The incident took place when a tackle by SRCC Captain Ashutosh on Kushagra Rastogi of Venky resulted in an ugly fight between the two players. Soon enough, the other players as well as the SRCC alumni, who had come to watch the match, got involved in a brawl. Finally the coaches intervened and sorted the situation but could not prevent a red card each to Ashutosh and Kushagra. The incident blemished the final as the incident was talked about more than the match itself. Ashutosh though was cheered by the home crowd after being given the marching orders. When enquired about the incident, Kushagra Rastogi said, “Aggression when overflows results in flaring conflicts off the ball. That being said the opposition player who was involved was, from the start, antagonising me, like stepping on my boots, giving sliding tackles without cause to win the ball. What triggered the outburst was when we were a goal down and I was tackled yet again from behind and the rest as we know is history”.
‘Life is a race’, realized when I migrated from Deshbandhu College to Sri Venkateswara college a.k.a Venky. The experience of this transition is worth sharing. Some call it a transition but I consider it as a “miss appropriation”. The changeover was not a cake walk; acclimatizing to the new climate was extremely difficult owing to not only the fact that students over here were brilliant at academics but also that they talked like any top notch journalist or political commentator.
Turns out that academics became the least of my worries; one can’t expect from a 20 year old who spent most of his life in a mundane boy’s school to concentrate on studies if he his presented with a chance to study in one of the most ‘glamorous’ colleges of D.U. As hard as you try not to stare at them, every moment in college you are spellbound by some or the other girl. Things become worse, when after all the deliberate effort to avoid it, one has to ‘unwantedly’ sit in the lecture hall beside some of the most beautiful female folk of our college. All your sensory nerves are on high alert, you become conscious about every move you make, pretending like everything is normal but you only know that your world has turned upside down.
‘Unwantedly’ not because one doesn’t want to savour these moments, but because one hasn’t mastered the art of being comfortable in such a situation. You feel inferior and out of place when you see your co-educated metropolitan classmates extremely confident and well situated in such occasions. Here the situation is analogous to the movie “Love Aaj Kal” where our metropolitan counterpart is similar to Jai (the younger Saif) who had loads of affairs and people like me can relate to Veer Singh (sardar ji) who had only one affair in his whole life (in our case that one affair is also quite rare).
So boys like us usually end up forming groups like FOSLA (Frustrated One Sided Lovers Association) or NGO (Non Girlfriend’s Organization).
If by any chance one of our FOSLA* brothers gets lucky and enters into a relationship, it improves their social status. The telecom sector is the core beneficiary of this status elevation. So much so that a couple or more of such cases could actually recover the losses of the 2G scam. Speculating about this former FOSLA member’s love life becomes a more important discussion than the Indian economy or Barack Obama.
A year has passed now and even after opting for Feminism over United Nations as a subject in my third year political science course, I still lack the mannerism required to converse with a female colleague. Engulfed with inferiority complex, fighting with “identity fracture”, I have no clue how this war between middle class values and college corporate culture will culminate. But one thing I observed and would like to convey to all our FOSLA brothers that one doesn’t need a Royale Enfield, dolle-sholle or ek liter doodh to mark his presence in Venky.
Disclaimer: – The writer does not intend to offend any group or sex. It’s a mere depiction of one’s experience. If there is any kind of resentment caused, it is deeply regretted. Your feedback is welcomed at [email protected] .
Vyom Anil
Pol. Sc. (H) III year
Sri Venkateswara College
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
Kamla Nehru College
Faculty: The faculty at KNC is exceptionally good, especially for courses like English, Economics and Journalism.
Atmosphere: The atmosphere has that zing of energy with students and teachers alike bustling from one corner to the other. Academics and extra-curricular activities co-exist peacefully with the support of the administration.
Extra Curricular Activities and Sports: Bubbling over with enthusiastic students, it’s famous for its extra-curricular activities. A fantastic Cricket team is the pride of the college, along with its focus on other sports like Basketball and Volleyball. Yoga, Aerobics and Civil Defense are other areas of active participation.
Canteen: The canteen is nothing fantastic. Its food is oily, though the prices are very reasonable.
Saumiya and Swetha.
Venkateswara College
Faculty : Venkateswara College has a very erudite set of faculty members. The lecturers for most science courses are absolutely brilliant. The English faculty is one of the best that male students can avail to.
Atmosphere : Venky has one of the best crowds in South Campus. It’s as close to the University feel as possible in South Campus. Cleanliness and hygiene have been a regular problem in the college; however the administration has taken various steps to combat this.
Extra Curricular Activities and Sports : Venky has some of the most vibrant ECA societies in the University. What makes these especially brilliant is the fact that they are not focused solely on winning trophies but in providing an atmosphere to nurture the innate talent of students in the college. The Venky cricket team is arguably the best in the university.
Canteen: The college canteen has recently taken steps to tidy up their act. The food is vegetarian and primarily South Indian which may not be everybody’s cup of tea.
Aniruddh Ghosal, Venky
Gargi College
Faculty: The faculties of the departments of English as well as Applied Psychology are perhaps the best known of the lot. The department of B.A. Programme too has a very competent faculty.
Atmosphere: The crowd is a curious blend of diverse cultures, with students hailing from various parts of the country. The college, however, does have hygiene issues relating to the canteen and the washrooms which remain eyesores despite commendable efforts to improve them.
Extra Curricular Activities and Sports: Of the 16 performing arts and non-performing arts’ societies that Gargi has institutionalized, the most successful are the former. However, recent efforts have been made to increase participation and interest in the latter as well. With respect to sports, cricket, basket ball, volley ball, athletics, aerobics and Tennis are most popular.
Canteen: The College has a canteen that’s about average, a fresh fruit juice and milk shakes’ counter that sells well and often a chaat-wala who is most popular. Apart from these, the campus also has a Nescafe counter.
Aditi Sharma, B.A. Programme
Aarushi Sharma, President Students’ Union
Jesus and Mary’s College
Faculty: The members of faculty in the departments of English, Economics and Psychology are among the best in DU. Sociology, History and Commerce are also well-known.
Atmosphere: The college, though all-girls, has a great crowd and an interesting mix of different people. Despite immense emphasis on discipline, there is always a sense of vibrancy in the campus and it is perennially bustling with energy.
Extra Curricular Activities (ECA) and Sports: JMC provides a platform for various performing arts’ as well as opportunities in social responsibility. Although ECA societies in JMC are a force to reckon with in the university circuit, they often face a lot of problems within the college, with respect to attendance, funding, etc. With regard to sports, JMC’s cricket, football and basket ball teams are quite well-known.
Canteen: The fact that students are often seen packing food from the canteen for their friends in other colleges speaks volumes about just how wonderful the JMC canteen is. However, snail-paced service and sky-rocketing prices are constant problems.
Lady Shri Ram College for Women
Faculty: The faculty at LSR plays a significant role in making academia both accessible and fascinating. This they do by seldom giving free periods, filling in lectures with brilliant perspectives and insisting on assignments and term papers a bit much.
Atmosphere: Say no to laid-back lives, and yes to celebration of the ‘Magic of LSR’!
Extra Curricular Activities and Sports: For someone who is involved in both sports and ECA, an ordinary day at college would begin at seven in the morning, and often stretch beyond seven in the evening. The wee hours of the morning are usually reserved for sports’ practice, the day for classes and various non-performing arts, and the evening for performing arts’.
Café: The high prices are perhaps the price one has to pay for having a café and not a canteen. The range of items available on the menu, however, seems to make up for it.
Kriti B., LSR