Lady Shri Ram College for Women organised the first Manohar Shyam Joshi Memorial Lecture in the college Auditorium on the 8th of August 2013. The lecture by Mrinal Pande, Chairperson, Prasar Bharati on the “Art of Story Telling in India” witnessed a packed auditorium and was attended by esteemed academicians along with the family of Late Manohar Shyam Joshi.
For those of you who might be unaware, Manohar Shyam Joshi was the writer who penned down the first Hindi soap opera of Indian Television – “Hum Log” and the popular “Buniyaad”.
Dr. Bhagwati Joshi, wife of Manohar Shyam Joshi formerly worked as a lecturer at LSR. Paying remembrance to his great work, the college organised the lecture.
The lecture by Mrinal Pande touched upon the story telling traditions in India stating that stories in India exist as a duality of entertainment and information. She also said that often it is ‘irony’ that creates the magic in stories. Further, the discussion delved into censorship where she stated the existence of state censorship and self-censorship. While the former can be fought against, it is the latter that is more harmful. Taking instances from Premchand’s Godan, Folk lore in Buddhism and Manohar Shyam Joshi’s work, the lecture engaged well with the diverse audience. The lecture was a multi-lingual one with the guest comfortably switching between Hindi and English and quoting Sanskrit shloks.
LSR’s much loved KK (Kasturi Kanthan ma’am) shared an experience of her interaction with Manohar Shyam Joshi. The event ended with a short movie made by a first year student on Manohar Shyam Joshi and an address by the family of the writer.
Image Credit: Nalini Prasad
Lady Shri Ram College is one of the first colleges in DU to hold its college elections, and this year, the elections began in a hurry as the date for the college day was declared late. The department elections began on Monday, 1st April with the candidates submitting their nomination forms. Elections for some departments were held on 2nd; whereas other departments had their election on 3rd. Strict rules for elections were laid down. According to the rules, any candidate found campaigning through internet or SMS would be immediately disqualified from the elections.
On the 2nd History Department held their elections, whereas other departments like Political Science, Statistics, Philosophy, Economics, etc. held their elections the next day. All candidates needed a third year and a second year to nominate them, and one could see frantic first years running around asking seniors to nominate them and read their agenda. According to a first year candidate running for the post of Department Treasurer, ‘contesting the elections has been a whole new experience for me altogether. I have learnt through my research about so many problems that the students are facing, especially when it comes to accounts, and I hope I can create a more transparent accounts system for my department in case I get elected.’
The following candidates were declared Presidents of their respective department Unions:
Amanjit Kaur: Sociology
Vaishnavi Singh: History
Srujana Yadav: Political Science
Prerna Kannan: Statistics
Charvi Kain: Economics
Gurman Bhatia: Journalism
Image: Sapna Mathur (
While reckoning the grandeur displayed by lustrous posters donning the NSIT campus, I seldom pondered upon the impact that a debating fest might have on me. Colloquium, the first ever debating festival organized by NSIT College, kick started its first day with a stimulating panel discussion with eminent guests who had the faith to write the scripts of their own lives. The luminaries included renowned authors, Ashwin Sanghi and Ira Trivedi, the versatile dancer and activist Mallika Sarabhai and the erudite social scientist and political ecologist, Dunu Roy.
The event was host to immense motivation that stirred through the air, as each panelist unraveled the story of their dreams and destiny. As rightly worded by the host college, the life stories of these luminaries fit the saying, “square pegs in round holes” as copiously as it could. Each one of the panelists inspired the audience to carve out the best in themselves and have the fortitude and courage to pursue their passion. The panel discussion addressed many questions in the students’ best interest, like whether the Indian education system cripples or enables the youth to follow their dreams, what the role of a mentor is in every individual’s life, why reasoning is essentially important, and how one needs to balance the weights of societal pressure and one’s true passion. It evoked statements like, “Even the greatest equations have unknown variables”, by Ashwin Sanghi, which inspired each in his audience.
The next event was a conventional debate on the motion ‘This house is a frozen fire’, exposed to interpretation by the participants. There were in all twelve participating teams which included colleges like Hansraj, LSR, SSTB Khalsa and more. Worthy arguments sprung up during the course of this debate, battling to justify their interpretation of the topic. Some of them drew analogy of this motion to patriarchy and critiqued polarisation of sorts, others drew parallel to human emotions. The best team was awarded to LSR represented by Vanshika and Mayanka. The Best speakers were Parash from Hansraj and Isha from DTU. The best interjector was awarded to Divya from Venkateshwar International School.
Poornima Kharbanda
