DU Beat Issue - 21st - 26th January, 2015

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Ecophoria at Kamala Nehru College

Beyond the Obvious: Shaheed Rajguru College

PAGE 6 Food review of Wow Vada Pav

RNI Regn. No. DELENG/2007/21984

Volume 8, Issue 16 21st - 26th January, 2014

Tarang 2015: Day 1

Ban Ki-moon delivers lecture at

Tarang 2015, the Annual Cultural Festival of Lady Shi Ram College commenced on January 16th witnessing a great footfall and some great events. Competitive events aside, the LSR campus was abuzz with students skateboarding (and falling!), gorging on food and running from pillar to post in an attempt to grab the prizes for informal competitions like Beg Borrow Steal.

His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary General delivered a lecture on ‘India and the United Nations in a Changing World’ at the Indian Council of World Affairs last week. The Secretary General spoke about India's accomplishment in peacekeeping and the potential the country holds in this sector.

Here’s a glimpse of Day 1’s most popular events: Yavnika, the stage play competition saw six teams competing for theatrical acts and plays. Dramatics societies from five colleges put up their productions on stage, comedies and tragedies alike. Baila, the Western Dance Competition of Tarang had nine

teams battling it out for the final title. Sri Venkateswara grabbed the first place followed by IITDelhi and JMC at the second and third places. LSR’s Western Dance Society, which performed but did not compete, danced to the closing act of Baila.

Battle of Bands, one of the most popular competitions of any fest had bands like Paperboat, Leaf Tone and Pineapple Acid. Most bands performed famous English numbers whereas Sammohan presented experimental fusion numbers.

The Indian Music Society (IMS) held its Classical Solo Competition Malhar where the participants were given eight minutes to sing any raga, Hindustani or Carnatic. Saaz, the Duet Instrumental Competition was held in the evening. Participants played Indian, Western and fusion tracks.

The DJ night, which saw quite a crowd, was the last event of the day and had every one let their hair down. Nucleya and Zaedan, quite popular in the university circuits, largely played English remixes, to which the crowd happily danced with its crazy Indian moves.

Expressions-the English Creative Writing Society, Projekt- the Film and Photography Society and Hive- the Fine Arts Society held multiple competitions- quizzes, movie-making, poster-making and more.

The University is now on the lookout for the fest season to bring some great times ahead. Iresh Gupta ireshg@dubeat.com Alankrita Anand alankritaa@dubeat.com

Indian Council of World Affairs

Coming to New Delhi after a long time, Mr. Moon was nostalgic about his association with the country. He said, "What I am here started from here, whenever I come back to Delhi I become a full man." Mr. Moon emphasized on the potential of India as a driver for peace. "As the world’s largest democracy, India has a lot to teach the world", he said. He mentioned how there are about 8000 Indian peacekeepers serving in the United Nations.

Two out of every three of them serves in an ongoing conflict. Stating how South Asia faces the threat of nuclear weapons, he also called on India to renew its leadership in disarmament. He spoke about how the world is looking for a secured visional environment which requires an engagement between India and Pakistan through growing bilateral agreements. Mr. Moon also stated that we all together have to ‘make it green in India’. "By respecting the environment, we can grow economically", he said.

Niharika Singh niharikas@dubeat.com

Grading system to replace numerical marking in Delhi University

Grade

MARKS

O A+ A b b+ c p f

90.1 - 100 80.1 - 90 70.1 - 80 60.1 - 70 55.1 - 60 50.1 - 55 40 - 50 below 40

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has circulated a notification to all the universities across India to adopt semestrisation of courses and espouse a grading system for results instead of the numerical system of marking.

Delhi University, which is already following the system of semester education, will now introduce the grading system. After getting rid of the Four Year Undergraduate Programme, Delhi University will now gear up for another major rejig.

The change will be administered from the academic year 2015-16. The UGC directive also includes introduction of Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) and Credit Framework for Skill Development (CFSD).

Under CBCS, the students will be able to pursue three types of courses – foundation, elective and core. It will be mandatory for students to pursue core subject every semester and choices will be available in the case of electives from a pool of subjects unrelated to the students’ respective disciplines.

The amendment has come out as result of a meeting that was held between the Human Resources and Development Minister Smriti Irani and state education ministers last week.

The news of the grading system is acquiring mixed responses from the University students.

A part of the crowd feels that the reform is favourable for the students, as it will diversify the number of subjects from which one can choose one’s electives. The reforms will also help the students acquire more credits. Coherent mobility across all institutions will also be ensured. The UGC will also set up a Facilitation Cell to extend necessary assistance to the universities in their transition process.

Iresh Gupta ireshg@dubeat.com


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21st - 26th January, 2014

Past. Present. Future? : Ideating at TEDx FORESchool

The Harvard-US India Initiative Conference 2015

In their simplified and authentic way of dissemination of ideas, TEDx events hold an envious position. The organizing team of TEDxFORESchool at FORE School of Management is bringing the first edition of its own independent TEDx event this month, with the theme: Past. Present. Future? The TEDx talks will be held at the FORE School of Management, Adhitam Kendra, Qutub Institutional Area, New Delhi on 31st January 2015 from 9.30am to 7pm.

The Harvard-US India Initiative, an undergraduate organisation at Harvard University, hosted its largest youth conference at Shangri La, New Delhi on the 9th and 10th January, 2015.

Divya Gandhi, the curator of the TEDx event expounds the theme by saying, “It is this generation's responsibility to act as a bridge between our past mistakes and our future redemption. We’ve tried to explore this further in our TEDx.”

The theme has been kept vast and open to interpretation, at the core of which is the need for an intelligent discourse on the issue of sustainability. The theme highlights the significance of sustainable development in our lives and its implications in the upcoming years. “The topic basically depicts flow of information in a time bound manner”, says Utkarsh Singh, who manages content creation for the TEDxFORE team. What gives this TEDx conference an edge over the others is its solutioncentric approach towards issues of monumental and universal importance.

about what we need to achieve in the future. But how? What do we now to achieve that future? This is the question TEDxFORESchool tries to answer.”

As the PR manager for the event, Nandhagopal Muralithar remarks, “We know what went wrong in the past, we also talk

Kritika Narula kritikan@dubeat.com

Speakers from various fields will address the audience. Distinguished speakers include Ms. Rachana Dhingra, Mr. N.S.N Murthy, Mr. S.K Sonee, Mr. Alok Gupta and Mr. Pradeep Kashyap, among others. The event will also have a session with Rajkumar Jha, the voice of Rural India. Tickets and further information is available at their website: http://www.tedxforeschool.com/

The conference observed keynotes by Mr. Piyush Goyal, Mr. Jayant Sinha, Mr. Jairam Ramesh and Dr. Mirai Chatterjee. From public intellectuals to economists, the panelists offered constructive ideas on how the Indian youth might construct the narrative of our country.The OC selected 375 delegates from universities to high schools to corporate professionals, from all across the country and invited panelists who are visionaries and leaders in their respective fields. The delegates were to attend 6 panels out of the 25 panels offered. The themes of these panels were Education, Politics, Culture, Society, Economics and Going Ahead. Under Education, where on one hand, the students were engaged in deliberations on the importance of liberal arts in the holistic development of a student, on the other hand the delegates and panellists exchanged views and ideas

to foster entrepreneurship in colleges. In “Talking Politics”, MP Scindia said, “The problem with India is that politicians overcommit and under-perform. We need to start under-committing and over-performing.” The delegates also got to interact with esteemed panellists like Nandita Das, Mark Tully, Chiki Sarkar and Tarun Tahiliani, who discussed a multitude of topics including the viability of arts as a career choice in India and ways in which India can preserve its unique cultural heritage. The speakers also reviewed Section 377 and also discussed the challenges faced by the professional women in India under the Society panel. The conference also invited Vikram Dutt and Professor HC Verma as panellists for Going Ahead. The most interesting and challenging of the competitions was the “Social Impact Challenge” where the delegates were called upon to create a tangible social impact in a span of two weeks. Harry Kapoor, a fresher at SRCC was part of the group who won this challenge. Surbhi Arora surbhia@dubeat.com

Euphoria in Economics- Kamala Nehru College’s Ecophoria 2015 like-minded people. The group discussion will revolve around some general issues relating to the current happenings.

For all the Wolves of their own Wall Streets out there, the Economics society of Kamala Nehru College is back with its Annual Economics fest Ecophoria ’15, being organized on 22nd January, 2015. Also, the fest is bringing to you intriguing vouchers to be won and cash prizes worth Rs. 1,00,000. Enough reason to not miss it? This single day extravaganza with an assortment of events is sure to capture your interest and bring out the Adam Smith living within you.

The fest is an amalgamation of multiple formal and informal events- the formal ones forming its framework, the informal ones adding a tinge of fun and excitement to it. From hard-core Economist minds to fun-seeking Economists, Ecophoria promises an adventurous experience to everyone participating in it. Here’s what the fest has to offerFormal Events 1. Biz Buzz- The B Plan competition tests your entrepreneurial skills

by putting to test your idea for a start-up. It’s time to get a reality check if you can survive in the competitive world. 2. Quiz Pro Quo- If you are the one with a dash of general knowledge and updates about Economics, this is your chance to flaunt it. Quiz Pro Quo, the quiz competition awaits you. 3. War of Words- This gives you the opportunity to unleash your thoughts and discuss them with the like-minded and the not so

4. The Winning Move- The childhood game of monopoly has grown up with possibilities of buying, investing, selling and partnering not just for survival but for the ultimate aim of making most profits. 5. Connectonomics- Joining the dots and Jigsaw puzzles go economic in Ecophoria. Making sense of pictures which might appear disjointed initially is what needs to be done. You'll have to analyze the pictures and find the economic connection between them. Informal Events1. Minute to win it- These are the fun one minute games. Be

prepared for the panic attacks of the ticking clock. 2. Posterize- Ecophoria longs to see your creative side and how you ‘posterize’ your thoughts. 3. Treasure Hunt- This is not just about finding the treasures but it is the quest for glory. While rules for all events come with exclusivity, cross-college teams are welcome for all of them. On the spot registration is open for all events except Biz Buzz. Follow their Facebook page for more details. Mark the date on your calendar because you never know, a heavy cash prize may be awaiting you! Arushi Pathak aruship@dubeat.com




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21st - 27th January, 2015

Around The Campus: What’s your favourite memory from last year’s fest season?

Sonal Sinha B.A. (H) Philosophy, 3rd year Miranda House

Aparna B.A. (H) English, 3rd year Miranda House

Rituraj Shekhar Economics Hons., 3rd Year Hindu College

Tejas Manocha B.Com (H) – 3rd year Acharya Narendra Dev College

Pooja Popli Botany (H) – 3rd year Acharya Narendra Dev College

“Last year’s fest season was such a house-full that even in my own college, getting in or out was a Herculean task. Questions of life and death during stampedes have turned into one of my sweetest memories, perhaps because I made it alive.”

“I dressed up as the Wicked Witch of the West for a competition and roamed around nonchalantly. It was amusing to see startled expressions on the faces of passers-by who tried to fathom why a witch was sauntering around the campus in broad daylight. I got pictures clicked with people I will never meet again, and made some friends as well. It was magical.”

“My heart is filled with nostalgia whenever the word ‘Mecca’ comes up, wholly and solely because of the exhilarating two days of Mecca 2014. But if I had to choose one favourite memory which was unique, it has to be the melodious moments my mind and my ears were subjected to when Mohit Chauhan, the heart throb musical maestro performed. It wasn't only about the music but also the environment that existed at that point of time, the passion in the audience which made all of them completely forget about all the problems and concerns in their lives and to only live in the moment.”

“All Street Play societies sitting together and singing songs from each other’s play on ‘djembe’ and ‘bongo’ at LSR’s fest and listening to my favourite singer, Mohit Chauhan live in Hindu College and dancing along crazy crowd and friends were some of the amazing memories I made in last year’s fest season.”

“Fest season is all about running around. Working for your interests and putting forth the best. And that’s what I did, giving a name (Bello Y Moda) to the first ever group of stylish divas of our college. Choreographing and putting up a successful fashion event in the college is what I achieved and my achievement is my best memory.”

Picture Credits: Mugdha, Greta Khawbung and Kashish Madan

Life of a CA student: 16 exams, 6 dozen books and 6 years of study Sixteen exams, six dozens books, six years of extensive study and a rigorous life with tight articleship schedule, work pressure and coaching leaving no spare time or personal space. Yet, the eyes gleam with the iridescent dreams of a shining future, the determination is strong, the zeal unfading. There is some kind of latent pleasure in this monotony that they find; which keeps them going despite of the extensive and deep disciplines, aggressively tough question papers and tight results. This is the life of all budding Chartered Accountancy aspirants, bogged down with

tonnes of things yet progressing towards the final goalpost, of being able to use the two most beautiful alphabets – ‘CA’ as a prefix to their names.

conditions of demand and supply wherein institute tends to meticulously match available opportunities with aspirants and thereby declare results.

The CAs are entrusted with the substantial responsibilities of tax audits, financial consultancy; taxation planning and project consultancy, however the path to success is narrow and the risk of failure is alarmingly high as the regulatory body, ICAI has substantially reduced the pass percentage to single digits in last few attempts. The steep downfall is attributed to the market

Moreover, the institute wishes to keep a vigilant eye on quality of students being passed which has diluted with the overexploitation of CA as a profession by tutors and coaching houses. Another reason that is supposed to be working behind the tough exams and tight results is to encourage students to gain in depth working knowledge for practical situations, which seems to have

been replaced by rote learning in the system.

for others, it is difficult but still possible.

No matter how tough the going gets, the tough still get going. Numerous famous CAs have scaled great heights of success whether it be CA Subhash Lakhotia (anchor of famous CNBC show ‘Tax Guru’), CA Shekhar Kapoor (Actor, Writer & Reality TV Judge), CA Parveen Sharma ( faculty at the most sought after name in CA coaching – ‘Aldine – CA’) or other names such as K.M Birla, Motilal Oswal etc. It all lies in our vision, for some CA is possible but difficult, while

There will be inevitable heart breaking failures which when matched with apt patience, dedication and will to excel can amount to mightiest of successes. Be not afraid of progressing slow, only fear standing still. Allow me to quote author Ritu Ghatourey, ‘At any given moment you have the power to say – this is not how my story is going to end.’ Mridul Sharma mriduls@dubeat.com

Editor – Priyanka Banerjee Web Editor – Niharika Singh, Copy Editors – Siddhi Goel, Arushi Srivastav, Associate Editors – Shaily Sharma, Vani Vivek, Mridul Sharma, HR Head – Priya Bhalla, Operations Head – Geetika Varshney, Design Head – Swati Verma, Marketing Head - Ishika Gupta, Technical Team Head – Arjun Khosla. Correspondents - Namrata Gupta, Pallav Deb, Sidhant R. Seth, Abhinav Arora, Isheeta Sharma, Brij Mohan Pahwa, Akash Pattanayak, Sidhant Malhotra, Ambiso Tawsik, Tushar Diwan ,Himanshi Bahuguna, Iresh Gupta, Ishaan Sengupta, Ishaan Gambhir, Ayesha Sareen, Ishani Rajkhowa, Ishita Sharma, Alankrita Anand, Amitoj Singh, Priyanka Kapoor, Shaurya Sahai, Meghna Mitra, Surbhi Sharma, Ashish Matthews, Arushi Pathak, Kritika Narula, Arindam Goswami, Kriti Sharma, Sidharth Yadav, Surbhi Arora, Sudisha Misra, Kartikeya Bhatotia, Tarushi Varma. Photograpers - Abhinav Arora, Mugdha, Abhay Makhija, Bharat Mohindru, Chirag Sharma, Greta Khawbung, Mehr Gill, Ankit Kumar Meena. Marketing – Sahil Mathur, Shaily Jha, Sarvin Singh, Anishka Arora, Abhay Makhija, Sarthak Sahney. Designers - Kartik Lav, Arunesh Kumar, Mehr Gill, Himanshu Jain, Naman Sehgal, Suhasini Sharma, Meraj Habib Ansari, Chaitanya Choudhary. HR - Prabhat Raghavan, Abhinn Khanna, Ankit Bhaskar, Gauri Sahni, Sahil Narang, Tanvi Shekhawat, Shivam Rawal. Web Developers – Sidhant Malhotra, Kavach Chandra, Vijayant Kumar. Director – Dhaval Gupta.


21st - 26th January, 2015

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Most awaited Bollywood releases of 2015 2014 has been a year of many hits and misses for Bollywood with heart touching hits like PK and Queen and disasters like Humshakals. With interesting concepts and exciting new characters, 2015 looks most promising. Below are some of our top choices for most anticipated movies: Baby Release Date: 23rd January Cast: Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher and Kay Kay Menon The Popcorn factor: If it's an Akshay Kumar starrer then we can definitely expect mind blowing action! One look at the trailer with its great dialogues and we can say our action honcho will not disappoint us. The trailer is already a hit and this movie looks on to be most promising! Shamitabh Release Date: 6th February Cast: Amitabh Bachchan and Dhanush The Popcorn Factor: Big B's solo performance with Piddly and his splendid dialogues will leave you wanting more!

Being cleverly unclear about the whole "SHamitabh or shAMITABH" business, this movie is definitely eagerly anticipated! Badlapur Release Date: 20th February Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Varun Dhawan, Divya Dutta and Yami Gautam The Popcorn Factor: Out with the student and in with the killer! For the first time Varun Dhawan is stepping out of his comfort zone playing an edgy and dark character. Byomkesh Bakshi Release Date: 10th April Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput and Anand Tiwari The Popcorn Factor: One look at the trailer is enough to make you go “Wow!” Flamboyant, dark and mysterious, heartthrob Sushant Singh Rajput has adopted a completely different look for this film and even changed his body language to perfect the role! Bombay Velvet Release Date: 15th May

FOOD REVIEW

Wow Vada Pav Paneer Cheese flavour).

Wow is a small shop that opened near Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Karampura in the last few months of 2014. One might not notice the shop at first glance, but once you try out the items on their menu, you’ll be tempted to visit it very often! The chain will be opening a shop at Adarsh Nagar near North Campus by the end of January 2015. Wow is best known for its wide variety of Vada Pavs from Standard to Cheese and Schezwan to Hot Masala-- and a combination of those too! For those who love spice, the Hot Masala and Schezwan are tasty options while those who enjoy milder flavours can go for Aaloo Tikki and Makkai Palak. You can go for these options as they are, or ask for the cheese or mayonnaise version of each of these. All variations combined, they have 48 Vada Pavs on their menu! The price ranges from Rs. 20 (Standard) to Rs. 85 (Masala

If Vada Pavs aren’t your cup of tea, Wow also has Nuggets (Corn Cheese Nuggets with different sauces), Cheese sticks, Chatpata Fries and Magic Butter Pav Bhaji (fancy name, yes). All these items are priced between Rs. 30 and Rs. 65. They’ve also recently added Vegetarian Biryani and Aloo Wrap and Paneer Wrap. If you’d like a beverage to go with your meal, they stock juices and cold drinks with tea and coffee available too. Go for the individual items if you’re there for a quick bite, and try out the various combo offers for a slightly more hearty meal. For those who’ve tried out Vada Pavs before, you won’t be disappointed with Wow. For those who haven’t tried them yet, Wow is good place to have your first Vada Pav. The menu might confuse you at first, so ask the helpful shop owner for suggestions. Or better yet, order multiple items and flavours. It’s quite likely that you’ll enjoy whatever your order and it won’t even pinch your pocket! Priyanka Banerjee priyankaba@dubeat.com Image credits: Sahil Grover

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Karan Johar The Popcorn Factor: Set in the 60's it's a film about the growth of Bombay into the metropolis it is today. Also it is the first part of a trilogy as said by Director Anurag Kashyap starring Raveena Tandon and Kay Kay Menon in supporting roles.

From Akshay Kumar's packed 'Baby' to Sushant desi flamboyance, definitely a lot we can from Bollywood this year.

action Singh's there's expect

Arindam Goswami arindamg@dubeat.com

TV SERIES REVIEW :

5 reasons to watch Downton Abbey Downton Abbey, a drama series set in the 20th century revolving around the life of the Crawley family and their servants, is soon to hit the Indian television on 23rd January 2015 on Star World. If you have been one of the many intrigued by the advertisements, then here are 5 reasons from one follower to another to-befollower on why you should watch Downton Abbey. Historical significance No, history doesn’t always need to be boring and that is proved by Downton Abbey. Here is a show where almost every episode has a historical backdrop. Marxism, spread of electricity and technology, women’s rights – you name it and the show has it. The first episode begins in the backdrop of the sinking of Titanic-- need I say more? The real set When you watch the show you might find yourself in awe of Downton Abbey – The Crawley house. Here is an interesting fact to increase that moment of awe. All the shots in and around the house have been shot at an actual house, and not a set. The real house is Highclere Castle, estate of Earl of Carnarvon. The discipline Discipline is the most sought after and the least found quality in a student’s life. The discipline of all the characters on Downton

Abbey and the way they have been built with every character having a story of their own will keep you wanting more. The orderliness of the characters might just inspire some order in yours. British accent Who doesn’t love a good Brit accent? The pronunciation and sophistication will have you swooning. I bet you will love the way they say simple words like “Papa” and “Mama”. The ladies The 20th Century might be a male dominated century but in Downton Abbey the ladies win the show. They have power, vision, compassion, hatred, practicality and emotions mixed all together. Cora, Lady Mary, Edith and Sybil, Isobel Crawley, Anna and other maid servants won’t disappoint you and the cherry on top in two words – Maggie Smith. Isheeta Sharma isheetas@dubeat.com Image Source: phillymag.com

Q. I have a guy in my life who is my best friend. We both have feelings for each other and we both know it too but we don’t like any kind of “relationship thing”. Should we get in a relationship or not? A. Ahhh, young love! Sounds as sweet as my banana cake! How we used to fall for the ones closest to us. But Amma also remembers the drama over splitting our idly batter later, gaah! Nostalgia aside, my love struck macchis, you both need to talk it out with each other and decide upon a way to share your uttapam! Relationships do come with commitment, but it also makes you exclusive for each other. On the contrary there are other ways too, like being open to different chutneys around you and still sharing the same uttapam. Confused? Well, Amma is simply referring to an open relationship (happens to be Amma’s favourite) or a ‘friends with benefits’ for the more ‘spicy’ kind. You could also ‘taste’ the waters by trying dating without putting a label on it and see if it works out. In the end, it’s between the two of you and you need to talk to one another and find the right mix of flavors! If you both make a conscious decision to try out dating without letting it affect your friendship, then you can consider it. If you’d rather not risk it, then stick as best friends!


After its success in government schools, the government has directed Delhi University to make its students fall in line with thalis and katoris in their hands to avail the benefits of Mid-Day Meal scheme. “The food we served in schools was so good that children felt like they were in heaven, eating in God’s arms! In fact, some didn’t return from there! After such reviews, we decided to expand the scheme. We want DU students to feel heaven as well,” said Daalmay Kala, a senior government official. The announcement has invited word from all corners of the University. Foreign students have expressed delight. “Delhi’s food is popular across the world! I’ve already tasted chaat from Chandni Chowk and Chole Bhature from Bengali Market. I’m sure mid-day meals will be the icing on the cake,” said a student

from New York. There would be a mid day meal break scheduled for students in all colleges in which the food will be served. In order to inculcate healthy eating habits among college students, the consumption of the meal would be compulsory for all students. There shall be proper attendance marked for the same and it’ll also account for certain percentage of internal assessment marks. Additionally, the menu is rumoured to have been leaked. Reportedly, the only 5 items on it are Pani Puri, Bhalla Papri, Bhel Puri, Tikki and Chowmein. While one politician reiterated his belief that when girls eat Chowmein, they are calling for rape, other political wings are alleging that the sole purpose of this scheme is to make DU students sick so they can’t storm the campus and protest anymore. However, the canteen proprietors have now started a protest as the mid day

meal scheme of University of Delhi is eating into the business of canteens. Student associations have been protesting against the lack of infrastructure to support such a scheme in DU. We contacted a member of DU’s Executive Council to comment. On condition of anonymity, the member said, “DU is one step ahead of everyone. We have already found the solution to the problem. We will be directing colleges to sell off the now-waste FYUP laptops and use the money to buy plates and other utensils; alternatively they could use the technique of barter. To provide for the food, we’re obviously going to use the OBC fund.” Disclaimer: Bazinga is DU Beat’s weekly column of almost believable fake news!

How would it feel if you could build your own phone; for which you could decide what you want and what you want to skip? You’ll no longer need to choose between a Samsung and a Motorola-- instead, you will be able to create your own device. Sounds unreal, right? This may soon be a reality as Google’s Project Ara might come to India early next year. Project Ara phones are a collection of Lego-like blocks. These blocks contain hardware pieces – cameras, processors, battery, RAM, display, and so on. There are three sizes – mini, medium and large – which can be achieved through a combination of magnetic blocks of different sizes. The blocks are removable and replaceable as well. Now what seems to be the height of customisation is that you can choose your own specifications and design for your phone! And since they are replaceable, you can simply buy a new component instead of buying a whole new device! For example, you may build a phone with a 5MP camera and may require a 13MP shooter after a year. Instead of buying a new phone with the required specification, you could simply buy a 13MP ‘camera block’ and swap it with the current one.

If reports are to believed, this swapping would be in realtime, i.e. no need to reboot your phone! You can even carry spare blocks with you & change them on the go! Shortcomings You will have to compromise on your phone’s aesthetics in lieu of the customisations. Since the phones are made of colourful, magnetic blocks, the phone might look like a toy! Also, the phone is thicker and heavier, as all hardware is on the exterior. Conclusion This seems to be the next big thing in the world of technology. Creating your own phone seems dreamlike! Also the hardware being offered is very versatile, like the resolution range from average to full HD. We will have to wait for January to get the exact details on hardware, software, availability, etc. However, if trends are to be believed, Google may launch the product by the next Google I/O. By early 2015, you shall be able to create your own devices online, order them and use them. Start planning your devices!

World's tallest waterfall is under water


court, track & feild 21st - 26th January, 2015

sudisham@dubeat.com


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