Friday 31 January 2014

IN THE THIRD WORLD.

As I look through the wire mesh of the little window in my room, I see clouds of dust and muck bounce into one another through the air. No, it is not a dust storm. Its development –construction of a new building. It’s some magnificent real estate affair. The owner has lawfully bought a couple acres of land and is realizing his dream of having a house of his own built. In the spacious backyard of this house, he will bask away the afternoons, and in the evenings, his grandchildren will run on the splendid Italian granite floor that sweeps around the house garden.

In this country, I feel there is a special significance of owning your abode. What is bothering me is the sight of this home in the making - slender women, with children, sometimes more than two, clinging to their bodies, like baby monkeys cling to the mother monkey. The women look devoid of fluids, like a stack of hay, which has not felt the caress of raindrops a midst scorching temperatures for long periods. I want to admit that nothing could not obstruct my gaze at them when I first saw them eating lunch. The woman, who briskly walked with half a dozen sandstone bricks on her head some time back, now makes perfectly round rotis. She does not use a rolling board. She’s innovative. A little lifted plank made on the ground is her work desk, substituting the rolling board. Another woman who was also employed at the site lends a helping hand in feeding the five men and three children. They all sat down with the sabzi already on their plates

Since a very long time I know that I live in a third world country. I do not exactly know when I came to know of this, but I clearly remember that it pinched me. Its not the best feeling that one belongs to the third world. But the feeling would only be marginally different if the third world experience were restricted to mere knowledge of some other people living that life. The third world I belong to, no doubt has stark differences as well. The grandeur of the affluence of some Indians is massive. In some cases, the sheer splendor mocks the misery of the destitute like the ones engaged in construction work. Many a times, the better off lend a helping hand, presumably for the joy of their conscience. The social ladder, to which I connote a blend of economics, literacy and mindset , is peculiar for this part of the world. According to UNESCO’s 11th Education for All (‘EFA’) Global Monitoring Report, while the richest young women in India have already achieved universal literacy, the poorest are projected to do so only by 2080. Globally, the report projects that universal education will not be reached until the next century. This is only one example of the contrast that runs through our country. The report also gives a suggestion to improve the alarming situation of learning crises in poor countries like India. It says that good teachers are the key in this regard.

The third world countries deal with problems of poverty and hunger, dearth of amenities and resources, low per capita incomes and high populations. In my special third world country, we have this peculiar problem of caste. When I first came to know of it, I was quite fascinated by this classification. I thought it is something to be proud about, another thing to celebrate – the way you and I have varied festivals and traditions. Inevitably, our perceptions about things change one day. We become oblivious to some, and start viewing others in a different light all together. The newspapers put forth the stark reality of the caste system. The ugliness of such things as caste supersedes many a good things about our civilization. For instance, the Guruvayur temple purification a couple of years back is only one of the many testimonies to the filth the caste system. The temple priests carried out the purification of the temple because a man, who’s mother was a Christian and father a Hindu had entered the temple premises. His half Christian identity qualified him to be considered impure. Then there was a furor that Kisan Baburao Hazare ended his fast at the hands of a Dalit. Why not stop labeling people? Why not look at people for what they do and think, and not for which caste they belong to? I confess that caste is not a universal facet of the third world ; it just happens to be prevalent in my third world.


A midst all such adversities lies the reality of the third world. The urge to draw ourselves out of this labyrinth of unpleasantries is sure there in some measure. Generalization in this regard is not apposite, and so it is safe to say that this urge must have the right tenacity. Till we really get hooked on with that almost Utopian tenacity as a nation, we shall remain the third world. Our children will be born and die as citizens of the third world. 

Natasha Bardia,
Editor, The Bohemians.

Monday 13 January 2014

Whats Up, SLS- NOIDA..????

Hello everyone.. 
We are back with the current news updates, directly from the ground of Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA.

To start, we would like to inform you that the students of the batch 2010-15 have resumed their classes and the life and crowd on campus is back to normal. Unfortunately the Curse of Sunday  still prevails and they are attending lectures on Sunday as well. Must say, they are determined and hard working.. After all attendance is everything.. :P

With the university results being declared we can see a tremendous chaos outside the Administration Office on an almost daily basis. Some gather to collect mark sheets others filling up backlog forms. But overall the results were really amazing with many scoring a 3 pointer and above, few in the range of 2 and the highest being a record breaking 4/4 points scored by two Fourth year students, both girls. 
Moreover a student (Again a Girl) got her book published titled 'Law 4 Layman'.
Congratulations girls.. You made us proud.. :) *

*P. S girls are bright and intelligent, so promote girls' education.. :)

The next big and breaking news, which has shocked the entire world is that, we are now very close to make and break the World Record in filing the most number of RTI applications... All 240 students of the Batch 2011-16 are made to file four RTI each across the length and breadth of India, along with one RTI each in the National Green Tribunal, New Delhi (God Save NGT.. 240 applications in a row... :P) as a part of our research work. We are now emerging as an all time greatest activists of RTI. 
 At SLS, NOIDA, that is how we do it by gaining the field and pratical knowledge.. :) 

Coming in latest from the fields of Bombay and Aurangabad, teams representing Symbiosis Law School, Noida in XIV Manikchand Pahade Law College National Moot Court Competition, Aurangabad and 20th M. C. Chagla Memorial Government Law College National Moot Court Competition 2014, Bombay have bagged Runners' Up Trophy in both. Congratulations to the Team Members, Moot Court Society (SLS-N) and everyone's favorite, Dr. Md. Salim--- The proud and happy Head, Moot Court Society, SLS- N

Further the Theater group have been seen practicing along with the Street Play team, Kataksh for their upcoming productions on a daily basis. So some Nautanki is surely coming up soon....!

The library is still seen packed with Moot teams preparing and the computer lab is missing Harjinder Ma'am. 

And last but not the least, from our secret sources we have come to know that SLS- N is planning something big of which we are not sure yet, but will get back to you with the details... 

For more updates on it and other happening on campus keep following us and keep writing to us @literaturesociety@sylaw.edu.in.






Wednesday 8 January 2014

THE WOE OF A JUVENILE

Oh, thy answer my question please,
when shall I truly be free.?

It all happened in a blink.
One moment, she was hopping and frolicking on the street, humming her own song, enjoying the company of the tranquil moon, who was glowing brightly in the otherwise dark sky, being an audience to the show of this little juvenile lady, following her every move, every step, but…but just the other moment the little girl was pleading, shrieking and wailing to liberate herself from the clutches of the monster who had held her in a grip so firm, she felt her blood might clot if the action was followed for some more time.
She didn’t know what was going on and yet she knew that it wasn't going right.
She didn’t know why this stranger had held her and yet she knew that he was a fiend, not a friend.
She tried to howl, but her mouth was covered by the mucky hands of the stranger.
She tried to crane her neck for some help, hoping to find someone who might be the around on this dark night, who shall rescue her, protect her and free her from the grip of this monster, but all she could see was the moon, still bright, still her audience.
Till the time the colossal sky was dominated by the gleaming moon, she was stripped, molested, abused, used and raped.
It began with the one who had kidnapped her from the street, but he was soon accompanied with another monster and then one more and then a few more, all on top of her.
She cried till her eyes had swelled, red and puffy, till her voice had become hoarse, till the time she learned that the odds were definitely not in her favor.
As the moon departed and the golden rays of the sun began to spread over the gigantic sky, she was left, finally rescued, aloof, still naked.
The monsters had departed but they had taken with them the young girl’s pride, self respect, courage and had left behind a timid, scared and feeble girl who can never dare to walk the streets alone again, who was immune to emotions now, who would never hum her song again, never entertain the moon again.
The story of this little girl resembles those of millions of other victims of the biggest contemporary evil: molestation, but the ratio of those gallant girls who can still live their lives as they should, who can still face the world like nothing has changed, who can still dream of a better tomorrow is trifling.
Majority of these poor victims either end up their lives or become a lifeless being and if they are yet more wretched, they may have families who might not want them to breathe any more.
Even if the girl is not to be blamed, she’s cursed, even if what happened was none of her faults, she is thought to be a jinx, even if she is still as beautiful as she was before the unfortunate event, probably she would never be married and these are the reasons why most of the victims find it easier to leave for their heavenly aboard rather than face the world.
Just in case the girl has the courage to live her life, will the society let that happen so easily?
And this is how the monsters win, this why they have so much courage to commit such a crime without any fear, without any guilt, without any sense of resentment.
How long would all this go on?
How long the victims shall be victimized?
How many more young girls shall depart from this world without witnessing the most beautiful moments of their lives?
It disheartens me even today, when I think of freedom, for true freedom is gained only for the men, who don’t have to fear while walking the dark streets alone, who are not questioned if they arrive home at two in the morning, whose hands don’t tremble, whose conscience doesn't evoke and stop them, whose guilt doesn't cease them from stripping the innocent young girl and committing such a mortifying crime.
             Oh thy, answer my question please
              When shall I truly be free??

- Shivangi Dutta
BBA LLB, Divison B
Batch- 2013-18 

Friday 3 January 2014

HICCUPS

                                       

Never give up on your dreams, there sure will be obstacles. On your way, you might stumble or lose hope. But be focused, determined & believe that you can.
Being a lawyer has been my dream since the ninth standard. 4 years later, on 1st July, 2013 I took my first step towards becoming one. 1500 kilometers from my home in Calcutta, I stood in front of my Dream. Nervous, unsure & apprehensive about the unknown. I always wanted to break away from the monotony of my ordinary life. Escape from the known & venture in search of New. But hardly did I realize how difficult this was going to get. A little voice instead me whispered ‘ Go back’.
Silencing the little menace, in a sudden burst of excitement I walked up proudly to the reception desk to collect my ID card.
Nervous look, smiling faces, arrogant stares & blank lost expressions. People from different facets of life we're here to conglomerate into one. People started mingling. Groups were being formed. The college corridor was always buzzing with robust energy. Everyone was trying their best to gain comfort in the company of the like-minded.

However a midst all the excitement & peals of laughter I was lost. I withdrew myself into a shell. I couldn't figure out what exactly was the Problem. Being the jovial extrovert I was, I somehow became the complete opposite. Was it the new Environment? Or the pangs of leaving my Home in Calcutta? Or was it just my opinionated views of others?
As days passed, things seemed to get worse. Somewhere down the line, I started feeling like a misfit. Was it the reality or just a psychological block, I was yet to figure. Whatever the case may be,’ going back’ was certainly not the answer. Not because of the paper notes that were spent on me. Neither was it because I was afraid of the tags people would pin on me.
But simply because a dream seen 4 years ago was not something I was willing to compromise with this easily. I decided to hang on.

It is 4 in the morning, 29th July. Antara is sleeping right next to me with her earphones plugged in, probably trying to motivate herself to study Jurisprudence for the next Day. Shivangi is on the other bed glued to her laptop watching Robert Pattinson in ‘Remember Me’.

No they aren’t my Roommates’ (Don’t you dare tell the Warden :P)
My roommate Vrinda is going to be back tomorrow morning and probably scream her lungs out at me for messing up with her Bed and dumping all my books on her desk (Yes she is a cleanliness freak) Niharika is bugging me on Whatsapp with her   ‘Wolverine’ love.
Protiti must have again fought with her roommate to switch off the lights so that she could have her calculated sleep of 9 hours. Yet I know the first thing she will tell me tomorrow morning is ‘ I could not sleep AT ALL)
The first thing I have to do after entering college is to grab Neelabh’s Jurisprudence notes and irritate him with my never ending doubts. Saptarko as usual will come with his little school bag and with a very innocent face, telling me that he still hasn’t progressed beyond 7 pages of the Jurisprudence Case. Karan will come grinning in the break to make fun of my fractured foot and annoy me.
And tomorrow when Director Sir will begin his class by asking ‘Are you Comfortable?’
I will simply smile back at him because the comfort I was searching for all these days is finally here.


Srijata Majumdar
Batch- 2013-18







Thursday 2 January 2014

From Rewind To Resolutions... ;)

Happy New Year dear friends, teachers, learners, all those who follow us and all those who don't.

“Hope, Smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering 'it will be happier'...” 
                                                                                          -  Alfred Tennyson

With 2013 bidding us adieu, we decide to bid adieu to all our grudges and enmity for a fresh start (trust me that never happens..! :p), nevertheless for a start even such assumptions are great. Excitement is always at the peak for every new year, we plan, decide and execute the same. So plan to visit clubs, few plan to stay at home with family, others decide to get high on the eve, few are just too lazy to even decide. So we are of different genres with a different approach. Then we have New resolutions which are just for the sake of it and we rarely mean to stick to them. What I actually meant is that new year's something which make all of us go bananas over the fact that it is a New Year.  :P

With 2014 on our calendar (and for the first time in the history of SLS-NOIDA, a holiday on the first day of the new year) we are left with few good and bad moments. Some worth sharing, some to be kept hidden for the coming ages. Some moments to be told to the entire world, while others made us feel so embarrassed that we try to hide it as much as possible.. Then we have hot and happening gossips which are brought forward to this year too, along with some sensible and non sensible rumor which have entered the era of 2014 as compliments..

Life at Symbiosis Noida have been as amazing as ever. The past year has fetched us so many memories that in 2014 we aim to break that record so as to set a new goal for 2015. (That is how we do it.!)

We bagged wonderful trophies at various moot courts, getting several papers published  we are prepared to carry on that tradition in the coming year as well. By leaving behind a permanent mark on Symbiosis Law School, Pune National festival, Symbhav we are all geared up to do it again. After organizing our second intra college festival (Symphysis) and first literary festival (Symvaad)  we aim to take it to the National level.  Being a host for prestigious moot courts like Jessup's International Moot Court Competition and Raj Anand Intellectual Property Rights  Moot Competition, was 'the' ultimate moment of 2013.

Our aim in 2014 would be to keep learning and keep striving towards excellence. (Something, which our Director sir would definitely have said.)

So on this new year let us make some "Resolutions" and please abide by them and follow them for your entire life at Symbiosis Noida, here we go... -:

  • ·         We will, attend the class to study and not just for attendance  (who am I kidding..? :P)
  • ·         We will, always get our book banks and take away on time and not on the day before the exams (LOL..!)
  • ·         We will, read newspaper form now onwards (That one was hilarious..! :D)
  • ·         We will, make friends with Ram Avadh Ji, because he is the only person who can take us into the director Sir's cabin (makes a complete sense.! )
  • ·         We will, not commit any sort of nuisance on campus, as we are being watched.. (Yeah.!! We are on TV...!)
  • ·         We will, try entering into a relationship that lasts at least for a week (:P But how.?)
  • ·         We will, always be ready with a Shayari in order to reply to Salim Sir. (Pretty hard...! )
  • ·         We will, not disturb Madhuker Sir and he will never disturb us (and the deal continues........)
  • ·         We will, carry our bare act regularly to college... (Oh.! I need to buy first.!!)
  • ·         We are not yet lawyers so we will, stop acting like one. (Hey I am Harvey.!! )
  • ·         We will, kill all our ego and be friends with everyone (Was that for me.?? :?)
  • ·         We will, never judge anyone unnecessarily. (How difficult is that.?? :/)
  • ·         We will, never say that, this guy is dating that girl just because they talk during the break time... (Important..! Very Important)
  • ·         We will, always 'felicitate' our guest and not 'facilitate' him or her.. (Dude.! Seriously..? -_-)
  • ·         And last but not the least.. We will, always be friends to our friends, professors, director sir, non teaching staff and will always be a part of this family no matter what.. :)

Happy New Year, 2014...


“For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice.” 
                                                                                          -  T.S. Eliot