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Shabana Azmi in Miranda House

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On 21st March, Shabana Azmi, the acclaimed Bollywood actress and famous activist visited Miranda House and held a discussion with young boys and girls about pressing issues like gender sensitization and women empowerment. The event was organized by the joint efforts of the Women Development Cell of Miranda House, Parivartan Gender forum of Kirori Mal College and NSS of Hindu College. As was expected, quite a large crowd turned up for the event.Although the boys were fewer in number, they participated in the talk and asked insightful questions.

The actress was late, as is usually the case with celebrities and the program which was scheduled to begin at 2, began at 3:20. The crowd cheered and clapped as Shabana Azmi made her way to the stage, clad in a white Anarkali suit and looking magnetic as she always does. She began by apologizing for making the crowd wait, defending herself by stating that she has come directly from the airport, without having even a sip of water and so she was hungry-to hear young minds speak. Her views about the recent rape case and equality of women impressed us all. She made it clear that ‘equal’ doesn’t mean ‘same’, equal means equality of opportunities, which is clearly lacking in Indian society and the change has to begin at home.

She also related many of her experiences that she had had in other countries as well as in India. She stresses on improving the attitude of the police and providing security to the victims so that they are spared the embarrassment and also to ensure that women can travel whenever they want, wearing whatever they want. Her comment on ‘item numbers’, that a song’s lyrics are no invitation to rape was another which received a loud applause. I was particularly affected by her observation about a course book of third graders, which says “where is the father? In the office. Where is the mother? In the kitchen.” She concluded that our society is taught this way, and change cannot be brought about in this generation, but that means that we have to keep working for it and raise our voice without giving up.

This was Delhi University’s efforts to fight violence against women. And I must say, Miranda house with all other organizers did a brilliant job in making it a successful one.

 

Aishwarya Chaurasia
[email protected]

Picture credits- Swadha Singh

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Campus Central

One billion rising movement at Miranda House

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There couldn’t have been a better time to talk about feminism. The entire country is angry towards the brutal gang rape incident, and for a change, women issues are being looked at without the prism of patriarchy. There has been a conscious effort on the part of the youth to change the misogynist setup that we have been living in since ages.

Today, Miranda House was host to one such event that was organized under the banner of ‘One Billion rising-South Asia’. The One billion rising movement aims to empower women across the nation to stand up against the world’s complete indifference towards the other half of the population of the world. This event attracted eminent panelists like Eve Ensler (The creator of “The Vagina monologue”), Kamala Bhasin (From the NGO Jago ri) , Mallika Sarabhai (The noted bharatnatyam and kuchipudi dancer and social activist) and Abhijit Das (noted actor). Eve Ensler performed two of her monologues that she had recently written, one titled “Rising” and the other titled “I am an emotional creature”. Kamala Bhasin highlighted issues pertaining to woman by the medium of slogans. Mallika Sarabhai gave a dance recital revolving around Vishnu and Indra that left everyone mesmerized. The venue was reverberating with the positive energy that the guests had brought along with them.

Amidst the huge crowd that had gathered, only 5-6 odd men could be spotted, one of whom spoke up in a discussion, claiming that alcoholism is the main cause of rape. Needless to say, the crowd booed him out. At the end of the event, everyone agreed that it was high time we stop tolerating violence and discrimination against women and give a serious thought to the power relations in the society.

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Campus Central

Freshers’ Parties In Town

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[/caption] It’s that time of the year again when freshers’ parties are the topic of discussion amongst every group of students across Delhi University. Many colleges have had their unofficial freshers’, but their official party is still on the waiting list. SRCC, Hansraj, Khalsa, Miranda House, St Stephens, Lady Shri Ram, Laxmi Bai etc are done with their departmental and unofficial freshers’ while Daulat Ram and Kirori Mal are going to have the same in the coming week. Shri Ram College had its unofficial freshers’ party on 29th of this month at Urban Pind, GK-2. The freshers had to pay Rs 300 each and the party continued from 3 to 7pm. Although very few students turned up, the party was quite a fun. “We sang and danced with our friends, and the food was good too!” says Mansi, a fresher. [caption id="attachment_7548" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Unofficial freshers' at SRCC"][/caption]

Miranda house had its departmental fresher with the theme of “ticket to Bollywood” last week in the college campus itself. Girls dressed up as actresses, danced to the tune of Bollywood music. “Food was good, they had it ordered from McDonald’s but the faulty music system spoiled the fun”, says Vanshika, a fresher from Miranda house. Lady Shri Ram and Laxmi Bai College too had its freshers’ last week with the theme of Angels and Demons at LSR. The girls of Laxmi Bai thoroughly enjoyed the “Miss Laxmi Bai” and solo group dance contest. “We also had rain dance which was terrific, I enjoyed a lot!” says Ridhima, a fresher.

Hansraj had its unofficial departmental freshers’ in Saket last week with each fresher contributing Rs 650. “They were serving alcohol and such stuffs, we don’t drink so it was just so-so”, says Vidushi.  Hansraj’s official freshers’ is meant to be held on 6th or 7th of next month with theme of Chronicles of Harry-oween and Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s unofficial freshers’ is at ice lounge next week.

On the other hand, some colleges are yet to have their freshers’ parties and students are looking forward to it with huge expectations. “I have already decided what to wear on the day, and I am very excited about it. I hope it stands up to my expectations, fingers crossed!” says Shiksha, SRCC.    Aishwarya Chaurasia [email protected] ]]>

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Events

Tempest – Highlights of the fest

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The students union of Miranda House proved its mettle by putting up a good show at Tempest, the annual cultural fest of the college. The three day affair drew crowd in thousands every day.The swarm of people seen outside the college gate trying to pour into the college through the thin entrance only proved it better.

The day one of the fest, tagged as ‘Qayamat’ kicked off with the stage play competition, which saw the audience asking for more. The plays went house full, while one could always spot a crowd of atleast 20 people waiting outside the auditorium waiting to get inside. A few students misunderstood the entrepreneurship cell event, ‘the End of Times Sale’ as some sale which the society had put up and went back disappointed as the event was about making a product out of waste material provided. The talent show organized by the NSS unit of the college for the differently talented people received a very good response. Supriya from Miranda House won the first prize in dance category while Shipra won the second prize. DJ Sumit Sethi who came dressed in red, coupled with a sparkling red hat, played out some groovy numbers for the crowd while rapper Aman had the audience cheering for him for his Punjabi rap.

Resurrection, the day 2 of the fest saw the two most crowd pulling events being held. The bare spring sun didn’t stop the audience from cheering, singing and clapping during ‘Dhol Pitara’, the street play competition. Shivaji College bagged the first prize in ‘Dhol Pitara’, while Kamla Nehru College and Ramjas College shared the second prize. The third prize went to Ramanujam College.All the three prizes in the Poster Making competition, organized by the Fine Arts society of the college were bagged by the students of the Fine Arts and Photography society of Kirori Mal College. ‘Rear Gear’, the cycle stunts show organized by the Adventure Club of the college was a big hit amongst students.

The folk dance group of the host college won bagged the first prize in Sira, the Indian Dance competition. The day ended with ‘The Last Step’ the western group dance competition. Teams from 17 colleges across the city participated in the competition. The girls from Maitreyi College won the hearts of the crowd and the first prize with their scintillating performance on numbers like the ‘Naadaan Parinde’.

On Nirvana, the last day of the fest, a number of informal events like Holocaust-the ad-mad, Ancient Sleeves- the t-shirt painting competition, The Signs- the Tattoo making competition, a treasure hunt, et al were held. The Nishad-the Indian and the ‘Ending on a good note II’, the Western Music events went on for the whole day.                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                            
The highlight of the day was a performance each by the Hindi metal band Nigambodh and Parikrama. Nigambodh played some original compositions, accompanied by some growls by the vocalists and killer music by the guitarists. Parikrama along with its original compositions played a number of popular numbers of other bands like the Coldplay. People in the crowd were seen banging their heads off to the music of the both the metal bands. Free artist Jasleen Royal sang a number of popular songs and gave away free autographed CDs after the show. Parikrama ended its show and also the fest by calling upon the stage the core organizing committee of the fest and bowing in front of the audience along with them.

 

Photo Credits: Parthiv Goel, Saurabh Jain and Shweta Arora

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Events

Miranda House Tempest Day 1 Results

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Ending on a Good Note I (Western Music Solo category

First: Vipin, Sri Ventateswara College
Second: Fiona, Miranda House
Third: Swati, Sri Ventateswara College

Bilingual Stage Play Competition

First: Hans Raj College – Ek Tha Gadha
Second: SGTB Khalsa College – The Park
Best Director: Sumer Tiwari – Sri Ventateswara College
Best Actor: Pranav Sachdev – Hansraj College

Bharo Zindagi Mein Rang- The Rangoli making competition

First: Anupama and Puja – DCAC
Second: Moditma – Miranda House

The End of Times Sales

First: Ann Josephine and Akansha Johri – Miranda House

Re-ply – The Business Quiz

First: Ann Josephine and Akansha Johri – Miranda House
Second: Ambika Mangal and Sonal Dhingra – Lakshmi Bai College

Nature Strikes Back- The Collage Making Competition

First: Sameera Sarma and Anu Kadyan
Second: Shweta and Sukriti
Third: Isha and Jasleen

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Events

Tempest – Miranda House’s fest: A Curtain Raiser

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Tempest, the annual cultural festival of Miranda House will kick off tomorrow and promises to be bigger and better. Scheduled for the 23-24-25 February, Tempest is based on the theme ‘Apocalypse’. This year, a number of new competitions will be held during the fest. The ‘Rock Night’ will see a performance by the band Parikrama. The Hindi Metal band Nigambodh will open for Parikrama.

The day 1 of the fest will see a number of events happening back to back. The Entrepreneurship Cell of the college will for the first time since its inception hold competitions during the fest. Their signature event is the ‘End of Times Sales’. For the photography competition, the participants have to cover the fest and submit their best shots. The Rangoli making competition, environment base collage making competition, the quiz competition, the western music competition for solo category will all be held on the first day. The major event for the day will be ‘The Final Act’- the bilingual stage play competition. The day will conclude with the DJ night.

The day 2 will kick off with ‘Dhol Pitara’ the street play competition. The Indian Dance events, the poster making and the mask making competitions, the documentary film making competition and Shama Kohli Memorial debate will all be held on the second day. Another interesting event is the ‘Green Revival’ in which teams have to come prepared with an environmental problem along with the solution that they suggest for it. Other teams will get some time to suggest answers for each problem. Teams will be judged based on the problems they discuss, the solution they suggest for their own problem and for those of other teams. The highlight of the day will be the ‘The Last Step’, the western dance competition.

On the last day of the fest, a number of fun events will be held. The t-shirt designing, the tattoo making, the adventure club treasure hunt, ad-mad, film screening, the Indian and Western Music events will all be held on day 3. Along with the creative writing competition being organized by the Gandhi Study circle, a creative writing competition in Braille will also be held for the visually challenged students. In the Off-site choreography competition, teams will perform at 11 different spots in the Miranda House campus.

The fest will conclude with a performance by the bands Nigambodh and Parikrama. The music that Nigambodh plays has seen its lyrics in Hindi. They rely heavily on spiritual, classical Indian texts in order to churn out pieces of songs that speak of existential psychological dilemmas faced by the youth today. The root of their music lies in their ability to transcend genres and appeals to both, the posh and the local, the young and the old.

Talking about the unusual theme of the fest, Daisy the president of the Miranda House students’ union said “When we think of the year 2012, the end of the world flashes into our mind. So we decided to hold Tempest on this theme. We, however, are talking about it in a positive sense”.So get yourself registered for the fest or buy the passes before their run out of stock.

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Miranda House

Imtiaz Ali in Miranda House

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As a pre-Tempest event, filmmaker Imtiaz Ali came over to Miranda House campus today to meet his fans. Instead of making a back door entry to avoid the huge crowd of female fans, Imtiaz rather chose to walk down the college aisle and made his way into the college auditorium. Imtiaz who was accompanied by his friend from Hindu College was welcomed by a swarm of fans. They literally had to steer through the crowd to make way into the auditorium. “This was a grand welcome not every Hinduite gets the privilege to receive”, he later said.

His visit was organized by the Film Club of the college exclusively for current Miranda House students. Tempest, Miranda House’s fest kicks off tomorrow. The event started off with the students of the Indian Music society singing a medley of songs from his movies. The crowd couldn’t stop cheering when he took out his phone and started making a video of the crowd and the girls singing. Clips of scenes from his movies were shown to cite the offbeat characters the protagonists of his movies have.


Imtiaz started off by asking the audience about the popularity of his movies. Every statement of his was greeted with a round of cheers from the crowd. “Not every Hinduite gets the opportunity to have Miranda girls in such a frame, with all of them cheering. I am overwhelmed to be here today. In fact I have been here before. I came for the dramatics competition during Tempest when I was a student in Hindu College. My heart has always been here. In my college days I used to visit the Hostel gate of the college hoping to enter the college. But today I was welcomed by the college principal herself at the gate”, he said. This was followed by a question-answer session and Imtiaz did not disappoint his fans and answered every question that was thrown at him. Here are some excerpts from the session:

Q.: How did you find the selection of the clips you were shown?
(Scene: Deepika’s character Meera post her wedding realizes that she did a mistake by marrying)
I was intrigued by the scene you showed from Love Aaj Kal. Meera’s behavior in the scene was criticized by a number of people and I’m glad that a girls college has appreciated this scene.

Q: Have you ever dated a Mirandian?
My friend from college is here so I can’t lie in front of you all. Although I tried a number of times but could never succeed in dating one. I used to hang out a lot outside the Miranda House hostel gate. Even the guard knew me by face and I used to get him beedis.

Q: Jordan’s character in the movie Rockstar faced a number of hurdles. What hurdles did you face?
See, in life the choice to be happy or sad lies with you. Nothing should decide your happiness or sadness. You obviously can’t control the situations that life makes you face but the right to be happy or sad is with you. I chose to be on the better side of the fence.

Q: Why Nargis Fakhri in Rockstar?
Because I had not met you girls before.

Q: Give us Ranbir Kapoor’s number (more than a hundred girls, in unison)
981… Well leave it, you guys don’t seem much interested.

Q: What’s your next movie going to be about?
I don’t have a story in my mind yet.

Q: Which movie you didn’t direct but you wish that you did?
Sholay, Junoon, Big Fish.

Q: All your movies have been commercial ones, when will you get into Art House film making?
You make movies on things and the way you relate to life; as you growth up, your style of filmmaking changes. So as I grow old and become more grounded, I too will get into art house film making.

This wasn’t the end of his visit. Anukriti, the Hindi Dramatics of the college put up its street play for Imtiaz. After which he went around the campus, paid a visit to the college hostel to interact with his fans there, and had lunch with a few Miranda House students in the hostel mess. He stayed in the Miranda House campus till evening.

 

Photo Credits: Sonakshi Pandey

 

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Uncategorized

Add-On Algebra

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By Oindrilla, Paridhi, Saumia

Add on courses are to be subtracted from many college prospectuses as DU forces colleges to be more transparent and also limit the number of such courses offered by them.

Organized with the help of private organizations or the University Grants Commission (UGC), these courses claim to provide the students with an edge in the intensely competitive job market. However, if a study of the courses offered is conducted then it may be found that colleges claim to offer a lot more than they are actually able provide. Extra courses need proper infrastructure and faculty to back them up while providing students with the care that they have paid for. Another area of concern was the high course fee charged by some colleges for the same course and thus a committee was set up to look into the ways these courses are used to attract students at the beginning of each year. The agenda was to force colleges to be more transparent and limit the number of courses offered by them to a more manageable 7 or 8.

The committee’s recommendations were that the content of the courses should be clearly mentioned along with the fee and timings as well as the faculty who would be responsible for the conduction of the course in question. It also pointed out that if a steeper fee was demanded for a course then it was important to clarify what other substantial material was offered to make it worth the students while and prevent them from being cheated.
In the midst of the inquiry it was also said that there was a basic flaw in offering courses like media studies and tourism due to the lack of adequate infrastructure to support the mandatory practical work.

Many of these courses sound interesting and incredibly fun but the truth of the matter remains that only a few are functioning properly and holding examinations.

Ramjas College for instance has a staggering 26 add on courses listed on their website out of which the classes for only the following were held last year: Development of Entrepreneurship Excellence, Bioinformatics– Future of Biological Research, Communication & Self Development, Biotechnology, Mass Media Ethics Studies,
Film Appreciation, Forensic Science, Peace and Conflict Resolution

It is therefore imperative to be sure of whether a college offers the desired course option before one joins the college. Students are advised to talk to students of the college. Alternatively students can write in to DU Beat at [email protected] .

Other Interesting Add-on Courses in different colleges

Hindu College: Acting Skills, Creative Writing
Miranda House: Course in Theatre Direction with the help of National School of Drama (NSD)
Hansraj College: Radio Jockeying and Travel and Tourism
Gargi College: Education for Peace Building
Sri Venkateswara College: Molecular and Biochemical Technology

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