" College education equips one to entertain three things: a friend, an idea and oneself."



Saturday, October 30, 2010

Update on American Quiz

Hi Friends,

Glad to share the news that the Pioneer also featured a column on the American Quiz. Here's the link to read more:

http://www.dailypioneer.com/292382/Presidential-quiz.html


Cheers !

Sunday, October 24, 2010

On a high note...

A six member team from our college participated in an American Quiz -
Rock with the Presidents
at Hard Rock Cafe, DLF Saket.

Apart from Bharati College, it featured Delhi colleges including St. Stephen’s College, Jesus & Mary College, Lady Sri Ram College, Motilal Nehru College, Indraprastha College, Zakir Husain College (morning), Kamala Nehru College, Rajdhani College and Dayal Singh College.

Lydia Barraza, cultural affairs officer at the U.S. embassy in New Delhi, directed the 40-question challenge about U.S. Presidents. The questions were a good mix and got the mind going.

The team performed extremely well and was showered with praises from all those who were present-students from DU colleges and officials from American Centre alike.

Though the team lost by a narrow margin, one of its members - Shivani Sharma, a final year student of English Honours got the chance to be a proud owner of an Apple I-pod shuffle and a DVD named Dave. She won them for different reasons- I-pod for answering all questions on Obama and DVD for writing an interesting fact about him (When he was young, he used to work in an ice cream parlour and so hates ice cream).

This is what she has to say-
" I got to be a part of a great team ! Also, thanks to the college and our professors for providing us with this great opportunity and encouraging us to be the part of the Quiz. The college is always there to support and encourage students; it all depends on them whether they take these opportunities or not."

She is all smiles and further says "I am not so much into gadgets and so I have gifted the I-pod to my brother. He is being really nice to me these days."
(laughs)em>

Other proud members of the team are Annica Sodhi, Archana Arora , Ankita Kathuria , Swati Bakshi and Anupam- all final year English Literature students.

________________________________________

A post can be seen on the blog of the famous international daily newspaper -
the Wall Street Journal :

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010/10/21/ahead-of-obama-visit-a-crash-course-in-us-presidents/?mod=google_news_blog

__________________________________________

Back home, The Hindustan Times featured a column on this event and included some of the other interesting President facts that Shivani had submitted.
Here's the link: http://www.hindustantimes.com/rssfeed/lifestyle/Obama-s-cheer-girls/Article1-616410.aspx
__________________________________________

Here's another link for the pics clicked that day :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/usembassynewdelhi/sets/72157625083989083/
__________________________________________

congrats ! Go team !

Friday, October 8, 2010

I am a dreamer...

The Beatles are one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music. The English rock band formed in 1962 consisted of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals. Their charisma and influence also extended into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s.

As it is said-- all good things have to come to an end, the group disintegrated after doing many years of record-breaking music together.

The break-up resulted in John Lennon launching a successful solo career for himself. Even today, songs like Stand by me, Imagine and Give Peace a Chance are very popular. They are not only appreciated for their melodious music but also for the lyrics. How true they sound in this century !

His glorious career ended on 8 December 1980; he was shot in the back four times at the entrance to the New York apartment building by a fan Mark David Chapman.
Ironically, earlier that evening, Lennon had autographed a copy of Double Fantasy for Chapman. Lennon's wife Ono issued a statement the next day, saying "There is no funeral for John. He loved and prayed for the human race. Please pray the same for him."

If he would have been alive today, he would have turned 70 on 9 October, 2010.
Google Celebrates John Lennon’s 70th Birthday with Video Doodle :



Lennon was known for his rebellious and witty nature which is reflected in his music, writings, films, and interviews. His songs were adapted as anthems by the anti-war movement and became controversial through his work as a peace activist.

# You will find the song Give Peace a Chance that emerged as an anti-war anthem in times of Vietnam War on this link:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-NRriHlLUk&feature=related


# To share two of my favourite Lennon quotes (of course, there's a long list !!!!! )-

"My role in society, or any artist's or poet's role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all."

"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."


# To read more on John Lennon, his life and his death, do visit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lennon

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Grand Opening of CWG

The 2010 Commonwealth Games (3 -14 October 2010) is the largest multi-sport event conducted to date in India, which has previously hosted the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. It will also be the first time Commonwealth Games is held in India
and the second time the event has been held in Asia (after 1998 in Malaysia).

It is a matter of privilege for Delhi to host the CWG. Apart from the games, there’s so much happening around these days to tickle one’s taste buds- the literary fest, the theatre acts, and other events on same lines. After initial hiccups, I am glad that Delhi did manage to pull a spectacular opening. It was great to see different shades of India materialize into one single fabric. Hope the same momentum is maintained through out the sporting events. (In fact, with the medals pouring in, it is being maintained !!!! )




To read more interesting facts about the Games:
visit the offical website: www.cwgdelhi2010.org

Saturday, September 18, 2010

There's a hole in my bucket ...

There’s a Hole in My Bucket is a popular children’s song with a circular set of lyrics, since the hole in the bucket never seems to get fixed. The song begins with a man named Henry complaining to his dear Liza that he has a hole in his bucket. Going through several rounds of questions and answers, Henry never manages to fix his bucket !!

This song is so endearing that you can find it in most collections of children’s songs. It’s most popular version was sung by Harry Belafonte and Odetta



It is said that There’s a Hole in My Bucket has roots in the early 1700s and was originally sung in German.
Sesame Street incorporated the song as a comedic skit in the 1970s, with Henry and Liza portrayed by Muppets, except instead of straw, Liza prescribes fixing the hole in the bucket "with a stick".




Enjoy the video.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Its raining...

Last night I was reading random articles when I came across a poem by Lisa G that evoked pleasant memories. I am sure you will enjoy reading it:


A cozy Rainy day -A rainy day memory from my childhood days
I love the cozy feeling I get on a rainy day
It's nice to come in from the rain, and set inside and play
My Daddy has a deck of cards reserved for that special day

When life slows down and everyone's inside and doing okay
We set for hours playing in total contentment on this noon day
The lightening, a bit frightening
My mom's, cozy on the couch
Our kitten, gives my brother a loving touch
We're all cozy and warm inside
when the pitter patters approach
Rain Rain, please don't go away
Stay with us just for one more day


What is your idea of a perfect rainy day ? What is it that you love about the rain ? Share WITH US. You can even post your rainy day pics by just copying and pasting the link in the comment box.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Strike a chord for health and more...

Street theatre is the earliest form of communication. The street plays or Nukkad Nataks are concise yet they possess this mesmerizing power to speak directly to the audience and strike a chord in their hearts.
A Nukkad natak by World Lung foundation was performed in college grounds on 10 August 2010. It was well-received by students.

The day also witnessed activities organized by Red Stockings Literary Society. First, there was JUST A MINUTE (JAM in popular usage) Competition which was followed by preparing Logo for the society.




The purpose of JAM is to develop quick thinking together with good speaking, good grammar and appropriate use of words. The speakers were given half a minute to think and another minute to speak on the topic. They were scored on the basis of their content, confidence, comprehension of the topic and manner of speech. Some of the topics were I wish I was a bird, my idea of perfect weekend, perfect life, how to keep Earth green, my school days and so on.


The judges were Shrishti, Archna and Anupam from Eng Hons. IIIrd Year.

The winner was Gayatri from Eng Hons. Ist Year.

For Logo competition, there was a palpable interest amongst the audience.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Red Stockings Literary Society Elections held

The department of English runs a literary society called the Red Stockings Literary Society which holds play readings, seminars, paper readings, quizzes and similar activities through out the year.

On 3 August 2010, elections were held under the supervision of Mrs. Bhavna Kale, Head of Department, English to decide its office bearers for the academic year 2010-2011.

The Results are as follows:

President: Shivani Sharma, Eng Hons. IIIrd Year

Vice President: Deepti Kochhar, Eng Hons. IIIrd Year

Chief Secretary: Ila, Eng Hons. IInd Year

In the subsequent meeting on 4 August 2010 , there was a general discussion on the list of activities put forward by Shivani.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Orientation comes to an end

The 10 day Orientation concluded on 31st July with the screening of the movie Omkara. All this while, many interesting activities were organised for the first years.

There were video clips and powerpoint presentations on contemporary topics such as Khap panchayats, Live- in Relationships and Eve Teasing. Movies such as Maine Gandhi ko nahi maara, Gandhi- my father, Salaam Namaste and Omkara were also screened and followed by stimulating discussions.

The students enjoyed the sessions with Dr. (Mrs.) Promodini Varma , the principal of Bharati College who gave valuable tips on how to improve one's writing and oral skills.
They also found the sessions with Dr. Mukti Sanyal and Nisha Tiwari , faculty members of English Dept. as very engaging and thought provoking...particularly the one on Paragraph Writing.

Organisations such as Swechha and World Lung foundation addressed students on matters of environment and health.

Overall, the Orientation was a big success !

We hope each and everyone of you enjoyed the orientation as we did.
All the Best.