The little warmth that the air has started to bear, clear skies and the aroma of fresh flowers blooming around have all announced the breakthrough of spring and signaled towards the approaching summer. However, yet another thing that the ongoing weather signifies is the ringing death knell for the ‘DU Fest’ season. Here’s what you can do to get done with the DU fests hangover and come out of the Disneyland that shall now cease to exist.
1. Go through the photos of all the fests you’ve been to
Once go through all the pictures that you’ve clicked/ got clicked in the numerous fests. Yeah those selfies with weird expressions and superficial smiles too. Remember how your feet started to ache with the continuous dancing, how your throat went soar due to the loud cheer and how your cheeks began to pain due to continuous posing with elongated smiles.
Maybe that’ll establish in your mind the fact that those days aren’t coming back in near future.
2. Stalk the celebs!
What we miss the most about the fest season is the electrifying performances that we’ve enjoyed in the star nights of various colleges. So, follow the performers on social networking sites, go through their previous work, download their songs, skim through their discographies and enjoy. Bolt your room’s door from within, turn on the music, turn out the lights and dance like nobody cares. Unleash the performer within you and try duplicating the star nights at home.
3. Socialize with long lost friends from other colleges for the next fest season!
No matter how badly you wanted to witness Amit Trivedi’s lips embrace the lyrics of ‘Zinda’ live, SRCCauthorities kept the entries restricted to the show of passes. You had a friend there you always avoided and didn’t talk to due to her nagging and now you couldn’t ask for her help to get you in? Sad. Work on your socializing skills for next fest season. See everyone with a ‘shining smile’, and be good to all. Some person, some fest next year might be of utmost utility.
4. Fake excitement for studying!
It is just 50 days before the semester exams commence and most colleges shall have internals and practical tests scheduled in coming weeks. Try distracting yourself from the fest season by opening those books. Also, be careful, this experiment might backfire if anywhere you lose control and think about the fests again, making you feel rather more miserable about what your life has suddenly come to.
5. See the ‘rosier’ side of it
If this all fails to manoeuvre you out of the pangs of nostalgia and hangover, try seeing the rosier side of it. Think that all good things come to an end, or perhaps, for it all to begin again, it has to end once. Start with something new, Game of Thrones season 5 starts in 10 days. Prepare a list of celebrities you’d like to see next year and so on. There is more to life than the fest of course.
6. DU Beat – Comrade in thy nostalgia!
We at DU Beat, have had a great time at the fests too, viewing the enthusiastic crowd from the other side of our stall, recruiting, recording the everyday happenings at the colleges and reporting them to our avid audiences. We are suddenly workless too! So we can together swim across this. Go through the DU Beat Facebook photo archives, videos, Instagram posts, tweets and stories of various fests.
7. Look eye in eye in the mirror and say it!
Are you a final year student? Go face a mirror, look eye in eye with it. Muster your thoughts, put together your words, and say out loud, “It’s all over. It is all over.” Let the lump pass your throat, and see if you feel any better. (Though you probably won’t!)
Featured Image Credit: Mehr Gill for DU Beat | Gif courtesy: tumblr.com
As expected, SRCC’s ‘Crossroads’ came, it amused, conquered hearts and the ‘last party before forty‘ culminated leaving people with amazing fun filled memories of four interesting days. Apart from the exhilarating star appearances, the fest was also garnered with numerous formal and informal events,games, variety of stalls and great footfall.
Here’s what all happened in the most sought after cultural festival of DU, take a look!
The festival kick started its first day with the ‘shaan’dar performance of the singer cum stage performer Shantanu Mukherjee, commonly known as ‘Shaan’ at Encore. Shaan took a heroic entry singing the famous lines ‘mujhko pehchaan lo, mai hu kaun?’ This was followed by a number of his soft romantic melodies including ‘Tune mujhe pehchana nahi’, ‘Chand Sifarish’ and ‘Jabse tere naina’. Acknowledging the new talent in industry, Shaan sang the chart buster Arijit Singh song ‘Tum hi ho’ from the movie ‘Aashiqui 2′ on public demand and referred it to be one of his favourite songs too. Not only did he entertain audiences with his melodious voice, but with frequent jokes, digs and audience interactions. The event concluded with announcement of Bewakoofiyan star cast – Sonam Kapoor & Aayushman Khurrana coming to SRCC on fourth and final day of Crossroads.
Crossroads brought together Slovenian rock/folk artist Vlado Kreslin and Hindustani classical musician Sharat Chandra Srivastava as part of Random Collisions on 7th March,2014.The duo was also accompanied by Gyan Singh, an accomplished Tabla player.The event began quite promptly and created a mellow atmosphere all at once, quite different from the rest of musical nights taking place in DU fests. As the violin and tabla notes worked magic, it was certainly music to all ears.
After enjoying soft romantic numbers with Shaan and blend of western and classical music at Random Collisions, Crossroads brought the audiences to savour the taste of PLUR i.e. Peace Love Unity Respect with VH1 Supersonic bringing their unique EDM music to Crossroads,SRCC. With renowned artists like Audiogramme, Dualist Inquiry and Nikhil Chinapa performing, the crowd was seen throwing hands in air, feeling completely content and enjoying. The gigantic screen, flame throwers, pyrotechnics and confetti, all added to the night,making it the most happening and memorable one for SRCC as well as DU.
Day Three : Crossroads welcomes international DJ Jennifer Rene
The third day at Crossroads saw Jennifer Rene, a DJ star of international fame mixing EDM tracks. The night began with the song ‘Wake me in’ and what followed were numerous numbers from her own discography. The performer soon got into grooves with her famous tunes and people, specially patrons of this genre of music cheered for Rene and had a great time.
Image Credit: Mugdha for DU Beat
Day Four : ‘Bewakoofiyan‘ star cast Sonam Kapoor & Ayushman Khurrana at SRCC
B’wood celebs Ayushmann Khurrana and Sonam Kapoor, picked Crossroads 2014 as a platform for the promotion of their upcoming movie ‘Bewakoofiyan’, scheduled to release on 14th of March. The duo entertained the crowd with their presence for about 20 minutes. Ayushman Khurrana sang four songs including, “Paani Da Rang” and “O Heeriye”, whereas Sonam took to the traditional ‘Battle of the Sex’s ‘ path. They distributed limited goodies of their upcoming film to the massive crowd and signed off leaving a smile on the audience’s faces.
Catch a short glance of Sonam Kapoor & Ayushman Khurrana, in this recording by DU Beat –
SRCC’s Crossroads’ ‘Last party,before forty‘ came to a befitting end with the internationally acclaimed singer Sukhwinder Singh and his troop performing for about two hours, setting the stage on fire with his zeal, enthusiasm and energetic songs like Chaiyya Chaiyya, Haule Haule , Bidi Jalaile , Dard – e – Disco, Dhan Te Nan, Marjani Marjani, Saki Saki, Lagan Lagi, Chak De India, Ramta Jogi and a few more. The night began with Sukhwinder singing ‘Jai Ho‘ the Grammy award winning song from Slumdog Millionaire and ended with the same song completing the circle and leaving the crowd with refreshed memories of the night.
The Foodie’s Junction at SRCC Crossroads
Much like everything else at SRCC’s Crossroads, the food was in large variety. There was something for every palate and pocket. From Italian to Chinese to Indian Street food, it was hard to find something that was not available.
Chole Bhature: although they are easily available at various events, SRCC had a variety of chole bhature from different corners of Delhi. Even small, and highly exclusive, eating places like Om Corner had put up stalls there.
Cup Cakes: And not the ones that look like they are here because no one bought them off the shelf at the bakery. The ones that wanna make you eat them even when you’re on a diet.
Waffles: When was the last time you ate waffles at any cafe, much less at a fest!
Rico’s: If you’re a DU student who happens to pass by north campus at least once every few months, then you know what I’m talking about. Rico served almost all their specialties at the fest and they tasted like fresh from the oven.
The busy food stall lane bustling with people at Crossroads, SRCC | Image Credit: Abhay Makhija for DU Beat
Banoffe Pie: Yolo 21 served Banoffe pie that’ll make you want buy one more every half hour. And when I told the stall manager that it was as good as the ones they served in posh south Delhi restaurants for five times the price, he happily said that his was better.
Escapades : Adding adventure
With all the stars that rocked the crowds at night, Escapades made sure that the students were entertained through the day. Bringing the spirit of adventure to SRCC through the four days of Crossroads, the Traveler’s Society truly gave students a chance to ‘forget their limits’. The Xerox lawns were packed through the day with students lining up for the adrenaline rush, a chance to experience the thrill of adventure sports, test their ability and most importantly to have some unrestricted fun. The numerous events lined up under Escapades were the Slow Race, Flying Fox, Zorbing, Paintball, Wall Climbing, Trampoline Volleyball, Dodge Ball & Body Zorbing.
Trampoline Volleyball
Carrom Boards placed at Crossroads
Body Zorbing!
The Slow Cycling Race
The Winners’ Tally
Fashion Show [by Demeanor, the Fashion Society of SRCC]
Judged by : Ms. Konica Kant, the Winner of Timeless Beauty and Delhi finalist of the Miss Femina 2014 Contest. First Position : Kamala Nehru College & Lady Irwin College. Second Position : Amity University
Judged By : Dance India Dance fame Amit Kashyap & ABCD movie fame Vicky. First Position : Kamala Nehru College’s ‘Adaigo’ Second Position : Hans Raj College’s Terpsi Chorean and LSR’s Choreography Society.
Kamala Nehru College’s Adiago | Image Credit: Gurman Bhatia for DU Beat
Judged By : Moses Khiagte, a vocal coach and a retired musician and Bhanu Mehendiratta, a well known musician, part of bands like Sold Outand Half Step Down. Winners : Conundrum, an alternative Rock Band from P.G.D.A.V. College.
Judged By : Meher Malik, famous Indian belly dancer, founder of ‘Banjara School of Dance’ Winners (Duet) : Aseng & Somya from Kamala Nehru College. Winners (Group Dance) : ‘We-Defyn’, the Dance Society of IIT – Delhi
Judged By : Jatin & Sanchit, famous names in DU dancing circuit Winners : CVStreets from College of Vocational Studies. Runner Ups :Drift Up from DCAC.
Also featuring…
DU Beat Correspondents in exclusive conversation with the ‘Bewakoofiyan’ star cast – Ayushman Khurrana & Sonam Kapoor after their public appearance at SRCC Crossroads on the final day, March 9th, 2014. We would soon be releasing the same!
DU Beat Correspondent Ishika Gupta in a backstage conversation with Meher Malik, the famous Indian Belly dancer, ex participant of India’s Got Talent & Just Dance, and founder of the ‘Banjara School of Dance’ about her experience at Crossroads, SRCC.
SRCC’s four day cultural festival ‘Crossroads’ that is proudly celebrating its ‘last party before forty’ kick started its first day with the‘shaan’dar performance of the singer cum stage performer Shantanu Mukherjee, commonly known as ‘Shaan’ at Encore. Shaan is best known for playback singing for top Bollywood actors, anchoring and dancing.
The concert though began an hour after the scheduled time, yet the singer’s charm and melodious voice made the audience soon forget about it all. Shaan took a heroic entry singing the famous lines ‘mujhko pehchaan lo, mai hu kaun?’ This was followed by a number of his soft romantic melodies including ‘Tune mujhe pehchana nahi’, ‘Chand Sifarish’ and ‘Jabse tere naina’.
The singer was seen building a nice rapport with the crowd, occasionally handing over them the mike and questioning them on how did the audience expect him to perform and if the audience wanted him to sing some famous composition of another music artist. The highest notches of the night were scaled with the performance of famous songs like ‘Woh pehli baar’ and ‘Tanha Dil’.
Acknowledging the new talent in industry, Shaan sang the chart buster Arijit Singh song ‘Tum hi ho’ from the movie ‘Aashiqui 2’ on public demand and referred it to be one of his favourite songs too. Not only did he sing romantic situational songs, but also flavoured up the night with peppy numbers like ‘Mai aissa kyon hu?, ‘Partner’, ‘Ladki kyon’ and ‘Chanda maama so gaye, ‘Koi kahe, kehta rahe’ all coming back to back without pauses.
The powerful performer not only did sing, but also entertained the audience with light hearted jokes on him ready to be called ‘Uncle’ by the audience and his ‘Jhalak Dikhla Ja’ dancing venture. Stating the reason for having taken him this long to come for a college performance in years, he expressed his apprehensions about the taste of the young generation in music, taking a dig at the current songs happening to do great in the market despite of any sense, being largely replete with cuss words and liquor.
“The genres of his music aren’t the favourites of many people today, but with his innocent looks, electric energy and commendable music, the performer was a fireball on stage.” said, Nidhi Bhalla, a second year DU student and Shaan fan.
At the end of the concert, the organising committee brought out a surprise. After viewing the trailer of Bewakoofiyaan, they made the announcement that Ayushmann Khurrana and Sonam Kapoor would be coming to promote their upcoming film on the last day of the fest i.e. 9th March. Their appearance is scheduled to happen at 4 p.m., before Sukhwinder Singh’s concert.
Well begun is half done. The performances scheduled for Day – II at SRCC include VJ Nikhil Chinappa, The Dualist Inquiry, Sharat Chandra, a classical violinist and Vlado Kreslin, a Slovenian folk rock musician. Enjoy!
February 2014 witnessed fat budget, big star cast movies releasing on all of its Fridays, but surely the best was saved for the last. ‘Shaadi ke Side Effects’ is a roller coaster ride that leaves you with pangs of laughter. Simultaneously, it delves deep into the emotions of the post ‘just married’ period where Sid (Farhan Akhtar) & Trisha (Vidya Balan) try to manage an unplanned parenthood. The struggle comes with financial constraints and professional aspirations, along with lost sleep, social life and freedom.
The Plot
The baby daughter they are ‘blessed’ with soon turns everything around. The ringing violins and saxophones turn into the baby’s wails, Sid’s marketing jingles turn into lullabies, intimacy evaporates, romance takes a backseat and their life enters into a different phase bundled with troubles. While the now idiosyncratic full time mom Trisha, still adjusts to the new life, Sid longs for the old carefree moments and seeks precious advice from his bro-in-law (played by Ram Kapoor) that twists the story in an interesting manner.
The Positives
The movie is garnered with commendable performances of talented actors like Vidya Balan, Farhan Akhtar, Ram Kapoor, Vir Das, Purab Kolhi and Ila Arun. Vidya succeeds to look as adorable as always despite of her character’s nagging nature. She has justified her casting for this role with her amazing comic timing and dialogue delivery in the first half as well as with her ability to pull of emotional scenes with utmost grace. You can hardly take your eyes off her, courtesy her simplicity and grace.
The movie is Sid’s point of view, and revolves around his experiences, and Farhan has very well carried it well with his powerful expressions, innocent looks and amazing talent of cracking funniest jokes without a smile on face. The characters are largely relatable due to the outstanding performances by the actors.
The dialogues are very well written, are funny as well as they provide valuable pieces of advice to the married duos. Check this out:
Farhan’s tip to a happy married life: “When I’m in the wrong, I say sorry. When she is in the wrong. I say sorry.“
The Neutrals
After long Vidya Balan has featured in a movie wherein she isn’t the main protagonist, however this nowhere means she is less of an actor, or her character in the movie is sidelined.
The music of the movie is catchy, but it is clear that it isn’t here to stay.
The Negatives
The performances of the leads as well as the supporting cast are amazing but the movie’s story doesn’t attract much of audiences’ attraction. It is a predictable B-wood movie, extended aimlessly to around 2.5 hours that might put people’s patience to test.
Use your imagination! It is the morning sun shining through your window, summoning you to come out of the covers, you splash yourself with the steamy water, wear the best of your attires, clear the hazy mirror for some self admiration; suddenly you catch the glance of your eye and ponder, ‘Where am I off to, though?’
“Water, water everywhere, not a drop to drink.” – this quote from S.T. Coleridge’s famous poem ‘The Rime of an Ancient Mariner’ befittingly describes the dilemma we, the students of DU, face; especially in the winter semester, wherein each date on the calendar associates with itself half a dozen of cultural carnivals, department fests, academic congresses, MUNs, panel discussions and similar fancy names taking place in several colleges across the university. The notice boards are replete with posters of all hues and sizes.
The past week was the perfect example to quote when it comes to simultaneous conduct of events in colleges. Miranda House’s Tempest, Kamala Nehru College’s Ullas, Hindu College’s Mecca and JMC’s Montage were the annual cultural fests coinciding on almost the same dates of 19th, 20th, 21st& 22nd February. In addition to these, there was Deshbandhu College’s Sabrang and Ramjas College’s Mosaic Unplugged. Not only the college fests, but the department fests like Hansraj College’s Vanijya Utsav, SRCC’s Ecostasy and DCAC’s Quest had more or less overlapped each other. The list is not exhaustive of course, there are numerous other clashes; to the extent that, big colleges like SRCC [Fest of Eco & Fine Arts] andHindu [Fest of Commerce & History], have different departmental fests going on together causing chaos, confusion and reduced footfall.
Moreover, numerous big stars’ performances happen back to back. Hard Kaur performs one day, Kailasa the next day coinciding with Papon. This is followed by Arijit Singh on the next day and Mohit Chauhan towards the end. The crowd is of students after all, who have to juggle parental concerns, attendance and internal exams that have begun in most of the colleges.
All in all, hosting a plethora of events on a single date does practically no good to anyone, the endeavours made by organising team get a cold response,lower than that it potentially could have got. The crowd of spectators and participants gets distributed; and at times students even miss out on some posters, or if at all they read, it all skips the mind completely. Students with fests in their own colleges have to either ditch their loyalties or have to let go of a major fest.Performing societies have to juggle multiple performances in a day sometimes the number going up to three and four. Moreover, the organisers of one event don’t get to see and learn from the mistakes and qualities of others zeroing the objectives of holding these fests.
Hence, in the best interest of everyone, the fests should not ideally clash; the organisers should keep in mind the taken dates, and encourage healthy competition providing congenial atmosphere to learn and enjoy. The DU Beat events calendar can prove to be a blessing in disguise for that matter!
Presenting a relevant cause using music, the final day of Hindu College’s Mecca 2014 began with a concert against racism. It saw performances by three bands of north-east Indian students.
The songs being mostly in their native languages, aimed to present the array of wide culture north-east India possesses. In an attempt to sensitize the youth towards the ‘different’ Indians and to highlight the gravity of racism they faced, Sh. Pradyot, the King of Tripura delivered an awakening speech towards the end of concert.
“We are more informed about the happenings of the world, than we are about those eight states of India. Hindi is just one language spoken in India, not the only language. We all need to make an attempt to understand and warmly receive the students who leave their hometowns and culture behind for better opportunities, only then we shall be able to see the rich cultural heritage of north east India and its importance in Indian economy and socio political system.” the King remarked.
The winner of Mecca Idol. Image Credit: Abhay Makhija
The musical mood continued as the finals of the singing hunt ‘Mecca Idol’ were scheduled for the next slot. Post the prelims, nine participants from colleges like Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Kirori Mal, Maitreyi, Shri Ram College of Commerce, Miranda House and IIT Delhi performed in to a packed auditorium. The audience hummed along the Sufi tunes of songs like ‘nit khaer manga’, ‘lagan lagi tumse..’, ‘tere liye..hum hai jiye’ and ‘Roza’.
The first prize was won by Sarim Ali from Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College whose song ‘Teri Deewani’ had taken the event to new heights. The competion ended with a musical performance by Aria & Alankar – the music societies of Hindu College.
Featured Image: Sh. Pradyot, the King of Tripura. Image Credit: Abhay Makhija for DU Beat
One of the lively most events of Hindu College’s ‘Mecca’ was the ‘Nukkad Natak’ – The street play competition held on the concluding day of the three day long fest. The event saw participation from 12 Delhi University colleges including Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Shaheed Bhagat Singh (morning and evening), SGTB Khalsa, P.G.D.A.V, Daulat Ram College and Delhi College of Arts and Commerce (DCAC).
The competition saw budding college actors exhibit confidently and openly their feelings on serious issues like prostitution, weak judiciary, poverty and corruption.
The four hour-long competition was judged by Sh. Vipul Pachori, an eminent theatre personality from the National School of Drama. Team Kshitij from Gargi college bagged the first position for their play ‘Joota’, followed by a tie at the second position between Hansraj College for ‘Rehaayi’ and SGTB Khalsa for their play ‘We, the people’. Meanwhile, the third position was credited to teams from Lady Shri Ram College for their play Jaha neelam hai Insaniyat and College of Vocational Studies for their production Lajja. Mr. Pachori provided valuable feedback to all the teams so as to improve their future performances.
“The performance at Hindu for us, was our third one of the day. The crowd was amazing, and results have only multiplied our happiness and boosted the morales” said Gurjot Sidhu, a participant from Hansraj College.
The inaugural ceremony of Scoop- 2014, the annual fest of DCAC’s Journalism Department was graced up by the presence of ex-Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and senior journalist M.J. Akbar. The distinguished personalities were on campus to be a part of the panel discussion ‘Heads Up’ about Lok sabha elections 2014. The event that lasted for an hour saw the three time Delhi CM answer the questions asked by fellow guest as well as the audience, and simultaneously taking a dig at the Kejriwal government, and at times, even at the UPA – II.
On being questioned about the blow Congress faced on the Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections 2013, she attributed it to the eventual desire of people to usher change for sake of the change. “There was a sense of fatigue in minds of Delhites. People were misled by tall promises, which we couldn’t counter due to loss of public faith and several internal party reasons.” said, Ms. Dikshit. Replying to this, Mr. Akbar commented that democracy is not merely the right to vote, but right to change government, and if public doesn’t do it for long, it forgets how to. He also suggested to not to look in large of the crowd, but small of the eye.” A government survives till the eyes of public repose faith in them, when those eyes go blank, cold and questioning, the good days are over, even Jawaharlal Nehru didn’t survive the elections fourth time”, he added.
On being questioned about corruption charges against her government, she snubbed all the allegations on the pretext of clean chits granted to her by concerned investigating committees. Also, she stressed more on the corruption of idea, than money, which has supposedly become the new disease political system ails with, where in the public was induced by the bait of free water, pakka houses and guaranteed jobs.
Answering back on the shelved Janlokpal bill, and weak governance at centre, she said held the Central government complacent, and indecisive and guilty for not articulating what it wanted. According to her, “The need of the hour is a stable and capable government that creates a congenial atmosphere to hold debates to inject fresh ideas in system and push pending bills forward.”
Along with discussions, mostly political, the event also had several light moments. M.J. Akbar underlined importance of majority governments against coalitions comparing the iconic characters of Ramayana, where in the hero had one face, and the villain was ten faced. On being interrogated on tax payer’s money spent on advertisements , Ms. Dikshit alleged all parties including BJP to be doing the same, “…maybe you like Mr.Modi’s face more than mine” she jokingly added.
The Journalism department is also celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The event also marked the launch of their department news paper – ‘The Critique’ by the chief guests. The discussion was a cue to the two-day fest in the college, holding numerous events like quiz, football bidding and ad mad.
Unlike every week, instead of food cafeterias, restaurants and youth hangout places, this time we go to a different genre of places of Delhi, that are the living testimonies of India’s rich cultural heritage and glowing history; the places that’ve seen and survived the dramatic transition of Indraprastha to New Delhi.
One of such places is the Rashtrapati Bhavan of India. Located in the heart of modern day Delhi, the 340 acres palace is open for public viewing for the ongoing month.
The online booking to see the splendid Bhavan interiors can be done in available slots on payment of nominal fee on the website. Once the application is accepted, the desired visitors have to report at the Bhavan reception where groups are made, headed by guides who provide detailed information about all wings of the House.
The reception opens into the ‘Hall of Fame’ that carries the photos of all former presidents of India and a digital screen that showcases the activities so far in the two year reign of current president Sh. Pranab Mukherjee. Next is the Marble House that carries statues and paintings of famous English lords and viceroys. After this, the group is directed to the lavish Banquet halls where the dinner for foreign dignitaries is hosted.
Also in the sequence, are beautiful halls where the swear- in ceremony of Rajendra Prasad and Jawahar Lal Nehru took place. There is a special room full of gifts received by presidents in office from all over the world that displays lunar stones, the tricolor hoisted at Mt. Everest by Tenzing Norgay, silver embroidery blazer, flowers from Mahatama Gandhi’s last rites, gold sword and several other things.
There is a special room, centre of which divides the House into two symmetrical halves, standing in which is equivalent to standing atop India Gate (vertically, in height).
All this and much more, an amazing place to visit to taste the history, and explore a little about the past of India. It’s a beautiful, well preserved architectural specimen . Another excitement is the Mughal Gardens, known for the water streams running in all four directions and wide variety of beautiful rare blossoms like the Black pearl rose.
Go to view the scenic beauty and you never know when you end up seeing Mr.President waving at you from his balcony!
Ticket – 25 rupees per person
Nearest metro station – Central Secreteriat, Yellow line.
Instructions – Authorities don’t allow any eatables, water bottles, electronics, cameras, phones or remote car keys inside premises.
For further information contact – www.presidentofindia.nic.in/
Institute of Lifelong learning (ILLL), Sakshat Portal and Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) have shown University’s concern about spread of education and has further strengthened the belief that learning is not restricted to an age, or classroom or university but it is an all pervasive function, happening in all circumstances at all moments.
DU had been facing severe challenges due to quick multiplication of knowledge in the dynamic environment, outdated syllabi and learning material, lack of infrastructure and laboratories. To counter these challenges, University introduced the ILLL with major focus on teacher training, development of e- learning material and delivery systems, introducing innovative pedagogy and developing courses, content and curricula.The Institute provides a hybrid model for training the teachers, using a judicious combination of face to face exchange and web based delivery, made possible by internet technology. The Institute has been striving to develop state-of-the-art infrastructure to help students and staff to develop quality managerial, administrative and communication skills.
Virtual Learning Environment is a unique and innovative initiative of University to provide innovative content for foundation/ discipline & application courses in form of videos, links, MCQs, Quizzes and e- labs. It also offers work opportunity as interns/ fellows for students and faculty, content writers and technicians to provide cutting edge technology in integrating classrooms across all locations. Both print and online content is available for numerous courses in both English & Hindi with aids from experts and technicians [like http://vle.du.ac.in/mod/tab/view.php?id=9779 for Commerce FYUP]
It also seeks to identify the role of various target groups involved in imparting education and build up a data base of information made available in self-instructional interactive packages for the program ‘Train the Trainer’
The details for application for fellowship can be checked at – http://illl.du.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/Fellowship%20add.pdfImage Credits: www.raghwendra.comAnother program of ILLL, Sakshat – the National Mission Education is a momentous opportunity for all the teachers and experts in the country to pool their collective wisdom for the benefit of every Indian learner and, thereby, reducing the digital divides.
The content however limited yet, the very idea university going online for the benefit of students and staff is being warmly welcomed and the graph is expected to rise to great heights. For further detailed information log on to http://vle.du.ac.in/]]>
