The Xavier’s Press VOLUME VIII, ISSUE 3 DECEMBER, 2015THE ST. XAVIER’S COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

The spectators fidget in their seats, the trophies glisten in the afternoon sun, and when the clapper sounds, yet another race begins, and before you know it, another champion is crowned – rather, in this case – given a medal. Sports Day this year was held with an atmosphere of consistent energy and positivity, where the teaching staff, the non-teaching staff, and the students, came together to witness the prowess of the college’s finest athletes. In 2014, the annual Sports Day was held after a gap of three years. This time around, preparations for Sports Day began as early as June. Despite the heats being held on a Sunday due to a scheduling conflict with respect to the availability of the ground, participants came out in large numbers. Sports Secretary Tarun Kalathil ’16 was one of many who believed that the turnout considering the situation was a pleasant surprise.This year, the Sports Day was held on the 22nd and 24th of November, at the University Ground at Marine Lines. Various track and field events were organised for students of

the Junior and Senior College over the two days. Individual Championships were awarded to the contestants with the best overall score in their category. Advika Agarwal from SYJC Arts, who missed the Sports Day last year due to illness, more than made up for it this time, by winning a gold in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m races and a bronze in the long jump, ultimately winning the Individual

Championship for the Junior Girls.Another positive to add to this list, was the encouraging turnout onto the field by the teaching and non-teaching staff of the college, as they took part in a balloon-themed three-legged race amongst other events. Professor Ruby Pavri from the Department of Psychology took over as Master of Ceremonies, while Principal Dr. Agnelo Menezes flagged off some of the events. Senior members of staff were called upon to present the trophies to the winners. At the end of the day, the Science faculty took home the inter-faculty trophy for the Junior College while the Arts faculty claimed the trophy in the Senior College competition. When asked what his favourite part about the Sports Day this year was, Dr. Thomas Pires, Director of Sports promptly quipped, “The turnout of the teaching and non-teaching staff.”On the whole, Sports Day this year was a grand success, and the overwhelming response from staff and students looks promising for future editions.

sai pitre

there, and back againdeann almeida

chariots of fire

Wish to take part in an exchange programme, but don’t know where to start? In an interview with The XPress, Dr. Radiya Pacha-Gupta, current Director of the Council of International Programs (CIP) helps demystify the criteria expected of students interested in applying for International Programmes. She says, “International Programmes are classified into short-term and long-term programmes where the former lasts between eight days to two months while the latter spans a year. To get selected for these programmes students with not less than ‘A’ grade attendance are required to submit a résumé and a Statement of Purpose (SOP) along with photocopies of their passport and the names of two professors who can vouch for them. They are then made to go through a round of interviews where a point based grading system is used to rate the student.” Some of the International Programmes offered to Xavierites across all

years and streams have been listed as follows:

Harvard UniversityOne of St. Xavier’s most competitive and sought-after international programmes, the Harvard College in Asia Programme (HCAP) Conference is an eight-day exchange programme that facilitates a cultural and academic exchange between students of Harvard and other colleges. Every year eight Xavierites are selected for this conference whose theme changes on a yearly basis. The current theme for HCAP 2016 is ‘Equality’. The selected Xavierites then visit Harvard in the month of January while Harvard delegates visit India in the month of March. This programme is however open only to Second Year students of all streams with a CGPA of 3.5 and above.

Oxford UniversityThis six-week summer school programme offers students a chance to spend a trimester

studying at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford University from the months of April to June. Only students from lesser privileged backgrounds with a CGPA of 3.5 and above can apply for this programme following which they can then qualify for the Donald and Betty Keating scholarship which covers their airfare, visa, boarding, and tuition costs in addition to being awarded a stipend.

University of California, BerkeleyThis summer programme is open to participation from both Berkeley students as well as Xavierites in the months of June to August. Xavierites with a minimum of CGPA of 2.5 and above can apply. They will also have the opportunity to visit Berkeley and take up courses but there is no scholarship or tuition

DR. (FR.) ARUN DE SOUZA S.J. ON

XAVIER’S AND THE LIVES OF OTHERS.

PAGE 2

HIT THE ROAD WITH ALUMNI

QUARTET VAGABOND.

PAGE 4

Principal Dr. Agnelo Menezes and Dr. Thomas Pires pose with the winners of the Individual Championship trophies. Photo: Archives.

Continued on Page 4.

A Xavierite’s guide to International Programmes

ARE THE STUDENT RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF

THE FIRST QUAD JUSTIFIED?

PAGE 3

The strict dress code at St. Xavier’s stands in stark contrast to that of other prominent South Mumbai colleges, where dressing regulations are virtually non-existent, and students are allowed to wear almost anything as long as they do not make a spectacle of themselves.St. Xavier’s has always upheld its place as one of the country’s finest institutions, begging which begs the question of whether or not the dress code is a contributing factor to the college’s levels of excellence. When it comes to other colleges, does a student’s attire detract from their education or achievements in any way? Or would Xavierites be just as well-rounded, even without a dress code to comply with?

EDITORIAL OP-ED

from the editor’s desk

the team

prakriti bhatt

2 3

…It’s a way of life. That’s a tagline commonly sported on the T-shirts and sweatshirts of most Xavierites. I’ve often wondered what it could mean; when I’m in a vile mood, I think of it as a sentence that proclaims our own triumphalism, our living in our own bubble. The country can be hit by communal riots, tsunamis and floods, but we continue merrily with organising Malhar (a pastime involving at least 1000 members of our student population, that goes way, way beyond the minimum 60 hours of ECC, but hey, who’s complaining? But, shh, please don’t mention SIP in the same breath). When the Tsunami hit South India in the year 2004, a group of concerned students circulated boxes for contributions and volunteered to help out. We reached a royal figure of around ₹3000; for the sake of our competitors, we shan’t mention the figure we collect every year for Malhar. When the 2002 Gujarat riots broke out about 15 students volunteered to go and help. However, it seems that the height of our participation in empowering politics are the arguments around our dress code.But sometimes I’m also in a hopeful mood. Maybe, this hope stands for the new world we would all like to build together. Maybe, it means Xavierites who are heavily involved in hi-tech science like string theory. Maybe, we mean, that as Xavierites we are concerned about why there are so many refugees flooding Europe. Maybe, it means we sit together and wonder why places like Gadchiroli, Kashmir and the Northeast get left out of our mental geographies. Maybe, many of us, whether we take up jobs in the corporate sector or in NGOs, will be concerned about how to contribute to a more egalitarian and creative educational system. Maybe, we mean the development of excellence that involves critical thought linked to a praxis that makes for a better “way of life” for those marginalized by our society.Not too many years ago, there was a young girl whose father took her off to a foreign land for a better life. But she returned because she wanted to be at Xavier’s. She arrived back a little bit after admissions were over, so she haunted the principal’s office till she sold him her dream. The principal must have been a dreamer too, to allow such a nutcase in. After some years, she bugged the next principal to allow her to set up a small office to start an NGO that would serve those who could not get a proper education. When she graduated, she grew her organization. She later paired up with another big industrial house whose head was also a Xavierite. Together they adopted a series of Municipal schools in Pune and transformed them. And it goes on…A story I just fabricated?No, it’s Akanksha, it’s Xavier’s at its best – not just a

college – it’s a way of transforming lives.

not just a college...

editor-in-chiefPrakriti Bhatt ’16

editorsAlaric Moras ‘16

Chinmayi Pilgaonkar ‘17Deann Almeida ’ 16

George Jacob ’17Tarushi Sonthalia ‘16

reportersAbhinav Chugh ‘16

Anandita Bhalerao ’18Ananya Kumar ‘16

Jheel Gada ‘16Nikita Mujumdar ‘18

Sai Pitre ‘17Subin Mitra ‘18

Sroojana Iyer ‘16Tanya Tojo ‘16

Tejas Mehta ‘18

dr. (fr.) arun de souza s.j.

Note: This is with reference to the article published in the August magazine titled ‘For the love of Sport’ by Sai Pitre.Dear Editor,

It was a complete shocker to me when I first opened this month’s issue into its fifth page and actually finding an article on ‘sports’. A happy-vala shock, of course. Amidst the college fests and academic schedule going on for the entire year, there are many activities like sports which I feel are unnoticed. I say this out of my personal experience as I have been representing Xavier’s and captaining its table tennis team for 4 years since my junior college. By saying this, I nowhere mean that sports have to be attention seeking business for players. At the same time, not everyone can contribute in this field as it needs years of practice to be actually performing well in any sport. That could be one of the reasons for a low pull towards the gymkhana.But, as rightly mentioned in the article the amount of efforts Thomas Sir has put up to encourage sports in the campus is really creditable. Right from the P.E. classes in junior college to practices for hockey, football, and basketball he has undoubtedly raised the standard of sports in Xavier’s. There are players who have been performing at the state and national-level. (The reporter of the article herself is an example for that). But, somewhere, as a sportsman myself, I feel that some more efforts should be taken so that sports should become an integrated part of our college.I appreciate that The XPress has actively taken this up and mentioned it in print. This can truly be one of the ways in which we can encourage students for sports. Obviously, the performance of our college in sports is a secondary aspect. If more and more people just visit the gymkhana and participate in inter-class matches, it is enough encouragement for the faculty as well as the few who play for college. I thank the XPress Team for bringing this into notice of Xavierites and request you all to continue with this good work. Cheers!

Regards,Manas Gubbi ‘17SYBA

letters to the

editor

a square deal?jheel gada and sroojana iyer

A ‘courtyard’ or an ‘enclosure’ is how most dictionaries describe a quadrangle. At St. Xavier’s College, this four-sided figure has come to mean more than just that. The ‘first quad’ (as it is popularly known on campus) has been central to the institute’s cultural activities and sports.

“I prefer the first quad because of the atmosphere of the area. It is a very reflective space and I generally used to sit there to read or listen to music when I was waiting for a lecture or just wanted to hangout by myself, take a breather and relax, and just appreciate the fact that I was in Xavier’s,” says a TYBA student. These words reflect the views of the student body at large who believe that the quad is a tranquil area. The Indo-Gothic architecture never ceases to provide the right kind of atmosphere

to students absorbed in a variety of tasks; from conducting occasional meetings and planning group assignments, to simply catching up with each other. The recently imposed restrictions on gathering in the quadrangle during class hours has left several Xavierites feeling disgruntled, and

many more confused about the nature of the restrictions. Despite the new rules, student bodies with a focus on academia along with their subsidiaries have been spotted using the quad for meetings. Various classes led by professors have also taken place within the space. It has also been noted that there have been a large number of play practices and large-scale painting sessions on the quad. Does this mean

that the restrictions include specific leeway timings (2 PM onward, as hearsay goes) that the rest of the student body is not aware of? If this is so, it would have been more helpful had students have received a detailed circular about such specifications, as is done for most protocols in the college handbook.“It would be really helpful if there are more well laid out rules as to what we can do in the quad. Like, there is no sleeping in the quad – which I didn’t know until one of (my) FYs got fined,” says one TYBMM student. The reasons for the new rules are similarly vague, and have not been officially conveyed to the student body: valid reasons could, after all, span from noise to crowd management.The more pressing concern, however, is not the unclear nature of the new directives, but the lack of alternative spaces for student discussion and fraternization. Despite the addition of new furniture to the foyer-canteen area, students require more space – which is limited, because of the renovations taking place near and in the Boys’ Common Room.Students have engaged in many discussions involving this issue, and there have been several posts on more informal sectors of the Internet, such as on blogs and social networking sites like Facebook. What remains to be seen is whether student requests for alternatives and clarifications can be met.

the daily dress-up

The dress code of St. Xavier’s College, as outlined in the annual prospectus, is pretty straightforward; students are expected to wear clothes that “contribute to the academic atmosphere” of the campus. As such, sleeveless tops, shorts and dresses above ankle-length are frowned upon.However, the college’s rigid dress code raised

a few eyebrows this year, when the ban on shorts during Malhar made headlines. In the past, members of the workforce had been exempt from adhering to the dress code for the duration of the fest. The new rule preventing this was instantly followed by speculation about a new, more restrictive set of dressing regulations on campus. Rumours that flip-flops had been banned, and that girls were being

reprimanded and fined for wearing clothes that exposed their bra straps were popular among the student body.

abhinav chugh and nikita mujumdar

For an issue that was due in September, this has been a long-drawn-out hiatus. As much as we’d like to apologise, this breather has, in fact, facilitated us to bring more assortment to the table.The season has changed with a slight, pleasant nip in the air, and so has The XPress, with a slight modification in our configuration. Say hello to our brand new page this issue: Op-Ed, featuring open editorials and opinion pieces, directly from the student body. Additionally, we have also introduced a fresh column on Melange (Page 6) for highbrow write-ups from students with academic pursuits that go beyond college. Wax eloquent, or share your expertise on niche subjects – The XPress is your platform.Although I’d very much like to hark back to the quick passage of 2015, it has indeed been a remarkable year for Xavier’s, and merits an appraisal. While the college welcomed its first ever Ganpati for the “Triple Celebration” of Ganesh Chaturthi, Bakri Eid and World Peace (props to the collaboration of the DIRS, MVM and United Religions Initiative); it also saw its first ever medical camp for the homeless and underprivileged, organised by the DIRS and the XISR. Just last month, the Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture inaugurated its state-of-the-art Conservation Centre at the hands of the British Museum Director and eminent historian, Neil MacGregor. Of late, aided by the Botany Department, St. Xavier’s has filed a patent entitled “Extracts of Dry Leaves and Male Flowers of Homonoia Riparia”. And currently, the Student Council 2015-16 is going great guns with the much-needed, resourceful stationery shop, as well as its laudable initiative of the installation of a sanitary pad dispenser in college. With so much that has been accomplished in so little a time span, it only remains to be seen what 2016 has in store for us.Winter is around the corner and so are holidays. Here’s to a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year from Team XPress! Borrowing from Radio Legend Casey Kasem’s signature sign-off: “Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars!”

The First Quadrangle. Photo: Prakriti Bhatt

“Does a student’s attire detract from their education or achievements in any way?”

“I generally used to sit there to read or listen to music...and just appreciate the fact that I was in Xavier’s.” - A TYBA student

on The First Quad

The Workforce at Malhar, 2013. Photo: PnD, Malhar, 2013

© Randy Glasbergen

ENGAGE COLLEGE NEWS4 5backpack, set, go!

nikita mujumdar

“When was the last time you did something for the first time?” asks Vagabond, a self-defined ‘experiential events company’. A start-up by four alumni: Nihar Nair, Shajin “Jinks” Shaji, Shannon Fernandes and Elton Dmello, Vagabond promises to take run-of-the-mill events and turn them into something unique with a lot to take back and learn from.

InceptionThe idea for Vagabond started to form while Jinks was at the annual SSL Rural Camp. Looking to combine his fondness for trekking, camping and the great outdoors, with his passion for music, he collaborated with Nihar, and before long, the dream was coming to life. Soon, the two were joined by Shannon and Elton – a bond forged by their common love for nature and music.

The FoundersEach one of them brought something unique to the company. Elton had experience with the tourism industry, having worked for Thomas Cook, whereas Nihar was a hands-on event planner and manager. Shannon contributed with his graphic designing skills; and Jinks, with his expertise on the music scene in the city, scouted for new talent. Although originally, a travel and events start-up did not feature anywhere in their future professional prospects, being a part of Vagabond has made them realize that they wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

EventsVagabond’s first event was organized specifically for Xavierites immediately post their examinations, called “Fields of Sound” – packed with adventure sports, team games, accompanied by live music and a night of sleeping in tents, on the banks a lake and beside a campfire. “Into The Wild” are a series of treks in the Sahyadris, where hikers learn basic survival skills such as building a fire and tying various kinds of knots. Another experience is “Rapid Rush”, a white water rafting adventure, with archery, shooting, and, of course, live music. What makes Vagabond one-off is the minute detailing that goes into every one of their events; whether it is a new game or a live music performance by an up and coming young artist.

But Vagabond, as the co-founders vehemently insist, isn’t just about adventure sports. Often, they will branch out into events that they are passionate about, and that they think will be relished by their cohort. A prime example is the “O.W.L.s”, or Ordinary Wizarding Levels – “the ultimate Harry Potter quiz”. What started off as an excuse for Potterheads to showcase their fanaticism, is now one of Vagabond’s biggest events, with hours of planning going into it. Last year, Vagabond also organised “Time Machine”, a South Mumbai heritage walk. The team is also offering internships exclusively to Xavierites.

Advice?To those college kids looking to follow passions and go off-beat, Elton and Shannon give a straightforward, “Just go for it!” They uphold that college is a time for exploring and making mistakes. “You can try doing stuff,” says Elton, “If it works, brilliant. If it doesn’t work, even more brilliant, because you know what you shouldn’t be doing the next time you try your hand at something.” “People will question what you’re doing,” adds Shannon. But he adds that you should not quit just because you don’t have much support; after all, start-ups take many years to achieve success. “I don’t see why we can’t grow,” he says.Indeed, he makes a fair point. It’s all looking up for them now – Vagabond is already on its way to making it big, and we wish them all the luck there is!

Team Vagabond (L-R): Shajin “Jinks” Shahji, Shannon Fernandes, Nihar Nair, Elton DMello.

there, and back againdeann almeida

waiver offered for this programme. The two credits awarded can also be used as transfer credits for any of the Honours programmes in college.

University of Stuttgart (Germany), St. Louis University, (USA) and Stellenbosch

University (South Africa)Held in conjunction with the college’s Department of English, this week long collaborative programme offers SY and TY English Literature students a four month long online English course as well as the opportunity to travel to Stuttgart for the programme in the month of May.

St. John’s College, Cambridge, UKA two-week, fully funded exchange programme for two Xavier’s students to study at St John’s College, Cambridge, UK in April. Only students from lesser privileged backgrounds with a CGPA

of 3.4 and above can apply for this programme. The first batch of students for this programme will be selected in April 2016.

Global Next Leaders Forum (GNLF), JapanThis week long conference is held every in the month of August and two students (one male and one female) are selected each year. Students with excellent communication skills, written and verbal, and a minimum CGPA of 3.3 and above can apply. This conference can also be used by the students as one transfer credit.

School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)

As per the MoU signed with St. Xavier’s and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Xavierites keen on applying for a Masters at SOAS directly after graduation are eligible for availing of a five percent tuition waiver.By applying for long term exchange programmes,

students can spend two semesters abroad studying at universities such as St. Louis University (USA), Comillas Pontifical University (Spain), Science Po (France), EM Normandy (France), EDHEC Business School (France), IESEG (France), Daegu Haany University (South Korea) and 10 Canadian universities listed under the Ontario-Maharashtra-Goa (OMG) programme. This one year exchange programme offers a full tuition waiver and is counted as a student’s sixteenth year of education. Applications for these programmes open in the month of December and are open to SY and TY students of all streams. Scholarships offered for these programmes vary from institution to institution depending on the MoU signed.In a message to all Xavierites, Prof. Radiya states, “Students who have the opportunity to go abroad should in some way learn to give back to the college and other students less fortunate than them. They need to share their valuable experience gained, both academic and cultural with the student community. “

Continued from Page 1.

penny for your blood?nikita mujumdar

Ever noticed the colourful signs in the foyer in August, advising you to eat nuts and green, leafy vegetables? Or did you partake in the Rasna drive and help yourself to a free glass of orange juice? Those were both efforts by the college’s very own Social Service League (SSL) to promote their August Blood Drive, a bi-annual event organised in collaboration with the Mahatma Gandhi Blood Bank to encourage students to donate blood for a good cause. While the Blood Drive has always been popular, this year it coolly broke its previous record of 410 donors, by collecting blood from 430 college students during the day-long event. The number could have been higher, but, unfortunately the SSL was forced to turn away 170 potential donors because of their low haemoglobin levels.One of the biggest problems in the past, according to the General Secretary of the SSL, Malvika Char ‘16, is that people are sceptical about donating blood in a college Blood Drive. “There are a lot of myths about it that need to be busted,” she said. “That it’s not safe, that it’s not done by professionals, that it’s not healthy.

In fact, donating blood is very healthy because it forces your body to replenish red blood cells.”A pint of healthy blood can be used to save three lives. The blood that is collected at the Blood Drive is donated to thalassemic children who come from underprivileged households, free of charge. The SSL also organises excursions to the Blood Bank, to see how the blood is processed and to meet the recipients.

Donating at the Blood Drive comes with an added advantage. Most blood banks

necessitate that you replenish every pint of blood that you use. However, donors at the college Blood Drive all received cards that will exempt them from the process of ensuring that the blood in the system is replenished – something that could prove to be crucial in an emergency situation.Boosted by the outcome of the August Blood Drive, the SSL is determined to make its next Blood Drive, to be held in January 2016, a runaway success as well. And as time passes, and more people turn eighteen and are able to donate, it seems that their current record will be broken yet again.

reaching out, granting aidananya kumar

The rainy morning of Sunday, the 20th of September, saw more than just overcast skies and grey clouds – St. Xavier’s College opened its doors to the homeless for its very first medical camp. Organised by the Department of Inter-Religious Studies (DIRS) in collaboration with the Xavier’s Institute of Social Research (XISR), the camp catered to the destitute and the street-dwellers who lack access to the medical resources otherwise easily available to most of us.

The camp began at 10:30 AM, in the college foyer. Destitute people from Azad Maidan, CST, Metro and Reay Road were brought to the camp by the student volunteers. The motive for organising the camp was centred on the pressing need to address the lack of healthcare

made available to those with fewer privileges, and to make a difference to them in whatever small, humanitarian way. “The government has given them the tag of being criminal tribes by birth, and they’ve been displaced from various places, specifically the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border and they’re now staying in a community in the Reay Road slums. We were thinking of organising a medical camp, specifically for these groups, so this was the idea behind the medical camp,” said Susanne Rodrigues ’16, President of the DIRS student committee, when asked about the street-dwellers at Reay Road. Doctors from the neighbouring GT Hospital and St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Tardeo were present at the camp to perform the medical check-ups, give prescriptions and administer medication. On the whole, most of the people at the camp were prescribed multivitamins for minor nutritional disorders, while medication and food were dispensed to them by the students on the spot. However, a small percentage of the people at the medical camp had to be admitted to GT Hospital for treatment, immediately after having a rudimentary check-up performed. Children constituted a large portion of the group, who after being administered to, were overheard asking if the medical camp would

take place every Sunday henceforth.Xavierite volunteers had the task of escorting the homeless from their temporary area of residence to the camp, as well as ensuring the smooth running and efficiency of the dispensing of medication and food at the camp. Tarun Kalathil ‘16, a TYBSc student who volunteered for the camp, spoke about his experience observing and understanding the people at the camp, “It was shocking to me that in spite of providing them with free medical checkups and facilities, for them, their main priority was that they had to go back home because they had left their possessions outside and the BMC would come and pick it up.” The event was clearly an eye-opener for many and served as an avenue for exposure to social work and caring for the underprivileged.As regards future events, the DIRS is now planning to organise a second medical camp as a follow up to the first. “It makes no sense to have a medical camp and not follow up, especially because we still have some of their prescriptions and some of them were not issued medicines because we didn’t have those medicines,” says Rodrigues. The Xavier’s Press looks forward to hearing more about the follow-up camp and urges their readership to take an interest in the same.

SSL Blood Donation Drive: August, 2015. Photo: SSL Archives

Caricatures at the entrance of the SSL Blood Donation Drive: August, 2015. Photo: SSL Archives

“The govt. has given them the tag of criminal tribes by birth, and they’ve been displaced from various places.” -Susanne Rodrigues ‘16, on the plight of the homeless people at the Medical Camp

MELANGE6 7LEISURE our (steppe) mother tongue

karan bir mohindra

Run a web search for language translation and you will come across countless Indians willing to teach or translate English, Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic and the likes, but absolutely none offering Turkish! While the 2011 Census of India shows a measly 200 Turkish speakers in the country; globally, the language boasts of about a 100 million speakers, and about 300 million people are classified as belonging to the ‘Turkic ethnicity’ internationally. If India aims to get a permanent seat in the UN Security Council and engage with the world, how can this language possibly be ignored? Turkish and Hindi-Urdu share quite a lot of similarities that make Turkish one of the simplest languages to learn. This premise finds its origins in the Sun Language Theory, which states that the birthplace of the Indo-Aryan culture was in the steppes of Central Asia, where they worshipped the Sun God, Ağ, (“ğ” pronounced as the “g” in “dough”) – the same word whose morphed version we commonly recognise as Agni, the Fire God of the ancient Hindu Pantheon. A second wave of cultural fraternisation took place when the Persian and Central Asian dynasties and tribes blitzed the Indian northwest frontier. The Turkish-Persian language of the foreign army came to be adopted among the Indian natives. In Turkish, “army” was called Ordu – the namesake of Urdu, which was made popular by later Mughals: the descendants of Genghis Khan, Temur, the Ottomans and other Turks. The influence of Turkish and Persian words in Urdu and Hindi can be seen even today and you will be amused to identify these everyday words having Turkish roots (Ref: Table).Etymologists have confirmed that Hindi and Urdu were indeed influenced by Turkish and not the other way around, since these words were absent from all Indian languages before the Turkish and Persian invasions. The Indian and Turkish languages probably had the same source, meandered, and then, were brought back together by the course of history. Since the 1920s, Turkish (in modern day Turkey and the world over) has been written in the Latin alphabet script which makes the language much easier to learn. Of course the language has plenty of its own grammar and syntax rules, but being acquainted with a huge chunk of the vocabulary already, makes it effortless for any potential-student of Turkish to master the language. As I have exhibited, you are already almost speaking Turkish every day. Just give the language a shot!

Hindi/Urdu Word Meaning Equivalent Turkish Word

Phonetic Turkish Pronunciation

Meaning

Har kisi Everyone Herkese Her-kesseh EveryoneShyam Evening Sham Sham EveningSadhak Street Sokak So-kaak StreetAadmi Man Adam Ah-dum ManMansik Mental Mantik Maan-tkh Mind/BrainAddha Location/Place/Spot Ada Ada Single island

Samudra Sea Samandira Sha-mandeera Sea portAaynaa Mirror Ayni Aaynuh Duplicate

Hava Air Hava Same as Hindi/Urdu

Air

Adalat Court Adalet Ada-let JusticeBadan Body Beden Be-den Body

Jawaab Answer Cevap Jev-ap AnswerRang Colour Renk Re-nk Colour

Alvida Goodbye Elvede El-vedeh GoodbyeHisab Account Hesap He-sap Calculation

Zor Effort Zor Zor DifficultNafrat Hate/Dislike Nefret Nefret Hate/DislikeYani Like/That Yani Yaa-ni Like/That

Malum Know Malum Maa-lum Know

Imagine rewriting history – our nation’s. It is 1857. You’re a soldier – one of many – hearing orders from a mouth that can’t even form some of the Hindi words that have been reluctantly learned. Your fingers clench into fists and you reminisce fondly of days when you were sitting on your father’s shoulders, thinking about bullocks and seeds and manure – not gunpowder and pre-greased cartridges.

You can see the eyes of the firang in front of you, dull as his mouth continues to bark orders, but all you can really hear are the rumours. If they do indeed want to destroy religions, the firangs are on the right track. Now imagine hearing the call to free imprisoned comrades; imagine being approached quietly one night with a small

obiter dictum: a lot to losesneaky wordsmith

boy bearing a tightly folded scroll containing hastily scrawled details for a revolt.Fate wants you to take a stand. You feel your righteous anger well up and you’re ready to fight for your freedom. But the next day, your young wife reminds you that you have a lot to lose. So you don’t join, just like every other sepoy, and you stay at home. The revolt never comes, and the problems don’t go away.Imagine rewriting history – your own.You’re sixteen, at home, sitting at your dining table, eating dal-rice like a good kid, while your parents tell you to ‘do’ engineering. All you want to do, you think, is study English

to pick or not to pick?seasoned potato

Literature. Your older sister comes home late, smelling of ciggarettes. Her open rebellion bolsters you, and you let the frustration of your parents deciding your life for you rise in your throat, bubbling like lava. ‘I don’t care about IIT’ is on the tip of your tongue, but you catch your baby brother’s wide-eyed face, and you suddenly remember that you need to be able to talk to him when you’re away at college. So you subside and finish your dal-rice. The fight never happens, and your parents send you to Manipal.Imagine being on the cusp of a new age.You’re a young student with the power of the Internet at your fingertips. Your degree has taught you to fight with big words, so you snap one day, and insist your class revolts against some new institutional injustice. People agree, but they never turn up for the morchas. They all have too much to lose. But it doesn’t matter, because history hasn’t taught you to stand up for yourself at all, has it? You’re just a millennial. You complain and post irate demands to protest and petition on social networking sites, then deflate and let go of all your anger once you remember that you have too much to lose.

A college space is not the real world. One of the inevitabilities that occur when barely functioning operating in college is the intricate network people often build within its walls. Soon, this personal network expands to encompass loves and hates, friends and foes and all sorts of other dynamics you didn’t even know you had the emotional bandwidth to deal with. Though this comes as a good thing five years later when you’ve graduated and need to stroke old Bob’s ego to get your uncle’s great-niece an internship at J.P. Morgan, it doesn’t always prove helpful in the here and now. For example, when you’ve had a fistfight over who gets a judge coffee with your not-really-potential Organiser for Malhar.

There’s not one of us who hasn’t found ourselves in such a situation. In a college

where the Extra Curricular milieu is perpetually expanding, we’ve all had our fair share of near misses and wins with being selected for various posts. Once results are out, insults are traded, and relationships are damaged forever. And more often than not, the phrase ‘because they were friends’ will crop up.Is this always a fair accusation to level against people? Psychological research published by Byrne & Griffitt among many others proves to us that as human beings, we are more likely to like someone who shares in our attitudes and beliefs. This means that in an interview situation, even when a candidate appears

before an interviewer for the first time, the balance is always tipped in the direction of the candidates who share similarities with the interviewer. Applying this psychological truth to your regular interview situations in college for various positions, things start to make a lot more sense.You know everyone, and you know whether you do think like them or not, (we tend to make friends with people who share attitudes with us). By extension, you know that if the person before you thinks Anna’s chai is the bees’ knees and you happen to agree, you’re automatically more likely to select them to be your slave volunteer for the next couple of months. Therefore, the entire debate revolving around who gets picked and why becomes redundant. It is easier to work with someone whom you get along with, understand, and can argue and engage with, successfully in the face of conflict. So the next time someone whom you think shouldn’t be chosen for a position does get it, don’t wait for them to trip up. Know that they have reached where they have for a reason, though no one felt the need to inform you in painstaking detail why.

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Cartoon by Harry Harrison, The South China Morning Post

Photo from the Malhar 2015 Workforce Spoof Video made by PR, Malhar 2015

“But it doesn’t matter, because history hasn’t taught you to stand up for yourself at all, has it?”

“We tend to make friends with people who share the same attitudes as us.”

classifiedsThe Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics (MDAE) is looking for a “Campus Ambassador”

For further information, Please call us on 022-60126001/9833533731.

You can even write to us at atinfo@meghnaddesaiacademy.org.

“Economics education in India has not kept pace with developments in the workplace.”

1) What prompted the move to open Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics (MDAE)? The growing divide between the requirements of industry and teaching of economics and finance was the primary catalyst. Industry experts and academics identified shortcomings in the teaching of economics, including rote learning, the lack of quantitative skills & critical thinking, lack of research and reading & writing skills, and formed this Academy to redress these areas.

2) Who are the people associated with the Academy?The course has been developed under the supervision of the Chairman Lord Meghnad Desai, (Professor Emeritus, LSE) and is supported by the Vice-Chairperson, Dr. Indu Shahani (Dean, H.R College of Commerce & Economics). The Academic and Advisory board consists of renowned economists & financial professionals - Dr. Ajit Ranade (Chief Economist, Birla Group), Dr. Tushar Poddar (Chief India Economist & MD, Goldman Sachs), Mr. Niranjan Rajadhyaksha (Executive Editor, Mint) & Mr. P.D Singh (MD, JP Morgan)

3) What is the Academy offering? The Academy is offering a full time one year Post Graduate Diploma in Economics and Finance, jointly with the Department of Economics (Autonomous), Mumbai University.

4) Tell us about the Program.The Course begins with a five week Foundation Course, which serves as a bridge course in Mathematics/Econometrics and Intermediate Economics. In Semester 1, students study three courses – Applied Microeconomics, Advanced Macroeconomics and Econometrics in Business . These courses equip students with the necessary framework to analyze problems in the real world. In Semester 2, students are offered electives in 3 areas – Finance, Public Policy and Data Analytics. Students can elect 4 electives and choose to specialise in any one area. 5) What skills does the Program aim to develop?The Program develops research capabilities, quantitative tools and software skills that are needed to succeed as an economist, analyst, data scientist, and various other roles in the financial sector and beyond. Students will participate in workshops and seminars with top economics and finance professionals from around the world. Students enhance their communication skills through class discussions, research papers and presentations, where they are trained to present complex information in a concise manner.

6) What are the different initiatives being taken at the Academy to provide real-world training?

(i) The Economics Lab is an innovation where a prominent professional economist delivers a talk on a concrete real-world problem that he or she has grappled with. This talk serves as an illustrative application of concepts that the students have learnt in the program. To give you a few examples-· Dr. Ajit Ranade, Chief Economist, Birla Group conducted a lab on Cartels, Collusions and Anti-competitive practices· Dr. Mangal Goswami, Deputy Director, IMF –Singapore Regional Training Centre will be conducting a lab on Detecting Financial Fragility · Dr. Neeraj Hatekar, HOD Economics Mumbai University , conducted a lab on Testing for Convergence

(ii) The Speaker Series enable students to encounter exciting intellectual developments in the discipline of economics and finance. Previous speakers include:

· Dr. Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Advisor to GOI.· Dr. Tom Richardson, IMF Resident Representative in India.

(iii) Case Studies - In order to emphasise the application of economic theory to the real world, we have designed case studies on Korea, Japan and The Euro Crisis.

7) Who are the faculty members? The faculty members of the academy comprise of a mix of both academics and industry practitioners, trained from reputed institutes such as MIT, Cambridge, Warwick and the IMF. Faculty members include- • Indradeep Ghosh – Associate Professor MDAE, PhD MIT ,earlier Assistant Professor Haverford college for 8 years.• NeerajHatekar-Director&ProfessorEconometrics,MumbaiUniversity, PhD Mumbai University.• Abhinay Muthoo - Head of Department of Economics,University of Warwick, Co-Director of Warwick Policy Lab (WPL), University of Warwick, PhD Cambridge.

8) When will the Admission Process begin?The Academy is looking for its second batch of students for the Academic year 2016-17, commencing July 2016. Phase 1 Admissions are currently open and the last date to submit applications is 20th December. To apply please visit http://www.meghnaddesaiacademy.org/application/

9) What are the career prospects post the Program?Amongst the many options available, students can look forward to a career as: 1. Market Economists - Commercial and Investment Banks.2. Analysts – Treasury, Rating Agencies, Banks, consultancies.3. Data Scientists for Big Data.4. Research – think tanks.5. Economic Journalists.6. Finance related roles.

For more information:

Website: www.meghnaddesaiacademy.org

Email: info@meghnaddesaiacademy.org

Phone: 022-60126001

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