, Good track record of successful SEO implementation
-Good knowledge of how to search for top paying keywords, high search keywords
-Good in Developing an optimization plan for both Adsense accounts and SEO campaigns
-Setting up of new campaigns
-Knowledge of Social media optimization, FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+
-Competitor Analysis
-Liaising with management team
-Reporting the activities to management

Profile: Sr. Executive/ Executive Digital Marketing
Education:- Graduate in any stream (B Tech./ MCA/Comp. Science will be added advantage)
Exp.: 1-4 years

Scope of Work:
Adsense expert: Execellent Know-how of Adsense Account optimization, Website Monitization expert.
Proven track record on successful implementation and growth in Adsense account of clients
-Good knowledge of Ad placements/Optimization
-DFP, Adv. Exchange
-Excellent Knowledge of SEO techniques, proven track record of successful SEO implementation
-Good knowledge of how to search for top paying keywords, high search keywords
-Good in Developing an optimization plan for both Adsense accounts and SEO campaigns
-Setting up of new campaigns
-Knowledge of Social media optimization
-Competitor Analysis
-Liaising with management team
-Reporting the activities to management

Interested candidates can send their resume to [email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

126000 flocked to IIT Bombay for Mood Indigo – Revisiting Competitions

By

Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT Bombay) organized their annual festival, Mood Indigo from 26th December to 29th December 2014. With their annual theme ‘Vintage’ this time, the whole campus was decorated with vinyl records, vintage cars, radios and retro glasses.

96 hours on campus implied star performances ranging from Adnan Sami to famous bollywood duo Vishal-Shekhar, a Sunburn concert and appearances from who’s who of bollywood like Ayushman Khurana and Raju Srivastav.

Competitions on the other hand mustered a huge participation. Here is the list of the competitive events at Mood Indigo:

Music

Mantra, the Hindi battle of bands hosted its elims on the 1st day and finals on the last day. Top three bands opened for Vishal-Shekhar in an open theatre. Finals of Beat boxing were held on the 4th day.

[caption id="attachment_28454" align="aligncenter" width="960"]Elims round of Mantra at Mood Indigo Elims round of Mantra at Mood Indigo[/caption]

The finale of famous Hindi solo competition, MI Idol whose elims were held in Chandigarh, Delhi among other cities was held on 4th day of the fest in which the finalists performed before the final pro nite.

Other competitions included Taal Mel,an instrument duet competition, Singing the Indigos, English solo competition and String Theory, the western acoustic battle of bands.

Dance

Indigo Saga, the choreography competition of Mood-I saw almost all finalists from Delhi University. The finals were held on the midnight of 3rd day. Some of the participating colleges were Hans Raj College, Kamla Nehru College and Lady Shri Ram College for Women.

B4Battleground, the step up kind of face off was held in a parking lot in which at a time two teams battled it out with impressive dance moves and wittiness.

Can you Duet was a duet competition in which a pair performed on any one dance style of their choice like salsa, tango etc. The sheer chemistry between the couples and mesmerizing lifts set the mood for Day 2.

[caption id="attachment_28451" align="aligncenter" width="960"]'Can you Duet' competition ‘Can you Duet’ competition[/caption]

Mood I also witnessed contests like Solo Classical Dance Competition, Nrityangan, Folk It, a group folk dance competition and a Bollywood dance competition Desi Beats.

Drama

Aagaaz, the street play competition saw participants from all across India with teams from Pune, Mumbai, Punjab and Delhi. The finals were held on the 3rd day with elims on the 2nd day. Stage play competition was also organized.

Other events were The chosen one, a solo acting competition, Curtain Raiser, an exciting contest in which the participant was given a situation and he/she had to improvise on the spot.

[caption id="attachment_28452" align="aligncenter" width="960"]Aagaaz, the street play competition Aagaaz, the street play competition[/caption]

Fashion

A fashion show, Vogue was held on the first day with two rounds. In the first round the participating team was asked to use feathers as their main prop whereas in the second round the teams were judged on how well they were accessorized. The event ended with a professional fashion show organized by Myntra, the official sponsor for this event.

She’s got the look was a beauty pageant competition that was judged by Ms. Gurleen Grewal, Miss Diva International 2013. It had three rounds with final round as a Q/A where the judge asked questions to the final 5. A NIFT- Bombay student won the competition which was witnessed by a jam packed convocation hall.

[caption id="attachment_28453" align="aligncenter" width="640"]Fashion Show at IIT Bombay Fashion Show at IIT Bombay[/caption]

Food Fest

Mood I for the first time organized this one of a kind food festival which hosted famous food chefs like Sandeep Pandey, Ajay Chopra and Dhaval Ajmera. Various cooking workshops on waffles, mocktails, were also organized along with a cheese appreciation and tasting. The main highlight of this fest was a cooking session with Chef Vikas Khanna, an owner of a Michelin starred restaurant. He talked about his new cook book and the latest season of Master-Chef. [caption id="attachment_28450" align="aligncenter" width="960"]Chef Vikas Khanna at Food Fest, Mood Indigo Chef Vikas Khanna at Food Fest, Mood Indigo[/caption]

Miscellaneous

A lot of quiz competitions were held on categories like entertainment, sports and general throughout this 4 day fest. MI Poetry Slam was held on the final day where contestants presented poems on their experiences in Mood Indigo, the weird language that we call English and life in general. A spelling competition, Spell-Nazi saw the spelling bees among us come to life.

Featured Image – TerpsiChorean (Hans Raj’s Choreography Society)

Picture Credits: Chirag Sharma, Mehr Gill and Ankit Kumar Meena

]]>

Keep Reading
By
Flicks

Movie review: PK

By

After watching the latest collaboration of the famous duo Raj Kumar Hirani and Aamir Khan, three words came to my mind, ‘Oh My God!’. No, I am not expressing my excitement about the movie; I am talking about the Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar starrer film. There was a lot common in between these two movies. Yes the story line and the presentation were very different but the concept was exactly the same: Who is god?

The story is about an alien from an identical ‘gola’ as earth whose spaceship drops him in Rajasthan for unknown reasons and there he loses a remote control which is the only mean of communication back to his planet. In a mission to find this remote, we follow the protagonist (PK: not his original name) on a journey where he tries to understand the human behavior and the rules and norms that operates in this society. Through series of events, PK raises some serious questions related to religion and faith and how we are divided and discriminated on the basis of religious conviction. Enter Jaggu (Anushka Sharma) who successfully leads PK on a journey where not only he becomes a TV celebrity but also gets his remote back from ‘not-so-legit’ baba (Saurabh Shukla).

The movie raises a very serious issue about how we put all our faith on clay made murtis and rather than solving the problems ourselves, we wait for some miracle by god. Yes it is true that in this world of suffering and hardships, putting our trust on a superhuman does give us sense of relief but is it the only solution to our all problems? We are divided by our religion and who we worship, Yes! But aren’t we all the same in the end? The film answers this question with honesty and simplicity.

The first half is brilliant with some funny gags here and there which surely brought the house down. Aamir Khan is an acting ninja and this is safely one of his best performances yet. Saurabh Shukla played the role of antagonist perfectly. Anushka Sharma made her mark in this movie with her exceptional acting skills even after sharing the screen with Aamir Khan. Raju Hirani uses Indo-Pak relations, a bomb blast and media to strengthen the story line.

I admit that I walked into the theater with a lot of expectations after reading impressive tweets and Facebook posts but all in all I wasn’t satisfied in the end because of the sterling resume of Raju Hirani and Aamir Khan. This movie definitely didn’t meet the bar.

Final Verdict: If you are walking into the theater to watch a genius movie like 3 idiots or Munna Bhai, well get ready to be disappointed because this one is not even close . But it is definitely a treat for all Aamir Khan Fans.

Keep Reading
By
Sri Venkateswara College

Beyond the Obvious: Sri Venkateswara College

By

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Sri Venkateswara College (Venky) was founded in 1961 by Durgabai Deshmukh, a former member of the Constituent Assembly of India. The first building of the college was set up at Rouse Avenue (now Deen Dyal Uppadhyay Marg near ITO). The college shifted to its present location (Dhaula Kuan) later in the founding year itself and was inaugurated by former President, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

Venky, as it is fondly called, is situated in the heart of South Campus with colleges like Ram Lal Anand and Motilal Nehru around it. Located almost at the centre of South and West Delhi, connectivity via bus has never been a problem for the students. The nearest metro station is AIIMS and students travelling by the metro have to tackle the occasional traffic on the Ring Road to reach college.

Satya Niketan which has eating joints like Big Yellow Door (BYD), QDs, CCD, Chowringhee Lane is situated right across the college. Students have various options to hangout after college like Sarojini Nagar, PVR Priya, Rajouri Garden and INA.

Venky’s canteen is tad overrated. The canteen is situated in the open and can be a real mess during the monsoon season. It is usually filled with political party goons, over enthusiastic first years and happy-go-lucky students. Due to regular change of the contractor, it is difficult to pick the most edible food item on the menu. However, the chole bhature, samose and chilly potato can satisfy the rats inside one’s stomach anytime.

The college features a wide range of societies, some of them being Nritya (Choreography Society), Verve (Western Dance Society), Verbum(English Dramatics), Anubuti (Hindi Dramatics) and Effulgence (Film and Photography Society). Other than these, students can also join societies like E-Cell, Placement Cell, Blue Chip Society and the Parivartan Society to nurture their innate talents. Venky has dedicated cricket, football and basketball teams as well.

Nexus, the annual cultural fest of Venky is one of the most awaited college fests in DU. While rock bands like Parikrama, Pentagram and Junkyard Grooves have performed in the past, pop star Jazzy B has also brought the Punjabi flavor to this three-day long fest. This fest also features its one of a kind Sufi night which is held in parallel to the rock night, thus, satisfying both kind of music lovers at once.

The college’s administration is little tardy and is divided into two kinds of people. The first being ‘keep calm’ brigade and other being ‘we don’t give a damn about your issue’ crew. Booking a room for an event can be a real mess. With lack of better equipments in the seminar room, the famous Uday Bhaiya is always at your rescue.
The college campus is pretty spacious and is mainly divided into two blocks- Arts and Science. As most of the non-Venky people don’t know, the college has a temple situated inside the campus. Other than the canteen, students are frequently found hanging out in Audi Lawns or the foyer. The college’s main ground religiously turns into a picnic spot during the winters. The under-constructed auditorium was inaugurated a year back and is yet to be fully functional.

Going by academics, Venky is considered one of the best colleges in DU for Science and Commerce courses. With advanced laboratories and experienced staff, Venky is a go-to for students who aim to pursue science courses like Biochemistry, Botany etc. Economics is also a sought after course at Venky.

The college is also sometimes referred as the ‘SRCC of South Campus’. The campus is filled with energy and enthusiasm as students are pretty carefree and like to live in the moment. With little flaws here and there, Venky is a complete package of academics, drama and life!

Geetika Varshney
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Top Picks

Top 5 festivals in India in December

By

International Sand Art Festival
When: December 1-5, 2014
Where: Chandrabhaga Beach, Konark, Orissa
Ever heard of Sudarsan Pattnaik or Hari Kishan? They are world renowned sand sculpture artists. Held usually in parallel with Konark Dance Festival, here, world renowned and local sand artists battle it out to create a stunning sand sculpture.

Rann Utsav
When: December 1, 2014-March 5, 2015
Where: Dhordo, Kutch, Gujarat
One of the most beautiful and untouched part of India holds a three months long fest every year to showcase its raw beauty, cuisine, culture and heritage. With special luxury tents set up all across the desert, one can usually witness a stunning amalgamation of moonlight and white sand.

Delhi Street Food Festival
When: December 19-21, 2014
Where: Lodi Colony, Delhi
This festival is organized by the National Association of Street Vendors of India. Featuring lip smacking street foods from all across the India like Vada Pav, Gol Gappe, Biryani etc, this is a heaven for all food lovers out there.

Cochin Carnival
When: Last week of December
Where: Fort Kochi in Kerala
Started by the Portuguese, every resident of Kochi duly waits for this event throughout the year. Filled with costumes, dance performances, competitions and decorated elephants, tourists from all over the world visit this carnival.

Sunburn
When: December 27-29
Where: Goa
EDM for 3 days. Sounds like heaven, isn’t it? The most awaited outdoor music festival of India is held in the last week of December. Sunburn features musicians and DJs from all across the globe. Why you should attend you ask? Because abhi toh party shuru hui hai.

Geetika Varshney
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By