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BITS, Pilani Presents OASIS’15 – Around the World in 96 Hours

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papon

Enamored with love and luxuries, a delightful journey to the best cities across the globe was explored at Oasis’2015, the 45th annual cultural festival of BITS (Birla Institute of Science and Technology), Pilani, at the Pilani campus from 28th October to 1st November, 2015. With their central theme being ‘Around the world in 96 hours’ this voyage was toured by myriads.

The festivities began with a grand inauguration ceremony, where a symbolic ribbon cutting tradition was held, graced by the presence of the Director, Prof A.K. Sarkar and the Deputy Director, Prof S.C. Sivasubramanian to set the pace for an enchanting experience that lay ahead. A variety of remarkable stage performances by all the cultural societies of BITS along with a colorful panorama of fireworks display lit the spark for the coming transcendence of the world tour. The ceremony was followed by the sublime performance of an Israeli band, which included NirMotzeri accompanied by Yonatan Sharon on percussion instruments and Yanush Hurwitz on the accordion, which left the audience mesmerized by their soulful and hauntingly beautiful music.

Day one, thus, began with a beautiful battle of vocal wars in the solo singing competition of Andholika, and a dance extravaganza in Razzmatazz. The preceding events included the Oasis’ 2-on-2 Parliamentary Debate, a photography Exposure to make the world visible to the naked eyes and an Apt to Act to unleash one’s theatre maniac through spontaneous enacting of on-the-spot given situations in the most creative way.

Organized by Pepsi MTV Indies, the English Professional act featured an exuberant combination of Skrat and Dualist Enquiry. Skrat, is a three piece alternative rock band from Chennai known for their tight and electrifying performances, comprising of band members Sriram T.T, the vocalist and the lead guitarist, Satish Narayanan, the bassist and Tapass Naresh, the drummer. Followed by this performance was the act of Dualist Enquiry, a solo electronic project of Sahej Bakshi, a Delhi-based music composer who, is also known to have worked with electronic dance artists such as David Guetta and Fatboy Slim.

The campus was filled with the loudest cheers when it was time for the Street Dance competition to be held. An exciting Treasure Hunt was also organized with a goal to unearth a proverbial treasure chest by travelling the ‘world’ around us. The day ended with a spectacular display of mesmerizing musical performances in the classical group singing competition of Tarang.

Day Two of Oasis comprised of the event of Beg, Borrow, Steal for all the street smart students, which was met with most enthusiasm. The list of items was a unique blend of objects that were easy to find like a selfie stick or a dongle, and yet, some crazy stuff that were impossible to attain such as socks with golden snitches or Yaoi painting. The team ADP which showed unique creativeness by making a Hawaiian guitar out of thermocol, was the one that eventually won. The following events of the day included vocals workshop for singers, movie quiz for movie buffs, Metamorphosis which served to be a heaven for budding film directors, a Spell Bee and The Golden Gravity Show which showcased stunning aerial acrobatics by a Swiss Trapeze Artist. Preceding these events were delightfully melodic contests for all music lovers such as Swaranjali, displaying the depths of Indian Classical Music and Pitch Perfect exhibiting the extent of one’s vocal prowess through a capella. A bounty of knowledge was received through Skiller, the World Beatbox Champion 2012 from Bulagria and so was the true meaning of love and life through the movie screening of ‘Amelie’, a fanciful comedy of Switzerland. Dance Duels, a solo dance competition was also held which raved great reviews for all its performances.

Papon
Papon

 

Day Three included exciting events like Triathlon, a mind-boggling test of wits and strengths, Tandav, a classical dance competition and a writer’s paradise in The Oasis Reading Session for all closet poets. The much awaited night of supreme pleasure and elevated spirit levels had finally arrived with the amazing acts of Sunburn’s Zenith and Shaan and Russian Hard Rock Sofa’s electrifying performance which left the crowd grooving on both feet in no time and longing for more and more with each passing moment. Mr. and Ms. Oasis, a contest for the hunt of the most talented and charismatic male and female personality of Oasis made everyone stay up all night in the cold just to hear the final results. In the midst of the decisions being made by the judges, the audience was also rewarded with a visual treat of Sonya Nakti, a belly-dancing-fire-spouting performer who, surprisingly, enthralled high amount of cheers from the tired audience even at three in the morning.

The Last day of Oasis was celebrated at the N2O Comedy Show with Biswa, Utsav Chakraborty and Daniel Fernandes who made the crowd roar with laughter till the point they could laugh no more, making everyone forget their worries. In the end, the beautiful Lantern festival made the sky gleam brightly from the farthest distance, with smiles spreading from one face to another thereby creating a perfect end to a perfect festival.

Therefore, it can be said with certainty that there were beautiful memories made for every person to take home during this extraordinary Oasis of ninety six hours.

List of Winners for the above mentioned competitions:-

  1. AND MS. OASIS:-

Kushal and Ashmita

ANDHOLIKA:-
Western Andholika-
1st -Male: Paritosh Pande from Vivekananda Insitute of Professional Studies, IP University.
1st– Female: Shradha Kapoor from Pearl Academy of Fashion

Eastern Andholika-
1st– Male: Lakshya Sachdeva from Vivekananda Insitute of Professional Studies, IP University
1st– Female: Harleen Kaur from Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce

TANDAV:-
1st– Priyanka from Lady Shri Ram College for Women
2nd – Shonan from Lady Shri Ram College for Women

PITCH PERFECT:-
1st– Miranda House: Aishwariya Kukrety, Anukriti Singh and Emily Ralte
2nd– Lady Shri Ram College for Women: Satwiki Adla, Anna, Faith and Bhavya

OASIS READING SESSION:-
1st– Prabhat Chaturvedi from Shri Venkateswara College
2nd– Kushal Jasoria from BITS Pilani

TARANG:-
1st– Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce: Rahul Bansal, Shubhankar Jain, Ekyum Singh, Harshit Kumar, Harleen Kaur, Harjinder Singh and Sidhanth Gupta
2nd– Sri Venkateswara College: Zaran Hashmi and Vibhor Sumon

APT TO ACT:-
1st– Sri Venkateswara College: Ananda, Sahir and Tanvika
2nd– Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College: Abhitanshu, Abhilash and Sanyam

METAMORPHOSIS:-
1st– Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology: Sarthak Malhotra, Suyash, Rajat, Mudhit and Dharamjay
2nd– St. Stephens’ College: Nirbhay Nitya Nanda and Rajiv Savio Herald

STREET DANCE:-
1st– College of Vocational Studies: Abheet, Puneet, Vikas, Gaurav, Divyanshu, Chetan, Raghav, Animesh, Rishabh, Yash and Aman
2nd– BITS Pilani: Vishal, Prabhatt, Kapil, Tanveesh, Prabhakar, Samarth, Palash, Srinivasan, Sourabh, Riddhi, Hitesh, Akarsh and Naman

 

Shagun Marwah

[email protected]

Image Credits: Chirag Sharma for DU Beat

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The Auburn Umbrella

5 Most Trendy Freshers’ Parties of the Season

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The Freshers’ Party is an adrenaline rush for every DU student. The post admission wait for the colleges to open, is more about the party rather than their choice of electives.

Students usually prep up and devote their time hunting for the best outfits that could work their way to fame at the Freshers’ Party.

They humbly abide by the rule of first impressions and dress up like there’s no tomorrow.

All the colleges managed to quench their bustling energy and excitement by organizing the best freshers’ parties for them. With an all-access pass to the sizzling most events, we at Wooplr too, tip-toed into every college doing some style search to spot the best fashion at Delhi University. As this ravishing season ends, we bring you the most trendy freshers parties of DU :

 

  1. Institute of Home Economics

‘Red for committed, Yellow for complicated and Green for single!’, when the theme itself spells out some noise, there needs to be no more validation whatsoever! To our surprise, more than 70% of the girls in the college were wearing red, and some also followed the odd combination of yellow and red to express their on and off relationship status. The stars of the party though were the members of the student union whose  style had us glued from start to end. What impressed us the most was that the girls at IHE did not just stick with the mainstream trend of ‘little red dresses’, but, were up for experiments of all kind. From jumpers to drapes, it was all well served on the platter. And, greens? Well, the universe has less space for singlehood, we think!

5FreshersParties_IHE

 

2. Lady Irwin College

You know a party when you see one, especially one where girls are decked up wearing heels and their pouts. But at Lady Irwin College, it was something else! It was about ‘literally’ letting loose and dancing their heart out. It wasn’t about first impressions but the focus was on just being yourself and having fun while at it. We spotted a handful of girls in maxi dresses, skater skirts apart from the usual crop tops paired with high-waist lowers. The girls here, do know the ‘current-world’ party ritual of staying casual yet classy, simple yet sexy! This effortlessly cool styling seemed to strike a chord with their seniors who were rather joyous than judgemental!

5FreshersParties_LadyIrwin

 

3. Kalindi College

Over the years, Kalindi College has made sure to revive the Indian hearts of the young girls out there and promote the theme of ‘Bollywood’. It was a great sight to see a bunch of young ladies draped in the most colorful and unique sarees. Sarees paired with interesting blouses, they surely showcased the richness of Indian wear. One cannot ignore the beauty of ethnic wear. There’s rap and hip-hop everywhere but there’s one thumka to die it all down at Kalindi!

5FreshersParties_Kalindi

 

4. College of Vocational Studies

It would be absolutely unfair for all the pretty senoritas, if we don’t tell them where the most trendy men are in DU. The boys at CVS did leave us amazed by their wardrobe choices. It was all about tight fitted shirts with ripped muscles, ankle length trousers, lusty loafers and classy suspenders. Dressed as gents just until the beat of the drums and they were simply Punjabi after that. They did not really feel the need of dhol, for, they’d ace their bhangra on any track. The girls took comfort in their trusted maxi dresses and LBD’s. The Debonair Divas and Jovial Gentlemen totally got our thumbs-up!

5FreshersParties_CVS

 

5. Maitreyi College

A college that is always known for its fashion definitely cannot miss out from our list now, can it? Maitreyi seemed to follow the mantra “My Life, My Fashion” which saw students stepping out in styles that suited them the most. The cutout trend seemed to be a major hit among the freshers this year. Be it cutout backs, crops or a peek-a-boo of their curves, they were surely very comfortable in their skin. The highlight, though, were the feather earcuffs that we noticed added charm to a majority of the looks! The seniors here looked no less than the newly entered freshers with their styling which tells us that the fashion tales only get better with every passing year.

5FreshersParties_Maitreyi

To find out the ‘rocknrolla’ of these smashing fresher’s parties, download the Wooplr app at the earliest!

 

This article has been provided by Wooplr.

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Jesus and Mary College

Recyclewala Films Presents Story Search Campaign with Sohum Shah at JMC

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The Panorama Film Appreciation Society of Jesus and Mary College, in association with Recyclewala Labs, organized an interactive session with critically acclaimed Actor-Producer Sohum Shah to spread recognition of the National Level Story Search Activity campaign, on 28th October, 2015, at 1 pm in Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University.

Sohum Shah, who’s known for his exceptional production of films such as ‘Ship of Theseus’, ‘Gulaabi Gang’ and ‘Newborns’, conveyed how “every little spark of idea holds immense importance while writing scripts”, and that, “it’s mostly an overflow of different ideas which end up creating the unique soul of a movie.” He revealed the basis of his production’s Pan-India Story Search Activity which aims to encourage students all over the country to set free their stimulating power of imagination and submit their flood of ideas or accounts of interesting stories in at least five to ten pages, and unleash the hidden scriptwriter in them. An amalgamation of some of the best entries would then be taken into account and adapted into a movie, with great rewards kept in store for the selected writers.

Credited to the lively personality of Sohum, the students talked about everything and held back nothing. There was a buoyant exchange of ideas for screenplays and self-made stories by all budding writers. Discussions on the ‘likes and dislikes’ of different types of films and the wide range of changing themes that have recently gained popularity was a subject happily covered by all movie-buffs and Bollywood lovers.

A moment of sweet nostalgia was then triggered on being asked about his inspiration to enter the movie industry. “As a kid,” he recalled smilingly, “I was a die-hard fan of Shah Rukh Khan and his romantic movies, with my all-time favorite being Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.” He recollected being lost in his fantasy world most of the time, which he felt, instead of holding him back, as most of the people around him normally suspected, helped him move forward in life. He said, “It helped me create beautiful visions and ignited the spark of my imagination, through which I only learnt to create more realistic stories later. It also helped me to believe in myself.” He further declared that, “Without a meaningful degree of passion and love, it’s very difficult to sustain one’s dream.”, and so, “it’s only by constantly believing in yourself and in your dreams, that you can create means to fulfill them one day.”

On being asked what he enjoyed watching more- Parallel lines or mainstream cinema movies, he replied, “For me, the world is full of surprises. In fact, life is itself a surprise- a fascinating contradiction. Therefore, one must never limit themselves to any one range but enjoy all kinds of movies.”

In the end, he was only more than overwhelmed to achieve such great responses and ideas from the audience, and expressed that he loved each and every minute of their interaction. In reciprocation, he wanted everyone to catch his upcoming movie ‘Tumbad’, a fantasy-horror film which will be released very soon.

Featured Image: Recyclewala Labs

Shagun Marwah

[email protected]

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Campus Central

Maitreyi Launches 'Sociologue' and Talk with Prof. Rajni Palriwala

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With a vehement passion to take the discipline of Sociology beyond classroom levels and create a strong platform for change in the society, the Department of Sociology of Maitreyi College released its very first Newsletter- ‘Sociologue: Aao Baat Karein’ followed by a talk on ‘Why Gender? Need for Feminist Thinking’ by Professor Rajni Palriwala on the 27th of October, 2015, from 11 a.m. till 1 p.m. in the Seminar Hall of Maitreyi College, New Delhi. The programme began with a short speech by Dr. (Mrs.) Yamini Gautam, Vice-Principal of Maitreyi College, on the great value of newsletters in today’s times for disseminating information and spreading awareness on various issues around the world, which are otherwise left unvoiced. Professor (Mrs.) Maala was then, called on the stage to give a warm welcome to the guest speaker, Dr. Rajni Palriwala, who is a Professor of Sociology at the Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University. Her research interests include gender, kinship and marriage, care, citizenship, feminist theory and politics, agrarian and development studies and comparative sociology. She is also an eminent author of many novels and journals, some of which include Changing Kinship, Family and Gender Relations in South Asia; Planning Families, Planning Gender; and Marriage, Migration and Gender. [caption id="attachment_35899" align="aligncenter" width="767"]DSC_0101-001 copy Dr. Rajni Panriwala[/caption]   The event was followed by Dr. Rashi Bhargava, Assistant Professor and Editor-in-chief of Sociologue, who explained the true purpose of their newsletter, which was to initiate a platform for social discussion and dialogue, and to promote interactions and liberation of ideas on issues of everyday life which must be confronted, but are mostly neglected. A presentation on an overview of the whole newsletter was thus, demonstrated to give a brief on all the major Editorial features such as Feature Articles, Editors’ Choice, Department Updates, News Headlines, Reflection Box, and Letters to the Editor and Issue Specific Features which would include Stories/Poems/Reviews, Comic Strips/Visual Pieces and Food For Thought, built around one particular theme, every year. DSC_0162 copy   The entire team of Sociologue, including the Editorial Board, Creative Team and Publicity Team along with Dr. Rajni, Dr. Yamini, Prof. Maala, Dr. Rashi, Associate Professor Dr. Gopi Tripathy and Prof. Koyal were then, all, invited on the stage to perform the inauguration ceremony. Having run the theme ‘Gender Matters’ this year, it was crucial for someone as prestigious as Professor Rajni to address her few words of wisdom during the launch of Sociologue. She started by reminiscing her childhood days wherein she was surprised to observe that despite being treated equally in the arena of education, her family would always create differences among her siblings when it came to cooking, and every time, she would persuade her family into finding her a groom who could cook instead, a wave of laughter would fill the air. Growing up, she realized that such differences, which she earlier took as being natural, were in fact, cultural- that is, made by the world around us, and which have always been prevalent, ever since the times of Suffrage and the Indian National Movement.   DSC_0021-001 copy She explained that the reason “Why Gender?” is debated upon so much is because of the fact that people always took gender differences as being natural, especially in the dimension of work. She said, that, “People always required women to cook, take care of the ‘unpaid domestic work’ and become the bedrock of their families. They thought that women did all this naturally, and it was thus, considered as their ‘real job’. Even if middle-class or poor women did go out for work to subsist their family, they were still required to finish their entire household ‘work’ as well.” She then, emphasized that the reason why unequal treatment of women in the public sphere of education and employment is still very much prevalent in our society, is because our constitution has only acquired formal equality for women, and not a substantive one. She referred to the popular saying, “Personal is political” by justifying that our lives are deeply political as it’s all about the personal ‘power’ of a person, whether it’s men who may dominate their power over others or women who may succumb to the oppression of powers by others. She further elucidated that many women have now become victims of the ‘Stockholm syndrome’ which means that after being imprisoned or bounded by the dominant structure of the society for so long, women have started accepting such ways of life where they no longer feel the urge to break away. This is also one of the reasons why most of them do not raise their voice anymore and choose to stay silent despite being treated unfairly repeatedly by anyone. She also enlightened everyone with the fact that the equality which women ask for is not of being treated exactly as men, but of that in which men and women of all castes and classes must be different. She said that, “the idea of true equality does not call for exact sameness, but of enhancing and appreciating the idea of differences among them, and being treated with ‘equal’ dignity and respect.” She, therefore, encouraged all the girls to continue the fight against unjust treatment and to continue discussing such topics with those having opposite perspectives until they realize that they are wrong. According to her, there must be a very strong sense of collectivity and uniformity among women, or a need for Feminism, as the battle to remove all gender inequalities may be slow and hard, but will eventually bring about an epicenter of change. Shagun Marwah [email protected] Image Credits: Bayar Jain and Vibhana Kanwar, Members of Vista- The Photography Society of Maitreyi College]]>

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Features

An Initiative to Spread Awareness on Arthritis

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Arthritis affects over 180 million people in India, with 10% of arthritis patients being among the youth. Considering the alarming prevalence of this condition, Yogindra Malik, a 24 year old software engineer by profession, is leading a unique initiative powered by the youth to spread awareness regarding arthritis and its associated symptoms and conditions. Recognising the fact that people with arthritis face unique barriers such as high costs of treatment, and difficulty accessing medication, this initiative is geared towards reducing the burden of the patients and their families through a committed network of volunteers.

 

Personally affected by a number of sports injuries, Yogindra believes in the life-altering significance of disseminating information. “There is a definite lack of knowledge pertaining to arthritis, particularly among the youth. Awareness can help in preventing the condition from aggravating,” he says. Further, juvenile arthritis is a serious condition that affects thousands of children and their families in the country. Through this initiative, Yogindra seeks to facilitate access to resources and care for arthritis patients, by partnering with health care providers to ensure powerful health tracking tools and local resources to persons affected by the condition.

 

Through social media communities and fund-raising events, this initiative aims at bringing individuals with arthritis and their families together, to get the support they require while supporting others in need at the same time.

 

Yogindra hopes to involve the Delhi University student community in spreading trusted awareness in order to ensure timely intervention in the case of this debilitating condition. Students are invited to volunteer with this initiative or register as campus ambassadors, by sending in their CV to [email protected].

 

Image Credits: photodune.net

Abhinaya Harigovind

[email protected]

 

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Features

The Auburn Umbrella: 5 style tricks every DU girl should know

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For all the believers of destiny, it wrote for each one of us, three years, that were purely dedicated for a phase called ‘young and reckless!’. This phase starts when we enter the college and ends when we finally grow up to face the realities of life! While, in these years, we tend to do what everyone would do, behave like we are the coolest alive but, wear what we really love to wear. How others would think about your style is something that you will never pay heat to. And, that is how the humans of Delhi University, created a trend of its kind – Campus Style, the young, wild and reckless Fashion that you will only find in DU and nowhere else. What you might not know is that the girls here have their own Fashion secrets. How about we leak out some to you?

 

  1. SHIRT IT UP!

For the usual lousy days at college, the girls at DU prefer to keep it light. No! They won’t specially go for a casual shopping spree, they will rather sneak into their guy friends’ cupboards and steal their shirts. Checkered or striped shirts with rolled up sleeves and denims make a perfect free day college look for them. They might as well feel like dressing up sometimes, but, for the rest, they are absolutely in love with their shirts! So, if you’re DU lover, we are sure you have aced this trick by now!

 

2. JIFFY JUNK!

With due respect to the late nights and late wake ups, these girls still know how to sizzle up their look in a jiffy! They won’t give much time to their look, but, their Junk jewellery will be up for a save. A clump of bangles on one hand, a worn leather band on the other and the most pretty looking jhumkis has always been the perfect route to styling for them. And, the main reason why they have an undying bend towards street shopping is the junk jewellery that they spot from anywhere and everywhere.

 

3. POUT OUT!

Being in college, makeup would be the last resort for any girl. What makes them look sinfully stunning is their ‘no-makeup’-makeup look. Irrespective of all the essentials in their bag, you will find the most poppy shades of lip colors in them undoubtedly. One hot pink shade on their lips, aviators, and they are pout ready! But, if you think it’s all about being jazzy, let us remind you they are also in love with the nudes! Afterall, that is how they define campus styling. The main make mantra for these gorgeous girls is – ‘Pout out and K.I.S.S’, Keep it simple silly!

 

4. HELLO ARM CANDIES!

What intrigues us the most about DU is how these DU Divas have a secret collection of Bags in their trunks! From fringed slings, to spongebob backpacks to rugged leather bucket bags, you name it and they have it. The catch though, is that they honestly follow the bag bible and know it right when to carry which bag to complete their looks. For the skater dress girly look, they have their cute slings out while for the ripped jeans attire, they will hop out of their houses with their backpacks on! Unaware of this trick? You definitely need to get out for some bag shopping!

 

5. I’M FEELING ‘EM SHOES!

And, when you hear ‘after diamonds, shoes are a girl’s best friend!’, it falls completely true for a DU girl. They do know their shoes well! Among the massive amount of women traveling in metro, if you spot ladies in their quirky slippers, it goes without a guess that they are from Delhi University. ‘Opt for the easy way out, but, don’t forget to nail it!’ – is what they believe. Thong sandals are their regular summer flings and for winters, ‘oo la la!’, the leather boots are out! And hey! Don’t forget how toms became popular in Delhi! All credits to DU girls and their fun cravings!

 

The style secrets are out ladies, get going with these fun tricks and do tell us when all eyes are on you in your college. Think you can add to this list? Download the Wooplr app and reveal some of your campus style secrets! ASAP!

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DUB News

Start- O- Nomics 2K15: Start-up world decoded

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START-O-NOMICS 2K15, an event by the Economics Department of Dyal Singh College (Morning), Delhi University was held on 16th October. This event had everything which a budding entrepreneur’s mind craves – from the inspiring start-up stories to investment strategies, from the myth of glamorous life of start-up busted to getting an exclusive peek into the airline scene, from learning the perfect pitching to marketing strategies. And yes, a talk with a best-selling author!

This event was kick-started with an inspiring session with The CFO & co-founder Ms. Supriya Paul. She talked about the indisputable influence of others on career choices and urged the youth to break free from the shackles of societal norms to carve their niche in life. Further, she talked about the evolution of Josh Talks to its aim of making, “Inspiration accessible to youth”.

Next in line was Nikita Burma, Founder of The Blue Beans, a marketing firm for restaurants based out of Gurgaon. They are a rapidly growing marketing startup in the food industry. Nikita and her colleague, Shiva talked about the restaurant and food business marketing strategies. They went on to say that, “Marketing is not about stuff that you make but, stories you tell. Brands have stories and all successful marketing does is to make stories out of them.”

IMG_1595

After deciphering the marketing myths, Varun Malhotra, CEO and founder of EIFS, talked about smart investments and stock market. According to him, “Sensex and NIFTY is not a barometer for stock market but, for economy of India”. He urged the youth to start early as investors to live a financially secured life and gave a lot of advices regarding smart investments.

Finally, after a riveting session on investments came the time to meet India’s best-selling author, Preeti Shenoy. She started her interactive session with telling about her journey of becoming a ‘best-selling author’. Further, she emphasized on the importance of ‘reading a lot’ and ‘writing a lot’ in order to expand one’s views to become a good writer and storyteller. When asked about the must have qualities to become a successful author, she said that, “Only four qualities are there – persistence, fearlessness, accept being different and make peace with your personality, and lastly, have thick skin to face the criticism.” Her session ended with book signing.

IMG_1590

The next session was with Mr. M.S. Balakrishnan, Air India Director Finance (Retd.). He spoke on the present airline crisis and gave a detailed story behind the terrible failure of Kingfisher Airlines. Next up was an entrepreneurial talk session by Ranjeet Passi, a seasoned digital marketing professional and founder of SnapCape. He defined ‘the journey of a middle-class entrepreneur’.

Last two sessions were with Rishav Kumar, CEO and founder of University Express, and Sahil Baghla, CEO and founder of Bluegape. In their respective session’s they both took questions from the audience. Therefore, START-O-NOMICS 2K15 was a one of a kind event which gave the aspiring entrepreneurs a chance to have one-on-one interactions with the young successful entrepreneurs from different fields of – airlines, food, media, graphics, investment, app-development and an author!

Image Credits: Strobe (Photography society of Economics Department, DSC)

Nidhi Panchal

[email protected]

 

 

 

 

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Events

DU talks about Dadri lynching

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With the issue attracting multitudes of attention with every passing day, the Dadri lynching incident has been a subject of regret ever since it surfaced. The primary question in each mind is whether this is the kind of development and leadership India wishes to progress under. While communal tension is something that has always been existing in India, the exploitation of this tension to such gravity is what concerns everyone. DU i

The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) organised its Executive meeting earlier this week, where all members unanimously condemned the incident. The members expressed utter shock on the fact that the activities of the mob, which took away the life of that 50 year old man, were pushed by rumours that the family had eaten beef. The Association believes that this tragedy highlights the rising climate of hatred and tension across the nation.

Prof. Satish Deshpande, a DUTA member remarked, “I believe that under the present government, such incidents are not new. It’s the climate in which these incidents occur which is dangerous. The idea that the victim deserves such treatment is something of grave concern. The aberrational element is that the wrong people feel empowered, especially because of the fact that the government is not actively negating or condemning the incident. Strict law and order is needed to combat such situations.”

Areeb Mohammed, a student from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, remarked that incidents like Dadri should not be allowed to disrupt the communal harmony of the country. “We are a free and secular country and that is what I’m proud of. We should raise our voice against such incidents to ensure they do not happen again.”

Featured Image Credits: timesofonam.com

Arushi Pathak
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Features

Para-sports and overcoming challenges: In conversation with Sharad Kumar

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Sharad Kumar knows what it’s like to deal with the highs and lows of life. From being diagnosed with polio myelitis at the age of two which left him with asymmetric paralysis in one leg, to excelling in sports during his school years, he learnt how to deal with it all at a very young age. He was on a high after winning the high-jump title in Malaysian Open Para-Athletics Championship and had his eyes set on being a part of the 2012 London Olympics, but an unfortunate ban because of allegations of doping forced him out of competition for two years.

A graduate in Political Science from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, he went on to pursue a masters in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Sharad returned with a bang in the 2014 Para Asian Games at Incheon, winning the gold medal in high jump and also breaking a 12-year Asian Games record.

All set for the World Championship next month in Doha, Qatar, he talks to DU Beat about the importance of sports in his life, and his goals:

Q- Disabilities are hard to deal with, especially for a child. How did you deal with getting affected by it at such a young age? How much do you think being involved in sports helped you in this?

Ans: At a personal level, dealing with disabilities is not tough, but it is tough to deal with people who think of people with disabilities like they belong to a different category. Luckily, I was in an amazing boarding school where everyone was treated equally, and that made me do the same things that other kids did. I think sports activities are the best kind of therapy for any problem, not just disabilities.

2. What drove your interest in sports and motivated you to pursue high-jumping?

Ans: My brother was an amazing athlete. We studied in St. Paul’s School in Darjeeling where he was popular for being good at sports. He was an outstanding high jumper. His popularity compelled me to take up sports too. I got to know about Para-sports from my favourite teacher Mr. Dennis who had taught me right from my primary classes. He told me that I would do wonders in Paralympics after I broke my brother’s high jump record in inter school meets.

I was not allowed to take part in athletic events at the beginning because being new to the school and having a disability, but I still used to stand near the high jump arena and watch. I loved high jumping from the very beginning, from the first time I saw the event.

3. How was the experience of representing India and winning the gold medal at the 2014 Para Asian Games held at Incheon after 2 years away from

competing?

Ans: I very much needed this experience. The medal is getting me support from the government too. It feels like being wronged to anyone who is ignored and misjudged but I knew I would triumph, if given the chance. I am still living on the success of the Asian Gold medal, but my next target is the World Championship in Qatar next month.

4. You are going to represent India at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Would you consider winning a gold medal there your ultimate achievement?

Ans: Winning the Paralympic Gold medal is my only dream now.

5. Based on your experience, what do you think is lacking in the way Para-sports are treated in India? What all improvements do you think are necessary for more of our Para-athletes to be able to compete internationally?

Ans: Things were terrible 6 years back, but now Para-sport in India is gaining momentum. I think the future is bright for Para-athletes and their mistreatment will soon stop. The government has done a tremendous job by making Paralympic medals equal to that of Olympic medals, which will surely benefit Para-athletes.

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