1. JJYYOOTTII VVEERRMMAA
THE ASIAN AGE
Dramas, in the form
of street plays, have
come out of closed
auditoriums onto the roads,
historical monuments and
railway platforms, thanks to
the youth. The action is now
everywhere with themes not
shying away from being top-
of-the-mind — anti-corrup-
tion, terrorism, whistle-
blowing and mindset issues.
While the larger motive is
to spread awareness and
begin a dialogue with the
masses, the medium is also a
journey of self-discovery for
those playing the roles. “No
one expects IITians to step
out of their geeky world and
take social steps. For us,
Raging Streets is a parallel
universe, separate from our
academic and professional
lives,” says Snehil Basoya,
an alumnus of IIT-Delhi
(IITD). Basoya is a member
of IITD’s first street play
group Raging Streets.
A member of Abhivyakti,
the dramatics society of IP
College for Women, Palak
Bhambri, a final year stu-
dent, says that the plays
bring her face to face with
real issues. “Our last play,
Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun
Aata Hai? talked about the
inherent violence in
humans and presented to
viewers a wish for mental
peace in the world. The vio-
lent scenes required us to be
violent towards one another.
We got a lot of bruises but
the praise makes up for
every one of them. Today, we
consider each mark a per-
sonal battle scar,” she says.
The driving force behind
the youth manning the
groups is the realisation of
the awakening that drama
spreads. The students recog-
nise the visual appeal, spon-
taneity and openness of the
medium and give it their
best. Each theme requires a
lot of homework, context,
dialogues that do not offend,
and value additions like
music, partnerships with
welfare organisations and
discussions. “We need to
present everything carefully
so that the intended message
gets conveyed and the audi-
ence interprets it in much
the same way, as we want
them to,” says Kritika Tan-
eja, a student of SSCBS, and
member of its street play
group, Verve.
At times, locations can be
challenging and so too the
audience. Even after doing
one’s best if one does not get
any applause it can be tough,
but the passion never falters.
“Sometimes there are dis-
turbing and derogatory com-
ments. But we have thick-
ened our skins against
them,” says Bhambri about
the challenges faced.
Another noteworthy aspect
of the groups is their organ-
isational culture — with a
group having as many as 40
members — and time given
to the group. “Our practice
schedules focus on energy
and volume, increasing sta-
mina, improving acting
skills and lots of script-mak-
ing exercises,” concludes
Basoya.
MMRRIIGGNNAA CCHHAAWWLLAA AANNDD HHAANNSSAA VVEERRMMAA
The introduction of online admis-
sions not just created a ‘buzz’ among
students seeking admission in Delhi
University (DU), but also made the
admission process far more convenient
for those who were applying from differ-
ent states. Although the university tried
to plug all the loopholes, there were still
a few complaints. “Filling up the form
online proved to be a hassle for me, as
there were many things I needed help
with and there was no one to guide me
through the process,” says Akshita Goel,
an admission seeker.
Another aspirant, Nilisha Kerpal found
the process confusing. “With a lot of doc-
uments to be attached, the process
became cumbersome,” she says.
On the other hand there are a bunch of
students who believe that online forms
are a better alternative to standing in
long queues. This belief led to about
18,000 online applications forms being
filled on the first day of the online admis-
sion procedure. “I filled the form online.
This spared me a lot of time as well as
other problems,” says Nupur Verma
who filled the admission form
online from Patna.
“The online process gave us
an application number
which will help us check
our admission status
regularly,” says
Saniya Batra, anoth-
er DU hopeful.
So while the aspi-
rants still wait for
information about whe-
ther they have got into the
colleges of their choice, they
all agreed that if the few glitch-
es they encountered are tightened
up, online is the way to go!
23
Delhi Age
Wednesday 20 June 2012
college diaries
Preparatory
programme
Students say online is the way to go
The Indira Gandhi National Open
University (IGNOU) invites appli-
cations from all those students who
wish to pursue further studies but
are blocked by the barricade of
essential basic qualifications. The
varsity offers solution to candidates
in the 18 plus age group who have
not passed their 10+2 exams,
through its platform of Bachelors
Preparatory Programme (BPP). The
structure of the new programme
comprises three options, out of
which the student can choose any
one. It offers a preparatory course in
General Mathematics, preparatory
course in Social Sciences and a
preparatory course in Commerce.
The last date to submit the applica-
tion form is July 30, 2012. The
preparatory programme is offered in
Oriya, English, Hindi, Tamil, Bengali,
Marathi, Telegu, Malayalam and
Gujarati.
Ten top Ph.D. scholars from India
will be awarded AUD$90,000 each
and additionally have their fees
waived by about AUD$90,000 over a
period of three years, at one of nine
universities, in Victoria, Australia,
beginning 2013. The scholarships,
which will support living costs and
education-related travel, will extend
over the duration of the students
doctoral studies. For more informa-
tion log on to www.studymel-
bourne.vic.gov.au/scholarships
Help to Ph.D.
students
A drama for change
BBeeggiinnnniinngg tthhiiss sseessssiioonn,,
JJaammiiaa MMiilliiaa IIssllaammiiaa
wwiillll rreeccoorrdd iinntteerrvviieewwss
ffoorr iittss AAJJKK MMaassss
CCoommmmuunniiccaattiioonn
RReesseeaarrcchh CCeennttrree
ccoouurrsseess.. TThhiiss iiss
bbeeiinngg ddoonnee ttoo
mmaaiinnttaaiinn ttrraannssppaarreenn--
ccyy aanndd aaccccoouunnttaabbiilliittyy iinn
tthhee aaddmmiissssiioonn pprroocceessss..
TThhee vvaarrssiittyy wwiillll mmaaiinnttaaiinn aa
ddaattaabbaassee ooff tthheessee iinntteerr--
vviieewwss ffoorr eeaacchh yyeeaarr..
ON THE RECORD
cam
pus
talk
Street
plays enact-
ed by college
students aim to
begin a dialogue
with the
masses
We
consider
our bruises
battle scars
PALAK BHAMBRI
IP COLLEGE
(Above) Students of Maharaja Agrasen, (right) SSCBS and (below) IIT-Delhi perform regularly and voluntarily at key locations in Delhi