Innholdsfortegnelse for July 5, 2021 i India Today

The Covid-19 pandemic has been the greatest disruptor of education across the world. Schools and colleges have shut their gates and moved classrooms online. Academic life has been overturned, and careers put on hold. Several education boards have cancelled in-person examinations in India and replaced them with various formulas to assess students. The pandemic has forced us to examine new ways of evaluating a child’s learning other than examinations alone. The CBSE or the Central Board of Secondary Education, for instance, plans to replace its Class 12 examination with a 30:30:40 formula to assess students based on their performance in Class 10, Class 11 and pre-board examinations. The new National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, approved by the Union cabinet last July, replaces a 35-year-old document. It promises to boost spending…

Three closed-door meetings between Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and political strategist Prashant Kishor have triggered speculation about the formation of a third front at the national level. The meetings, one held in Mumbai and the other two in Delhi, were set up by Lok Sabha MP and Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule. Meanwhile, there is trouble brewing in the state. The NCP has started projecting Sule as Pawar’s political heir and future chief minister. This hasn’t gone down well with the Ajit Pawar camp. The ambitious deputy chief minister is widely seen as Pawar’s heir in state politics. Perhaps Kishor needs to work on the Pawar family first.…

When a seemingly atrophied organ shows signs of movement, physicians wonder if it was just a passing spasm. A Supreme Court that recently looked away from migrants walking home and various other administrative disasters arising from the management of the Covid pandemic recently held the government’s vaccine policy to be “prima facie arbitrary”. Similarly, the courts have displayed a previously unseen scepticism about overbroad application of the sedition law and the UAPA against dissenters. Ex-supercop Julio Ribeiro has gone so far as to call this interventionist phenomenon the Ramana effect—the underlying assumption being that Justice N.V. Ramana’s appointment as the Chief Justice of India, on April 24, has somehow unshackled the judiciary. While the courts will allow governments a lot of play in the joints, they will not overlook a…

The India Today Group’s Best Colleges survey began in 1997. In its first year, only engineering, medical and law colleges were ranked. The following year onwards, arts, science and commerce institutions were added. Over the years, as the methodology was updated to make the evaluation more robust and objective, new streams such as architecture, dental, mass communication, hotel management, BBA, BCA, social work and fashion design were added. In its 25th year, a look back at the #1 institutes across all streams. The competition has been tough, but several toppers have consistently maintained their dominance.…

No. 1 HINDU COLLEGE NEW DELHI Hindu College has a glorious legacy of pedagogy in subjects covered under the science stream—Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology. The college has an excellent laboratory infrastructure, which got a fillip after the addition of the new science block in 2019. Like colleges across the country, Hindu College also faced many challenges because of the Covid pandemic. The biggest problem was conducting practical classes online. The college administration and teachers brainstormed to recreate the laboratory ambience for the students on the digital platform. In some cases, software applications were made available and used by the faculty. The teachers went out of their way to ensure that learning continued without disruptions. Along with the laboratory staff, they braved the pandemic disruptions, went to the labs themselves…

“The pandemic has definitely showed the college’s potential to change. Most of the lessons were conveyed through presentations. We were given assignments that were completely different and innovative compared to the traditional assignments during previous semesters. We were associated with the traditional method of education using green boards and textbooks. The online mode also had its upsides because most of my classmates were more comfortable interacting in online classes compared to physical classes. Online classes literally helped most of them to come out of their shells. One among the most important things we used to miss was the brainstorming of ideas and suggestions of our fellow classmates and professors during the start of the physical classes. But our instructors tried to compensate that through creating an institutional email for each…

“Online classes have changed the way we learn. In the new normal, teacher-student interactions are very dependent on how good one’s internet connection is, which can create a gap in communication. As someone who has attended both classroom lectures and online lectures, I know the shift was not the easiest—but care was taken by the department that this process be made as simple as possible. Every week’s timetable was emailed to us over the weekend with links to lectures; the number of lectures and their duration was reduced by half, and the recording of the same was made available to us. The assignments were designed to help us apply our understanding without needing to step out of the house. We were also allowed to submit photos of handwritten assignments if…

“My experience at WGSHA is one I will cherish for a lifetime. The learning experiences on campus are irreplaceable. With state-of-the-art facilities, from well-equipped kitchens to applying our theoretical knowledge in hotel simulation software, I have received a holistic skillset. At WGSHA, I was able to put my practical skills to use through the various food festivals conducted by the students, where I got the opportunity to work as a team and interact with guests from around the campus and provide them with a good dining experience, a skill that will prepare me when I graduate and enter the industry. When the pandemic hit, we quickly switched to virtual learning. The faculty put in a lot of effort to make our online learning interesting to make up for the absence…

Online classes had lots of benefits for me as I saved a lot of time by not travelling and it allowed me to work at my own pace. The NIFT faculty ensured that we did not lose out on interactions with the teachers. We had free exchanges of ideas and opinions with them, mostly on the Zoom and Google Meets, where the 30 students in my batch met for online classes. NIFT had a structured routine which we had to follow. As a fashion designing student, I have a lot of practical work to do. Because of the lockdown, I was unable to get the resources needed, but the virtual classes made me more flexible in using the material I had at home. And, being a design student, you always…

Director Ajitpal Singh wasn’t even a teenager when he was branded an aatankwadi (terrorist) by his class teacher. Battling a nationwide wave of anti-Sikh sentiment in 1984, Singh’s family relocated from Bathinda to the outskirts of Ahmedabad, where his father took up a job as a security guard. By 1990, the Babri Masjid dispute began and, according to Singh, Sikhs became ‘friends’ all over again. “I think the Muslims saved us,” Singh says with a laugh. Singh’s debut feature, Fire in the Mountains (FITM), was one of the two Indian films to play at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. It was a homecoming of sorts—Singh’s first screenplay was accepted at the 2012 Sundance Lab, where he was mentored by veteran screenwriter, Guillermo Arriaga. Even though that first screenplay was never…

A box set signals an end, a sense that your work here is now done. Are you done with the Mughals? My area has never been the Great Mughals. Compared to these emperors, very little was written on the likes of Bahadur Shah Zafar. It has been nice trying to fill that gap. But now I find myself more interested in early India—the story of Buddhism going to China, of Indian mathematics and astronomy going to the West. So, in many ways, this does feel like a box set. It goes from 1589—when the [East India] Company was founded—to 1858, when it was dissolved. Your son, Sam, will soon release a book on India’s Partition. As a father and fellow historian, what did you ask him to not do? I…

Summer Elixir Infused waters have now become the trend du jour as a go-to beauty tool as well. Spritz some of Kama Ayurveda’s most recent launch——pure Neroli Water——and the reasons become self evident. This is the perfect add-on to your beauty arsenal, daily skincare and self-care ritual. What’s more, it smells great too. Price ₹1,195 for 200 ml; Availability Kama Ayurveda stores and www.kamaayurveda.com The Revivalist Banish the banes from summer’s excesses with Sulwhasoo India’s new clay mask. This Herbal Clay Purifying Mask heroes skin purifying and cooling, using Mugwort, Heartleaf Houttuynia powder, along with six types of soothing herbs. Embrace the heat and look great #Summerskinswag! Price ₹3,650; Availability Nykaa online and Nykaa Luxe stores Lip Service Masks have clearly become the number one companion in a post-Covid world,…

In 1837, as Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal king of India, acceded to the throne in Delhi, a Bavarian national, Johann Gramp was docking on the shores of Australia. Both men were destined to change the course of history. One was to fail his empire and lose it to British colonisation, and the other was fomenting a vinous revolution that would rule the world’s palates for centuries to come. A decade after his arrival Down Under, Gramp planted Barossa Valley’s first vines over a 30 hectare piece of land shouldering a natural waterway called Jacob’s Creek. A humble setup of a small winery with an underground cellar yielded its first label in 1850 with an assortment of about 125 bottles. Fast-forward to 125 years later, in 1976, and again,…

For sharp analysis on topical issues by the editors of INDIA TODAY, log on to www.indiatoday.in/india-today-magazine-insight Why the job market will remain bleak by M.G. Arun The reopening of the economy will bring some lost jobs back but, fearing a third Covid wave, firms remain cautious on the hiring front https://bit.ly/3zS4LSs How the BJP is fixing its divided house in UP by Ashish Misra The party is overhauling its state organisation and has called for a truce among the warring factions https://bit.ly/3jeGIqK Are the BJP and Shiv Sena heading for a reunion? by Kiran D. Tare The BJP needs to secure its fortunes in Maharashtra before the 2024 Lok Sabha election while the Shiv Sena leaders want the central investigative agencies off their backs https://bit.ly/3j6EYjr The financial burden of Covid…

The past one year has been a defining period for education across the world. The Covid pandemic globally disrupted the fundamental structure of imparting institutional education like never before. India was no exception. Campus activity in schools, colleges and universities across the country came to a grinding halt. As learning went digital, the buzz of the physical classroom was replaced by clicks on mobile phones and computers. Interaction among peers shifted from canteens and libraries to WhatsApp chat groups. In this changed scenario, the 25th India Today Best Colleges Survey, conducted by the reputed market research agency Marketing & Development Research Associates (MDRA), was fraught with multiple challenges. The lock-down and other Covid restrictions had kept most campuses shut for the greater part of 2020. It was next to impossible…

“I still recall March 8, 2020—the last time I attended my college and tasted those yummy samosas in the canteen. It’s been more than a year. But our teachers have worked very hard to help us learn in an online environment. They have  been very understanding, especially because it is easy to develop ‘online sickness’. Our lab sessions too have been conducted online, with proper apparatus and procedures. The only drawback was the length of the lectures and lab sessions. In the online mode, you feel lethargic after a point and need a break. But our teachers have tried their best to make the classes interactive. I believe the online mode has given us more opportunities to take up projects and internships. We have participated in projects under the Hindu…

“I have been attending classes from Vadodra, Gujarat. There is absolutely no comparison between offline and online classes. There is a lot that campus life offers which cannot be replicated online. There are many experiences that are exclusive to physical settings. There is so much one learns in terms of one's work-life balance on campus—studies, fun, extracurriculars—and this is something that students are missing. That said, the transition to online classes has been pretty good. We were all on MS teams—all faculty and students across batches. Online learning has also opened up a lot of opportunities—we saved a lot of time and a big part of the day was left with us to pursue and learn other skills. A lot of students learnt programming languages. There were free  Coursera courses.…

“For about four weeks, we were given time to adjust to the new software and online medium. Initially, it was one lecture a week, then two or three, and then all classes; it wasn’t a sudden change of medium rather a gradual build-up, so we got accustomed. There hasn’t been any major impact on the learning since we are still following a curriculum; the only difference is that teachers  cannot see us nodding our heads! Learning online hasn’t been difficult. In our batch of 39 students, whenever we have doubts, we ask our teachers, who are available even after the lectures. Clinical practice has also been handled to some extent. Last year, we were back on the campus and worked in a very secure environment. Special online modules are conducted…

DIVYANG PURKAYASTHA BArch, Final Year, IIT Roorkee “One of the best things about being in a course like architecture, especially in a multi-disciplinary institute like IIT, is collaborative learning. Before the pandemic, the students would collaborate for design competitions and work together in the studios. This helped everyone learn holistically and grow together. Even though we adapted to the online learning mode, having spent the past four years learning in a particular way (offline) made the transition challenging for most. I miss the collaborative studio learning and being able to utilise the full potential of the infrastructure of our department. However, the ability to adapt and make the most out of our limited resources is a must-have skill the pandemic has taught me. Our faculty has been highly supportive and…

“As a student of journalism, it came as a disappointment not to be able to go out and learn skills on the ground. But then, being a journalist also means adapting to adverse situations. And IIMC has been the best at doing that. The learning was aggressive as we shifted to digital mode. We had classes on regular reporting, plus new and emerging domains like mobile journalism, drone journalism and entrepreneurial journalism. Our teachers were available almost 24x7—I remember having a video call with my teacher at 9.30 at night. We also had experts from all over the world teaching us online. While physical examinations did not happen, assignments and online tests were incessant. The individual assignments were not difficult, but it became at times difficult to reach consensus in…

“The pandemic made my learning experience flexible. Instead of sitting long hours, we were able to listen to classes when needed; self-learning too was promoted. Though I missed friends and club activities, there was no travel involved—earlier, I'd travel two hours each way. This gave me time to prepare for job interviews and my friends time to prepare for higher studies. Much as I missed the physical aspect of the campus, a combination of physical and online classes in the future would be great.”…

“As a student, I missed friends and college laboratories; things we took for granted were suddenly not there. Stationery and supplies were not available. It was very challenging to be at home and do so much work, but we gradually adapted, hoping things would get better soon. Things didn't get better, but we changed. Classes in college used to be fun, interactive and very time-bound, but classes online gave us the flexibility to do things at our pace. The challenge was to be self-motivated. During on-campus classes, we pushed each other or there was some unspoken competition, but now you have to push yourself. The teachers, though, have been constantly pushing us to do better. A big advantage is the amount of exposure we have got as several webinars were…

ARTS RANKS & SCORES OF COLLEGES SCIENCE RANKS & SCORES OF COLLEGES COMMERCE RANKS & SCORES OF COLLEGES MEDICAL RANKS & SCORES OF COLLEGES DENTAL RANKS & SCORES OF COLLEGES ENGINEERING (GOVERNMENT) RANKS & SCORES OF COLLEGES ENGINEERING (PRIVATE) RANKS & SCORES OF COLLEGES ARCHITECTURE RANKS & SCORES OF COLLEGES LAW RANKS & SCORES OF COLLEGES MASS COMMUNICATION RANKS & SCORES OF COLLEGES HOTEL MANAGEMENT RANKS & SCORES OF COLLEGES BBA RANKS & SCORES OF COLLEGES BCA RANKS & SCORES OF COLLEGES SOCIAL WORK RANKS & SCORES OF COLLEGES FASHION DESIGN RANKS & SCORES OF COLLEGES Footnotes 1. Ranking is based on Objective data & Perceptual Survey data 2. Only those colleges that submitted their objective data on time have been ranked 3. Only those colleges that fulfilled the below…

Experimental filmmaker and artist Ashish Avikunthak mentions, more than once, that his films don’t belong in the ‘marketplace’. Holding advanced degrees in archaeology and anthropology, Avikunthak claims he sees film-making as a sadhana. “If you speak to Hindustani classical musicians, they will describe their relationship with music in a similar way; a pursuit,” says Avikunthak. With a body of work spanning 25 years, some of his films are now being showcased as a part of a retrospective on MUBI India that is set to last until August. Avikunthak’s films, with their recurring theme of religious customs and death, have, understandably, had run-ins with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). “Even before we think of the repressive censorship in India, we must think about the market system. Indian cinema has…

MUCH LIKE THE CULT OF CELEBRITY, THE POPULAR obsession with royalty predates the social media phenomenon that crowns Instagram superheroes with instant stardom. The lure of the blue-blooded is more enduringly compelling—their opulent lifestyles and extravagant lives, an easy route to transcend the mundane. Royals have infiltrated our collective consciousness so insidiously that it comes as no surprise when Netflix announces that 73 million households worldwide have watched its royal drama The Crown, documenting the life of Elizabeth II, since the series first streamed in 2016. To explore this unending fascination with glamourous palaces, impressive titles and to inhabit the fantasy world of inherited glory, Spice spent a weekend in the luxurious confines of Jaipur’s City Palace, where Padmanabh Singh, scion of the erstwhile royal family of Jaipur, opened his…

From where I stand, I get a 360-degree panoramic view of Jaipur: the temple bells of the nearby Govind Dev Ji rising into the air, the majestic Nahargarh Fort looming in the distance, and the historic ‘pink’ centre of Jaipur. Here, in the shadow of the Mukut Mandir, on the uppermost pavilion of Jaipur’s City Palace, I enjoy sunset by the massive flagpole where the official standard of the Maharajas of Jaipur flies proudly and a smaller ‘one quarter’ flag hoisted at the same pole, to indicate that the Maharaja is currently in residence at the palace. That I have access to this panoramic terrace, otherwise off-limits to anyone other than the family that resides in this palace, is in itself an overwhelming experience. Here, the evening is given over…

1837 Johann Gramp arrives in Australia 1840s European explorer, William Jacob, sets up his hermitage near the creek, later giving it its name 1847 Johann Gramp plants Barossa Valley’s first vines 1850 First wine is released 1877 Gustav, Gramp’s son, expands the winery and vineyards 1976 Jacob’s Creek label is born, holding the 1973 Shiraz-Cabernet-Malbec blend in its bottles 2005 Official wine of the Australian Open 2002 Jacob’s Creek Visitor’s Centre opens with a time capsule buried under it to be revealed in 2027 1998 Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay Pinot Noir sparkling is introduced 1994 Awarded the prestigious Maurice O’Shea Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Australian Wine Industry. The first time a brand had received this award rather than an individual. 1984 Jacob’s Creek goes global, to the United Kingdom…

Growing up in an Indian household, in a country steeped in culture and heritage, one starts their beauty journey with traditional skincare—secrets our mothers and grandmothers have sworn by for generations. I grew up with my mother and grandmother’s nuskas, or tips they’d learned from their mothers, passed on from an older generation. Every few days, they would whip up a nourishing face mask or moisturising cream with ingredients in our kitchen—besan, kesar, ghee, and almonds; ingredients to which Indian women have contributed their bright, shining eyes, lustrous hair, and supple skin for centuries. They would even make their own kajal, using the soot from diyas we lit at home, the ash emphasising their eyes and also cooling and brightening them with regular use. Every evening, I would wake up…

Mukul Roy, who recently returned to the Trinamool Congress after defecting to the BJP in 2017, will likely soon be named chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the West Bengal assembly. As per convention, the coveted post usually goes to an opposition leader. But there’s a catch—Roy is yet to resign formally and continues to be a BJP MLA in the assembly records. The TMC has been here before—in 2016, the party had given defecting Congressman Manas Bhunia the same post and to Shankar Singha in 2017.…

With more than 40,000 colleges across India, the 25th edition of the India Today Group’s Best Colleges Survey intends to make critical career decisions easier for aspirants based on rich data. The ranking is considered the gold standard for various stakeholders, such as recruiters, parents, alumni, policymakers, institutions and the general public. Since 2018, the survey is being conducted in association with the reputed Delhi-based market research agency Marketing & Development Research Associates (MDRA) and has been widely appreciated for its consistency. For this year, the ground work was done between December 2020 and June 2021. Colleges were ranked across 14 streams—arts, science, commerce, medical, dental, engineering, architecture, law, mass communication, hotel management, BBA, BCA, social work and fashion design. For the objective ranking, MDRA fine-tuned over 112 performance indicators…

I believe my college experience, so far, has been quite positive. My teachers, peers and seniors have provided a helping hand whenever required. Economics, as a subject, requires a lot of understanding and our teachers have assisted us in every possible way and put in consistent efforts to make sure we thoroughly grasp all concepts taught in class. Despite the constraints of the virtual model, I have made some good friends who have made my college journey much easier and more fun. All this continues to enrich my college experience and bridge the gap in all that we are missing out on. Sometimes it gets difficult to cope with the monotony of having to do everything online, but I hope that the college will reopen soon so that I can…

“I began my college life sometime in late November 2020. Hindu College erased any apprehensions I may have had at the very outset. Ten minutes into our first online meet, I was already feeling at home. I was pleasantly surprised as to how easy it was to fit in. Our teachers were so welcoming. Even in an online set-up, they had us pumped up with contagious enthusiasm. The immense work our teachers put in daily—by making  presentations and videos to ensure we have no trouble grasping the concepts—is heart-warming. It almost seems nothing goes wrong if they are around. The college has delivered a vibrant atmosphere online, and with its numerous societies and clubs, there’s always a buzz of activity.”…

“I have been very lucky to be part of a close-knit community at LSR's commerce department. When the pandemic had just hit last year, we had no idea about how far-reaching its impact on us would be. But we took the difficulties head-on and solved as many issues as possible. To begin with, as classes shifted online, our primary concern was to eliminate the digital divide. Students conducted a survey to find out how accessible data packs, digital devices and study material were among fellow students. We immediately took it upon ourselves to make sure that everyone had access to study material by scanning and uploading notes on a common Google drive. As the first-years joined the college in November, we final-year students kicked off our mentor-mentee programme in a…

“From being at their bedside, learning from our patients, being face-to-face with a diverse range of cases on a daily basis, to seeing pictures of the clinical presentation and leaving the rest to our imagination, there was a significant shift almost overnight for all of us. Classes began after the onset of the pandemic with an orientation on Covid-19, its management and the proper use of PPE kits, which shows the far-sighted vision of the administration as we now use these skills on a daily basis. While we missed our group study sessions, our virtual classes were split into small groups, enabling a higher teacher-student ratio, for better interaction and clearing of doubts with our professors. For hands-on experience, we managed by examining each other and occasionally our family members.…

GURUSPEAK“We were pre-emptive and swift in responding to the pandemic situation”—PROF. SHANTANU ROY Dean (Academics), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi No. 1 INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, DELHI (Govt.) “Even before the nationwide lockdown was announced, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi was pre-emptive and swift to respond to the Covid situation. We suspended classes on March 12, 2020. The online teaching infrastructure was scaled up by the end of March and classes were shifted online completely. We had existing online meeting platforms—MS Teams, WebEx and Impartus—which were then fully integrated with Moodle, our learning management system. The courses are not only provided live but also archived for future access. A ‘standing committee of online teaching’ was set up that has been continually evolving the processes and best practices…

No.1 NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL OF INDIA UNIVERSITY, BENGALURU GURUSPEAK“Despite the pandemic, there was no dip in hiring”—DR SUDHIR KRISHNASWAMY Vice-chancellor, National Law School of India University, Bengaluru “Over the past year, we have built and deployed an online learning management system that ensures structured and reviewed syllabi for every course and easy availability of reading materials. NLSIU’s Elective Course programme has integrated external and internal faculty offering new and intellectually-challenging courses. As many as 55 external/ guest faculty have offered elective courses in the academic year 2020-21. We adopted new academic and examination regulations for three major programmes to streamline academic processes and strengthen our ability to deliver high-quality programmes at scale. The examination process was facilitated via the learning management system and remotely proctored. Evaluations were done online and…

“Online classes gave me a feeling of being more in control of my education. I was able to manage my responsibilities at home, study and also freelance with a Pune-based newspaper to earn an income during the pandemic. The college provided us with recordings of all lectures so in case we missed a class, we could view it later. In this manner, even if there were emergencies to attend to, we didn’t miss classes. Unlike earlier when we had to meet our faculty members in their offices, our professors were now only a phone call or WhatsApp message away and were constantly there for us at all times. Despite all these advantages, I still prefer regular in-person classes because of the valuable experiences that campus life offers. Often, we would…

“IHM Pusa is all about friends, faculty, peers, the experience of walking by the bakery’s inviting smell, undergoing demanding kitchen schedules, welcoming guests in a way they can feel your smile, the afternoon theory sessions. All these experiences now seem so surreal. With the onset of the pandemic, when we all were confined to our homes, the very nature of college shifted. Learning per se hasn’t been impacted. You still have to prepare and be at the top of your lessons, be responsive and engaged. The same stringent conditions of classroom delivery and evaluation exist, only in a virtual form. The vital difference is that those typical college experiences don’t exist. It’s very easy to sink into your comfort zones, so it’s a challenge to follow a regimented routine. The…

“Online and offline experiences are very different. From a learning perspective, there was a lot of effort to incorporate current case studies. Our faculty members gave us real-life case studies and projects that became part of internal assessments. We had open-book examinations, and the papers were designed to reflect the way we had been taught the entire year. We even had debates in an online mode. I would prefer a hybrid model going forward because then we get the benefits of both. There is flexibility that comes with an online model, but one misses the classroom interactions and campus life. The college had floated a survey to understand the online learning requirements of students.”…

No. 1 TATA INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, MUMBAI GURUSPEAK“We shipped around 60 laptops to students in remote areas”—SHUBHADA MAITRA Dean, School of Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai “To make the switch to online teaching last year, our institution developed TISSOL, an inhouse online learning platform. By June, we were using it to transact the curriculum. We posted notes, course content, assignments and started discussion forums. We ensured the rigour of the programme was maintained despite students submitting the assignments from home. Not all assignments were written. There were mock quizzes, multiple question tests, case studies and group presentations to grade students. We didn’t presume that students would have access to internet given that almost half our student population is from the underprivileged section. Many face electricity issues,…

“My initial reaction to the news that the classes were moving online was one of relief because I did not want to lose an entire year. The faculty has been very accommodating about the fact that not all students would have access to certain resources since it is a practical course. With our photography class, if it had been on campus, we would have had access to DSLR cameras but since it was remote learning we were taught the artistic side of photography through the use of camera phones. With material studies, we could work with what was easily accessible at home such as paper. The faculty was also flexible on assignment submissions. It could be a PDF, images or a video. Group projects allowed me to get to know…

“THAT RIVALRY BETWEEN ME AND YO YO HAS NEVER EXISTED IN MY MIND” —Badshah On June 9, Badshah (Aditya Prateek Singh Sisodia) dropped his new single, ‘Paani Paani’. Like many of his tunes, this was a song you watched before you heard. The video featured a svelte Jacqueline Fernandez. She added an obvious oomph to Badshah’s already peppy number. In just one week, the video had been watched over 65 million times on YouTube. We have, of course, been here before. Last year, Fernandez featured in the video of ‘Genda Phool’. With over 820 million YouTube hits, it is Badshah’s greatest ever hit. Though the songs are different—‘Genda Phool’ sampled a Bengali folk song, while ‘Paani Paani’ employs elements of Rajasthani folk—they adhere to a tested formula. They have that…

The Other Love Story (2016) Rupa Rai’s Kannada web show (available on YouTube with English subtitles) is a thoughtfully crafted story of two girls who find themselves sexually awakening in Bengaluru. Romil and Jugal (2017) Billed as the “modern-day Romeo and Juliet”, ALTBalaji’s show is big on theatrics, but with reasonable acting and excellent production values, it shows that queer love stories can be mainstream, too. Aadat (2020) YouTube is replete with queer short films, but this Hindi/ Urdu short film about a closeted Muslim man hiring a sex worker is made memorable by its foreboding tenderness.…

Nasir (2020) A hardworking Muslim salesman goes about his day, only to be faced with society’s bigotry. Arun Karthick’s film won the FIPRESCI—India Grand Prix 2020 award. Pebbles (2021) P.S. Vinothraj’s film is a father-son road movie where redemption and home both seem distant. It won the Tiger Award at Rotterdam International Film Festival (IFFR) 2021. Writing with Fire (2021) The documentary charts the rise of Khabar Lahariya, India’s only newspaper run by Dalit women. Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh’s film won the Audience Award (World Cinema—Documentary) at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.…

Historically in India, jewellery has not merely been considered a commodity or a high-value asset, rather it is wedded to personal history and heirloom legacy. In addition to visual appeal, intricate design and manufacturing techniques, provenance is of utmost importance when it comes to vintage jewellery. Collectors love to gain insight into the provenance of the piece, and the history associated with its journey. And finally, the fact that these pieces have stood the test of time, enhances the clout that these jewels command. This is even more so in current times when latest trends seem to have taken a back-seat with investors turning to opportunities and product categories that have the proverbial ‘story to tell’. Last month, despite troubling global circumstances, during Astaguru’s annual Heirloom Jewellery Silver & Timepiece…

The opulent chambers of Lakshmi Vilas Palace, the sprawling palace residence of the Gaekwad Family, the erstwhile rulers of Vadodara are reservoirs of artistic heritage, showcasing enviable collections of art and antiquities, which are open to the public. While the Palace is famous for housing the largest private collection of Raja Ravi Varma Paintings, the Pratap Shastragar or the Armoury museum is another of its treasures. Home to more than 2000 rare swords, the museum is a pilgrimage for hoplologists (scholars of weapons ). The historical swords in the collections provide rare and intimate insights about their famous owners and fascinate with their intricate details and stories. The following pages showcase a selection of some of the finest pieces in the museum. HINDWANI DEVIKAVACH (DURGA) The sword bears the nine…

Bare the spirit of adventure with the elegant Breguet Marine collection, and wrist assured, you will be the cynosure of all eyes. It is inspired by the timepieces of yesteryear, which were used as maritime navigation instruments. This year, Breguet adds new variations in rose gold with a slate-gray dial, and in titanium with a blue dial (as shown in the picture). In presenting the first versions of the 5517, 5527, and 5547 models in 2018, Breguet also introduced a new material to the collection: titanium. Its remarkable properties make this material the ideal choice for the maritime-themed line. In addition to its resistance to salty air and corrosion——a major advantage in a marine environment——it is also light and equally robust. In its titanium Marine models, Breguet incorporates a dial…