CAMPUSDIARIES The Magazine | ISSUE 4 | JULY 2013
India's coolest experience project
INSIDE GKhamba on Being Funny Internships of the Month Love Huts - Nightmare for Indian Parents?
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CURATOR’S y l NOTE ju I
have dreaded and loved July since I was five. Our Bata shoes punching inches of mud off the ground, we marched our way to school, anxious and excited, uniforms protected by colourful fluorescent raincoats and head-umbrellas, rectangular backpacks, tumbler water bottles and rattling tiffin boxes. Our building watchman, Dathrash (his name is Dashrath, but I could never say his name right when I was little, so he remained Dathrash to me, forever) would walk with us, cycle in tow, body guarding us and breaking our fist fights in the middle of the road sometimes over losing chidiya udi. A couple of years in fast forward, the backdrop remained the same, Junior College replaced school. The anxiety and excitement doubled, the uniforms changed to a pair of jeans and a T-shirt with a funny quote on it, windcheaters were in; head-umbrellas were sadly not, long strappy satchels replaced the seemingly rock-filled heavy shoulder bag and if there was chutney-cheese sandwiches made at home, then Tupperware rode along with us in trains, buses, rickshaws, flyovers, over bridges — places we were to stay completely away from before. My first day was quite hilarious, I sat on chewing gum, burnt my hair in the Chemistry Lab, sat through all seven lectures for seven hours, slipped and fell flat on my face outside the college in front of 200 other people (it was quite rainy that day), and I made a friend, which was, for the series of events that had preceded me, quite fantastic. My first day in Degree College went a notch higher, I managed to irk my Economics teacher into throwing me out of class, thought I had found eternal love, tasted Paneer schezuan chilly sandwich for the first time and made a couple of friends. Chilly burn in my mouth, I went back home thinking to myself, ‘Not bad, eh?’ First days are quite a handful, yes, but equally memorable. Whether you had dahi-cheeni before leaving your house or not, the day will end the way it was supposed to — full of fun, bizarre events, a few newly made friends and more eternal loves. The beginning of everything is a satchel-full of expectations, hope and some good anxiety. Just like it is for us, at Campus Diaries, growing and evolving every single day. Not so long ago we somersaulted into a year of publishing stories, sharing experiences and spreading the love. And after all, experiences make you who you are; the stories you tell when you grow older. A few of our contributors in this issue have shared theirs — of a newer beginning, of passion and of being proud of who they are. We’ve have introduced a new special segment for you to share your personal experiences with us under the section — It happened to me. Tell the world your story. Discover. Create. Share. Only on campusdiaries.com Samata Joshi Curator-in-chief Write to me at samata@campusdiaries.com with your valuable feedback, suggestions, letters or maybe just to say Hello!
IN THIS ISSUE
Xulfi Raza jamia millia islamia new delhi
akshay chaudhari standford university california
A National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and PhD candidate in the Department of Bioengineering at Stanford University, Akshay is a fan of all things sports, electronic music, and most importantly — science!
gursimran KHAMBA tiss mumbai
Koyna Tomar lady sri ram college new delhi
An undergrad, with a flair for history. Perpetual cinephile and an occasional artist, she is in love with pictures, fiction and the 70s, among other things.
Gursimran Khamba is a stand up comic, writer and co-founder of All India Bakchod.
An opinionated Bangalore girl, who would rather spend her days on a cliff in Portofino, Tamara is certified to drive in India and possesses a plethora of Other-SuchAccomplishments. She is also a freelance writer, amateur photographer, diehard foodie and a grammar nazi who believes that grammar is the difference between knowing your shit and knowing you’re shit.
Anubhav V christ university bangalore
Sweta Kumari asian university for women bangladesh
Tamara Mathia Mount Carmel College Bangalore
Abhijit R Muley iiT roorkee
Abhijit is a pretentious nerd in love with science and history. His hobbies include collecting useless information from the internet and watching cat videos.
Sweta is a final year UG student at Asian University for Women (AUW), Bangladesh. She is from India. Yes! Sort of opposite to the trend, as people say, “Tum to ulti ganga baha rahi ho. Log Bangladesh se India padhne jate hain.” She loves travelling, photography and adventure. Reading and writing is her passion as she explores the world and her own identity through her writing.
Raza Mehdi, better known by his pen name Xulfi Raza, is a student of English Literature. Philosophy, literature and religion intrigue him the most. An enduring practitioner of the sin of Sloth, a lover of classical rock music, Xulfi considers Dostoyevsky and Iqbal as his favorite writers, and believes he is in the midst of identities to find his own (if at all it exists).
Harsh Beria iit kharagpur
Harsh is a second year UG engineering student at IIT Kharagpur. Although he’s studying Agriculture & Food Technology, he’s also a passionate programmer.
Anubhav Vanamamalai is an avid traveller and a photography buff. In order to pursue a career in the field of wildlife and nature conservation, he took up a B.Sc in Zoology and Botany and hopes to utilise his skills as a photographer to assist his research work. In his spare time, the author enjoys cycling, trekking and drumming along to his favorite metal tracks.
RIA ANDREWS kristu jayanti college bangAlore
She scribbles and doodles, likes jazz and rock and roll. A lover of crosswords and dusty old books, Ria thinks she should have been born in the sixties.
pallavi negi nift bangAlore
A Bollywood lover, Pallavi is an all time adventure seeker. From scuba diving to sky diving on her bucket list, she wants to travel the entire world. A fashion communication student currently, she is excellent at communicating art through design.
PUSHAN MANNA st. xavier’s kolkata
SomsuvRa Chatterjee jadavpur university kolkata
Studying animation and film studies currently, Pushan loves to travel and click people and places. Has an extreme adoration for music and designing graphics. Cried like a baby once when his camera was malfunctioning. Loves eating anything cooked well in the company of friends and family and hopes his designs and photographs will make a difference someday in future.
An atheist by heart and a humanitarian by religion, Somsuvra is also a bookaholic. Engineering, science, mythology, history and travel are his primary interests. When not at site building something, he is usually found trying new food joints and wandering aimlessly.
DR. ABHIJIT M Varpe ymc dental college mumbai
Although a dentist by profession, Abhijit pursued his passion for art and his love for nature to establish two brands — Copper Brains, his nature supplement and Guns N Needles, his tattooing venture. He is as dedicated to his passion, as he is to his profession and has over a period of time, managed to sync both into harmony.
Gauri Saxena lady sri ram college new delhi
SAMEER KULKARNI fergusson college pune
Gauri, a 20-year-old, cannot live without butter garlic prawns, the stage and a continuous attempt at trying to make sense of the world. She recently completed her Bachelor’s in Politics and is totally in awe of the subject. Writing, laughing till she drops, passionately untangling the woes of her loved ones and day dreaming are the things that keep her going.
Drama, poems, arts and literature are things Sameer cannot live without. A budding writer with big hopes, he loves sharing what he sees, through whatever he tries to scribble.
NEHAL TIWARI wilson college mumbai
A doer of thoughts, Nehal is trying to figure out what life is all about — at times through Bollywood, at times through real life experiences, but nowadays... mostly through sleep and prolonged staring at the no-spot.
Pranav Sukhija nMIMS Bangalore
A Teach for India alumni, Pranav is currently pursuing his MBA from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies. He loves writing and is the author of The One Minute Blog: http:// onlyaminute.blogspot.in
Archana Rao darden school of business Virginia, United States
Passionate about social impact and scribbling on post-its, Archana kick-started Mentor Me India, was a Teach for India fellow, a consultant with HSBC. She is currently pursuing an MBA from Darden, Virginia to connect the dots someday.
The German Parliament building or the Reichstag
ART
An altered state of mind
This is an exercise in panoramic photography and manipulation. Taking 360 degree panoramic shots and then blending and warping them in order to give a fresh perspective on how to present and view such images. These are my ‘Wee’ planets #SURREAL
Anubhav V. Christ University Bangalore 11
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Silence calls the storm — Bangalore before the rains, taken from atop a watertank
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The Blue Planet — The scenic Fisherman’s Wharf in Lausanne, Switzerland
The Tower — Augusta Raurica, the ruins of the Roman Empire in Switzerland. (The picture was created with two mirrored panoramic shots)
The Courtyard — A lonely tree in an abandoned palace in Rajasthan
campusdiaries.com/picture-stories/an-altered-state-of-the-mind
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Cambodian
Love Huts #liberation
OPINION
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Among the many oddities that might exist in the said tribe, the practice of building sexually liberating ‘Love Huts’ is the one that takes the spotlight, especially from a conventionalvalorising-virginity viewpoint. The Kreung people are quite the believers in romance and thusly the fundamental reason to build these huts is for girls to find their true love by means of emancipatory decision making
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efore we have our small houses, we can’t open our hearts. But, once we have our own houses we are able to open our hearts to boys. It is dark and quiet in the huts at night and so it is very romantic,” says Gaham, a 21-year-old female member of the Kreung Tribe. Besides cherishing the idea that wild rats make for delicious customary evening meals, there is a lot that can be described as remarkably bizarre in the customs followed by the Kreung Tribe, residing in Ratnakiri district of remote North Eastern Cambodia. Among the many oddities that might exist in the said tribe, the practice of building sexually liberating ‘Love Huts’ is the one that takes the spotlight, especially from a conventional-valorisingvirginity viewpoint. The Kreung people are quite the believers in romance and thusly the fundamental reason to build these huts is for girls to find their true love by means of emancipatory decision making. There is no bar on how many boys a girl brings into her love hut, she is free to keep sexual relations with all, none or just one among the many who visit. Sometimes, boys and girls only hold conversation through the night and finally sleep. Therefore there is space for love to flourish and sometimes just healthy friendships between the sexes to prosper. The huts are around 4ft by 6ft — furnished with a bamboo mattress. Girls usually move into these between the ages of 13 and 15. Who could, in their wildest imaginations conceive, that some bamboos put together in a particular way, having a particular height, breadth and length would be symbolic of such colossal sexual freedom? Instead of the parents annexing the supervisory role in a girl’s life, the latter feel entirely in charge of their own destiny and choice; having
no compulsions of being an oh-so-holy chaste virgin who becomes a fallen woman the minute she lays eyes on a man. There is no taboo around engaging in sexual intercourse, she is not automatically deemed a sinner if she breaks all convention and decides to “lose her virginity”. I insert the inverted commas around “lose her virginity” very consciously. It sounds to me, a lot like a saddening, mourn-worthy episode of what-if-it-happensprior-to-marriage. I lost my watch, I lost my property, and I lost my phone. The case in focus is of course the loss of the virginity, which is a more intimate and serious matter than losing a phone. It is, however (and I shouldn’t be misunderstood as trivialising first-time-intercourse), an act of loss for the woman. It’s the ruthless character it takes, if she loses this precious gift given to her before marriage (after marriage of course, it is all legitimate). My question is, why should it be about losing and not gaining? Why should it be about the “loss” of respect and purity but not about the “gaining” of maturity and independence? In the case of a man, why does it become an act of mere insertion and not a loss of any of his good virtues? Why must he, before marriage, get to retain his purity and chastity even though he may have had sexual relations with several women? I, however, am also very aware of the changing realities, where men too, “lose their virginities” and refer to it as so after their first sexual intercourse; where men are also termed “loose” if they engage in intercourse with many women. The problem is why must these limiting categories exist at all, for either of the sexes? The Kreung tribe’s traditions then are a breath of fresh air, away from constrictive ideologies into a space that doesn’t consider this loss of virginity as consequential to the
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woman’s respect. In fact, it encourages women to have sex, It is part of a ceaseless eternal, cyclical set of thought to find their physical and emotional compatibility with a processes that form the crux of our societal learning. man and finally decide who they would like to marry. Returning to Cambodian Love Huts, things in their Needless to say, this female sexual utopia is an society seems to be changing nowadays, with the advent Indian parents’ worst nightmare. I can almost imagine my of television and mobile phones. Boys do not respect the mother glaring deep into the new novel she plans to finish girls as much as they used to before, they are less interested in the very same day, in forming holistic an amazing attempt at relationships with The problem is why must these limiting evasion, adamant in girls their age for they categories exist at all, for either of the sexes? The thought, exclaiming to have immediate access Kreung tribe’s traditions then are a breath of me with almost childlike to pornography. My fresh air, away from constrictive ideologies into innocence, “What do personal observations a space that doesn’t consider this loss of virginity Cambodians know about of the Kreung tribe’s as consequential to the woman’s respect. It, in marriage, beta?” She is a limitations are that fact, encourages women to have sex, to find their voracious reader, but the marriage is seen as physical and emotional compatibility with a next most interesting the teelos for men and thing about her is that women, the be-all and man and finally decide who they would she possesses excellent end-all of a person’s like to marry skills in escaping a existence. The fear then discussion on alternative lifestyles. As do most Indian is that a person, especially a woman, who chooses to live alone, parents, I’m sure. Shaadi with a man of their caste, class and might be condemned as a deviant. Secondly, heterosexual choice is a dream come true for many and boyfriends, a huge relationships are seen as the norm, man to man and taboo. Sex? Shhh. Cannot be spoken about! How are children woman to woman, love is not considered for all. made then? God just comes flying from his chambers to hand Both these limitations are, however, true for most the baby to the mother? What is sex then? GO DO YOUR societies of the world; the tribe still comes closest to giving HOMEWORK!, in a flaring voice, is the usual answer. The women their own entitlements, cases of rape and divorce intention here is not to blame parents but to understand the are so rare as to be deemed negligible. Clearly, guaranteeing deep seated roots and far reaching impact of this hegemonic sexual freedom during the teenage has its perks for women, ideology. Our grandparents passed these ideas on to our men and for the whole society at large. Perhaps we build parents and our great grandparents to our grandparents. our children some Love Huts someday, eh?
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campusdiaries.com/stories/cambodian-love-huts-a-nightmare-for-indian-parents
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SOCIETY
on a post-it #creativity
Archana Rao
Darden School of Business Virginia | United States
, career, love , n o ti a c u d e g in er out on rdities surround tt su e b b a s ’ s It it ) : l t l -i a st h o t is life wit let loose on a p n su e th r e Life on a post-i d n u bout anything a st ju d in my mind ! n a n a ty th ie t -i soc st o p e th
Aaah! Those days of summer when you have a list of things you want to do and it’s endless. But, before you know it the days flgo by! There’s never time for all the nothing you want to do
uestion often q is h T ? it r o f a priest’s word e k ta u o y l il W ith in him a ? f h r it u a o f y n d o o e G ic g r Can you put a p ate about showin u q e d a in g in l e e leaves you f
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If I had a penny
for all the tim es I was at “work � thinking abou do that I actual t all the things ly love, I would I could be a millionair e by now!
solve in the to t n a e m s a w e roblem that h p e th e l g n plexities! a m m o t c a f o th s n th o in ti r u ds sol m into a laby e th Man often fiffiin g in n r tu , fiffiirst place
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r belt, you begin ou y r e d un s y a d r tu dom partying Sa n a r of roductively r p e b e or um n m w m e e f th a g ve After you ha looking at spendin e b ld ou sh ou y if to wonder
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TRAVEL
PORT-DE-DEAD A walk through Lothal, once a port to the now dead civilization of the Harappans
#HISTORY Koyna Tomar Lady Sri Ram College New Delhi
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Double burial. One person present at the museum, claiming to be a “historian”, referred to this as an instance to sati! (it wasn’t)
When my parents said we are going to Gujarat one fine mid-sem break, I blackmailed my company for an addition to the itenary — Lothal!
Lothal — A smaller than Chandni Chowk port town of the ancient Harappans. Dated: Around 3500 years ago
The town was divided into two parts — The acropolis or the citadel, which comprised of a warehouse at Lothal, and a lower town
All hopes of Lothal not being sealed off were washed away when the guide told us that Lothal after being excavated was never opened again
Although the excavators let some parts of the town “out for display”, Harappans developed one of the world’s finest water and sewage systems
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The market area which had one of the finest bead factories in the world. A tradition which is still upheld by the locals
This is their sewage system. Wide canals carrying waste water from homes ran across the town (they were covered of course)
The houses and streets were laid out in a peculiar way. The streets were surrounded on both sides by the walls of the house
Burnt brick structures (partly reconstructed)
A dockyard! Lothal traded with the chiefdoms down South and across the Arabian sea with the Mesopotamians campusdiaries.com/picture-stories/port-de-dead
Somsuvra Chatterjee Jadavpur University, Kolkata #passion
I looked longingly at the steel and concrete behemoth that was gliding past the car window and as my mind went back to the day it all started, I felt a sense of pride. And I realised it in that moment, what it was to be a civil engineer 35
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EXPERIENCES
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Civil engineering isn’t about desolate far off locations, unbearable weather conditions or 72 hours of continuous work schedules. It is about the beauty of seeing something grow up with your own eyes. It isn’t the romance of hope and despair, it is real, as real as it can get, on earth, literally
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ore often than not, it is the creative people, the likes of photographers, travellers, journalists, architects, artists, dancers (the list goes on) who can skillfully dole out the words reminiscing their experiences of an adventure trip or a solo performance in a way that enthralls the readers. I have always admired good writing and at times envied the people who can seamlessly put their thoughts into words. I have followed blogs of some with a sense of awe and admiration, always wanting to read more. But, I also found it strange that people who do that, always have a creative bent of mind in areas that doesn’t involve yielding the pen (the likes of which I mentioned above). It is very rare to see a chartered accountant describing his work in a manner that makes it interesting or a mechanical engineer describing a gear mechanism he devised without it being a buffet of technical jargon or a lawyer describing his experience in a courtroom. It goes without saying that the chartered accountant or the mechanical engineer or the lawyer may be excellent writers (I have friends who are into these “boring” professions but are pretty decent with the pen too), but one hardly comes across someone who can describe their work and the beauty of a flowing river with equal conviction and quality. And for engineers like me (yes, civil, phew!), we generally work in places where getting a network signal on a cellular phone for four hours at a stretch is considered lucky. So much for the internet and blogging! One of my seniors rang me up a few days back and after sharing our good old college memories, he mentioned to me that he was working in a location that holds a special place in the Guinness Book of World Records, for being one of the few
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places in the world not to have a pin code. It isn’t about desolate far off locations, unbearable weather conditions or 72 hours of continuous work schedules. It is about the beauty of seeing something grow up with your own eyes. It isn’t the romance of hope and despair, it is real, as real as it can get, on earth, literally. It was in the August of 2011, I was just out of college and my first project was in the new steel capital of India — Jajpur, a city in the making, around 250 kilometers from the eastern coastline, in the state of Odisha. Once a capital city of the mighty Kalinga empire, it had little to boast other than exorbitant land prices (all due to the steel majors — more than a dozen of iron and steel making industries and the highest cancer rate in the country). As I stepped down from the train onto the platform, I was anything but confident. New place, new people and a culture lot different from mine and as time would prove it — a lot more hostile too. The next day as I went to the project site, I was stunned just by its enormity. A vast expanse of land, 800 metres wide and more than a kilometer long, lay there in front of me, stripped of almost any kind of vegetation. It was there that I had to move the men, machinery and materials and prove my engineering acumen in building one of the largest rolling mills in the country for one of the steel majors. Work was due to start in a month or so and we were just in the planning stage. At a total cost of Rs. 5000 crores, this rolling mill would turn huge steel slabs into thin sheets using an array of complicated machines and mechanisms achieving a production rate of 3 million tons per annum. Leaving aside the technical details, it was the Mecca of engineering, with the biggest names in civil contracting, equipment engineering and designing, work-
-ing in tandem to make this giant run. I was often overwhelmed at the quantum of work that needed to be accomplished but there was a sense of joy at being part of something of this magnitude. My colleagues and I took into stride everything that came into our way. Slowly but steadily things began to take shape, we stood there all along — in scorching temperatures of 52 degrees Celsius or braving strong winds that made the wooden boards fly like kites as well as the torrential rains making
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My colleagues were senior to me... I wondered what made them, or for that matter any civil engineer — leaving their families and coming to work in far off places to build something that is not even their own. Need, is obviously an answer, but many of them could have chosen different career paths which involved a steady working time, an air conditioned office and the privilege of staying with one’s family
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it impossible to walk without slipping and falling into ankle deep mud. Hours passed by and became days. Days turned to months. The pace of work was getting onto the people, with work hours often stretching more than fifteen hours on a normal day. Concrete pours getting bigger and more intensive. Even after reaching our rooms for just a night’s sleep, we had to face incessant power failures and mosquito bites. Sundays were exciting since we only had to work for half a day, if there wasn’t any major concrete pour scheduled. We had a life in that city, not with the best facilities (bare minimum, I would say), neither good entertainment nor a variety of food choices, but only with the company of people like us. We had our share of fun with booze parties on Saturday nights or weekend trips to the nearby beach, but what amazed me was the purpose for which we toiled day and night. On those rare occasions when I had the time to think about sublime or not so earthly things, I was at my retrospective best. My colleagues were senior to me and have been in the organisation for a good number of years, working for projects similar in nature. I wondered what made them, or for that matter any civil engineer — leaving their family and coming to work in far off places to build something that is not even their own. Need, is obviously
an answer, but many of them could have chosen different career paths which involved a steady working time, an air conditioned office and the privilege of staying with one’s family. I often pondered over this, but almost always my thoughts were punctuated by the client personnel wanting some information or the contractor’s billing engineer wanting to get a document signed. Work progressed, new people came in. The client was constantly bickering over the timeline and made desperate attempts to make us strictly adhere to the proposed schedule. The structure began to take shape; it became increasingly complex and the construction, equally difficult. Coupled with the protests by local villages, almost twice a month, twice we were very much close to being killed by the mob. During the tenure of my stay, there were three fatal accidents inside the plant premises, so vehement protest followed those, with offices being looted and then burnt, engineers and site personnel hit with iron rods along with subsequent closure of work for the entire day or even more. Most of us enjoyed the welcome break. The irony was that death evoked two very contrasting emotions — sorrow, despair, anger and insecurity among the deceased’s kin and that of temporary joy among us, as we got a break from our demanding schedules. Strange how life works! After almost a year and half, we all had very much defined roles with individual areas allocated. The work still demanded harsh timings but we were pretty much conversant with the way things worked there. There were problems galore — quality issues, mismatches in construction drawings, incorrect construction leading to rework and hence a wastage of time and money, technology supplier’s idiosyncrasies. But, what kept us moving was the spirit and realisation of being in it. The conditions of work hadn’t improved but instead of complaining, we now took pride in the fact that we were able to continue despite so many odds. It was a change of outlook for all of us — and I could see it in their faces. It was like watching your own child grow up. Day by day, month by month, we gave the structure its shape. We could feel it. Sometime later, I got an employment offer from one of the leading business houses in the country. I had applied long back at the insistence of a college professor and forgot about it soon after. It was a welcome surprise and I soon initiated the formalities. The pre-employment tests and procedures took more than a month and I was finally selected. Before I could realise, it was time for me to leave. I had only a month before I left that place, on whose grounds I started my career or more importantly — my life. Many a times during that month-long period, I thought
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What we were building was not a magnificent bridge that would link two nations and bring economic prosperity, neither a towering building soaring into the sky; it wasn’t anything that would cause a revolution. It was, in fact, a symbol of reinforcement of capitalist power in this country, an instrument that would reap huge profits for some and perhaps better the life of the people living around it
about staying put in my current organisation, it was as if I had fallen in love with the work. My condition was like that of the captain, “Who was so much in love with his ship that he decided to sink with it rather than flee.” As my brain oscillated from one end of the thought spectrum to another, common sense finally prevailed and I had only a couple of days to leave. The farewell parties were planned and belongings, packed. A few office formalities were left for the last day. I absentmindedly began on those, when my mind travelled back to the day when I stood in front of the vast expanse of the land which was waiting to be ripped off to realise an industrial dream. I was feeling the pangs of separation, a feeling so often glorified by teenagers on social networking sites when they are just about to leave school or on the last day of their university. I would miss it — my friends, those crazy booze parties, the weekend trips but more importantly — my work. I would miss the rock blasting at 4:00 AM in the morning, the incessant drone of the number of machines working at the site; I would miss returning back to my room late at night and just slump into the sofa as my legs would not carry me to my bed. I finally signed the receipt of the relieving letter and shook hands with my colleagues, all of them wishing me the very best for my life ahead, I realised in that moment I wanted to be there, perhaps forever, watching my child grow up. I stepped
onto the car and it began moving. I looked longingly at the steel and concrete behemoth that was gliding past the car window and as my mind went back to the day it all started, I felt a sense of pride. And I realised it in that moment, what it was to be a civil engineer. What we were building was not a magnificent bridge that would link two nations and bring economic prosperity, neither a towering building soaring into the sky; it wasn’t anything that would cause a revolution. It was, in fact, a symbol of reinforcement of capitalist power in this country, an instrument that would reap huge profits for some and perhaps better the life of the people living around it. But, beyond the social structure of this establishment, beyond the labyrinth of good and bad and right and wrong, there are people working to realise this dream. People, who over the years have made our lives easier, without our knowledge. This wasn’t a narration of an epic project, it was the way a civil engineer saw life — his life among the steel and concrete — willing to be one with the dust rather than abandon it. The project would take perhaps another eight to nine months to complete, but many years from now, I dream to visit that place where I first fell in love and I would witness what my child had become.
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The wood is bought from the nearby villages to Channapatna
Wood is left for seasoning (2-3 months), otherwise the toys start cracking afterwards 42
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Seasoned wood is chopped into smaller pieces and brought to the workshop
In the workshop, these logs go through the hands of skilled craftsmen to be later converted into beautiful toys
The wood is fixed into a rotating base and is then chiseled while rotating in full force
Various equipment is used to make everything with precision
The next step is to paint these toys, which is done with the help of naturally obtained non-hazardous colours
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These colours are made by mixing larque with natural dyes
Finally, after a little polishing with leaves from a coconut tree, the toy is finally ready! campusdiaries.com/picture-stories/toy-story-of-channapatna
Occam’s Razor The Marilyn Monroe of Mathematics Abhijit R Muley Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee #PSYCHOLOGY
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however the underlying theory that ‘in cases with a large ccam’s Razor is one of the most beautiful connumber of assumptions, if even a single assumption fails, cepts in logic that is applicable in almost all asthe whole story collapses like a house of cards’ is quite pects of our life. Its technical definition — strong. The planetary model of atom seems quite simple among competing hypotheses, the hypothesis but it has more assumptions than actual observations, with the fewest assumptions should be selected and no wonder it was quickly debunked and a more — is slightly complicated. It might act as a veil that hides robust theory that does not assume any fixed path for the face behind it — elegant and with a beauty of its own. electrons became accepted by the scientific community. Now, let me explain like you are a five year old. Imagine As a real-life example of applications of Occam’s that you are living in the countryside with a house in the Razor, consider the 9/11 attacks on World Trade Centre middle of a huge farm. One day, you wake up to find a crop in New York. A section of intelligentsia started circulating pattern displaying the words ‘F**K YOU’ in the middle of theories that the attacks were planned by the government your farm (insert the swear word that you prefer). There is a and that both the towers were rigged with explosives possibility that a group of young punks, who frequently visit before-hand. The whole incident was claimed to be one the forest for drinking and getting high, might have done perfectly executed manoeuver wherein every piece just fell that in the night. They have been previously convicted for into its proper place. And as to why the government would vandalism and were released do that, it was said that after one of their parents the military-governmentintervened in the matter. The industry complex needed a other possibility is that an Imagine that you are living in the reason to attack Afghanistan alien spaceship landed in your countryside with a house in the middle of and gain control over the oilfarm in the dead of the night a huge farm. One day, you wake up to find rich region in the name of and drew these characters a crop pattern displaying the words ‘F**K fighting terrorism. Now, let which in their script might YOU’ in the middle of your farm us cut through this theory mean ‘Land here’. The third one by one. First of all, no one possibility is that your cow could have stopped US from decided to graze in this pattern. attacking any country they wanted as long as there was an Let’s look at the last two hypotheses. If the aliens attack of some kind on US citizens in the concerned region had landed in your farm, there must have been something and it would have been much easier to orchestrate such interesting that made them select it as the point for writing an event in the Middle-East itself. Second, the planting of the secret message. Also, their script is similar to English. such bombs and executing the whole process would have Third, they were wearing invisibility cloaks since no one involved quite a few men and atleast one of them would in the village saw a spaceship in the sky or they might have have felt the guilt of being responsible for the possible used memory erasing spells on all of them. You need to add a death of thousands of their countrymen. Also, what if few more assumptions to support this argument. If the cow the planes had not hit the towers the way they had been had eaten in this particular manner, either it must be really planned? Then all the targets would have to be stripped of intelligent to have understood all the swear words that you the wires and bombs that were planted. Also, if four planes use so often or someone must have poured something on were supposed to hit four different targets, the two targets the field in the shape of those very letters, which the cow that were not hit would have eventually been discovered liked and grazed on. This person could have been one of with explosives. As you can see the simpler explanation those punks who were the accused in the first hypothesis. of a few men sneaking Swiss knives and chemical sprays So, we have two cases in which the punks are inside the plane (completely possible in those days the culprits with the only assumption being that they due to relaxed security) with an intention of avenging were high/drunk, which seems quite valid given their their religion seems to be a more plausible explanation, past history. Hence, we can look in to that direction and which was later confirmed by Osama Bin Laden in 2004. try to find proof of the young punk’s activity instead of However, like every logical tool, Occam’s Razor concentrating our resources on investigating an alien can also be misleading. For example, Einstein’s law invasion or a sudden development in the IQ of cows. of relativity defies common-sense and Newton’s laws We use Occam’s Razor so often in our lives without do seem to be the undisputable truth in comparison. even being aware of it. Occam’s Razor might fail sometimes,
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ANALYSIS
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Occam’s Razor can also be misleading. For example, Einstein’s law of relativity defies common-sense and Newton’s laws do seem to be the undisputable truth in comparison. I mean how can time become fast or slow? Time is what we define it to be
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I mean how can time become fast or slow? Time is what we define it to be. Yet, extensive experiments have conclusively proved that time does dilate and is better considered as a part of space-time fabric rather than the classical definition of duration between two events. So, the next time, in a complicated situation, instead of assuming what is the most convenient for you, make an attempt to classify the theories and then proceed to the conclusion (in Mathematics or in life). But do remember to use it only as a compass and not as the proof itself.
*** campusdiaries.com/stories/occams-razor
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Colonel’s villa
TRAVEL
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A house downtown
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The Masjid in Chowk Bazar 54
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Clock tower
Oxford store
campusdiaries.com/picture-stories/dazzling-darjeeling
PROJECT
The 5 million dollar answer
After studying Bioengineering for four years, I decided to take up graduate school and get a doctorate because I knew what I was doing would make a difference and help millions of people
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Akshay Chaudhari Stanford University California, United States #change
s I sat in front of the MRI machine (which incidentally sounds like a cross between emergency sirens and the new song by Skrillex) while debugging some code at 2 AM on a Friday night just a few weeks ago, I asked myself — “What am I doing here? What am I doing with my life?”. I began to wonder what I am doing in graduate school working 50-60 hour work weeks along with concurrently taking classes, while most of my friends are enjoying a comfortable life in the industry. Before I tell you about what my thought process was, let me tell you a little about myself. I am currently at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. I am a
graduate student in the PhD program in the department of Bioengineering here. I graduated with an undergraduate degree in the same from University of California San Diego (UCSD). During the four years that I spent in San Diego; between the beaches, the gorgeous weather, and some wonderful Mexican food, I managed to learn a thing or two about Bioengineering. This is perhaps, one of the newest fields in engineering. Before I started UCSD, I could probably not even tell you about what Bioengineering entailed. However, after numerous courses in a plethora of fields such as biomechanics, circuit design, biomaterials, tissue engineering, bioimaging, etc; I realised that Bioengineering simply applies principles
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from traditional engineering fields into processes that go working long hours, reading endless publications, and in on in the human body. The goal of this field is to better my case, spending a long time debugging code! However, understand physiological phenomenon and then use this the goals of this are more than fulfilling. The current knowledge to come up with next generation diagnostics research that I do involves working with MRI scanners so and therapeutics, so as to help patients with clinical needs. that data can be acquired, faster and with a higher quality. I chose research in Magnetic Resonance Imaging Towards the goal of being able to help patients who (MRI) because currently, MRI is one of the most utilised are in need, I decided to not only focus on coursework, clinical diagnostic systems. In fact, the National Academy of but to be very active with research as well. I was fortunate Engineering (one of the most select and prestigious group of enough to be at one of the best schools in the world for engineering professionals in industry and academia) named bioengineering research. During my four short years, I was bioimaging as the 14th greatest engineering innovation in lucky enough to have worked on projects ranging from the world. I do not mind imaging coming in 14th place computational folding and imaging nanovector-polymer compared to advances such as electricity, computers, conjugate, computational modeling of the metabolism etc. Anyway, I digress. of Escherichia coli (E.coli), Currently, I am diffusion and perfusion working in the lab of Brian responses of a long term Hargreaves at the Richard implantable glucose sensor, Lucas Center for Imaging at as well as measuring elasticity the departments of Radiology of tissues using ultrasound and Bioengineering at imaging systems. Such Stanford University. While research was also coupled with I cannot speak about my internships at a multinational current project due to biotechnology company called intellectual property reasons, Genentech, where I tried to I am working on techniques create a metabolomics assay to evaluate quantitative using liquid chromatography parameter maps of various and mass spectrometry. tissues using MRI. In the Being able to apply concepts past, I have worked in the that one learns in classes to I realised that Bioengineering simply lab of Kim Butts Pauly where solving real world problems, applies principles from traditional I worked on evaluating the was definitely an eye engineering fields into processes that impact of pulsatile brain opening experience for me. go on in the human body. The goal motion during high intensity A dual education which of this field is to better understand focused ultrasound. I have consisted of concepts and physiological phenomenon and also worked with Jin Lee actions helped me learn about then use this knowledge to come up where I investigated the use the several medical problems with next generation diagnostics and of spiral sequences in data that are facing the world today. therapeutics, so as to help patients with acquisition for optogenetic I realised that one of the ways to clinical needs functional magnetic remedy this would be to apply resonance imaging. All in engineering principles to study all, I love working on all things MRI. Where else can one ailments and then use the insights that one would gain play around with a machine that costs around $5million?? from this, to create efficacious therapies. It is for this reason I enjoy working where I do. I feel like the work that that I decided to pursue graduate school and a doctorate. I can do can have direct clinical impact. I have always A doctorate is not for the weak of heart. Even though enjoyed working with numbers and have always wanted I have only been involved in it for a year, a handful of my to be able to help people. My current role as a graduate experiences coupled with observing my peers has shown me student helps me achieve both of my interests. Unlike that one has to be entirely passionate in the field that they my times at UCSD, I am investing large chunks of my are in. Getting a doctorate means becoming an expert in the time into one single project and I could not be happier world, in one particular field. This does not come without
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past nine months when I have because I can see results comhad my bicycle at Stanford, ing through much faster. I have biked around twelve While I do spend long What am I doing with my life?” hundred miles. hours in the lab, I have always I had asked myself. The answer was simply: Coming back to the wanted to become a more bal- I am doing what I have ever wanted to do. question I was asking myself anced person and do things I am enjoying myself and I am doing things when I was debugging my outside of work also. I always that matter in the world — I am doing pulse sequence for my MRI wanted to make sure that I am work which can ultimately change scanner, I have a very simple not Jack from the phrase ‘All lives in the future answer. “What am I doing with work and no play makes Jack my life?” I had asked myself. a dull boy’. Towards this end, I The answer was simply: I always try to be complete person. I enjoy spending time with friends, be it from getting am doing what I have ever wanted to do. I am enjoying food, to things like hiking, talking science, drinking craft myself and I am doing things that matter in the world — I beers from microbreweries, etc. I also cannot emphasise am doing work which can ultimately change lives in the how much I enjoy playing sports. I am currently on the future. That is why, I love where I am and I love being a club team for Stanford Racquetball. In just one year, I have graduate student at Stanford University. (In case you were played intramural sports such as football, indoor and out- wondering, my debugging session failed and I had to spend door soccer and volleyball, ultimate frisbee, basketball and around ten more hours to fix the problem!) dodgeball. Not only that, but I enjoy bicycling also! In the
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*** campusdiaries.com/stories/the-5-million-dollar-answer
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PEOPLE
My hands are made of magic
Not mere flesh and bone am I
Unnoticed, ignored, overlooked
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I tumble, wash and dry
My hands play with magic
They beat out dirt and grime
Not some flimsy bubble washer
But hardcore, old-school time
My hands make magic
And this they do alone
Hands scrubs, diamond tossing
The sound of scrub on stone
campusdiaries.com/picture-stories/dhobhi-gaya
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They (Afghani girls) thought all the other girls on the campus are either married or engaged because they all had their eyebrows plucked… in Afghanistan, girls do not pluck their eyebrows before their engagement
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n the month of August 2009, when I, along with my 139 batch mates from twelve different Asian countries, arrived at Asian University for Women (AUW), Bangladesh, we knew very little or almost nothing about each other’s cultures and customs. I could relate to Pakistani and Bangladeshi cultures but others were unknown planets. Given my lack of general knowledge and irregularities with news and other informative sources, I was the worse off. Well, the media’s portrait of a country or culture cannot be trusted either (evident from the disappointments other students had with Indians). Recalling some of those cultural shocks and surprises that I and my friends experienced now brings smile on my face, but they were quite unexpected at that time. The Afghani students’ amazement Afghanistan is a cold country, and what does that mean? It means no mosquitoes. Atleast, not for where my friends came from. On our arrival to AUW, we were given mosquito nets along with our bedding and the Afghani students wondered what the nets were for. Fortunately, one of my roommates was an Afghani student. When she saw me and my Bangladeshi friend, very well familiar with those nets and draping them over our beds, she was quite surprised. The next night, we saw her friend taking photos of her while she was inside the mosquito net. The blurred face inside the white mosquito net was smiling with excitement. Those photos were to be sent to her family back in Afghanistan. Well, I did not know a mosquito net could be that interesting. Another surprise for the Afghani girls came from us girls – they thought all the other girls on the campus are either married or engaged because they all had their eyebrows plucked. I could not hold back my laughter when my sweet roomie asked me about this. Initially, I weaved a story and told her that I was married. She even believed
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me. Later she told me that in Afghanistan, girls do not pluck their eyebrows before their engagement. Though it was interesting, it did make sense because in many cultures a woman is supposed to look beautiful only for her husband. Other than that, it is considered a sin. The Nepali Students’ frustration When the Nepalese students arrived in Bangladesh, from the airport to the university, they were constantly asked if they were married. Not the viewers’ fault. Even I had the same doubt. This is why — Nepalese put tilak or teeka, red coloured religious mark that touches the hair line of their faces. It seems like they have put sindoor, vermillion powder — a sign of being a married woman in Hinduism. They were frustrated by the repeated questioning and also by the stares they got from the men who seemed to look at them with searching eyes, “Why did you marry so early, could you not have waited for me?” The Srilankans’ Discomfort Srilanka has two major ethnicities: the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils. They fought against each other for 26 years in a brutal civil war, beginning in the year 1983. Obviously, the two ethnic groups did not share a good relationship with each other and the idea of sharing a room or attending classes together was just unimaginable. When the two ethnic groups from Srilanka arrived at AUW together, many of them were assigned rooms in the dormitory in a way that they had to share a room together. Having no past experiences of living together and that too in such close proximity, they did not know how to react or build a positive relationship. The tensions grew in rooms and even in classrooms. The declaration of the end of the civil war in the year 2009 added to the conflict between the groups, making the winning side cheerful and the losing side miserable. Seeing their situation the campus psychologist organised a
An Indian’s experience and a few hilarious moments Other students at AUW, especially from the Indian subcontinent, had a lot of misinformation about the Indian culture and people (thanks to our Bollywood and television shows). They thought that all the Indians speak Hindi, or at least know Hindi even if they speak other languages. They wear expensive saris and heavy jewellery every day. So, when the South Indians, especially from Kerala and Tamil Nadu arrived, the other students on campus were surprised to learn that they could barely speak Hindi and were upset after realising that they could not practice their Bollywood-learnt Hindi with the Indian students. But that was not the worst part. They were more disappointed after they saw the faces of the Indian students. Watching Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and other pretty ladies on screen, they had expected the Indian girls to be as beautiful as them, or at least close. And we could not help with that in anyway. My Tibetan friend once told me that, back in her high school in Tibet the boys were really fond of the Indian girls they saw on screen. I did not have much to say about it and could only reply, “Yes! And that is why they appear on screen and we, here.” Food differs a lot from place to place and I did not expect Bangladesh to be an exception. But to my surprise I found more of similarities than differences. We found the very familiar, golgappe/panipuri albeit with a different name – phuchka – and we would go out often to have them. Though they were not as tasty as the ones we get in India, they were quite okay. But we saw a major difference in the Bangladeshi phuchka. The stuffed panipuri had something white coloured sprinkled on it. It was not salt for sure, but we could not figure out what it was since we were always served outside the shop on the table. We never got to see what they did inside while preparing it, the way you get to see in India. We did not mind the white sprinkled thing, since it didn’t change the taste at all. One of my Indian friends is a strict vegetarian so she had to be very careful of what she ate in the campus cafeteria or out in Bangladesh. Once, we went with that her to eat phuchka. Halfway through finishing our plates, we had a doubt that the white sprinkling is nothing but a smashed boiled egg.
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Upon their arrival in Bangladesh (AUW), the Pakistani students sensed the unease their presence created. Though up to a minor extent, the Pakistani students were made to realise that they were not welcome and that they were responsible for the historical damage to Bangladesh. Committed to improve the relationship, the Pakistani students apologised publicly to the Bangladeshis for what their country had done to them
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workshop for them, where both the groups communicated and shared their stories of the war. They found that no matter which group they belong to, they had both suffered and lost their dear ones. That was the common point for them. The workshop was a huge success and now many of the Sinhalese and the Tamilians were best of friends.
We gestured to each other to remain silent. Unfortunately, the strict-vegetarian friend of ours figured it out and instantly panicked. You should have seen her face then! She rushed to the basin, and vomited several times cursing the waiters at the restaurant and even us for not informing her. We tried to explain it to her that we too had just found out that very same day but she did not listen. She quickly returned to her room. Brushed. Showered. And prayed for almost an hour, seeking forgiveness from God, while we tried hard to control our laughter. A Pakistani-Bangladeshi Relationship Bangladesh had fought the bloody liberation war with Pakistan to save their mother language and create an independent country. Since it has been only 40 years to that war and their independence, the distressing memories are quite fresh in the Bangladeshi hearts and has also been passed on to the younger generations. Upon their arrival in Bangladesh (AUW), the Pakistani students sensed the unease their presence created. Though up to a minor extent, the Pakistani students were made to realise that they were not welcome and that they were responsible for the historical damage to Bangladesh. Committed to improve the relationship, the Pakistani students apologised publicly to the Bangladeshis for what their country had done to them on the occasion of the International Mother Language day Celebration on campus. The Bangladeshi students accepted the apology and both the groups hugged each other. The university campus became the witness and example of how people can start to live peacefully, forgetting their past enmity. I just wish such acts of love, understanding and openness is extended beyond my university border.
*** campusdiaries.com/stories/living-in-a-multicultural-community-cultural-shocks-and-surprises
INTERNSHIP
M y Internship Story HARSH BERIA IIT Kharagpur #studenthood
On a well spent summer, interning with a startup
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t IIT Kharagpur, ‘internship’ is a buzz word, best way to learn something new is by actually doing it. especially among the second year students. College restarted and I was back with the busy They keep spamming their professors’ inboxes schedule. It was January, the season where everyone has from various foreign colleges in hope of landing been looking for a summer internship abroad, people a sponsored holiday abroad. But, I wanted to brainstorming with what they had achieved so far and do an internship that would give me a good experience in penning it down in bold fonts on their resume. To a cynic, web and application development instead. After having the scene was a perfect illustration of desperate students done my research, I knew I wanted to work with a startup trying to get fancy job profiles for a couple of months, and because of two reasons — first, there is a lot of work to do maybe even a PPO after that. I frequently visited Internshala in startups and interns are a valuable asset to the team, and landed up a part-time internship with The Learning and are not just hired to serve coffee to everyone. Point where I made some automatically graded MCQs Secondly, why will a big IT company take a non- in Advanced Physics and wrote some code in Python for computer science student on board when they don’t solving some standard Algorithm Problems. For the coming have any dearth of applications on their dashboard? I love summers, I wanted to work in an actual office environment programming and I always wanted to be an open source and see how things are done professionally. I applied to programmer. I realised many startups for an the pain of choosing a internship position branch which doesn’t in Programming After having done my research, I knew align with my interest I wanted to work with a startup because of two reasons and got no replies in my early days at for quite sometime. — first, there is a lot of work to do in startups and IIT Kharagpur so in I had become a little interns are a valuable asset to the team, and are not my first year, I taught desperate as I didn’t just hired to serve coffee to everyone. Secondly, why web development want to waste my will a big IT company take a non-computer science to myself and even summer. And then student on board when they don’t have any dearth of designed websites for the shackles were applications on their dashboard? some student bodies broken when I got and college fests. four offers on the same A big crisis that day from startups I underwent was finding a portal where students could like Akosha, Wallet Circle, Wizmunk and BrowseBoard. communicate with employers. Internshala was the one All of a sudden, I was both overjoyed and confused. On stop solution, as there were many internships listed in the the following day, I received a call from Sarvesh, CEO of subject of my interest, and it was free! Who doesn’t love a Internshala for an internship with them. This seemed to free service like this? It was like a Wikipedia of internships be the perfect offer and I decided to spend my summer for students like me. I applied for some winter internships with them. The tough part was to reject the offers from in 2012 and got shortlisted in almost all of them. I chose the other companies. Honestly, I felt a pinch of pride. During my stay at Internshala, I built some cool Rakshak Foundation, which is an NGO that creates awareness about different public policies. My task was to stuff like Chat box and worked on a learning portal make a mobile application for Android and iOS platforms with a forum similar to Stackoverflow, which has the using Corona Framework. I didn’t have any idea how to go potential to teach thousands of students. Barring about it. The best part of the internship was that it was a Gurgaon’s heat waves, the experience was a delightful one. The best part of any internship is that students work-from-home internship, so I could work at my own convenience. A little bit of Googling kick started my project get to work on the latest technologies which aren’t and without much difficulty, a reasonable first version of my there in our textbooks and get to work with the leaders application was ready in a month. I didn’t have any previous in the field. It gives us the opportunity to actually experience in making a mobile app or its development make an informed career choice. And platforms like but it wasn’t very difficult to pick it up in a short span Internshala really make work easy for the students. of time. What I learnt from the experience was that the
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*** campusdiaries.com/stories/my-internship-story
GuruYantra.com GuruYantra.com “Don’t just work hard… Work Smart”
A
young boy once finding himself at cross-roads in life — uncertain and unaware what he was to do for a living — confused and hopelessly trying to find an answer, went upto his mother and and asked asked anxiously, anxiously, “What “What should should I do?I For do? aFor living a living and andlife?” for for life?” His mother His mother simplysimply replied,“If replied,“If you areyou a soldier, are a soldier, you will you become will abecome General. a General. If you areIf ayou monk areyou a monk shall you shallthe become become Pope.”the The Pope.” boy had The aboy passion had afor passion painting for painting and hence and we hence know we know him him today, today, as asPablo Pablo Picasso. GuruYantra.com is an e-portal, floated as a product of Indian Ocean Ventures, which strives to simplify as well as create awareness to ‘Look beyond the rat race’ and ‘Change the way life lives’ — -- to to follow your passion and everything else is secondary. Founded by Raunak Zatakia who heads operations at GuruYantra.com, he has had an eventful journey so far. Starting out with the team of sosasta.com during its start-up phase, which later functioned as Groupon India, post which he went on to pursue his Bachelor’s in Management Studies Studies asaswell wellasasworking working as aasconsultant a consultant for for human human resource resource training training and and development development for small for small and and medium medium enterprises. enterprises. He happened He happentotoidentify identify aa need, need, to make provisions for skilled man-power at these firms while on the other end the student fraternity had its own set of grievances ranging from seeking internship opportunities to placements — -- which which led led to the idea of GuruYantra.com.
So what’s in the name? Why GuruYantra?
One may ask — -- well well under under the Indian context, a Guru or a teacher has been the one to guide his disciple all along and the Yantra (also known as instrument) happens to be the web-portal via which services are provided, thus the branding under the name of GuruYantra.
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The Concept:
Pursue those dreams and follow the paths which your heart desires; follow your passion and everything else is secondary. The organisation aims to bridge the gap in India between employers and job seekers by firstly making students jobready by helping them locate an internship opportunity over the duration of their course and later on helping these college students get placed, thereby connecting young professionals with prevailing opportunities based on their passion. The team at GuruYantra.com is of the outlook that work and satisfaction are an inter-related concept, thereby we proclaim the fact that until and unless your work does not inspire you it’s probably not worth it. The organisation’s mission is to guide people to pursue their life goals based on ambition and to ‘do what you do best’. Hence, subscribers at GuruYantra.com are provided with intensive support and opportunities through our internship program Intern-Me, which helps them get work-experience. The educational consultancy tab helps students to recognise various courses in institutes around the country other than the usual of commerce and science. The jobs section provides parttime, full time job as well as freelance job opportunities and not to forget our social responsibility by connecting the youth with various social organisations under the banner of Guru Social Foundation (GSF) — which is a non-monetary group of individuals coming together once a month to do their bit to make the world a better place.
So how does a management guy come up with a tech platform?
“Perseverance would be the right word. 14 months of planning, ground work, research and the biggest obstacle
designing and coding. Having met web-designers and web development firms day after day — even to the extent of putting up proposals for a JV or a revenue sharing business venture, its but obvious that no one wishes to bid on a plan which is on paper; you need to make an infrastructure brick by brick one at a time and it so happened that the power of internet and going through a number of web-tutorials and a few experiments did the trick. I would say: ‘Stay foolish for a happy living’, keep learning each and every day cause life is a learning process.”
The journey so far and the road ahead:
“The website went live on beta mode on May 16 and one week saw traffic from seven cities. Functioning out of Kolkata there were applicants as far as Kerala applying and sending in their CV to help them connect with job opportunities in their region. Client servicing is usually done via any and every communication platform possible. The GuruYantra blog on the plebix platform of Relaso has seen the greatest attraction, where aspiring writers, artists, startups, businesses and young turks have been given the blog space to share their ideas and views, thereby connecting with each other. The freelance model is the next vertical which is taking off, where we are looking forward to make virtual work-stations for organisations, connecting them with people from various backgrounds. The affiliate program has given us coverage with representatives in Kerala and Mumbai giving us an offline presence. We are soon looking forward to pitch for investments with venture capitalists for scaling up. From the city of joy where organisations are sceptical of growth, I personally see a lot of potential in the market although dormant in nature.”
Raunak Zatakia CEO - Indian Ocean Ventures Founder - GuruYantra.com
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INTERNSHIPS
OF THE MONTH
| Python developer – Intern • • • • •
Talented individuals to assist for web development efforts Working on front end technologies like HTML5, javascript & jQuery Experience in working with Python – college projects counts Experience with Django, Hadoop, mobile applications is a big plus Infectious enthusiasm, a killer attitude, and a passion to learn and execute with perfection Location: NOIDA
Front-end engineer - Intern • To assist the marketing, sales and product development team with their design needs • Prior experience with Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and Corel Draw • Good eye for design and spatial clarification • Creative thinking • Attention to detail • Ability to adapt quickly and work in a dynamic environment • Knowledge of video editing and content marketing is a bonus Location: Bangalore
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ROR - Intern • Familiarity with Object oriented programming language ( java, c#, ruby or python) • Person with strong concepts and approach • Basic understanding of web technologies (http, web application framework, html, css, javascript) • Knowledge of database concepts, networking, basic data structures like lists/maps Location : Anywhere
Content Writing • • • • •
Excellent communication skills Impeccable grammar Ability to work within strict deadlines Ability to communicate effectively over instant chat, email or Skype Good hold on english grammar Location: Anywhere
Java Android Developer-Intern • • • • •
Coders proficeint in database creation & management Backend and frontend integration API creation and management Ability to to work Java Android HTML ,CSS Location: Bangalore
To apply and know more: venturehire.in | subhendu@venturehire.in
CAMPUSDIARIES JULY |
#education
EXPERIENCES
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Each day and each night, we worked relentlessly hard to plan lessons and activities for our children, teaching them to do well in their end of unit assessments, and doing a showcase event of all that they learned over the four weeks. The training programme of the fellowship was exhilarating!
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here is a lot to be angry about, and a lot that will inspire you When you visit a school which has students from the low income group in any part of India, there is a lot you will see that will make you really angry and a lot that will make you feel really, really inspired. You will be angry when you see students studying in dire conditions, available resources not being put to their best use, real teaching never happening in the classrooms, and innocent dreams of the children being crushed each day. And these are the same sorts of things that will inspire you to put your foot down and say, “Enough is enough, I have to take a stand. These children deserve a better education and I will provide it to them.” Well begun is half done! These were my thoughts when I joined the Teach for India fellowship programme 16 months ago. My passion to serve the children of the nation got me into FLAME, Pune where I met hundreds of young men and women, who were just as passionate about this cause. Some of these people had left their well-paying jobs to serve this cause, while others, like me, opted for the fellowship after their graduation. We were taught how to teach, and we practiced by teaching for a month in low-income schools in Pune. Each day and each night, we worked relentlessly hard to plan lessons and activities for our children, teaching them to do well in their end of unit assessments, and doing a showcase event of all that they learned over the four weeks. The training programme of the fellowship was exhilarating! The shock and what followed afterwards After bidding farewell to my friends and colleagues from Pune and Mumbai, I came back to Delhi and started teaching in my placement school, an all-girls’ school run by the municipality. I became a teacher for the third standard stu-
dents and was given an English-medium class. I was in for a rough shock. Unlike my students in Pune, these children knew no English and for the first few days, I don’t think they understood anything about the things I told them. It took time, perseverance, relentless hard work, reflection, more learning, un-learning and a never-say-die spirit to reach a point where I concluded that all my children were following me. But that was not enough. I wanted them to communicate with me, not just orally, but prove that they were learning and understanding, which took a little more time. With a little help of my friends, and the support of my managers in the organisation, I finished my first year of teaching successfully in March, 2012. Since someone did it for me in my alma-mater, I have to do it for the children in my school I knew from day one that the fellowship was going to be hard. Year one was a real struggle as I hadn’t taught before and teaching isn’t the easiest of jobs in the world. Year two posed its own major challenges because the organisation requires its fellows to not only teach with the same rigour and enthusiasm as they did in the first year, but simultaneously do a project in their schools which will impact and benefit all children, and not just those in their classes. And so I began planning for my Be The Change Project (BTCP). I spoke to the teachers in my school about this and they gave me their ideas. I compared the facilities and experiences I had received in my alma-mater with what this school had to offer its students. By this time, I had also formed my definition for an excellent education. An excellent education is a combination of various favourable factors for a child, including academics, non-academics, values and mindsets, sports, socialconsciousness and spirituality. All these factors plus a healthy and joyous environment at home and school, exposure to the world around, promote the learning and development of a child.
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Thinking about the impact I am making I am aware of the fact that my kids have learnt and been exposed to tremendous amounts of new things ever since I started teaching them. They now have bigger and more beautiful aspirations in life and I know for sure that many of them will attend college and later work too. This definitely puts them in a better position than their peers in school
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and community. By getting them to lead their own teams, work in pairs and groups, solve their problems themselves, speak in public, write well, listen to everyone, be respectful, feel great and confident about themselves, they are learning some of the most important values, philosophies and skills needed to be successful in life. What’s in it for you? The Teach for India fellowship is not meant for everyone. Out of every 100 applicants, only seven get selected. We are looking for people who have the passion to serve, willingness to work hard in extremely challenging conditions, demonstrate strong values and mindsets, and want to see all the children progressing. The fellowship is not a teaching programme — it’s a leadership programme as we believe teachers apply the same skills in their classrooms and schools as leaders do in firms. Besides, the fellows need to be adaptable, problem-solvers, reflective and positive. If you think you fit the bill, apply to be a fellow today.
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I finally planned my project and began working on it. It was difficult to convince all the stakeholders but somehow I managed it. My project is titled ‘The Smart Student Project’ and is about offering different experiences and exposures to all children of my school, in the form of workshops, competitions, music and dance activities, sports, inculcating reading habits, playing indoor and outdoor games, and learning beyond the classroom. The overall objective is to make the schooling years of all the children joyous and fun and I can proudly say I have already started to see a difference.
I am aware of the fact that my kids have learnt and been exposed to tremendous amounts of new things ever since I started teaching them. They now have bigger and more beautiful aspirations in life and I know for sure that many of them will attend college and later work too ***
campusdiaries.com/stories/my-journey-so-far
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og in the wheel.
Application deadline : 28 August 2013
TH
E
While Sarod Spoke Sameer Kulkarni Fergusson College Pune
#instrument
A small Sarod concert, a blank paper and pen; inspiration, imagination, culminating into this.
MUSIC
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And when it came to the Sarod, the silence hung like a daze of opium, with the notes — sharp and mellow, cutting through it, like lightning separating a cloudy sky
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t is not merely the passion with which an artist plucks his instrument that makes a good concert what it is. It is also the haze in which the audience loses itself, eyes closed, all drinking from the same cup of sheer pleasure, infused with the elixir of passion and brilliance. And when it came to the Sarod, the silence hung like a daze of opium, with the notes — sharp and mellow, cutting through it, like lightning separating a cloudy sky. We all saw the hands pluck the strings with such fervour, that it bewildered us, simultaneously pulling us in a wormhole, through which we let the notes guide us. The notes ran, hand in hand, like the young children who played in the village square, all running so fast! We were scared they would fall. Recklessly, they ran and so did we, with smiles and laughter. Then they rose and fell, and with them, we, to the silence which resonated with brilliance. The fall momentarily brought us to the world, only to pull us back again, with much strength, into the abyss. We loved running in. The abyss — where the sun shone bright, where the wind mingled with the essence of the flowers, where the whole village swayed in the cold air, rushing down from the mountains — the village — where the young children played with the purest emotion of happiness one ever saw. Where we played with them, laughed, and wished to remain. Then spoke the Tabla.
It came with a beat, time and routine. It laid a specific timeline to the fantasy world of the sarod. With the tabla, we saw days and nights pass, with each routine, defining time and space, beat by beat. No matter how many days would pass, the children never ceased to play with us, with the routine rise and falls, yet drenched in the same intense pleasure. The very fact that passing time had not distorted the pleasure in the repeated routine proved that this was the world to be in. We had seen it all, here, in this land, which seemed too good to be true. Throwing caution to the wind, we danced and dazed and the let the music take over our bodies and our very souls. The music intensified. With the wind blowing, with the fragrances, we saw ourselves in the sharp, shining notes, which now, decorated the sky above. We saw ourselves passing further into oblivion, beyond this abyss, part by part. Losing the boundaries and escaping to a land which would have no recollection, beat by beat. So, we passed. Further deep into the haze, in search of a new land, with the notes taking us by the hand, again into the wormhole, a light shining bright at the end. I write this final note, en-route this final journey, to invite any mortal and to find and join me in my enthralling joy with the notes and beats. For I hope, with a desperate sincerity, to not return to the land of mortals, where silence reigns, and music goes unheard.
*** campusdiaries.com/stories/while-sarod-spoke
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Hip Hop
MUSIC
THE MUSICAL
Four Music genres.One crazy experiment.
#genres Nehal Tiwari Wilson College Mumbai
{From bottom left, clockwise} Classic Rock Blues Metal A super Thank You to Pallab Bhattacharya for the music in The Musical.
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CAMPUSDIARIES
THE MAGAZINE
WANT TO GET FEATURED HERE ? CREATE & PUBLISH AT CAMPUSDIARIES.COM THE FINEST MAKE IT TO THE MAGAZINE
Dr. Abhijit Varpe YMT Dental college Mumbai #alterego
The journey I took to bring a balance between my career and my passion – From needles to pencils, from burs to paint brushes, from enamel to tree-green bottles
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Pursuing a childhood interest is often not taken very seriously which is why many don’t end up following it up. Everything you’re interested in until you’re 15 is unceremoniously checked off the list. And sometimes you just fall out of the impetus and develop some other interests over time. I decided, thusly, to take my childhood passion to a higher level (and generation) and make something out of it
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I
think to myself, “Let’s not get into drama-clad, philosophical writing. And try to keep it real.” Why? Because that’s what this story is. So, where do I begin? Ah! I know. Let’s go back to the seventh grade. What was I doing? Dreaming. Most of the times. And when I wasn’t dreaming, I was doing as I was told by my parents, teachers and the other authority figures of my life. Sound familiar? Like any other kid, I grew up with an equal amount of family pressure, expectations and whatnots. Everybody does and everybody wants to escape it and be or do something different. Growing up, one either learns to abide by the society and its rules, following social conformity or rebel to do something different. I’ve read too many articles about rebels having their ‘breakthroughs’ and all the hoo-haa around it. Whatever happened to finding balance in life? According to me, all it takes is a small desire to do what you like. It isn’t always necessary to be all ‘me-against-the-world’ to pursue something you enjoy doing. It’s as simple as finding little time, once in a while, to keep in touch with that first love, long lost and forgotten. I grew up learning about my skills and the many things I can do. And among all the things I have learnt, a personal lesson that has stuck to my general disposition is that there is nothing bigger than imagination. I’ve come to tell my fiancé often that “imagination is a place, full of possibilities”, to which I have always received assertive nods (with much empathetic reciprocation). Which brings me back to seventh grade. We used to have craft and arts sessions once a week in class. And although I started off a little slow, I got better at it with time and some encouragement from my teachers. And soon, I was really enjoying it. I remember my first, real and serious craftwork that went on the floors was when I decided to build wheel mechanisms out of cardboard. Why? Because I wanted to build a bullock cart. My mother had just roasted some corn for us kids and I happened to find the abandoned combs of the corn that resembled hay, lying untouched, unattended. I connected the dots in my head and a bullock cart it was. Imagination, yes? I remember I was just so excited to have just thought of something like that! Pursuing a childhood interest is often not taken very seriously which is why many don’t end up following it up. Everything you’re interested in until you’re 15 is unceremoniously checked off the list. And sometimes you just fall out of the impetus and develop some other interests over time. I decided, thusly, to take my childhood passion to a higher level (and generation) and make something out of it. I began two ventures — Copper Brains — a place that harvests creativity, bringing together natural elements closer to people’s lives, through interior decor articles and Guns N Needles — which allows me to
draw beautiful tattoos for people who have the love for ink. But that doesn’t mean I left my adulthood passion behind! So let me introduce myself entirely. My name is Dr. Abhijit Mohan Varpe and I’m a dentist by profession and an artist at heart. I became a dentist (and a fairly good one), before I ventured into developing my creative side. Although I have my own practice running, I wanted to do something that harnessed my skills to the fullest (A humongous chunk of credit goes to my parents for adding that ‘Dr.’ in front of my name, for which I’m forever, indebted to them). Yet, there was always this lingering thought at the back of my mind, always impending — was this the only thing I wanted to do and be? Does it make me happy, do I enjoy it? I realised that I did, but I also wanted more out of life. I just didn’t know what it was then. So, I sat back in the clinic, during my free time, thinking and pondering to myself, what was it that drove my imagination wild — when it came to me, almost like an epiphany. I pulled out all my craft sheets and sketchbooks from the dank corners of my house and brought them over to my new dental clinic. I started experimenting with sketching and spent all of my leisure time drawing. I remember going crazy over paints and pots when I’d first began; I had no savings because I spent all my extra money buying stuff I needed to put my creative ideas to execution. And soon, I started self-schooling and learning new art forms and techniques until I was ready to make a living out of it. Doing this, definitely wasn’t easy, especially not the part where I had to explain to my folks that why was I playing with pencils and paint on a Sunday afternoon. I was very often reminded and advised to focus on the fact that I’m a dentist and that I should be spending my
This art form originated in Japan. Kokedamas are evolved bonsai (miniature trees grown in a tray or a pot)
Terrariums are like small plant museums, where living plants are raised to observe nature in all its might
time bettering myself as a doctor, rather than doing, pursuing something amateur (probably right from their point of view). But, I did not quit and no, I did not rebel either. I constantly pushed myself to strike a balance between my profession and my passion. I got frustrated, irritated and depressed on several occasions when it came to dealing with the practicality of things. And that led to a dearth of inspiration. I was torn between two worlds and after a while, I started to feel that this might not work. I realised later that it never does unless you make it happen. Coincidentally, in a conversation with an old friend, who was also my senior from dental college, I found out about another doctor who is also a full time artist. I knew I had to meet up with him. This was one of those probability things my mathematics teacher always talked about. I needed some help and he seemed to be the man of the hour. The first time Dr. Siddesh Akerkar and I met, the only thing that came out of the meeting was lots of empty coffee cups and empathy — empathy that we shared for the non-paying art industry and for sailing in the same boat — fishing from it too, literally. But our next meeting turned out quite differently. He arrived this time with an illustration — an illustration of my idea put to life on paper. One of the most beautiful things I have seen of my work. That is all it took for me to find that inspiration I was looking for. From then on, I worked harder on my sketches and we met often, discussing and making interesting stuff together. We even rented a small place right opposite my clinic. I called it a studio. There after hours of thinking and discussions, I decided to name this small desire and venture of mine something. Copper Brains. Three years have gone by since. Things have surely changed for the better. I’m the founder of two brands — Copper Brains and Guns N Needles. My soon-to-be-wife pushed both of these ventures some more and brought it to people on online shops and even created a website of my own. And I finally managed to find a balance between my art and my profession — my steady hands as a dentist and my creative sketching as an artist. With Copper Brains, I and my fiancé have managed to make some news. We make terrariums and kokedamas and we also take workshops on terrarium basics, portrait basics and advanced, and Cartography. I’ve always been intrigued by nature’s way of bringing out perfection and beauty out of the most random things. I chose to work with plants and make something that is truly exotic and new. Being a dentist and an artist helped me take up tattooing and made it fairly easy too. Although it took a lot of perseverance, dedication and belief in what we were doing, the desire, the small flickering flame never died
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and instead shaped into a quaint little place called ‘The ART Studio’ and we do a lot of work in and out of it. Today, I tattoo, I draw, I paint, I design, and I make terrariums at the studio.
I will never give up being a dentist. Dentistry has always been my priority because it has in turn given me the opportunity to start these different ventures. All I did was, divide my time and manage everything to the best of my abilities. As it goes, I don’t think it is easy but it sure ain’t impossible. It might take people who believe in you to make things happen, but most importantly it takes self-belief, faith, hard work and perseverance to follow the dream. And yes, a whole lot brain storming sessions and standing in front of the mirror and telling yourself that you can do it. It’s not necessary to rebel your way out of things. It will always be a struggle; life doesn’t give away gifts on the couch you doze on. You got to reach out when it opens a door. *creak* You can find Dr. Varpe on www.copperbrains.in or www.gunsnneedles.in
***
campusdiaries.com/stories/doctor-who
becoming a
stand-up comic
CHECKLIST 1. no arrange marriage 2. humiliating your
4. be irrelevant
self
?
5
1
5.ask youself questions
3. sell yourself
#HUMOUR
Gursimran Khamba TISS Mumbai
OPINION
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Your drunk uncle at the wedding who molests jalebis with his eyes is funny. People on Twitter who are great at wordplay think they’re funny. I’m quite certain you have atleast one guy in your group who thinks he taught George Carlin. The truth is that being funny is an acquired skill but being a comic is an attitude
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re you an insecure individual constantly seeking validation from strangers? Do you want a permanent way of avoiding an arranged marriage? Do you like hob knobbing with the city’s swish set and humiliating yourself in front of all of them at one go? If your answer to all of the above is yes, stand up comedy is for you! Though the burden of modern Indian stand up has been carried on the shoulders of court jesters, mimicry artists in orchestras and hasya kavis, many consider Russell Peters’ explosion on Youtube the post-globalisation catalyst that opened the industry’s floodgates. Over the last few years, English stand up has boomed across India’s metros barring Chennai and Kolkata (because they’re Chennai and Kolkata) in a way that has made it a valid career proposition. While Mumbai remains the only city with a dedicated comedy club (with one in Delhi opening soon) each of these cities have regular open mics where you can try your hand at making people laugh. With enough dedication, rehearsal and kissing of random event manager’s asses one can make the shift from an amateur comic to a paid comic very quickly. The advantage of being a part of such a nascent industry is that there is always more demand than supply which means if you’re good you’ll be making more a month than your friend who spent six years of his/her getting an engineering and MBA degree. Sounds fantastic? Wait. Since this is a meant to be an insightful piece that tells you what it takes to be a stand up comic, I will now unleash upon you the five commandments that you must consider before you step into this surreal world. Thou shall ask yourself a hard question: Are you funny or are you a comic? There’s a big difference between the two. Your drunk uncle at the wedding who molests jalebis with his eyes is funny. People on Twitter who are great at wordplay think they’re funny. I’m quite certain you have atleast one guy in your group who thinks he taught George Carlin. The truth is that being funny is an acquired skill but being a comic is an attitude. Are you willing to stand in front of six
strangers for an hour and try and make them laugh for free? Are you willing to argue with and avoid getting beat up by an audience member who doesn’t agree with your political opinion? Are you willing to bear your flaws and deepest secrets to people without a safety net? Are you willing to spend three months writing 10 minutes of jokes you think are funny only to have them rejected by everyone and start afresh without your ego getting in the way? Do you want to try stand up only because it looks cool and gives you access to the advertising industry and Bollywood? A comic’s life oscillates from those brilliant moments where you are an unstoppable force for your audience but mostly it’s a lot of rejection. The question is can you take it and more importantly, do you need to take it? Thou shall do your research: The best way to learn about stand up is by (duh!) watching and reading. If you think you have the bones of a comic but don’t know how to write jokes you can always start by buying books like The Comedy Bible by Judy Carter (Pro tip: It’s mostly rubbish but we love textbooks don’t we?) The best start however is by watching a multitude of international and Indian comics. The more you watch the more you’ll analyse why you laugh at certain places and why you don’t at others. You’ll develop a sense of what kind of humour you are a fan. You’ll see comedians bombing which is one of the purest most amazing human experiences you’ll ever have till you get on stage and it happens to you. If you know your theory without getting bogged down by it you’ll be off to a great start. Thou shall focus on writing jokes: Thanks to social media, most comics start pretending to be professionals before they’re ready. Part of the blame lies with the fact that the the industry is so nascent people like me could only do 50 shows a year while comics abroad would do that in less than a month. In fact most of us who are classified as professional Indian comics and “successful” by that stretch barely cut the professional classification mustard. Over time through our own initiatives we’ve managed to build the industry to a place where it has a significant cultural
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Stand up in India is currently on a high. Think of it as the upper incline of a bell curve. The media loves covering stand up because it has novelty attached and there are only so many Rabbi Shergill album launches you can cover
Thou shall sell yourself: The next step from open mics is paid public gigs where other comedians will give you paid spots on their own shows. However, from a long-term perspective if you want to make a decent living, you’ll have to sell yourself to corporations. Corporations are the cesspool of humanity who like to occasionally amuse themselves through things such as internal awards ceremonies, New Year bashes, welcome the new white boss events etc. It is at these events that you will get called if you’re a “clean” comic. Clean comedy like the title suggests not only involves not cussing but also involves not having any political or religious opinion expressed on stage for the sake of “keeping it classy”. Every comic will tell you that they hate doing corporate shows but they’re a necessary evil because they help pay the bills. Even though nowadays public and ticketed shows are a growing avenue to make a living, if you want to eventually have your own house and start a family you’ll need to create jokes that please companies and make them
invite you over and over again. Either that or wait for your folks to pass away and get pass on the inheritance. Thou shall prepare to be irrelevant: Stand up as an art form in the United States has seen plenty of ups and downs in its relevance where it has had to fight off flagging interest, directionless comics, other multimedia experiences and more. Similarly, stand up in India is currently on a high. Think of it as the upper incline of a bell curve. The media loves covering stand up because it has novelty attached and there are only so many Rabbi Shergill album launches you can cover. It’s exciting for comics as well because they feel a sense of pride and respect for their work being recognised. To be a comic however is to always know that all of it can disappear in an instant. Not only is the external environment becoming less tolerant to free speech but in many ways your career is dependent on event managers and company officials who might not like you in a few days. If you don’t build enough clout or networks to keep you employed and growing, someone else will very easily come and take your place. On an existential level the idea is to always be prepared for yourself or the whole art form to become culturally insignificant because that is what will drive you to constantly re-invent yourself. Most comics write for television, develop film scripts, record podcasts and write columns not only because it provides more platforms for expression and external validation but also because one is aware of the fickle nature of the entertainment industry. Like I said before, be prepared for rejection. There are a whole set of other problems if you become successful like spending six months following up on cheques that mysteriously get lost in the mail but I think I’ll save that for another time. I salute you for wanting to be part of this noble tribe, and I hope you carry your balls with you.
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presence and capital. However, new comics, before they even have material get their photo shoot done and Facebook fan pages made. While this is sadly a cultural necessity because no one knows who you are until you constantly pimp yourself on every street corner, if you want to be a comic I suggest for the first year just focus on writing jokes. Write and try and get on the open mic stage as much as you can. The more you write, the more you will realise what your inner voice is. Comedic convention says that it takes a comic atleast 10 years on stage to find their voice — but the writing process will tell you what kind of comic you are. Are you a filthy comic? Do you revel in political humour? Are you better at acting and performances or wordplay? Knowing yourself will help you develop your own unique style of comedy that will differentiate you from others.
POETRY
INVASION Xulfi Raza Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi #identity
A prose-poem discussing the themes of modern day alienation and monotony, self-identity and a reconciliation with the self
I put the key in the lock. Rotate it, three times. Music beating against the ear drums. I opened the door and entered the three room castle I live in. Took a glass from the shelf. Filled it with water, drank it. Stood there. Silence rattling. (I like this song.) I have already cleaned the rooms thrice, the smallest of dust bugs. So now what? Oh, yes, the dishes! They are clean. But I’ll wash them anyway. (I have a black woolen rat, living in my shelf. I got a hold on him few days back. I tried hard to kill him. Locked him. To starve him to death. My eyes fell on a book kept on the study: Qur’an. A whim: decided to give him a clean death. So, I poisoned him. Dripping in acid, he didn’t die. He just won’t die! Finally I felt pity, freed him. Thought, I showed mercy.
Now the Quran was shining under the bulb light. But that god damn creature is here again. I hate the truth I once found in poetic justice. Oh, I wish the dishes could last longer. (Now what? no, I never ask this question.) the watch looked at me: 8 PM that’s a lot of time to kill/waste/utilise/spend/enjoy. I know the next thing. I will put the music on loud And stand in front of the mirror. Head bang, lip sing, play air guitar respond to the cheering crowd. Become whosoever, without its ailments. Finally tired, I will lie in bed. I do it every day. It’s mad? Of course. Are you not ‘madly existing’? (Behind those walls?) As my steps took me forward to carry on the ritual, I happen to look at a pair of shoes. Red shoes beside a yellow sofa. They do not belong to me. I know who they belong to. Silence. The sight dropped my face. With slow movements of my hand I took the earphones out. Now I can hear him too, in another room. I kept staring at those shoes. They make me sad. They invade me. Not that I do not love them but I do not like them here. Not today, not today.
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Am I made wrong? Is this a sin? Why do I feel like this? Should I ignore these feelings? What will people say? What will my family say? Is my life as good as over? Are my friends going to ditch me? Do I tell someone? Is it okay to feel like this?
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and confused. How those words fit together, like hands fit into gloves. I wasn’t confused that I was attracted to girls, I was confused on why I have to choose a label to brand myself with, confused why they wanted to know which sex I would rather sleep with and which sex was the right one to fall in love with. I had to place a label on my love. I would tell them I was in love with her and all they would ask, whispering to me, ‘OMG! Are you a lesbian?’ I would be stuck, wanting to refuse to answer them but also feeling the need to tell them the truth. That was me. 17 and confused. Am I made wrong? Is this a sin? Why do I feel like this? Should I ignore these feelings? What will people say? What will my family say? Is my life as good as over? Are my friends going to ditch me? Do I tell someone? Is it okay to feel like this? I’ve heard these questions before and I’ve felt these twisted aching questions pound on my mind and heart. I wanted to talk to someone. I wanted to tell someone my secret. I wanted them to tell me that it was okay. I knew it was okay, but I couldn’t help wanting someone else to tell me that it was okay, that I was not alone. I wanted to know that I was not alone. Feeling alone is a terrible feeling, the feeling you get when you can’t talk to anybody about a secret that is waiting to get out. On one fine day of toiling away on Facebook, I became aware of a group called Queer Campus that started in Delhi and was trying to expand its base at other locations throughout India. This was it! Exactly what a 17-year-old, in a world that seemed to be pushing her into the dark corners of the closet, needed. I crossed my fingers and hoped that they already had one in Bangalore but they didn’t. Queer Campus is a group that provides a safe and comfortable
place for the queer youth so that they had a shoulder to lean on and a place that they didn’t have to hide who they are. And in India, homosexuality is such a taboo subject. I wouldn’t dare have mentioned it to any of my friends at the time. I looked into such spaces in Bangalore and found a couple of them but also found out that they usually catered to an older crowd and personally if I went to a meeting with everybody older than me, I wouldn’t feel so comfortable. There was no group I could find that had people my age. So, I coordinated with friends I made in Queer Campus in Delhi and with the help of a friend who had then recently come out to me, we had our very first meeting in October of 2011. It was just me, the friend and another guy who turned up. I was ready to give up but didn’t. I felt like I bit off more than I could chew. But, with a little more push and patience we started having new faces turn up for every meeting. Some stayed only for one meeting, others attended regularly and some came every once in a while. We shared, we laughed, we cried. We became more aware of the society and their views on homosexuality, on how we are not alone and that it does get better. We made new friends, some of us fell in love (I met my girlfriend in an event we held), and met people from all walks of life with their stories and held hands with those who needed to hold one. We stuck to our goal of keeping Queer Campus Bangalore limited to the youth and if we do ever get older people, we would direct them to other groups they could participate in. We meet every Saturday and I’ve experienced so much. I’ve heard about how it feels like to be accepted by family, how it is like to be rejected by friends and how it feels like coming to terms with who you are. Most importantly, we learned that we are not alone. Something, nobody should feel.
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