Disclaimer: Bazinga is DU Beat’s weekly column of almost-believable fake news!
The real reason for Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation as Delhi’s Chief Minister has finally been unearthed. He is set to become the new Vice Chancellor of Delhi University. Kejriwal wanted to target the youth and wanted to bring about change in the nation. He has now discovered the perfect way to do so by directly associating with the students and grooming them to make India a better nation. Party sources confirmed his appointment as the Vice Chancellor and he will be taking over from the next semester.
Kejriwal is set to revamp the education system of the University by introducing several new diploma courses. Some of them are based on how to do a sting operation and learning to stay hungry for several days for fasting purposes. He is also set to introduce a post graduate course called Master of Dharna Management. It will be a full-fledged two year program. Apart from this he will add Muffler Designing as a mandatory subject for under graduates of all courses as a recreational activity.
He believes that if every individual in the country has the basic training of conducting sting operations, it would help catch many corrupt officials and students are the best place to start. As a believer of peaceful protests he aims to teach students how to respectfully defy authorities to get their own way in life. An Aam Aadmi Party official said that these courses are as important as values and ethics and hence, need to be instilled into students from the very beginning.
This is just the beginning and a lot more is yet to come. It will be interesting to see how many well educated well trained anarchists come out of Delhi University after spending four years under the Kejriwal regime and what they make of the nation.
Disclaimer: Bazinga is DU Beat’s weekly column of almost-believable fake news!
A rock night with Papon and the East India Company, a night full of dance with DJ Nucleya of Sunburn fame and Mohit Chauhan’s voice to wrap-up the three day fest – major events at Mecca 2014 in one line.
Along side elaborate crowds in the evenings, the fest was also rife with food and several informal events.
The Annual festival of Hindu College, Mecca started on 20th February. Deputy Commissioner of Police, S.P.S Tyagi, was invited as this year’s chief guest for the opening ceremony. The topic for this year’s festival is “Brilliant Bharat”, celebrating the cultural diversity ever present in Hindu as well as an emphasis on uniting these feelings of brotherhood. Following this formal commencement of Mecca, the cultural show kick-started with a semi-classical dance performance by the Indian Dance Society, Adrita. This was followed by another enthralling performance, with Iskcon mustering heavy support as their Hare Krishna Mahamantra (Search for Happiness) were chanted and danced to by the engaged audiences.
Angaraag Mahanta who is more famously known to us as Papon performed at Hindu’s Rock Night along with his band East India Company on the first day of Mecca 2014. A large crowd turned up cheering as Papon stepped on the stage and took a hold of his mike. He started the performance with songs like Khumaar (performed by Papon in Coke Studio) which talks about how a guy is passionately in love with a girl but has to spend a difficult day waiting for the night to come when he can see her.
He also sang many of his more famous songs including Dinae Dinae, Kaun mera from the movie Special 26, Kyon from Barfi! And Jiyein kyun from Dum Maaro Dum. However, what really got the crowd going were Papon’s little quirks and jokes as he explained the meaning behind his songs and how in life everything figures out in the end and you find what you are supposed to be, like he did despite being a college dropout.
The second day of Mecca 2014 saw Nucleya take over the stage in collaboration with MTV Indies. Performing for the first time in Delhi University, Nucleya kept the audience on their feet for almost an hour long set. A bass heavy electronic artist from New Delhi, he played all his major hits including StreetBoy, Akkad Bakkad, Bangla Bass and also a remix of Bollywood tracks like Dum Maaro Dum and the Sound Trippin produced Tung Tung, which the audience enjoyed immensely.
After the first day that featured Papon and the East India Company, the closing act of Hindu College’s Annual fest Mecca 2014, was all about Mohit Chauhan.
The popular singer of Silk Route fame, came on stage at quarter to six and the crowd went crazy. He started the concert with his Rockstar single, ’jo bhi main kehna chahoon’. Even in the first song, he made sure to interact with the audience making them go ‘ya ya ya’ in order to match the lyrics. Maintaining the romantic mood of the song, he went on to sing ‘Kuch khaas hai’ and then Yeh dooriyan followed by Tum se hi from Jab We Met.
Oodles of food
So many performances and so many activities do definitely leave our stomachs growling a bit. However, the numerous food and beverage stalls at Mecca indicate that the coordinators of the event had already foreseen such hunger. Making it an essential condition to avoid the embarrassment of Mecca 13’s lack of food joints, the Organising Committee seemed to really prep up the event this year around.
The cluster of food stalls in and around the Cricket Tree (C-Tree) had been converted into one of the major hangout spots of the festival. From the street favourites, Bhel-puri and chaat, to extensive preparations of Kathi Rolls and Shawarma’s, to elaborate wholesome lunch meals, the food stalls seemed to offer something for everyone. Yes, there was ice cream, a variety of popcorn and ‘Bangs‘ of flavour as well.
Informal Events
Apart from playing host to several major competitions, Mecca also included some informal events to engage the heavy traffic present at the college. These events, such as Face Painting, Paintball and Lazer Maze brought out a lighter side of the festivities.
Lazer Maze, a beat-the-clock gaming concept by the Start-up company Ent-Innova, involved an intricate heist mission, with its simple design creating quite a buzz around the college campus. The organisers were pleased with the response, considering their respective events were held at the same time as the major competitions. Paintball however, did not get the desired response as the Hindi lawns remained relatively deserted throughout the fest.
Gargi College’s Kshitij with their Annual Production Joota. Image Credit: Abhay Makhija for DU Beat
First Position: Gargi College for Joota Second Position: Hansraj College for ‘Rihaai’ and SGTB Khalsa for ‘We, the people’ Third Position: Lady Shri Ram College for Jaha neelam hai Insaniyat and College of Vocational Studies for Lajja
Angaraag Mahanta who is more famously known to us as Papon performed at Hindu’s Rock Night along with his band East India Company on the first day of Mecca 2014. A large crowd turned up cheering as Papon stepped on the stage and took a hold of his mike.
He started the performance with songs like Khumaar (performed by Papon in Coke Studio) which talks about how a guy is passionately in love with a girl but has to spend a difficult day waiting for the night to come when he can see her and moved on to an Assamese folk song that joins into a Punjabi folk song explaining how the song was about how India is united despite its diversity and even though our diversity might pose problems once in a while it’s all right because while the rest of the world is black and white, India stands out with all its colours.
He also sang many of his more famous songs including Dinae Dinae, Kaun mera from the movie Special 26, Kyon from Barfi! And Jiyein kyun from Dum Maaro Dum. However, what really got the crowd going were Papon’s little quirks and jokes as he explained the meaning behind his songs and how in life everything figures out in the end and you find what you are supposed to be, like he did despite being a college dropout. He also introduced his band mate Jinti who is professionally an automobile engineer but now runs cars through his guitar followed by a demonstration by Jinti on the same.
Papon ended his performance with “Banao” and a Bihu song for all his Assamese fans.
Right before Papon came on stage another artist performed on the stage of Mecca 2014, Jasleen Kaur Royal. Jasleen who is a Hinduite, has been a participant on India’s Got Talent and is currently working with Parikrama. She sang songs like “Pani da rang”, “Iktara” and “Shaam savere”.
Director Imtiaz Ali and actress Alia Bhatt visited Miranda House College on 19th February for the promotion of their upcoming film ‘Highway’ which is slated for release on 21st February.
The programme started with the official trailer of the movie, popular songs like Pataka Guddi and Maahi Ve and a behind the scenes video of the movie being played. After that, Pratibha Jolly, the college principal officially welcomed them on stage where both of the stars talked about the movie and their experience while shooting the film. “I totally believe in girl power,” said Alia Bhatt while addressing the all girls’ crowd, “and Highway is true dedication to girl power.”
Open only to students of Miranda House, the event was followed by an interactive session with the students. The students asked Imtiaz about his life as a student of Delhi University, his journey as a filmmaker and his inspiration behind his films. Alia was asked about her debut film, her character in Highway and how much she relates to the character she plays in the film. She also sang a few lines of Ishq Wala Love from Student of the Year on popular demand by the crowd.
After the interactive session, Imtiaz and Alia gave away free music CDs of Highway to the students who asked the best questions. As a memoir, the college principle presented hand-dyed scarves to the guests.
With the end of the interactive session, a small competition among the cultural societies of the college was held, which was judged by Imiiaz and Alia. Anukriti, the Hindi dramatic society of the college won the first prize and was really appreciated for their expressive performance. The second prize was won by Ariels, the English dramatic society.
“The experience was extremely exciting and equally tiring for the film club. From controlling the crowd that went berserk, to running around trying to get small details like Alia’s green tea right, all of it was worth it for we had an amazing time doing it” said Namita Aggarwal, the Film Club president of the college. “The event went successfully and that gives me immense satisfaction” she added.
Gargi College conducted its Annual Cultural Fest – Reverie 2014 on 5th, 6th and 7th February. Under the tagline – ‘Dreams to Reality’, the three day fest was a culmination of various events ranging from dance, music and art. To top all, there was a last minute change in the Star Night and a delay in the Sufi Night due to rain. Here is a recap of all that happened at Reverie 2014.
The Inauguration
The day kicked off with the inauguration in the Auditorium. With Rajasthani elements of Kalbailiya and Ghoomar, the inauguration did manage to gather the hoots from Gargi students in the packed auditorium.
Choreo Night
Ten teams contested to win the top spots at ‘Cursive-iti’ – the choreo night at Reverie. With no pre-lims, the event was the closing act of day one. The judging panel comprised of Mr. Firoz Haider and Mr. Himanshu Sharma.
The home team from Gargi College was also the winning team, with their performance themed on ‘Astitva, the search within’. Kamala Nehru College’s Adagio performed ‘Trip- Is it worth it?’ and earned the second spot. The third prize came in the kitty of Hansraj College’s Terpsi Chorean for the performance ‘The oomph!’.
An excited Kanika Joshi from winning team, has the following to say, “To achieve something we have never achieved before, we had to do something completely different. We believed in ourselves and let the dance win! Cursive-iti has always enjoyed the most amazing reception and the best teams from across DU. And we won! But I also really liked Hansraj’s performance.”
Hosted by the students union of Gargi College, the second day of the three-day college fest, Reverie had to culminate with the performance of Coke Studio artists – Adi and Suhail. Just when the spirits were soaring, it started to rain at the venue. Though nominal, it ended soon only to start again after sometime. The fluctuating feelings could be seen among the crowd, just when Gargi College’s music society decided to sing some fillers inside the tent where rain was not a problem.
Their performance was accorded with a huge cheer and also gave a ray of hope to the Coke Studio-wallaswho then decided to do the same and perform under the tent. In Adil’s own words, “This is the coolest gig we have performed in our life”. As soon as the crowd heard this, they went beserk and repeatedly applauded for the professional singers and instrumentalists. The duo performed several sufi melodies, including the famous ‘malhar’ and ’ranjha’.
Star Night with Neeraj Shridhar
Nothing could have been more befitting than the musical adieu, that the final day got with the presence and performance of famous singer, lyricist and music director Neeraj Sridhar. Neeraj who is known for his peppy numbers in Bollywood for almost a decade now, successfully got the audience’s eye and appreciation irrespective of him being roped in at the moment due to Arijit Singh’s ill health.
The celebrity began the concert around 7: 30 p.m. when the ground roared several people cheering and shouting for the star of the night. Starting with the famous peppy numbers like ‘Hey Baby’ , ‘Chor Bazari’ and ‘Prem ki naiyya’ he went on to the recent most awaited chartbusters like ‘tum hi ho bandhu’. Not only did he interact, but also shared interesting stuff about the making of songs and behind the screen happenings which audience enjoyed as well.
Best Play: The Private Ear (Ramjas College) Best Direction and second Best Play: Black Comedy (SRCC) Best actor: Shared by Kabir Ahmad (SRCC) and Dhruv Sirohi (Ramjas). Special Mention (Acting): Gagan Arora, Shaheed Bhagat Singh (evening)
First Position: Rahul and Kshitij from Sadhna Sangeet College (SSC) Second Position: Kshitij, Saptak and Prateek from Hans Raj College Third Position: Miranda House and Jesus & Mary College
First Position:Gargi College Second Position: Shri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College (SGTB Khalsa) Third Position: Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce (SGGSCC)
Cursive-ity: Choreo
First Position: Gargi College Second Position: Kamala Nehru College Third Position: Hansraj College
First Position: SGTB Khalsa College’s We, The People Second Position: Guru Gobind Singh College’s Chidiya ki Kahaani Third Position: Kirori Mal College’s Company Raj
Overacting
First Position: Nishant, Sulabh and Sanchit from Maharaja Agrasen College Second Position: Akshat, Satyam, Rahul from PDGAV Third Position:Devesh, Akshay, Rahul from Maharaja Agrasen College
Poster Making Competition
First Position: Kunal Singh from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College Second Position: Sandeep Gupta from Ramjas College Third Position: Anjali Bokaria from Gargi College
Conventional Debate
First Position: Sidhant Shekhar and Aiman Anjum from Deshbandu College Second Position: Sushmita Singh and Meghna Acharjee from Gargi College Best Interjector: Bhawna from Lady Hardinge Medical College.
First Position: Ritu Singh from Gargi College Second Position: Pratibha Pathak from Satyawati College Third Position: Suruchi from St. Stephen’s College
Rangoli Competition
Winner of the Second Position at the Rangoli Competition
First Position:Chahat and Swati of Keshav Mahavidyalaya Second Position: Ekta, Neha, Nisha and Sonia of Janaki Devi Memorial College
Western Music (Choir)
First Position: Lady Shri Ram College for Women
Second Position: Jesus and Mary College
Third Position: Kamala Nehru College
Western Music (Solo)
First Position:Hanita Bhambri, SSCBS Second Position:Shubham Mahajan, SSCBS Third Position:Tie between Lalmuanpuii, SRCC and Yamini Joshi, KNC
Maharaja Agrasen College organized its 2nd National Student Academic Congress on 6th and 7th February, 2014. While the theme of last year’s congress held in March was “Educational Reforms – The Way Forward”, the discussion this time was focussed on “Power of Ethics”.
The two-day conference was inaugurated by Prof. Sudhish Pachauri, Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi in the presence of Dr Sunil Sondhi, Principal, Maharaja Agrasen College who said that such conferences serve as a great opportunity for the students to not just compete with one another but also to increase their knowledge by listening to the views and suggestions of others. Prof. Pachauri in his address spoke at length about the recent reforms at the University of Delhi. He reiterated the need for holistic development of students which skilfully integrates mind, body and heart.
Not just students pursuing graduation and post-graduation, even research scholars and school-going students submitted paper presentations on topics like Life Management & Gita, Morality in Education, Globalization & Relevance of Gandhi, Role of Media in Raising Women-Centric Issues and Impact of Kashmir Conflict on Women and Children. 65 research papers were presented by students from Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Delhi, Mumbai University and Jamia Milia Islamia.
Principals of Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women, Atma Ram Sanatana Dharma College and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies judged the congress which was spread over 4 sessions. The two- day event came to end with the distribution of certificates to the winners during the Valedictory Session which was chaired by Prof. MM Chaturvedi, Director, Cluster Innovation Centre,University of Delhi.
Hosted by the students union of Gargi College, the second day of the three-day college fest, Reverie had to culminate with the performance of Coke Studio artists – Adi and Suhail. Crowds had flocked in numbers and the stage was all set for the much awaited performance. Just when the spirits were soaring, Zeus decided to put a cap on all those. Yes, it started to rain at the venue. Though nominal, it ended soon only to start again after sometime. The fluctuating feelings could be seen among the crowd, just when Gargi College’s music society decided to sing some fillers inside the tent where rain was not a problem.
Their performance was accorded with a huge cheer and also gave a ray of hope to the Coke Studio-wallas who then decided to do the same and perform under the tent. In Adil’s own words, “This is the coolest gig we have performed in our life”. As soon as the crowd heard this, they went beserk and repeatedly applauded for the professional singers and instrumentalists. The duo performed several sufi melodies, including the famous ‘malhar’ and ‘ranjha’.
The Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) at Delhi University had recently launched a new course in Media and Communication. The closing ceremony will be held tomorrow, on the 5th of February in the presence of the Registrar of Delhi University, Ms Alka Sharma.
25 students from CIC had been selected for this course. The course was a 10-class, or a 30-hour credited programme that was instructed by Brij Bakshi, the former Additional Director General at Doordarshan, joined by Gouran Dhawan Lal as senior faculty and Mike Pandey, a green Oscar winning wildlife film maker, L V Krishnan, CEO, TAM Media Research and Ashok Raina.
The aim of the course was to improve presentation and communication skills of the students while giving them knowledge about various aspects of media in an interactive manner. A wide range of topics including environment and wildlife programming, understanding TRPs, art of video editing were covered.
Sahil Mathur, a B. Tech student who participated in the programme said, “This course allowed me to understand various facets of media, from film making to editing, from technology to understanding how to present an idea to an audience. The course has made me much more aware in the field of media and communication.”
The Supreme Court of India, which is considered the ‘final guardian and interpreter’ of the Indian Constitution sent shock waves across the world as it overturned the judgement of the Delhi High Court(2009) which declared Section 377 unconstitutional. The SC verdict infringes the ‘right to life and personal liberty’ that the Constitution of India promises to each and every citizen irrespective of their place of birth, caste, creed, religion, race or sex.
The SC’s move has moved all spheres of society, Delhi University being no exception. Enactus Ramjas, in collaboration with NGO ‘NAZ Foundation’ plans to start an online petition to restore the rights of personal liberty to the LGBT community. They also wish to forward the demand for withdrawal of the judgement criminalising sexual intercourse between same sex people.
In order to muster maximum support from the youth of DU, a Facebook page in name of ‘E-queer-LIBRIUM’ has been launched that works towards sensitisation towards the gay community. The group provides a platform to reflect the voice of discriminated and reach out to the concerned authorities. Not only is Enactus Ramjas supporting the LGBT community in their legal battle for equality and justice, but also the members have started an innovative plan called – ‘TransCreations’ where the transgenders are given an opportunity to work in the jewellery designing project of Enactus Ramjas. The jewellery designed is then sold online, in college fests and in select jewellery shops as well. “The workers are thus guaranteed an alternate respectable income, which is a small step towards making them socially acceptable, independent and strong.” said Robin Kumar, President, Enactus Ramjas.
Thus, while the fate of this minority group hangs on a loose thread, it is important for us to observe solidarity and create an atmosphere conducive to each and every member of the society.
In a performance that lasted a whole of 10 mins, Akshay Labroo and Nikhil Saha of Ramjas College delivered speeches that made them the winners of a one-week sponsored tour in the UK, which includes visits to historical sites, academic institutions, cultural events along with peer group interactions. The Great Debate, organised by the Delhi University in collaboration with The British High Commission was witness to participation of 46 teams of the 54 that registered.
In an interactive session on 8th January,2014 at the the British High Commission, Paul Rennie, Head of Political and Bilateral Affairs released the motions for the debate to the participants while , the coordinators of the debate Ms. Suchitra Gupta and Ms. Sumitra Mohanty explained the rules and regulations . Present at the event was Ms. Priti Patel, Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom who encouraged the participants to visit the country.
The debate was divided into two rounds with the first being held on the morning of 9th Jan, 2014 and the final at 3 pm at the Viceregal Lodge, University of Delhi. The five teams that made it to the finals were Dayal Singh Collge, Janki Devi College, Miranda House, Ramjas College and Sri Venkateshwara College. The teams debated on the motion, “This house believes that it is the best time to be young” and were judged by a panel of eminent judges including Ms. Ktty Tawakley, Deputy Head Press and Communications and Mr.Stephen King,General Manager Virgin Atlantic which had partnered with The British High Commission to sponsor this debate.
The Vice Chancellor Mr. Dinesh Singh and Sir James Bevan, UK High Commissioner joined the participants a little later in the session. In his speech ,Sir James Bevan listed the top ten reasons on why an Indian student must choose UK as the place to continue their studies over its other competitors. As for the amount that goes into sponsoring a UK education he said, “Studying in the UK is not cheap. But in life you get what you pay for,quality costs money and the cost of a UK education is possibly the best single investment you can make in your own future”. In his speech the Vice Chancellor regaled the the history of debating in India with the example of Mahatma Gandhi and stressed on the importance of form and matter in a debate.
While everybody enjoyed the debate and the opportunity it presented,the participants were made to wait a long time before the declaration of the results of the preliminary round. At the feedback session, the coordinators were suggested to have an award or recognition for not just teams but also speakers individually, which they promised to include in the next season of this debate.The organisation of the programme under Pradyumna Bora was well performed and managed to resolve issues of late participants and disqualification of a team timely.
