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

Shaurya Thapa

Browsing
Bazinga

Bazinga – DU Prohibits Certain Clothing Items During Fests

By

The University of Delhi (DU) has released a notice which announces prohibition on particular items of clothing at all the fests of colleges in the university. Students have heavily criticised the move. Read on to find why.

In a notice released by the University of Delhi (DU) on Tuesday, 22nd January 2019, the authorities have prohibited specific forms of clothing to be worn during inter- collegiate festivals inside college premises. The notice was undersigned by the Vice- Chancellor, Professor Yogesh K Tyagi, of the varsity, and it has been applied with an official statement by the varsity, citing the need for ‘security, decorum, and civic entertainment’ at college fests.

Some of the prohibitions mentioned in the notice include “skirts/shorts 2 inches above knees, tank tops, off-shoulder shirts, muscle shirts, spaghetti straps, strapless tops, any clothing item (specifically, but not limited to t-shirts) with offensive statements (towards any religion, caste, creed, race, gender, and/or community).” The notice specifies that midriffs must not be bared in any attire, and ‘overtly baggy’ apparels are also not allowed because of weapons and other dangerous or objectionable items that may be hidden there.

Outraged, the students took to social networking platforms like Twitter to express their discontent. Popular comic and the host of web talk show ‘Shut Up Ya Kunal’, Kunal Kamra posted the following: “Hum fascist nahi hain, hum bas tumhara wardrobe decide karenge.” (We are not fascists; we will only decide your wardrobe). Niharika Dabral, a third- year student at Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC), stated, “In a time when the fight is to incorporate diversity of thoughts and identities amid our conditioning systems, the only real objective behind the regulation seems to be the jargon of sanskaar (values) and the need to fit the youth in a perceived picture of traditional, accepted values. Every other given reason is an excuse to disguise these motivations.”

In light of the college fest season being just round the corner, several protests and demonstrations have been announced to oppose the regulations. Students from colleges such as Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Miranda House, Hindu College, Ramjas College, and Hansraj College have shared on social media platforms that they will be organising a protest on Friday, 25th January at 5 p.m. outside the Faculty of Arts.

According to the students, the move is a violation of their freedom of expression, and they find the intervening regulations threatening to educational spaces. In a central university like DU, the regulations act as a curb on diversity and difference of opinions, forcing the students to modify their appearance – an aspect crucial to their identity – as per a believed value system.

Disclaimer: Bazinga is our weekly column of almost believable fake news. It is only to be appreciated and not accepted.

Featured Image Credits- Saubhagya Saxena

Anushree Joshi
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Arts & Culture

Hair to Stay: Men and Changing Hair Trends

By

It is a myth that beauty is an industry which is exclusively female. Men, in fact, see glory in their personal style and use their lovely locks to express themselves, and as an extension of their personalities.

Men and hair are often linked together in controversial terms, though history has been on and off about supporting the long, or fancy hairdos. In recent times, there was the concept of the ‘dirty hippie’ which umbrellaed the image of men decorating their hair, but even in the 21st century, there are some stereotypes associated with men fashioning their hair in a certain way. It is seen as something outside the unsaid social conventions. Seeing celebrities embrace gender-fluid style choices suggests that the society has modernised past the ancient stereotypes. But, at the grassroot level, the reality may seem a little different.

Seemingly unimportant things like young boys being mistaken for girls when they sport long hair, or grown men being bullied for putting too much effort into their appearance tells that we still have a long way to go. “I received hate and sexist comments when I started donning hair accessories,” says Vaibhav Tekchandani, a University of Delhi student. He goes on to say that he never considered it a big deal, and went on with it anyway. However, we firmly believe that there is no reason for men to hold back on expressing themselves, and really stand out in a crowd.

Be it sporting intricate braids, a man-bun, or simply covering your head with a cap, there is not a shred of masculinity that goes awry. On the contrary, it just verifies the point that you are your own individual and see yourself in a particular light. From David Beckham and Zac Efron to Zayn Malik and Justin Bieber in a beanie – they have all proved a point. Christ himself had long hair! It would be safe to say that we are entering an age where men are not shying away from adorning themselves. “I think we should keep experimenting with our hair,” says Ayush Chauhan, another student of DU. “Styling my hair with a bandana, or a headband makes me feel refreshed as a person.”

There are many ways men can style their hair. Headbands are especially practical for men with longer hair, because it keeps them away from the face, while adding a million dollars to the overall look. Secondly, caps and beanies always give that edgy look. Since we are still in the colder months of the year, woollen head-clothes should be the go-to option for boys to beautify themselves. If you are striving to achieve a cool, standoffish air, bandanas are usually the best option. Besides, it protects hair from getting damaged in the wind or the sun. Tying your long hair up is another option. Pinterest seems to be clouded by hairstyle tutorials for women. It doesn’t have to be that way. Men have the right to tie their hair in a ponytail, braid, or bun whenever they wish. Chauhan leaves us with the ending line: ‘Boys who decorate their hair are beautiful.’

Featured Image Credits- MenXP

Maumil Mehraj
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

Fire in Hansraj’s Chemistry Lab: How Safe are our Colleges?

By

A fire broke out in the Chemistry lab of B-block in Hansraj. The cause of the fire has been subject to multiple interpretations. No injuries have been reported so far.

The chemistry lab in Hansraj College’s B block caught fire today.The incident occurred between 12 noon and 1 pm, in the newly constructed Dr. Rathi’s lab located in the B Block of the college.With scattered debris, pungent fumes, ashes and some shards of broken glass, Dr Brijesh Rathi, a professor of Chemistry claimed that the situation was immediately under control with the help of vigilance of the students present. He also added that the disaster was averted because of the solvent chamber being outside the lab.

The alleged cause of the fire was electric sparks from a wire which resulted in a plastic tube burning, however multiple narratives have come up with some claiming a short circuit in the lab.A first year Chemistry student whose class was adjacent to the lab says, “We heard screams alerting others of the fire, we saw the fumes and were evacuated immediately from our classrooms”.Fire trucks and ambulances rushed to the scene immediately. No injuries have been reported so far. The students were reportedly outside the lab when the mishap occurred.

Witnesses present at the time of the incident declined to comment.The administration has remained silent and brushed it off as ‘another science experiment gone wrong’ showing very little signs of taking a firm stance.Dr. Rama Sharma, principal of the college applauded the students and the non-teaching staff for their quick actions. “We have had fire safety trainings regularly, the most recent one was in the previous semester. Even our non-teaching staff has been trained for fire safety. We plan on making fire safety programs mandatory for students in the future.”

Our correspondent was repeatedly declined permission to take pictures of the damaged lab citing toxic fumes but given the discrepancies related to the cause of the fire and the administration soft response, this raises the questions, are our colleges really fire-safe? Do they have a valid NOC? Are there adequate number of fire extinguishers in the colleges of Delhi University?Is our infrastructure safe?

Jaishree Kumar
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Arts & Culture

Celebrating Nothing: Nihilism in Popular Culture as the New Millennial Anthem

By

A critique on the criticisms of memes, shows and books about nothing.

In his widely renowned book ‘Shows About Nothing: Nihilism in Popular Culture’, Thomas Hibbis talks about how nihilism: an absence of belief in anything, has seeped into popular culture. Shows like Rick and Morty, movies like Fight Club and Pulp Fiction, suicide memes or people eating Tide Pods: all have an underlying intersectionality that says God isn’t real and life is meaningless. Not to be confused with atheism, nihilists believe that we are just spiritless inhabitants of a purposeless world.

People have tried to label this as something extremely regrettable, and blame the glamourisation of popular culture of a growing sense of disconnect and absurd existentialism among young people. Then again, most people who think so are also writing articles about how millennials are killing the movie business.

The truth is that at a point in time where education is rising, and students aren’t just passive absorbers of static knowledge, we are thinking about things. Most of us live privileged lives, and when we don’t have to worry about having a roof over our head or 4 square meals a day, existentialism creeps up. Why am I here? What can I do to make in impact? How do I ensure people remember me?For so long religion and philosophy have tried to answer these questions, and failed. Religion is riddled with dogma and restriction, Philosophy offers no solace simply because it’s too time consuming and needs in depth knowledge.

But why has this curiosity converted into a lack thereof: an acceptance that there are no answers? This is where I tell you that nihilism isn’t necessarily stagnating or negative. There have been a range of Ted Talks on a school of thought called Optimistic Nihilism recently, allow me to simplify. Understanding that the universe is too big to care about whether or not you eat that sugar loaded pastry, bunk that lecture, or finally confess to your crush, can be a good thing. If we have no predetermined purpose, if God doesn’t have a naughty and nice list, it means that we get to dictate our purpose. In other words, if life means nothing, I get to decide what MY life will mean. When I realize that I am responsible for everything I do, and am in control of what I do and why I do it, I live by certain guiding principles and I value my morality.

As millennials and Generation Z, the system has failed us. The American Dream is a lie, and we know that most of us are going to end up average, even our class topper with a perfect 10 CGPA. But average isn’t all that bad when you stop comparing yourself to Gandhi and take control of your thoughts. If you’re reading this article on your phone, you’re educated, you have basic facilities and life is good. You don’t have to be stuck in planning for the future, you can value your education, obsess about the perfect cup of Chai and cherish your student days. More so, keep up the meme making and pick shows like Rick and Morty over the same old uni dimensional F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

Feature Image Credits – Twitter

Nikita Bhatia
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
DUB News

DUTA’S Open Letter on Dilution of Quota by the Pillars of Government

By

As the Supreme Court ruling further attenuates the Reservation Rights of Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC), DUTA pushes out a letter to question the state of incompetence and wrongdoings.

The Supreme Court in the latest ruling on the reservation rights of SC, ST, and OBC for the appointment of faculty to college and university, has decided to water down from the 200-point system to the 13-point system. The latter system considers the department or subject (taught) as a unit, whereas the earlier system considered the university or college as a unit.

This decision has in turn simply stated made it so that OBC’s would be given every 4th position available in the unit, SC’s every 7th position and ST’s every 14th position, also in the case of small units or departments that don’t have for example 7 or 14 positions, no reservations will be created. The decision as expected has come to anger and agitate those working and prospective workers and has moved the hands of DUTA (Delhi University Teachers’ Association) who have written an open letter explaining how this ruling is absurd and harmful to the ‘Dalit Bahujans’ and is a step back into granting equal rights something that is taken to be the duty of the pillars of our nation. The letter in question was addressed to the Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar asking him to bring in a Bill/ Ordinance to restore the 200-point reservation roster on the basis of college/university as a unit.

The final steps that members of DUTA have decided to undertake is to organise a march on the 31st of January from the Mandi house metro station to the Parliament street, for what they call a step necessary to ensure deliverance of basic human rights.

Feature Image Credits- Hindustan Times

Haris Khan
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Arts & Culture

The Politics of the Gillette Ad

By

The Gillette commercial has divided opinion and provoked boycotts of the firm by some men. Is it really that offensive or just a sign of toxic masculinity which men keep on denying?

Toxic masculinity. You’re already so tired of reading and re-reading this phrase in every feminist piece of writing, right? Well, that’s good. People should make themselves aware of one of the main causes behind women getting killed, raped and mutilated every year.

The Gillette ad, which has been in the news recently talks about toxic masculinity. The advertisement features news clips of the #MeToo movement, as well as images showing sexism in films, in boardrooms, and of violence between boys and asking men in the end, “Is this the best a man can get?” The way men reacted to it talks lengths about the very prevalence of toxic masculinity in the society. Who knew that a shaving ad which is asking men to hold each other accountable could provoke such a negative backlash?

What are men exactly complaining about? They believe that the advertisement emasculates men. Others are screaming, asking to leave men alone and not jump in the “Men are trash” bandwagon. There are a few who are stating that it’s a marketing strategy by the company to monetise the #MeToo movement and basically, cater to an audience which is self-aware and demand that corporations take a stand on social issues.

Do you see the problem here? Why do I have a feeling that the men that are offended over this ad are the very men responsible for the things that they are being called out for? How can being asked to not sexually harass women on the streets threaten you and your manhood so much as to boycott the company whose products define your manliness? Is it too feminine for you to not be violent? Well, boys will be boys, right?

Of course, there are men who’re doing their best to make this world a better place. Even the advertisement is not denying this. Nobody expects men to let go of their presuppositions and their deeply embedded, social conditioning which time and again, makes them think that they possess more power and privilege over others, overnight. It takes time, but small steps are necessary in this direction. Educating yourself and listening to the women in your life is one such step.

It was time that somebody talked about it, publicly. Yes, this was an advertisement by Gillette to sell its products but it did start a conversation around positive masculinity. The world is paying attention, and so are you. Isn’t that the reason why you’re reading this article? Well, now you’re thinking about it and maybe giving a thought or two about your own skewered, toxic masculinity and Gillette’s shaving blade too. Mission accomplished.

Feature Image credits- Paste Magazine

Disha Saxena
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Arts & Culture

Roma and the World of Underappreciated Domestic Workers

By

Roma, the most honored film of the year, is turning heads and changing the public discourse around representation. The film puts into center, the unsung heroes of the functional upper and middle class families across the world, the domestic workers. It will break your heart and move you, so watch it to realise your privilege.

Have you watched Roma? You should, if you haven’t. Alfonso Cuarón’s intimate family drama set in 1970’s Mexico is a wonderful masterpiece and an absolute cinematic spectacle. It is a visual representation of a personal diary, a diary of Cleo, a young woman of Mixtec Mesoamerican heritage who works as a live-in maid for a white upper-middle-class family in Mexico City. Prepare to be emotionally moved and wrung out and re-think the way you look at people whom you don’t give a second thought to.
The film is shot in black-and- white with extraordinary clarity and detail, with its majesty and grandeur being communicated through the soft gaze and gentle spirit and vulnerability of Cleo. It takes place inside the house where a gated, open-roofed passage filled with bicycles, plants, caged birds and an under loved, but chirpy and enthusiastic dog named Borras is shown, time and again. Cleo and her friend Adela, the family cook, live at the end of the corridor in a tiny, cramped room, upstairs. In the morning, Cleo wakes the children; at night, she puts them to bed.
From each dawn and until long after dusk, she takes cares of the family who seems unable to function without her help. She serves meals, cleans and carries laundry to the roof, where she washes the clothes in view of other maids on other roofs with their own heavy loads. We see her as she works and also in ways that we don’t commonly see domestic workers, as she makes a date with her first love, exercises by candlelight at night, gossips with her friend, and experiences the most profound forms of loss imaginable.
In Roma, does Cleo’s daily trek to her modest rooftop room, away from the family’s home and her candlelit exercise sessions, the lights-out rule imposed by the family matriarch make you think? Of course, it does. You have seen it happen in your own home. Domestic work has been and continues to be associated with women’s work, and by extension devalued. Domestic workers, can in no way cause inconvenience to the family members. After all, she’s just a maid, right? She’s never fully human for you, maybe a person whom you see every day and take notice and get tensed on the day she decides to take a holiday. Sounds familiar?
How can we forget the emotional labor that’s expected out of Cleo, every time? She’s obligated to express emotions the way her employer wants her to, whether it be politeness, cheerfulness, and in the case of children, love and affection. Well, with Cleo her kindness for the kids is genuine; it comes across as heartfelt, and is returned. “We love you very much,” they tell her. But it’s back to business just a few scenes later, when they ask her to fetch snacks while they watch TV. Her responsibility to provide care places her within the family, and yet her role as an employee places her outside of it. Her relationship with her employer is both intimate and distant, and she is both vulnerable and powerful. Roma forces the audience to look at the world defined by a hierarchy of power and privilege, to look at the “Cleos” of our own world.
Can we ignore the fact that physical abuse and sexual harassment are common, and most full-time workers don’t receive benefits or savings toward a pension? There are no fixed working hours; domestic workers are always on call. There are no minimum wages and no right to safe working places. The entire sector is defined by poverty-level wages, high rates of abuse and few mechanisms for recourse.
This film might force you to look at the harsh realities of domestic workers across the world. Maybe, take a look or two in your own home. Have you ever looked at the woman who comes to your house to do your work or stays at your house to do your chores, all day long? No, you never because honestly, why would you care?
You have a lot on your own plate, and you believe she’s happy too. She seems like it. Take a minute to look at the nannies we entrust with small children, the house cleaners who bring sanity to our homes, and the caregivers who care for our disabled and elderly loved ones. It’s the work that our economy doesn’t recognize, because the people who do it live in the margins and the work arrangements are often informal.
And yet, it is some of the most critical work in our society — caring for what is most precious to us, our loved ones and our homes — and to our economy, allowing millions of people to work outside the home while the domestic workforce takes care of what needs to be done inside the home.

Featured Image Credits- Vulture

Disha Saxena
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Fandom

Infinity and Diversity: A Review of 2018 in Terms of Comic Book Movies

By

The Hollywood box-office is most familiar to two types of films: the comic book films and the non-comic book ones. Starting with a few superheroes in metropolitan cities, this cinematic genre covers just about everything now, from fictional countries and Titan villains to miniscule heroes, and alien symbiotes, the list just goes on.

As the celebrated critic Rajeev Masand says, “Remember how the end credits sequence in the first Iron Man movie, all the way back in 2008, hinted at the idea of an Avengers Initiative? Who would have thought at the time that this is what it was leading up to!” Even out here in India, youngsters might not be aware of who won the Oscar for Best Actor or Actress but they would for sure know that Chris Evans plays Captain America and Jason Momoa plays Aquaman.
“2018 for me like other comic book junkies has been the best year. My friends and I dropped everything in the middle of our entrance exams to watch Avengers: Infinity War,” Ayaan Paul, a first-year English Honors student recalls. He added, “I didn’t speak to anyone for the next 12 hours after exiting the hall.” That’s the massive impact
comic book films have on viewers. 2018 has been an explosive and quite a diverse year for the comic book adaptation
pantheon, with three releases by Marvel Studios, two from Sony (again in association with Marvel) and one each from DC and 20th Century Fox.
Rise of Diversity
‘Wakanda Forever’ is the battle cry that ushered in the emergence of Marvel, representing Black Panther. The film
went on to win critics’ and fans’ approval, and became the highest grossing motion picture with a majorly black cast. This surely was a strong move on Marvel and Disney’s (its parent owner) side as, of late, cinema has been marred with demands for more representation of minorities (or in basic terms, all non-whites). Even Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, the movie that closed 2018, has a black teenager, Miles Morales, as its lead web-slinging superhero. This showcases the possibility of Mexicans and/or Asians leading a superhero film on their shoulders in the near future.
Rise of the Women
Other than the representation of blacks, the representation that all critics complain about is an equal, and unbiased
representation of women. Thankfully, we are no more living in times of sexualised superheroines or damsels in distress. DC’s sole venture, Aquaman had Amber Heard (portraying Mera, the queen of the underwater realm of Atlantis) had almost as much screen time as the lead Jason Momoa. “I was not merely portraying a glamorous princess; the script required me to be a glamorous princess who kicks ass,” Heard remarked in an interview in early
November.
The July release, Ant Man and The Wasp, had the superheroine’s name in its title, and focused on not one, but on three major costume donning, power-wielding ladies. While 2017’s Wonder Woman, showcased female militias, a similar force was represented by Dora Milaje in Black Panther.
While actress Angela Bassett, as the Queen of Wakanda, was nothing more than a caricature in the film, brain and brawn were still represented by Shuri, the protagonist’s teen sister who is like a female Tony Stark, inventing all sorts of gadgets and gizmos. The Dora Milaje, a special forces team of bald and bold woman warriors, was responsible for serving the nation of Wakanda.
Rise of the Villains
If this year was about the women, it was also the year of villains. Superhero movies (especially the Marvel offerings) were known to have some well-developed heroes, which is not the case for the enemy characters. The beloved Loki, the God of mischief (who met a sad end at last year’s Avengers: Infinity War) is one of the exceptions.

However, this year, Marvel offered two strong characters, those of Erik Killmonger and Thanos. Killmonger is the son of a Wakandan slain by T’Challa’s (the heroic Black Panther) who considers himself the rightful heir to the throne of Wakanda. Killmonger is a smooth talking, physically powerful soldier, who has some practical plans to advance this fictional African nation but these conflict with plans of domination and massacre which ultimately make us root for the hero. Despite this, after watching the movie, he makes you question the means adopted to bring balance in the society, something which is further intensified with Thanos, the villain in Avengers: Infinity War
(Hollywood’s equivalent of the ‘Dewaangi Deewangi’ song from Om Shanti Om).

Thanos wants to decimate the populations of planets to half, to keep society in equilibrium, a way which some college Sociology students might call ‘Malthusian’. If you think practically (with no ounce of emotion towards fellow humans or cute dogs), it does seem like a realistic idea to control issues like overpopulation, global warming, and high cutoffs in the University of Delhi (DU). Here villains weren’t just insane baddies, but also individuals driven
by a purpose.
Rise of the Genre
The diverse nature of the genre was further exemplified with diverse emotions. While Infinity War was a tear-jerker with so many comic book sweethearts literally ‘fading off’, we had Deadpool 2 and Venom with their own brand of bizarre humour. Aquaman took itself lightly, while Spiderverse offered an exquisite blend of drama and comedy.
We got some good music (Kendrick Lamar’s raps from Black Panther), and some bad music (Pitbull’s horrendous verse from a cover of ‘Africa’ in Aquaman); diversity seeped in everywhere.
With no more sky beams shooting out of New York towers, we had underwater technology, a whole colourful nation
sheltered from civilisation, and an even more colourful parallel suburban landscape, with a couple of different Spidermen. Most importantly, the fanboys and fangirls who themselves come from diverse worlds, got the entertainment they asked for.
Whether you call it Western hegemony or comic book fantasies dominating over realities, these movies are one of the few things that can unite people from all over this planet, and truly save them.

Feature Image Credits: Amazon, Calender Club Co, Vox, ABPosters

Shaurya Thapa
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

Shoutout to My Ex-Society

By

A bittersweet rant narrative dedicated to all those who couldn’t stick to their college societies for long.

If you’re in your first year in the University of Delhi, eager to explore the circles of societies in this varsity, then maybe you should not read this. Well, chuck it, you can read my thoughts as I am bringing them out of my society for a reason.
As for my second- and third-year comrades, I hope some of you relate. Those who can’t, good for you and your co-curricular life. Now let’s cut to the chase and talk about a transition phase.
As the vacations end and year one of three in college commences, we all are filled with aspirations and ambitions. I was no Shakespeare but still a wordsmith above the level of an average Wattpad writer. Many were like me, dreamers in need of new dreams, and artists in need of new fields. And with a pocket full of these dreams and our college ID card, we walked to the different desks of different societies. Once those seemingly experienced, artsy seniors noted down my details, I felt fangs of nervousness biting my neck as I took some nervous steps to my chosen society’s auditions.
So many people and what new things do I have to bring to the table? Would this society be my first priority? Apart from my skills, I faced these questions in a candid interview which seemed like an arranged marriage scene in a Bollywood film. Of course, I answered to all these questions in the positive (even if I knew I am a youth who hardly can be committed to commitment). A few days later, I and the other lucky ones got the calls, and got the Whatsapp group invites; they were finally a part of an artistic clique.
Yes! I got in! ‘Thanks a lot for this!’ ‘I shall not disappoint you all. Thank you for having me!’ ‘*multi-coloured heart emojis*’, these were the Whatsapp texts that bombarded the society’s group. It might seem cliched but these messages showed our true emotions.
I began to attend my society meetings as the semester gained momentum. I learnt new tricks, made new friends and got a new vibe. The season of fests were fun and even if we lost, I still had this family to make memories with and hone our art to kick the other society’s butts next year (excuse my language as I got too emotional!). Then we got society tee shirts which I agree had some bizarre colour scheme and even more bizarre puns printed on it, but this was a marker of my identity with this collective. That meant a lot.
They say nothing lasts forever and my love story for my society started fading off way too soon. The sessions and meetings started feeling like a mere formality. The tasks began to feel like a compulsion and for some, it started being an epitome of repulsion. I am guilty for the fact that I stopped contributing to the organising work of the society as I just wanted to do my art and nothing else. I became self-centred in my art, hoping that others can handle the society work.
Ha! I was wrong.
For now, many others too became self-centred. You see our approaches to art might not be the same, but we are all a sucker for a solo spot under the spotlight instead of an open-air collective meeting under the sunlight. The attendance rate at the meetings was no longer high like the rate of petrol. The society was diminishing. At the coming fests, the other societies’ butts were intact. We hadn’t kicked them.
Then with the college year ending, the seniors bid adieu and it was time to elect new heads. However, these mundane society elections themselves spread a gas of toxicity which we all breathed. Factionalism was further deepened.
The heads had set up a somewhat socialist setup for the society i.e. equal worth for everyone’s work. So, no matter if you’re Lady Gaga or Lady Blah Blah, everyone began to be seen in the same light. Now I as an artist, am still finding my worth. It might be high or low but I know for sure, it isn’t the same as everyone. Sorry socialism but this equal worth thing isn’t suited for me.
Escaping from the sinking Titanic that my society had become, I went on my own boat to charter new seas. I got bigger platforms that recognised my talent, more internships, more gigs. It’s not smooth sailing but at least I’m not losing hope unlike me in my society.
Now that I have finished exactly half of my college life, that ‘excited Indian Idol contestant who gets selected in the audition’ vibe is no more. The Whatsapp texts from the society are mostly muted or left on read. The society tee is just getting damp in some murky corner of the wardrobe.
And to my society, if you are reading this, I’m sorry if I seem to be too blunt here but I can’t stick with you for long. I hope you’re still happy and keep on showing new roads to freshers or just build up the hope to show them new roads like you did for me. Maybe, the fault wasn’t in you but in me. Sigh! That’s too cliched. I can do better than that. I hope I do better than that.

Feature Image Credits: Rishab Gogoi for DU Beat.
Shaurya Singh Thapa
shauryat@dubeat,com

Keep Reading
By