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With yet another fest season coming to an end at the University of Delhi, it is time to let nostalgia get you over and look back at these few months that have gone by, before all of us get busy with semester examination preparation and some from the outgoing batch eventually leave to charter their career paths. Going by the thought, DU Beat brings to you its exclusive timeline for ‘Guest Lectures and Seminars at Delhi University’, where we present the highlight guests and speakers at numerous department and college fests in Delhi University that took place in the year 2015.  

So, go with the flow and view all what lectures and seminars highlighted the fest season this year at Delhi University, in this special edition.

Here’s an overview of all such panel discussions, speaker sessions and seminars:

Feature Image designed by Kartik Lav for DU Beat Kriti Sharma [email protected]]]>

The most awaited time of the year, the Delhi University Fest Season is almost nearing its end. With each passing academic session, our festivals just get bigger and better. This year too, Hindu’s Mecca, Venky’s Nexus and Miranda House’s Tempest wooed students with exhilarating competitions and big names at their pro nights. The DU fests season typically spans over a month. This period provides ample time for certain recurring patterns to emerge. DU Beat has been following the DU fests with a keen eye, and we’ve compiled a list of five of the most common trends that were seen this year:

1. Overdressed Chicas

This season, the girls went all out in terms of their dressing. Fests became a platform for the women to showcase their finest clothing, jewelry, high heels and make up. In fact, this indomitable fashion spirit was kept alive, in spite of unfavorable weather conditions. So even at Day 2 of Crossroads (when it poured cats and dogs and Atif Aslam was a no-show), one could see the girls heavily made up and dressed in ultra formal, shiny and expensive clothes.

2. Punjabi Tadka to the star nights

The Punjabi music industry is a burgeoning industry (thank you Yo Yo?) and its growing popularity was evident from the heavy patronage that many DU colleges paid to it this year.

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Punjabi singer and rapper Baadshah performing at Daulat Ram College’s Manjari.

Rocking several festivals with their power packed performances were Punjabi singers like Hardy Sandhu, Badshah, Raftaar, Gippy Grewal, Jassi Gill, Sherry Mann and Rabbi Shergill.

3. Tech savvy equipments adding feather to the fests’ caps

Steadily growing fest budgets give us the opportunity to incorporate newer forms of technology every year. This enhances the overall fest experience. Improved sound and light systems, online registration and fest related apps created a huge buzz last year.

This year, we introduced drones- flying cameras that were used to capture the true pulse of the crowd as celebrities performed on pro nights.  

4. Badlapur all around in Delhi University

In the pre-fest months, the star cast of the film ‘Badlapur’ made multiple visits to DU colleges to promote their movie. They visited Ramjas, Shri Ram College of Commerce, Kamala Nehru, DCAC and Satyawati College.      

 

Cast of #Badlapur for final round of promotion at #SRCC. Picture Credits: Bharat Jain A photo posted by DU Beat (@du_beat) on

  In fact, their appearance in DU became so commonplace, that after a point in time, DU students were jaded with Varun Dhawan and Yami Gautam.


It became a ‘Been there, done that’ moment for many, defeating the entire concept of star attraction.

5. The epic rain jinx

‘Rain, rain, go away; come again another day!’ MET had predicted atypical showers in the latter half of the receding winter season. And that is exactly what happened. Severe rain created delays and put the college unions in a very tight spot. Stalls didn’t go up in time, competitions were postponed and celebrities cancelled their performances at the last minute.    

  KNC’s Ullas and SRCC’s Crossroads were the most brutally affected. Fortunately, both colleges were able to salvage the situation before things turned ugly.

These are the five trends we noticed this season in the DU fests, is there something we’ve missed that caught your eye?

There is so much entertainment on air nowadays that there almost exists a glut in the industry. There are wonderful, average and absolutely abominable shows but while cutting the fluff and getting rid of the bad shows is welcome, we feel terribly let down when good TV shows get axed.

Here’s a list:

1. Outsourced

Outsourced followed a US sales manager who is assigned to supervise his company’s call centre in India. The show debuted to a 3.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 7.49 million viewers. But over the course of the season, the ratings kept dwindling and the show even came under the scanner for its mildly racial content and subsequently, the show never made it into its second season.

Outsourced-TVseries

2. The Carrie Diaries

A prequel to Sex and the City, The Carrie Diaries detailed the life of Carrie Bradshaw during her junior year of high school in 1984.  The series debuted in 2013 to a 0.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 1.61 million viewers. The ratings fluctuated over the course of the season and the second season premiere drew just half of the viewership. By 2014, the figure was too low to justify a third season.

carrie

3. Deadwood

Deadwood was an American television series that charted Deadwood, South Dakota’s growth from camp to town, incorporating themes ranging from the formation of communities to western capitalism. The show garnered a lot of critical acclaim during its run- it won eight Emmys and one Golden Globe. But it also got a lot of negative publicity due to its extensive profanity and finances also became an issue. After three successful seasons, the show was cancelled.

deadwood

4. Firefly

Firefly was an American science fiction drama series which explored the lives of a group of people who fought on the losing side of a civil war and others who now make a living on the fringe of society, as part of the pioneer culture that exists on the fringes of their star system.  Firefly premiered in 2002. By mid-December, it had averaged 4.7 million viewers per episode and was 98th in Nielsen ratings.It was cancelled after 11 episodes and the fans’ only solace was Serenity, the feature film which continued the story.

fire

5. Sarabhai vs Sarabhai

This cult show, which was touted to revolutionise Indian television, broke everyone’s heart when it went off air. People still recall the sweet nothings exchanged by Maya and Indu, Maya’s taunts at Monisha and Rosesh’s insightful poetry! The show was discontinued because the producers felt that its content was too evolved for the Indian audience. We are now left in the abysmal world of Tulsis and Parvatis.

sara

 

The room is small and dark. It is enveloped by an eerie silence and complete inactivity. It has been deserted by all mortals. Just when you think the room is vacant, a stream of moonlight reveals a three legged wooden stool placed in one obscure corner. An ancient electronic device rests on the stool. I believe it’s called a ‘television’.

Folks, it’s official. The television has joined the Sunset Club. With a very heavy heart (and a tear or two), we must bid the television a wistful farewell. This realisation struck me quite recently. It was a Sunday and an important Bollywood awards’ show was to air on prime time television in the evening. During my childhood, I used to relish such opportunities because Sunday evenings without a decent programme on television just weren’t the same. Recalling those fond memories, I excitedly walked into the television room in my hostel.

I felt like I had walked into the kind of room I’ve described above, because not one out of the forty girls in my hostel was there! Encouraged by an innate sense of curiosity, I investigated a little, or rather, peeked into a couple of rooms. That is when I saw most of the girls sitting on their beds and watching famous movies and popular sitcoms on their laptops.

It’s a simple concept that technology reinvents itself on a daily basis. In the course of this evolution, only the fittest survive. It is difficult to deny that with the onset of forums like YouTube and Torrents, the television has become obsolete. Several reasons can be attributed to its mighty decline. For example, most prefer online channels because of their flexibility and variety. One can watch whatever they want, whenever they want. Also, latest seasons of series can be downloaded online with ease, whereas television telecasts in India come only months after the USA premieres.

I remember how the television was my best friend when I was a tubby child of seven. My parents used to call me a couch potato because I spent all my time in front of the television. Watching my favourite cartoons gave me unparalleled joy but today, when I see how steadily television is growing redundant, it fills my heart with sorrow. Like all great things, the television too, has finished its glorious run. Now, as it takes a final bow, I can only hope that people will reminisce about it in happy hues.

Kriti Sharma
[email protected]

Image credits: rccblog.com

‘Love Week’ is an active initiative of the National Service Scheme (NSS) wing of Hans Raj College. The event, as the name suggests, is a week long celebration of spreading love to those who need it most: the underprivileged. The event began on February 2, 2015 and  culminated on February 8, 2015.

On February 2, NSS volunteers participated in the ‘Nine is Mine’ campaign, which was organised by the NGO Pratyek at Jantar Mantar. The campaign was conducted to garner support for the allocation of 9% of the Union Budget towards children’s education and health. NSS Hansraj members were present to organise, conduct and see the event through.

On February 3, the NSS members visited Kilkari, an orphanage near Karol Baghas a part of ‘Love Week’ at Hans Raj. Clothes, food and stationery were donated to the children. The students interacted with the children on a very personal level; they spent a good part of the day indulging in games like hide and seek, ice and water and dog and the bone. The purpose behind this visit was to add a little bit of excitement to the otherwise mundane lives of these children.

The next two days saw further charitable activity. On February 4, a plantation drive was conducted at the Vishveshwaranand Vedic Research Institute, Malka Ganj. The Principal of Hansraj, Dr. VK Kawatra and the convener of NSS Hans Raj, Dr. Rama Sharma were the guests of honour. The event began with a yagya, the traditional means of purifying the atmosphere. Thereafter, twenty saplings were planted within the premises.

On the same day, a separate contingent was sent to Parvarish, an old age home for women near Rajendra Place. Here, NSS members donated mufflers that they had collected as part of their ‘One Muffler, One Elder’ drive. They also organized singing, dancing and storytelling events for the women.

On February 5, the team went to the National Association for the Blind in RK Puram. Here, the NSS volunteers engaged in several fun activities with the students. They distributed goodies like apples and chocolates and played games with the children.

The remaining days of the ‘Love Week’ at Hans Raj were also jam-packed with similar activities.

 

We, at DU Beat, congratulate the NSS Hans Raj wing for their efforts at spreading love and making a difference!

 

Danger, alertness, urgency – these are just a few words that we associate with the phrase ‘Code Red’. So does the show ‘Code Red’, which recently hit Indian television screens, justify its promising title?

‘Code Red’ is Colors’ youngest baby. It is a crime show which premiered on the channel on 19th January, 2015. The show has been allotted the 10:30- 11:30 pm time slot, and will feature from Monday till Saturday. The show is being hosted by eminent soap actress Sakshi Tanwar.

Code Red indicates Colors’ foray into the thrilling genre of crime. It dwells on three important themes: Umeed (hope), awaaz (voice) and Chakravyuh (strategy). It narrates stories related to the lives of common people which bring out the frailties in human character. It shows the vulnerability that we all face when we find ourselves in situations that are beyond our control. It depicts reactions and responses that human beings have to the struggles of everyday life.

A typical episode begins with the presentation of a tangible issue. Through the course of the episode, we get to see how the protagonist handles the issue at hand; how he or she tackles difficult circumstances, takes life-changing decisions and then bears the consequences of these decisions. The episode culminates on a moralistic note, providing viable solutions for handling the problem.

The general response to ‘Code Red’ has been tepid. As of now, the show has not offered anything fresh to the jaded Indian audience. Crime and thriller are genres that have, in the past also, failed to rise up to expectations. The heat on ‘Code Red’ is intensified due to constant comparison with shows like Crime Patrol. The producers need to encourage their team to churn out something unique (and soon). Originality and novelty can take this show to success; the lack of it, however, could lead to a ‘code red’ situation.

The official trailer of Colors’ ‘Code Red’ featuring host Sakshi Tanwar.