Indian Hockey Team served with deadline

By

Abhishek Mukherjee

India’s revolting hockey players were served with a 24-hour deadline to resume practice or face disciplinary action. The entire squad had begun an indefinite boycott of the World Cup preparatory camp over a payment dispute.

Peeved by the fresh strike, Hockey India, the game's governing body, threatened to crack the whip by warning the players to return to the camp by tomorrow evening, however, the players seemed to be in no mood to relent unless their demands were met.

A top HI source said that the players have been given a 24-hour deadline to return to the camp or face disciplinary action though senior player Prabhjot Singh, who has been appointed by his teammates as their representative for the negotiations, said they had not received any such ultimatum.

“The ultimatum is all hypothetical. Till now we have not received any ultimatum. We were told that HI officials were coming here tonight. Let us see what happens, we are waiting for their arrival”, Prabhjot said.

A high-level HI delegation headed by President A K Mattoo, Harish Sharma, Narender Batra and Jagbir Singh will leave for Pune either tonight or tomorrow morning to hold discussions with the striking players who are demanding their match dues, incentives and a graded payment structure among other things.

“We have communicated our views to them and we are hopeful that the players will see a reason to solve the problem. Antonio (FIH vice-president) will advise us as to what needs to be done in such a situation.” Mattoo told reporters.

While the players went ahead with their threat to stay away from the camp until their dues and incentives were paid, Hockey India too made it clear that boycotting a national camp for pending payments was akin to blackmail.

Frustrated with the turn of events, Mattoo, who had on Saturday night apparently said that all issues had been resolved, threatened the players with suspension if they failed to report to the camp.The players also came under attack from FIH, the game’s world governing body, with its Vice President Antonio von Ondarza saying the players had got their “priorities all wrong.”

ANNUAL WINTER FESTIVAL- CROSSROADS 2009 at S.R.C.C

By

Kalpana Gupta

The Shri Ram College of Commerce (S.R.C.C), University of Delhi, held the much awaited annual winter festival- CROSSROADS 2009 from 19-22 December of the previous year. Throughout the campus of S.R.C.C, the air was filled with immeasurable enthusiasm and spirit amongst the students.

The four-day festival incorporated several events which were split under five official societies of the college including the Students Union of S.R.C.C, the Mathematics and Computers Society, the Commerce Society, the Travellers’ Society and the History and Political Society.

On the very first day of the event, “Woodstock” escaped the pleasant smiles on the faces of the students during the Rock Night which featured rock bands like Bare Face Liars, Them Clones and Chapter One. The next day was followed by the adrenalizing “Inferno” featuring Western Dance and Fashion Night. The day witnessed a footfall of more than 5000 students. “The winners of the Fashion Show were offered with a modeling contract worth Rs. 22 lakhs by Glitz which has made students more enthusiastic and competitive too” added Pankaj Chaudhary, an enthusiast working for the success of CROSSROADS 2009.

Numerous students tapped their feet at the DJ Night by “Random Collisions” and the atmosphere was full with vibrancy all over the S.R.C.C campus. The “Pulsar Stuntmania” in the college campus drew the attention of almost every student during the fest. Several students participated in this event and showcased their talents. Adding to the glory, the Travellers' Society offered sports like Rappelling, Flying Fox and Burma Bridge and received a tremendous response.

Surpassing all the previous events, the last day of CROSSROADS 2009 experienced what was seen never before. “Encore”, a part of the festival featuring the Pop Night by Kailash Kher and Atharva who dominated the stage for the night. A huge crowd of about 8-10 thousand students gathered there just to get a glimpse of Kailash Kher’s electric performance.

The year 2009 came to an end with a roaring success of CROSSROADS 2009. Considered to be the best festival in Delhi University, CROSSROADS 2009 witnessed 40,000 students from all over the campus during the four day annual festival.

Sutil: F1 too safe for its own good

By

Abhishek Mukherjee

Sick and tired of driving on safe and boring layouts, Force India driver Adrian Sutil wants the 2011 Indian Grand Prix to bring back the thrill.

Sutil said the new tracks rolled out of late are safe to the extent of killing the charm which makes Formula One such an alluring sport for the drivers.

The German, who was in the Indian capital this week, cited the case of the picturesque Yas Marina Circuit which hosted the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year.

“Abu Dhabi was one of the most perfect circuits I have driven on, and the most boring as well,” a visibly unimpressed Sutil said.

“It was just straight and really, really boring. But I probably cannot say anything bad about it for it’s safe, like what all modern circuits should be,” was his satirical assessment of the layout. “I think it’s time to involve more drivers in their work, because we want fast corners and that’s where F1 cars are so good,” he asked.

On the 2011 Indian Grand Prix, Sutil hoped the organisers would seek drivers’ inputs before finalising the specifications of the track.

“We should concentrate on putting up a really good circuit in Delhi. Hopefully they will get information from drivers they want and I hope that they put some really exciting corners,” the lanky German said.

Sutil said he was not the only driver who felt F1 was losing its thrill.

“The majority of the drivers feel this way. Of course there are a few who like the way it is, safe. There will always be different opinions about it but most of them would say there can be some changes in the circuits,” he said.

Sutil said flirting with danger is what draws drivers to the sport and he was upset that the thrill was waning.“Everyone loves driving because there is thrill in it. If it was not dangerous, maybe so many drivers would not be doing it,” Sutil reasoned.

“Maybe there are certain risks in it but if you don't take those risks, it would get boring. Circuits are getting too safe and driving is not so nice anymore. Personally speaking, I'm just not getting that thrill”, he said

“There is a wall in the corner and you have got to take it easy or you would ram into it. Formula One is dangerously fast and is all about speed. That's why it's interesting and we should keep it like that,” he said.

The youngster said he was satisfied with the safety measures adopted in F1 and believes it is good enough. “Of course it is good to be safe and you need to look for improvement in drivers’ safety. But F1 did so much for safety that these cars are highly-developed and I feel really safe,” he added.

ELIXIR 2009

By

Kalpana Gupta

The Hansraj College’s English Literary Society, INSIGNIA, presented their annual festival- ELIXIR 2009 on 16-17 December of the previous year. The theme of the two-day festival was “Fundamentalism”. The inauguration ceremony was held at the Auditorium on 16th December followed by a talk on “Protest Through Art” by Keval Arora.

Open to all the students across Delhi, M.E.L.A (Movie Entertainment Literature Art) conducted a Quiz. Students from I.I.T Delhi and Sikkim Manipal University participated in the quiz along with the students of the Delhi University, North Campus. “The Treasure Hunt” was able to gather a great deal of crowd.

Much away from the tiresome lectures, the students of the Hansraj College participated in the “Spell Bee” contest which demanded correct spellings of English words from the contestants and took them to another round of “Vocab” if they managed to clear the first round. A talk on “Fundamentalism” by Dilip Simeon followed the “Spell Bee+Vocab” contest. Lecturers were gathered along with their students in numbers to lend ears to Dilip Simeon.

“A Pay in Life of Ponga Pandits” was the movie which became the center of attraction during the fest. “Alienation” and “Resentment” were some of the few topics given to the participants in the Creative Writing Competition. The winners were awarded a cash prize of Rs. 1000. The final year students of English (Hons.) course in the later half of the day organised a group discussion on “Deity or Crusader- the true face of God?” at the English Balcony in the college premise.

The annual festival concluded with the “Street Music Competition” in which hordes of talented student musicians participated. The students of Hindu College, however, won the competition and were awarded with a cash prize of Rs. 1000.

CONTEMPORARY YOUTH GOES CLASSICAL

By

Kalpana Gupta

The St. Stephen’s College (University of Delhi) presented a week long festival – VIRASAT 2009 in collaboration with SPICMACAY (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical music and Culture Amongst youth). The students were seen gathering in large numbers at the Vishwavidyalaya metro station and continued their journey till Central Secretariat on 7th November 2009 for the very first programme- “A WALK THROUGH THE NATIONAL MUSEUM” of Virasat 2009. The Director, National Museum, Mr. R.S Chauhan, escorted the students. Many unknown facts about the Harrapan Civilisation came into light while the artefacts drew the attention of the students.

Dr. Kiran Seth, the director of SPICMACAY, inaugurated the festival on November 9th which continued till November 13th. The students from across various colleges of the University dropped in to witness the dance performance by Padma Shri holder Smt. Bharathi Shivaji. Smt. Shivaji tapped her feet on the graceful dance form of Kerela called as Mohiniyattam accompanied by a demonstrative lecture on the technicalities of expressions and performance.

On November 10th, the College Hall of St. Stephen’s college presented Mehfil-e-sama by Ghulam Sabir and Ghulam Waris Nizami. The most famed Qawwali singers in the Sufi style, Astana Gayaki as well as the modern Qawwali tradition, the Nizami brothers, presented the Darabari Gayaki before the students. The Nizami brothers’ performance of a 16-year old ghazal to the tunes of harmonium, dholak and tabla, received overwhelming applaud from the audiences. Adding to the glory, the students were shown the movie- RASHOMON by Akira Kurosawa. This movie is said to have introduced the Japanese cinema to western audiences and is considered one of Kurosawa’s masterpieces.

On November 11^th, Padma Shri holder, Anjolie Ela Menon exchanged her prominent views on painting as an art and showcased her presentation regarding the same. M.F Hussain and Amrita Shergil were other painters who escaped some space in her lecture. On receiving the highest civilian honour in India, Anjolie Ela Menon narrated her own story to the audiences and inspired them to have faith in themselves.

Hailed as the “Saint of the Santoor” and the “King of Strings”, Padma Shri holder Pt. Bhajan Sopori presented his talent on the stage of college hall on November 13th. The combination of tabla, veena and santoor attracted heavy crowd and made a grave impact on the minds of audiences. The students present, gave an ear to the sounds of classical instruments unlike the modern ones used in the ever popular pop and rock genres.

With the onslaught of rapid change and global homogenization, this week observed the multifaceted Indian Heritage in its distinctive hues. As the week long festival came to an end, the students expressed their willingness to be a part of VIRASAT 2010.

26/11 – A year on

By

Abhishek Mukherjee

Entire Mumbai came to a standstill during the three-day long attack on innocents by guns, grenades and bombs. Terror strikes are not new in the country, but these attacks which happened on the fateful days of 26^th, 27^th, 28^th November 2008 and ceased only the next morning, got unprecedented attention for it was a rude awakening to the reality that even the economically sound urban elites were not safe anymore.

A whole year has passed since the horror, and for most of us it seems only yesterday. It was a shameful acceptation that our security is very vulnerable, and that a bunch of ten gunmen can cause havoc in the cosmopolitan metropolis of Mumbai and even its grandest and significant areas. The rage that had been building since times immemorial over the treatment of civilians as scapegoats for every trouble caused, reached a peak after these attacks.

A number of questions were asked: Why did the media play to the hands of the terrorists in being their virtual ‘eyes’? How could this group enter through fake passports? Why weren’t some fishermen’s reports about them arriving via sea taken seriously? Why did the NSG Commandos take as much as 10 hours to arrive in the wake of emergency?

As in the infamous 9/11 and many more grave acts of violence mainly by terrorist organisations like the Laskar-e-Taiba, attackers targeted the most significant places – the Taj Mahal Hotel, The Oberoi-Trident, Nariman House and the Victoria station.

After three thousand were killed in the heart of America on 11 September 2001, terrorists gained confidence that any part of the world could be targeted. The subsequent bombings in cities such as London and Madrid only reiterate the fact. No place in the world is totally safe, and therein lays the need for tight security and military defence. A country has to save its citizens, and be on guard all the time. Bombings and hijacking are the most potent and popular tools for terrorists to ‘invade’.

However, in Mumbai there was no such thing. Ten young gunmen easily breached all security and opened fire at will. Without a doubt it was thoroughly planned and ensured with sufficient arms and gadgets, but the freeness for them for three full days with a whole helpless country looking on in horror is a slap bigger on the face of the nation than on any other occasion, even the hijacking of IC-814 ten years ago.

A year on, Kasab’s court case still lies pending, and Pakistan, after taking ages to recognise him as its own citizen, has virtually done nothing to bring those involved to justice (nor is it expected to). It is said efficiency and awareness about security has improved, although authorities find Naxal violence difficult to end.

The phenomenon of the menace of terrorism and defence is just like an ongoing battle between development of viruses looking to cripple computer systems and that of softwares looking to save or defend them. Most of the terrorist activities take place irrationally – with its only purpose being violence and claiming of lives. It is necessary to accept that bloody attacks will continue to happen in the world, even when there is no logical reason behind them. After the two World Wars, a third one would be sufficient to make human species extinct. It has not yet happened but there are countless groups, radical and rational, who can go to any lengths to assert power and take revenge on anybody and for unknown and un-established reasons. The Arab world looks most potent in terrorism, for having no dearth of religious motivation for attack against ‘non-believers’, but the phenomenon cannot be generalised in any way. The Tamil Tigers, Shoko Asahara’s Aum Supreme Truth, Somalia’s late Farrah Aidid, and the Baader Meinhof Gang are no less aggressive and effective than Al Qaeda and the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba.

The priority is for the country to be smart. In the Kandahar shame ten years ago, it was anything but smart, and was brought to its knees by a handful of people. In a similar incident, the Germany-based Baader Meinhof Gang were involved in hijacking a Lufthansa plane, and threatened to kill all aboard if their demands were not met. The German government did not give in, and its commandos were able to kill three of the four hijackers, injure the final one, and free its passengers.

Thus sometimes it is important to be repressive. The need of the hour is efficiency. There ought not to be any loopholes in the system. It is a lesson for civilians for not adjusting with terrorist mishaps anymore, to propagate peace, to learn to appreciate life, to be aware, and to be on guard always. We cannot annihilate campaigns of terror, but we can learn from other nations and at least do what’s needed- to be vigilant.

CUBAN REVOLUTION COMPLETES 50: DU CELEBRATES

by

Kalpana Gupta

The department of Germanic and Romance Studies, University of Delhi and Left Word Books celebrated the 50 years of the Cuban revolution on 11th and 12th November of this year. The Lecture Hall of India International Centre witnessed this event which was inaugurated by H.E Miguel Angel Ramirez Ramos– the Cuba’s Ambassador to India. Professor Aijaz Ahmad conducted a keynote address on “Against the Grain of our Times”. The Marxist Literary Theorist, Shri Ahmad, discussed the survival of Cuban Revolution practically in a state of siege for 50 years. The keynote address was followed by five contemporary Cuban films- “Dancing chachacha”, “The silly Age”, “Madrigal”, “Mauricio’s Diary” and “Broken Gods”. As a part of the Film Fest, the Cuban films concluded the events of Day 1.

On November 12th, H.E Miguel Angel Ramirez Ramos chaired the discussion meet where Zaida del Rio talked about “The Bridge of Art: Cuba and India” along-with a talk by Sonya Surbhi Gupta. The academician who spoke about “The Cuban Revolutionary Cultural project” pointed out that Cuban revolutionary art is deeply associated with the ideas of Cuban Hero- Jose Marti. She further emphasised that the decision of the government of Fidel Castro was to conduct the nation-wide illiteracy camp. Ashwani Kumar added a Comparative perspective of “Voices of Cuban Poets” and “The Dalit Poets”.

Followed by a refreshing tea break, the Second session included the thoughts on Cuban Cinema by Samik Bandyopadhyay. The film critic focused on the film “Memorias Del Subdesarrollo” where the post-revolutionary politics have been critiqued. Ruchika Singh, however, discussed “The Art of Wifreds Lam” followed by Alan Meller who talked about “Muralism in the time of Neoliberalism”.

Vibha Maurya talked about the “Cuban Art within the Revolution” in the third Session of the event. She added that “despite difficult times, the artisits found myriad ways to express themselves”. The two-day event came to an end with Surender Negi’s lines on “The Lighthouse of Revolution” and Vijaya Venkataraman’s “Singing to the Revolution”. Numerous teachers and students were seen hooked to the speeches by various well-known personalities. After leaving the Lecture Hall, students and teachers were found exploring the new books on Cuban revolution on display. Next, was a display of several thought provoking paintings at the lecture hall.

With a post tea session, the event concluded itself on the note of harmony and peace.

Photo Exhibition on Consumerism at J.N.U

By

Kalpana Gupta

An exhibition of photographs by Sreedeep, a student of J.N.U pursuing his doctorate on social aspects that influence brand consumption, took place at the Gallery of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University from 3rd-17th November.

26 year old Sreedeep, in association with J.N.U Photography Club and Five Issues Newspaper, seemed excited on his first ever solo exhibition. All of the 43 photographs that were on display attempted to depict the consumerist culture that has consumed urban society today and the juxtaposition of realities and projected lifestyles.

Unlike other exhibitions, “Brand (e)scape-the changing Sur(face) of the city”, was not inaugurated and Sreedeep simply rescued to boast about his exhibition.

The posters were displayed in advance all over the cultural centres and various colleges of Delhi. The mesmerizing photographs left the viewers speechless and strove them to ponder over the hidden meanings they attempted to convey. In one of the photographs, one could experience a beautiful juxtaposition of imagination and the real world. The photograph illustrated the flawless face of a model with a woman labourer looking on. Another photograph showcased a popular bollywood actress supporting a sports brand while the trespassers are seen resting with their backs at the side of the hoarding.

The myriad ironies of a developing nation got space in the photographs by Sreedeep. In pursuit of taking his hobbies in materialistic terms, Sreedeep worked for two years and six months to compile his own collection of such photographs. He covered South and Central Delhi which are considered to be the hub of the city. The Khan market and South extension, which incorporate the biggest hoardings of the metropolis, became the central attraction of the exhibition.

The startling fact about this exhibition was that the photographs had not been given any specific titles. The photographs were self-explanatory. Sreedeep, on the same hand, spoke of being totally against the idea of giving name to his work.

The students and on-lookers were seen unmoving from their places while witnessing the intricate details of the pictures while others had appalling expressions. The two week long exhibition collected appraisal and admiration from eminent artists too. Sreedeep is now looking forward to display his abstract photography at some prestigious events. According to him, lines and shadows do contain some meaning other than Candid Photography alone. It is, therefore, well expected from him to bring his next collection on display which is scheduled to arrive in the midst of the following year.

Goodbye, Safin

by

Abhishek Mukherjee

At the age of 29, with loss to Argentine del Potro in the Paris Masters, the ever-entertaining Marat Safin called it a day. It had been a troublesome few months for him; with at most average performances taking into account his quality and credentials. His last noteworthy result was the 2008 Wimbledon Semi-Finals, in which he had defeated Novak Djokovic en route to the penultimate stage of the prestigious tournament. His tennis career has been full of ups and downs, but the Russian would have peace with the fact that he was his own master.

Virtues like discipline and stability were antonyms to Safin. Nine years ago, the young boy of 20 stunned the tennis fraternity when he defeated legend Pete Sampras in straight sets and claimed the US Open. The world showered praise for this new wonder-boy and predicted high honours for him.

Yet as they say, it is not the talent but the temperament which ultimately makes a player. Marat seemed to be more fascinated by off-field life – his friends, his cars and his parties; and his tennis did not take off the way it was expected. It is understandable when it is acknowledged that he emerged from modest means. It would be unfair, however, to dwell more on his personal life as his injuries did not help matters either. For the next four-five years, he was recognised as a decent player for his parts played in Davis Cup ties for Russia, and a finals appearance in the Australian Open in 2002; but it was not the future as expected, for his talent was immensely more than what results showed. Fabrice Santoro, asked to comment on his encounter with Lleyton Hewitt in Paris-Bercy final in 2002, said: “This is the number one in the world against the best player (Safin) in the world”.

In the Australian Open 2004, Marat finally looked to be able to come of age. He finished a proud runner-up to the other legend Roger Federer. Towards the end of that year, Marat caught amazing form which eventually culminated in the Australian Open triumph in early 2005. In the Semi-Finals, he clashed with a Roger Federer at peak, and saved a match point in the fourth set to defeat him 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 9-7 in one of the most thrilling matches in tennis history. He destroyed the home favourite Lleyton Hewitt in four sets in the finals to claim his second grand slam.

However, this was not a sign for things to come. He could be considered unlucky to be in the same era as Sampras and Federer - two of the greatest players in history, but Marat did not deliver enough on the tennis court. Yet he remained a most interesting player to watch. Breaking of rackets on the court as a vent of rage was his patent, as was also his honest and outspoken comments. He never worried about others’ opinions about him. Many times he tended to throw away his grip on matches by not being hungry enough on the court. He was perfectly dignified, honest and possessed a good sense of humour. His antics were dear to his passionate fans.

Marat got what he wanted –enjoyable life, dignity and fame. That he remained one of the biggest underachievers in tennis may be of concern to others. Even in the short career that he has had, he has given us more than a couple of moments of the brilliance that might have been.

YOUTH: BLINDED BY SMOG

By

Karan Deep Singh

Tushar Garg, a class 10 student studying in a ‘public’ school in Delhi brags about having made around 200 friends through Facebook, a social networking website on which he spends not less than five hours per day. On being questioned about what hooks him up so long, he says: “I love to stay in touch with my friends; we can exchange messages about every single moment of our lives. I can see their latest pics and they can see mine; it’s like my whole world out there!”

Many of our so-called ‘Youth of India’ from the capital and other cities might have similar stories to share. While they are being exposed to almost an information explosion with such an enormous amount of content through the television, the internet, tabloids, dailies and other information sources at their hands, the young seem to have gone overboard in their efforts to acknowledge themselves as equal participants in their roles as citizens of the country. Unlike previous generations who did not dare to even think beyond their curriculums or a predominant family rule; the bright-eyed are better informed due to a plethora of information sources and believe in taking decisions themselves.

Enchanted by the Pied Piper of Consumerism, their pricey attention can only be drawn by intelligent marketing strategies employed by cola selling companies or a couple of others selling branded clothing. “Today, even if there’s a road accident and they happen to be on the spot, they will hardly notice”, says Neena Kumar, a career consultant. While school-goers constantly wish to give up their ‘not-so-in’ titles, the college-goers seem to be smitten by the “cool” attitude, chic clothing, branded footwear and global fashion trends. While making a style statement is pre-requisite in colleges, HT City reported young Delhi University students ready to hit the campus in their newly hired Audis, Mercs and Land Cruisers on the first day of college- just for those eyeballs they wish to capture! And of course, to experience the ‘good life’ they seem to be restless for.

The generational shift in attitudes of this Youth is somewhere definitely a product of Liberalisation. And it is not only to blame. It is important to understand the causes of this shift and more than ever before, today, as India's youth are already having an enormous impact: on the economy, on companies hoping to sell them products, the culture. And most importantly Mass Media- the impact of which in-turn is hugely responsible for this sudden upsurge in the youth’s urge of relating with and to the rich. The glittery fashion weeks, parties, extravagant lifestyle, pubs, brand culture, expensive gadgets, snazzy cars and the list goes on. While these might find extensive coverage on television, in mega-million movie productions, glossy print and on web, the national dailies and their ever popular supplements have not been left behind. What else, do we understand from the writings of Editors and media personalities of ‘national’ newspapers about Food, Hotels, Restaurants and Music! It only caters to the ‘beautiful’ people. And is a sheer disgrace to the word ‘national’ when those thousands of poor, malnourished and ‘unfortunate’ Indians are waiting to be heard by the so-called journalists.

The mass media and the concern over it’s content has become extremely important as one hardly notices the subtle but important role it plays in defining and changing our beliefs, attitudes and aspirations today. Journalism is not merely about reporting of events. It also provides valuable information from which we draw our cognitive maps of reality.

Whether the media is television, press or radio, media as collective has the power to set agendas for the public at large, to reproduce ideology, to create ‘moral panics’ or to influence what we think. Mass media’s portrayal of the rich and their lifestyle can ruin this country of the poor. And the ones who are likely to be affected the worse by this menace are the Youth as a whole, the 41.05% of the population of India- including the other Youth who have no food to eat, no access to schools, no books to study and absolutely no means to be able to gain access to the ‘beautiful’ world they see and hear about on television.

It is important to note that the author’s intention is not to discourage, depress or undermine the confidence of today’s youth and their ability but simply to stress on the fact that a blind approach towards glamourising the world for the young could end up leaving them dejected, disheartened and misinformed leading to a risky consequence- a massive brigade of ‘dreamers’.

It is time, not to sell them campaigns; it is time to show them the real world. Let them know the stories of the poorest. Tell them what the ‘Truth’ is, for the nation and its people should not be a hazy picture in their minds. But for now, the Youth must demand the ‘Truth’ otherwise it will continue to suffer from a distorted vision that can indeed lead us all to a dangerous moment of stillness.