Winter at Xavier’s is indeed the season to be jolly, with fests galore. While all year round we fret about departments and inter stream politics, this is the occasion for us to break down these artificial walls and universally employ BMM students for Creatives volunteers. For those of you who might be confused in this hullabaloo of innumerable festivals, here’s a rough guide to the members of their respective workforces.

'TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY

Volume VII, Issue 5 The ST. Xavier’S College NewSleTTer NoV-Dec 2014The XaVIer’s Press

Paradigm• Paradigm workers always start work post 4 pm.

Sciencetimetables,bro.• Ifyoueveruse‘geek’and‘nerd’ interchangeably,

thesearetheguysthatwillcorrectyou.• Therewillbevariantsof‘MutantandProud’being

thrownaroundverycommonly.Mostpopculturereferenceswillgetyouhighfiveshere(exceptTheBigBangTheory).

• The three step process to summon a Paradigmperson:

1.Standinthemiddleofthefoyer 2. Yell out ‘Hey, I read this Neil DeGrasse Tyson

quotetheotherday.’ 3. Wait patiently and watch them scamper

towardsyoufasterthanyoucansay‘stars.’• How they encourage people to apply: “It’s pan

departmental,youguys.No,wewon’taskyoutosolveanumericalintheinterview!”

Ithaka• Theircollectionofloose,multihuedpantsgives

Govindaacomplex.•TheirFacebookpostsareayardlong.Buteveryone

is grateful to them for cleaning up social mediawithGrammarNaziactivism.

•Everyworkforcemember,fromheadtovolunteer,hasauthoredaChetanBhagathatepostatsomepoint.

• Their play line-up is always diverse, creativeand interesting and attracts students and selectmembersofthemetropolitanintelligentsiaalike.

• Things to talk to them about: Kafka, Neruda,Shakespeare, existentialism, expressionism, theMumbaitheatrescene,tyrannicaldirectors.

• They’reexcellentconversationalistsbutifyoujoinin,bepreparedtohear,“Ohyouhaven’theardofthat?Isee.”*followedbysubtlepuzzledlook*

(Continued on Page 3)

Econundrum• Theywearsimilar,noncolour-coded,uniform

festT-shirtstosymbolizeegalitarianismandtheirbeliefinaMarxistsociety.

• The festival garners more outstationparticipants than Malhar, and they bragaboutiteverychancetheyget.

• Always the ones grinning on open housedays.OrwhiningwhentheirGPAplummetstoadisgusting3.8.

• They will never forgive Malhar Conclave2014forgettingRaghuramRajanfirst.

• Are often seen pursuing a certain hostelresiding Eco professor on campus, beggingfor permission, praise and intellectualconversationswiththesame.

A SPORTING CHANCE

eDiTorS' BloCK2

With the massive chunk ofpopularity that cricket enjoysin our country, few, if any,considerfootballandtennisassomethingworthviewingatastadium.However,withthe recent ISL (The IndianSuperLeague)andtheIPTL(the tennis counterpart-The International TennisPremierLeague),thewindsofchangeareablowin'.

The ISL features attractiveyet familiar soundingnames(AtleticodeKolkata)whiletheIPTLfeaturesattractivedestinations such as Dubai,Singapore and Manila, withDelhibeing the fourthandfinalvenuefortheeventandthesole

1)Gaylord, Churchgate: Lyingnestledonatreelinedavenuethat leads to Marine Drive,this South Bombay restaurantboasts of colonial specialitieslike the Beef Wellington ontheir menu. But it’s theirbakery section that’s amazing.Stopbyforhotcinnamonrolls,Danishcustardtarts,chocolatecroissants or a warm slice ofapplepie,allreasonablypricedandfreshlybaked.

2)Café Excelsior, Fort: This littlejoint is a stone’s throw fromSterlingCinema,nearourveryown college. Here, in additionto a selection of deliciousrolls and shawarmas, one can

WINTERY BITES

reason for Indians to go crazyoverracquetandball.

While the IPTL has been ableto attract topnotch talent suchas Roger Federer and NovakDjokovic(owingtoitspresenceintheoff-season),theISLhasbeen

able tomuster amotleymix oflocalplayersandforeignstarsin

thetwilightoftheircareerssuchasDavidTrezeguetandAlessandroDelPiero.

Figuring out different waysto use a sports stadiumis one change which ournationhasbeenlacking,buttimeandpersistencewillpayoff. Both tournaments willhopefully raise nationwidesupport and participationlevelsinthetwosportsandpromote athletic talent in

thenation.

-Adityesh Mitra

Chilly winds nip at your nose, the warm afternoon sun warms your toes. Winter is coming and even though Bombay winters are the mildest of the mild, there’s a certain something in the air that makes you happy and hungry. The Xavier’s Press tells you what the best winter snacks are and where you can find them.

samplethedelectablecaramelcustard, said tobe thebest inBombay. With just the rightamountofwobbleandagolden

brown,gooeycarameltopping,thisdessertistodiefor.

3)Crystal Ice Cream, Marine Drive: As deceptive as the

name sounds, they do servemorethanjustice-cream.Theirrajma chaawal, served pipinghot, is a winter’s treat, as istheirpalakpaneer,servedwithfreshchappatis.

4)New Martin Hotel, Colaba Causeway: A meat lover’sparadise, this is our place forhot, delicious Goan food thatwarms the cockles of yourheart.Porkvindaloo,beefchillyfry…you name it, they’ll makeit.

Eat your way through everywinterday!

-Raadhika Vishvesh

Cover STorY 3

Attention all litbugs - fabulous events, plays and sketches that promise to take your breath away arecomingyourwaywithIthaka:AWinter’sTale.Thisyear,Ithakaisallaboutthewinter–conjureupascenebyafireplacewithasteamingmugofhotchocolateandsomebeautifulstoriesthatwillmeltyourheart.Withfourevents:FlashFiction,SuitedtoPerFiction,AlmostFamous:AVarietyEntertainmentEvent,PoetsoftheFall:AnAfternoonofPerformancePoetryandforthefirsttimesinceitsinitiation,asocialinitiativeentitled“SmilesinABlanket”,abedsheetcollectiondriveforthoseinneed,Ithaka2014surpassesallpreviousIthakasinbothqualityandquantity.

Thesketchesthathavemadethecutthisyearare'AMonkey'sPaw','BangBangYou’reDead'and'Framed',allwith talenteddirectorsandcastsbrimmingwithvibrancy.Theplaysareexceptional too.Adefinitemust-seeisIthaka’sawaitedonlyromanticcomedy,'PayasamandPrejudice'(byourveryownEditorinChief,RaadhikaVishvesh).Andofcourse,howcanyouforgettohobnobwithanoldwomanwhorefusestoallowhercharactertobekilledoffbytheauthorin"OldWoman'sDeath",engagewiththestoryofasociopathicmanwithatroubledlifein‘Kabira’,anddelveintomacabreeerinessofastageversionofRoaldDahl’s'Skin'?

ThisIthaka,comeandhearastory!

Janfest•They wear simple, gorgeoustraditional clothes most daysof the year and wait for theBirthday Concert to lookbeautiful in silk saris andkurtas.

•Will have the best studyplaylistsintheuniverse.

•Effortlessly useUrduwords inconversational Hindi. Wait tillsomebodysays‘shiddat’,thenrun towards them becausethey’reawesome.

•They complain how the IMGis empty year round and nowtheycan’theartheir favouriterecording from the Janfest1996archives.

Antas •Working with a ‘BollywoodJanfest’ label is difficult, andyoucanseethemtryingtogetoutofitthisyear.

•They have all the best dancemovesandknowtheirthumkasandjhatkasbetterthananyoneelse. If you don’t believe us,

•Hewhomustnotbenamedtoa Zeitgeist volunteer is ArnabGoswami.

Zephyrus•Easily the best dressed of allworkforces. Waistcoats. Somanywaistcoats.

•The only festival that is notconstantly worrying about itsmarketingteam.

•Conversations with theworkforce usually consists of,“SoaftermyMBA,I...”

•They have events that relatemanagement to Marvels andAvengers and supernaturalstuff, so managing these andunderstandingthemisquiteachallenge.

•They occasionally ask theirworkforce to sport strangecostumes, even togas, forpublicity.

•Theirline-upofcoolinnovative,corporate and speaker eventsmakeitadiversefestindeed.

-Rashi Pant and Raadhika Vishvesh

you should have been toDandiyaNight,

•Theyhavethemostbeautifullydecorated foyer boards anddisplays.

•They bring a breath of freshair and diversity in the midstof thenumerous festivals thatabound.

Zeitgeist•Most used phrase to describe“It’s not a FEST, it’s a MEDIACONFERENCE”

•They finally start attendingcollegeamonthbeforethefestbutareneverfoundinclasses.They’re always in the BCR,poringoverschedules.

•They have the best publicityvideos and social mediacoverage. They smirk at theworkofuslessermortalswhostrugglewithPhotoshop.

•Theirspeakerline-upisalwaysexcellent, with something ofinterest for students of allfields.

ITHAKA: A WINTER'S TALE

-Krupa Joseph and Malvika Patil

College NewS4

Thelessonslearntoutsidetheclassroomaremoreimportantthananyother.AndsuchanendeavourisanIndustrialVisit(IV),atripthatdevelopspracticalinsightthroughinteractionwithindustryveteransandsitevisits.TheChemistryDepartment’sIV,forexample,wastoManali-DharamshalaandincludedvisitstoPharmaceuticalindustriesandashawlfactory.ShachiSutaria,aTYBSc.student,toldusthatthedisplayoftheprocesswasextensivebutmostly,itwasgreatexposureforaspiringfuturepractitionersintheworldbeyondthelaboratory.

TheEconomicsIV,ontheotherhand,hadawhopping270studentsinattendance,andincludedvisitstoKatrajDairy,GyanPrabodhini(developmentNGOandEducationalTrust),TheBisleri/CocaColafactory,andtheCSRwingofZensarTechnologiesandtheEqualCommunityFoundation(anNGOconductinggendersensitizationworkshops).RishabDevnanioftheEcoCirclesays,“Wediversifedthestudentexperiencebyalso includingahostofnon-profit institutions tounderstand thedifference inmanagement."While theChemIVhadacoupleofArtsstudentsasparticipants,theEcoIVtoohadafewstudentsfromthesciencestreams,thuspromotinginter-disciplinarylearning.

Other departments shall be organising seminars and visits in the coming months, watch this space for more!

-Jheel Gada

Several departments of ourcollege proudly put forth theirownpublications.Thoughthereareseveralmore,wegiveyouachronological list of some thatshall be published in the nextfewweeks.

THE ITHAKA JOURNAL: ThethemethisyearisIndianWritinginEnglish,sonolongercanyouclaim the genre to be boring.Articles cover everything fromthe Indian Sherlock Holmesandgraphicnovelstoamouth-watering article about food.For the literary snobs, there isan engrossing Chetan Bhagatcritiqueaswell.

LIGNUM VITAE: TheDepartmentofLifeScienceandBiochemistry’smagazine, scheduled to releasein early December, talks about

the science behind every daythingsinanaccessibleway.EditorRoshnideSouza toldus that themagazine is targeting the entire

studentpopulace,notjustthosewithanaffinitytothetrancheofsciences.

ELEMENTAL: The ChemistryDepartment’s magazine,scheduled to release alongwiththeirXACfestinthefirstweekofJanuary,aimsathavinga contemporary approach toscience.EditorNiveditaRautismorethanwilling toembraceanyonewhobelievestheycanwrite!

Watch out for thesepublications,anddocontributetoasmanyasyoucan!

-Ishika Ramakrishna

BEYOND BOOKS AND BOARDS

OF PAGES AND PARAGRAPHS

eXTraS 5

‘Tis the season… to chugdown steaming mugs of liquidheaven! For those of youfolks out there who don’tusually experiment (with yourcaffeine!), try some of ourrecipes for winter-appropriatedrinks! We guarantee they’llmakeyousmile.

Liquid After Eights

1. Combine two teaspoons ofcoffeepowder,oneofsugarandone of cocoa powder in yourcoffeemug.

2.Addtwodropsofwater,thenmix.

3.Next,eithertakepeppermint

essence and add a single drop,orgrabsomemintandaddfourchoppedleaves.

4.Mix well, pour hot milk intomixture,andenjoy!

Masala Chai

This isn’t the most originalrecipe, but it’s a classic. Andmuch like an Austen novel, it’sfuntocurlupwith.

1.Whenboilingyourtealeavesinwatertomaketea,addapinchofcinnamon (dalchini), cardamom(elaichi),nutmeg(jaayaphal)andpepper(kaalimirch).

2.Letitallboil,straintheliquidinto your tea cupandaddyour

Late one December night, aman awoke screaming. Therehelay,paralysedwithterror,tillhewas sure the sunhad risen.What shook him so? He triedtoremember-hazyfiguresandscenesfloatedinhismind,noneofwhichhecouldcomprehend.

He stretched from his bed, oldknees cracking, and shiveringashetossedoffthebedcovers.Opening his bedside windowhe was greeted by snow andholly-scent, remindinghimthatitwasChristmasEve.Heyelledinstinctively at the school-free children snowball-fightingoutside. But Christmas - thatword jolted his memory, asanotherwordinexplicablycametohim:“Marley.”

The miser’s bones stiffened as

A CHRISTMAS TALE

WINTER WARMTH

he remembered what dreamingsighthadstartledhimfrommortalsleep.Achurchyardgravestone-andon itwaswrit his very ownname:EbenezerScrooge.

A rustle behind him made himjump, and he turned to see afaintapparitionhangingnearhisbed. “Another one?” He askeddispiritedly, feeling dread rise inhischest.Hemadetostepclosertothespirit.“Andwhatareyou?TheGhostofwhat?Therearen’tany more tenses left!” Scroogesnapped.

The ghost raised an admonitoryhand.“Ihaveonlyafewmoments– they did not letmemeet youlastnight.”

“Who’sthey?”

“Hush.Iam-”

“Really,thisisallverytiring.”

“Youneedto-”

“I think I’ll just spendmoney ifyou’re all planning on hauntingme-”

“No!IamtheGhostofMisery!Ihavecometotellyoutodisregardall you learnt lastnight!Moneyismoreimportant!”

Scrooge paused and stared atthespiritindisbelief.

“Misery,miser. Yes, I get it,” hesnapped finally. “You can leavenow.”

Turning, he leant out of thewindow to ask someone whatdate it was. He had amends tomake.

-Rishi Thomas and Sroojana Iyer

usualamountofmilkandsugar.

Tip: If you don’t have powderedcardamom,justonenormalclovewillsuffice.

Best Cocoa Ever

1. Break a small bar of CadburyDairy Milk Chocolate in a mugandmicrowaveittillitmelts.

2. Add milk, a spoonful ofHershey’s syrup, a tiny pinch ofcinnamon and microwave tillblended.

3.Sprinklewithmarshmallowbitsandchocolatechips.

-Sroojana Iyer

FeaTUreS6

Anewkidhasarrivedintheworldofvirtualcommunication.SayHellotoEllo!Well,onlyifyouareinvited.Elloisasocialnetworkingsite,launchedinMarch2014,byagroupof7artistsandprogrammers.Ello’sUSPis‘simple,beautiful&ad-free’.Thesite’smanifestobeginswiththestatement,“Yoursocialnetworkisownedbyadvertisers,”an obvious reference to our ad-congested Facebook news feeds.It claims to be an alternative to all those social networks whichcommodifyuserdata.

PrakritiBhatt,anSYBAstudentwhojoinedEllorecently,said,“Elloisquitearefreshingchangewithitsaustereandcleaninterface.Oneofitshottestfeaturesistheabilitytoshareagif,somethingwhichonlyGoogle+offeredsofar."

WhetherEllowillsticktoitsbusinessmodelorsuccumb,maywellbea‘billion’dollarquestion.

-Aathira Konikkara

'YOU ARE NOT A PRODUCT'

NH7: A FESTIVAL OF THE PEOPLE

The XPress TeamEditor-in-Chief

Raadhika Vishvesh, TYBA

EditorsAdityesh Mitra, SYBSc.

Stuti Trivedi, TYBAAshwin Chandrasekhar, TYBA

Rashi Pant, TYBSc.

WritersSroojana Iyer, SYBMM

Aathira Konikkara, SYBAJheel Gada, SYBA

Malvika Patil, SYBANikita Mujumdar, SYJC

Ishika Ramakrishna, TYBSc.Krupa Joseph, TYBARishi Thomas, TYBA

PhotographersGauri Nair, TYBA

Aishwarya Nair, TYBSc.IT

One of India's up and comingevents, the NH7 Weekender hasexpanded in the threeyears of its existence, andhow! Promising to givethe same billing to Indianartists, the indie musicfestival has only one rule-‘No Bollywood’, accordingto one of its advertisingvideos.

The ideaofNH7hasbeento bring together musiclovers of different genresto form what is truly a‘music’festival.Ultimately,the idea is tobecome thehappiest festival in thecountry and to that end,theorganizersarewillingtowashportabletoilets,everysinglehour!

In the past, NH7 has witnessedglobally acclaimed acts such

as Megadeth, Karnivool andMutemath, but this year local

bands close to one’s heart likeIndian Ocean, The Raghu Dixit

ProjectandBhayanakMautare on the gig list. FromNovember 21st to 23rd,Punewillbewitnesstowhatsome have claimed definesitself ‘by fixing everythingthat is wrongwith festivalsinIndia.’

It comes as no surprisethatNH7 has grown biggerand better every year,havingnowspreadtoDelhi,BangaloreandKolkata.

TheXPresssuggeststhatyoupaythisfestivalavisit,asitseemstohitallthe

rightnotes!

-Ashwin Chandrasekhar

The leiSUre Page 7

The holiday period is a great time to let your downloading software roll and search manically for subtitles. The XPress presents an eclectic list of films from across the world that’ll make you laugh, cry and ponder your way through winter.

1)Waltz with Bashir (Israel, Ari Folman): A realisticanimated war film that takesyou through Ali Folman’sjourney to piece togethermemoriesofhistimeservedintheLebanonwar.

2) Taste of a Cherry (Iran, Abbas Kiarostami): This minimalistfilm takes us through a dayin the lifeofMrBadii,who islooking for someone to buryhim. Kiarostami is known forhis excruciatingly long takes,sometimesannoying,butworthwatching.

now transsexual ex-husbandto inform him about his son’sdeath.

4) Old Boy (South Korea, Chan-Wook Park):ThisfilmmayhaveaBollywoodstyleplotline,butdelves deep into the idea ofrevenge.Fairwarning:OldBoyisatadgruesome.

5) The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Spain, Luis Bunuel): Examining a set offamilies’ hapless attemptto dine together, this is anapproachableabsurdistfilmbya man who redefined bizarrefortheworld.

6) City of God (Brazil, Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund): Astoryaboutgangviolence,themovie is a comingof agefilm(throughflashbacks) foraboygrowingupinoneofthemostdangerousslumsinBrazil.

-Ashwin Chandrasekhar

3) All About My Mother (Spain, Pedro Almodóvar): This film is

repletewith diverseandpuzzlingturns galore. Almodóvar tiesinmultiple plot lines around amotherwhotriestolookforher

XPRESS RECOMMENDS: BEST FOREIGN FILMS FOR THE WINTER HOLIDAYS

THE BEST AND MOST INEXPENSIVE CHRISTMAS PRESENTSFestivals are happy times, but not always for your wallets. If you’re looking for budget friendly Secret Santa, Christmas or New Year presents, here are some cheap but thoughtful present ideas for you:

1. Puttogetheracollectionofsongsandmovieswhichyoubothenjoyonapendrive.Yourfriendswilllovethegift.Iftheydon’t,atleasttheycanusethependrive.

2. Packabasketwithsmall,inexpensivegoodies,likechocolate,candles,stationery,etc.

3. If you have an artsy side, customize some of your friend’s possessions (ask their permission first,please).Jazzuptheirmobilecoverorfolderswithasplashofpaintandcreativity.Evenpencilscanbemonogrammed.

4. Makeacolourfulscrapbookwithmemoriesandoldpictures,toremindyourfriendoftheunforgettableyeargoneby.

5. Get a thickwoollen sock anddecorate itwith sequins and cottonwool. Voila! Youhave a Christmasstockingtogift.

Remember,thebestpresentscomefromtheheart! -Nikita Mujumdar