UOH DISPATCHA LAB PUBLICATION OF DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION, UNIVERSITY OF HYDERABAD

Volume 8, Issue 8, Pages 8. SEPTEMBER 2014, FOR INTERNAL CIRCULATION ONLY

SUNDAY

CLIMBERS IN

ACTION

PRESIDENT

EXHORTS

STUDENTS

Gender in the changing world

Call for equality and quality in education

Harika Vankadara

When Jodie Underhill packed her

bags to visit India in 2008, little

did she know that she would be

staying there to take up the coun-

try’s waste management struggle

as her own and would set up an

NGO, working with those Indians

who remain unseen and forgotten

by their country people.

As she travelled across the

country, she was struck by the in-

sane amounts of waste dumped on

streets, over the edges of other-

wise scenic hills, along the banks

of “holy” water bodies, parks and

just about every place set foot on

by humans. And out of this ap-

palled state came ‘Waste War-

riors’(WW).

Ms. Jodie, the founder of the

Mountain Cleaners came to Hy-

derabad so that WW could partner

as waste managers with the Airtel

marathon. Ajay Kumar Koli,

known in the campus for his ini-

tiatives like Green Gops and plan-

tation drives, roped in Jodie to

deliver a talk at the campus. She

said that the attitude of students is

influenced by that of those at the

top . The issue of waste manage-

ment is often sidelined to priori-

tise other issues, and this means

that the average citizen too depri-

oritises waste management.

In the discussion that ensued,

students pointed out that the cam-

pus is yet to put in place a waste

management system. Prof. Mo-

hanty spoke about the indifference

barrier that exists among students.

He described his efforts to initiate

and sustain clean up habits by

strategically installing dust bins,

and inviting participation in plan-

tation drives. He revealed that

only two categories of students

showed up for such efforts –

young students pursuing their

bachelors, and students from mar-

ginalised groups who are closer to

nature.

Harika Vankadara

“We wanted to see what was

wrong with the world…and a lot

is wrong with the world,” said An-

gela Miles while delivering a

speech at the Women’s Worlds

Congress (WWC) 2014 at DST

Auditorium, University of Hyder-

abad.

The Congress is a multi-disci-

plinary approach to discussing

women’s issues. The first WWC

was held at Haifa University, Is-

rael, in December 1981. Since

then, WWC has taken place every

three years in different parts of the

world. WWC 2014, hosted at the

university, was headed by Prof.

Rekha Pande and Dr. V. Sita.

The theme for this year was

‘Gender in a Changing World’.

The congress kicked off on Au-

gust 17 with an inaugural lecture

by India’s Missile Woman Dr.

Tessy Thomas. She spoke of the

need to encourage women em-

powerment through education.

Over the course of next three

days, 1,000 participants from 58

countries mulled over and dis-

cussed 620 research papers on a

wide range of gender-related is-

sues. On August 21and 22, six

films were screened and dis-

cussed.

The WWC had a tight schedule

with an average of eight panel dis-

cussions taking place simultane-

ously. Gender and Management,

Gender and Law, Gender and Cul-

ture, Globaliation, Politics and

Policy were some of the broad

categories into which papers were

submitted.

Over the course of the event,

the universality of violence

against women and discrimination

in social, political and economic

spaces became clear. Giving their

feedback, participants stressed the

need for greater action to curb vi-

olence against women.

Prof. Shanta Sinha from the

Department of Political Science,

University of Hyderabad said that

such a conference was made pos-

sible by the fight for liberty and

empowerment by previous gener-

ations. “We owe it to the future

generations to take the fight for-

ward,” she said.

She also spoke of the need to

deter boys from developing into

“masculine” men. She urged all to

do their bit for the cause of a gen-

der-neutral world.

Call for action to curb violence against women

“1,000 participants from

58 countries mulled

over and discussed 620

research papers on

gender-related issues”

Priyanka Manikandan

India has the largest youth popu-

lation in the world; around 67 per-

cent of the total population is

below the age of 35. It would be a

great advantage if the youngsters

are able to break the circumstan-

tial differences of caste, religion

and make space to build a new

world, says Dr. Jayaprakash

Narayan, Founder and President

of Lok Satta Party.

On the occasion of Interna-

tional Youth Day fiesta ‘Yuvot-

saah’ held at DST auditorium of

the University of Hyderabad

(UOH) on August 11, Dr. Narayan

delivered the inaugural speech on

‘Is the education in India prepar-

ing its youth for their future?’ He

said that a strong education sys-

tem is the cornerstone of any

country’s growth and prosperity.

Focussing on the pitiable con-

dition of the country’s education

system, he said the country is far

away in its educational develop-

ment when compared to China

and other countries. The global

competition has risen to such a

level that all the other countries

are actively combating the threat

of economic and educational chal-

lenges posed at the international

level.Only quality education can

free India from the clutches of

poverty and backwardness, he

said. While emphasising on qual-

ity education, he said, “Education

is the gift of communication and

real wealth is in the brain power.”

Criticizing the primary education

system in the country Dr. Narayan

said, “India’s education system

has not achieved strong learning

outcomes for reasons that are as

diverse and nuanced as the coun-

try itself.” In conclusion, he

called upon youth to “wake up

and step up”.

Prof. Sachidananda Mohanty

from the Department of English,

UoH said that the time has come

for the youth of India to partici-

pate in the state affairs actively

and this is possible only by devel-

oping critical thinking among

them. Prof. Hari Babu, Pro-Vice

Chancellor of UoH and the Guest

of Honour Sonykutty George, Of-

ficer in-charge UNICEF, Hyder-

abad participated in the

programme.‘Y-uvotsaah’ was

jointly organised by UoH and a

city based organisation ‘Surajya

Movement’.

Waste warriorsTHUMBNAIL

A solidarity march was organ-

ized by the Students’ Union in

collaboration with Women’s

Worlds Congress members in

support of Irom Sharmila- the

Iron Lady of Manipur. The

march took place in the light

of the Manipur sessions court

judgment to release Irom

Sharmila.

The Department of Optome-

try and Vision Sciences,

School of Medical Sciences is

offering free eye check-up for

the university students every

Friday from 2 pm to 5 pm.

This student initiative venture

is extended as a service and

is supported by Course Co-or-

dinator Dr. Rishi Bhardwaj

and Faculty Supervisors

Sunny Manava and Kiran

Challa.

Iron Lady zindabad

Free eye check-up

SamskrtotsavaThe Department of Sanskrit Stud-

ies organised ‘Samskrtotsava’ on

August 14. PV. Kannan, Profes-

sor of Mathematics and former

Pro Vice Chancellor of the Uni-

versity of Hyderabad and Prof.

Sripada Subrahmanyam, Direc-

tor, Andhra Pradesh Government

Oriental Manuscripts Library,

Hyderabad, spoke on ‘Modern

Mathematics in Samskrita’ and

‘Significance of Sanskrit Shas-

tras’, respectively.

Fellowship woesResearch scholars of the Uni-

versity of Hyderabad staged a

protest in the campus on July

31. They demanded a hike in

the fellowship (with effect

from April 2014) offered by

the university. Around 100

students from various depart-

ments participated in the

protest.

Jodie Underhill

THEATRE

GOES

DIGITAL

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan

“Education is the gift

of communication and

real wealth is in the

brain power.”

The Kaal that wasThe Department of Hindi or-

ganised a talk on ‘Bhakti

Kaal Ka Udbhav Aur Vikas’

by Chauthi Ram Yadav, a

renowned critic and orator

from the Banaras Hindu Uni-

versity, Varanasi.

P 2 P 7 P 8

Page 1:Copy of Dispatch 4 9/4/2014 4:02 AM Page 1

K. Divya

Campus buses serve as lifelines

for students and employees trav-

elling from one end of the campus

to the other. The buses cater to

1,000 people every day but their

condition is in the doldrums.

“Most buses running in the uni-

versity are very old. They have

well crossed the 15-year mark, the

cap placed by the government on

vehicles of education institutions.

Also, some buses are in bad

shape,” says a transport worker.

Approximately 10-12 vehicles

have not been disposed of for over

a decade.

While there is a restriction on

purchasing new buses, the govern-

ment allows replacement of old

ones. Although a new bus has

been added to the fleet recently,

sources in the university say that

many more buses are required.

Lack of buses leads to over-

crowding especially during lunch

time. While the maximum capac-

ity of mini buses as prescribed by

the Regional Transport Office is

16 (including the driver), buses

sometimes carry about 25-30

students during peak hours.

“There is a lot of rush in the

buses during mornings and lunch

hours. The number of buses has

gone up compared to last year, but

needs are still not met. Bus and

class timings often clash for stu-

dents, leaving them helpless,”

says Prashant Bagde, a student of

M.Phil, Political Science.

“We are aware of the various

transport-related problems in the

university. We have been monitor-

ing the situation regularly. We re-

cently increased the number of

sorties from 39 to 48 to ease the

rush. The old buses could not be

disposed of earlier due to techni-

cal problems. We have now de-

cided to sell them as scrap,” said

Mr. Ganapati, Senior Assistant,

Transport Department, University

of Hyderabad.

Purchasing new buses still re-

mains a problem due to financial

crunch and lack of support from

University Grants Commission

and government.

Priyanka Manikandan

That frame showed a man stand-

ing with crossed arms looking into

nothingness. “The God of

Shunya”as it has been titled,was

attracting lot of viewers. The cre-

ator of this painting, Sujeesh

Onchery (Masters in Fine Arts-

Painting) is all excited about being

part of the 21-day exhibition at

Salar Jung, which began on 27th

July.

MFA students from the Depart-

ment of Fine Arts showcased their

works at the Salar Jung Museum,

Hyderabad. “Having an audience

was an exciting factor of the exhi-

bition. People from India and

abroad are visiting the museum. I

felt happy when a lot of people ap-

proached me after seeing my

works,” says Sujeesh. A total of 80

works with diverse themes were

showcased under the lead title

“How strong the breeze, how pre-

cious the flight.”

Most of these works represent

the sensitivity of the artists to-

wards disturbances caused to our

physical and cultural environ-

ments. “The exhibition contains

enough to disturb those who look

at art with traditional notions. The

attempts are daring enough.

Works like Pushpavati and God of

Shunya stand out” says Mrudula

Bhavani, a student of Compara-

tive Literature.

The show was inaugurated by

acclaimed artist Padma Vibushan

Prof. K. G. Subramanyan. A solo

show of Prof. Subramanyan’s new

works coincided with the exhibi-

tion. “It was a fruitful collabora-

tion, we are hoping to transfer it

into the future,” says faculty

member Prof. Kirtana

Thankachan.

Unlike other exhibition venues,

museum space creates a great op-

portunity for young artists to en-

hance their creative ideas.

Responses and encouragements

these artists received from the

public can act as a catalyst in their

career.

2U O H D I S PA T C H S E PT E M B E R , 2 0 1 4 CAMPULSE

‘Challenge corruption’Harika Vankadara

“The institutes of higher learning

are the cradles of future adminis-

trators and policy makers. The

seeds of progressive thinking

have to be sown and nurtured

here. Core civilization values –

love for motherland, performance

of duty, compassion for all, toler-

ance for pluralism, respect for

women, honesty in life, self-re-

straint in conduct, responsibility

in action and discipline have to be

inculcated in these institutions.

A democracy cannot function

without informed participants,”

said Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Pres-

ident of India, on 5 August 2014,

in a video conference with Vice

Chancellors, faculty and students

of central universities, IITs and

NITs across the country. The con-

ference was conducted by Na-

tional Knowledge Network and

National Informatics Centre. The

President, speaking on “Democ-

racy and Governance”, said that

the institutes of higher learning

are home to future leaders who

will direct the growth of India.

He said though the policies

that exist were stellar, the im-

proper execution of those policies

remained a concern. He spoke of

the seepage of corruption in the

administration of the country and

called upon the youth to challenge

this corruption.

He appealed for the avoidance

of intolerance and acrimony in

public discourse. Decentralization

of power through enabling finan-

cial autonomy and administrative

ability of Panchayats is another

crucial reform needed, said the

President.

Reform in this third tier of

governance is necessary for shar-

ing real power with people at the

grass root level, he added.

Pranab Mukherjee

A gymnasium in

need of work out

Tackling transport conundrum

Artists paint their way to Salar Jung Museum

Buses parked at the garage near F Hostel

A total of 80 works

with diverse themes were

showcased.

Works of Dhiraj Pednekar and Rajesh Lakkoju (left to right) displayed

PC

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Harika Vankadara

Four rooms and a corridor tucked

away in a corner of the Health

Centre have been playing host to

the Ladies Gym since March

2012. Little known to the student

body of the university, the gym

wears a deserted look most times,

with dilapidated walls and narrow

spaces adding to a glum setup.

The initiative to set up a ladies

gym was taken up by the Centre

for Women Studies, using women

welfare grants. It was started for

female employees and the spouses

of male employees, in accordance

with UGC’s Basic Facilities for

Women scheme.

According to certified instruc-

tor Jagdish, about 30 people use

the gym every month, a number

that fluctuates according to the

working condition of the equip-

ment.As the gym area is not cov-

ered, rats bite into equipment

wires time and again rendering the

gym useless. There is also the

danger of snakes and other small

animals sneaking into the gym

area as the walls are not properly

fenced.

After its launch, the ladies gym

saw poor response. When students

asked for permission to use the re-

sources, the committee in charge

agreed that the gym should be

opened to students instead of al-

lowing the equipment to remain

unused.

The management of the gym is

now taken care of by Chief Med-

ical Officer Dr. Rajasree Malpath.

She has been pushing for improv-

ing the facility since its launch.

A proposal to construct a sepa-

rate hall alongside the health cen-

tre has been put forward and

approved by the Vice Chancellor

(VC) in April 2014. He has

granted 2,000 sq. yards for the

construction of the gym.

Floor plan and design have also

been proposed by engineers and

approved by the VC. This demand

for a proper ladies gym has been

left on the backburner by the Uni-

versity of Hyderabad Engineering

Department. Reminders sent by

Dr. Malpath, the latest in June

2014, did not receive any re-

sponse from the Engineering De-

partment.

She points out that a mainte-

nance deal must be struck with the

supplier of the equipment annu-

ally, so that regular maintenance

(oiling and repairs) is conducted.

Dr. Malpath expresses hope that

due attention is paid to the condi-

tion of the ladies gym so that its

objective of facilitating women

health and welfare can be reached.

PC: Ashutosh Prasad

final page potpurri saumya final:Layout 1 9/3/2014 1:59 PM Page 1

3U O H D I S PA T C H S E PT E M B E R , 2 0 1 4 C A M P U L S E

Quiz competition

Researcher at Work

Street play

Call for wild life pics

Stray dog menace grows

The era of hyper mobility and agility

Keerthi Kiran

The rising population of stray

dogs in the University of Hyder-

abad campus has become a matter

of concern for the students. The

lackadaisical attitude of university

administration has added to the

woes of the students. The prob-

lem persists because the vaccina-

tion and sterilization programme

is not being carried out effectively.

It would be pertinent to men-

tion that there was a dog menace

in the campus in the recent past

where a mad dog had bitten about

30 students on campus. A man-

hunt was carried out for the mad

dogs and it was discovered that

five other dogs had been bitten by

one dog. This became a matter of

serious concern in the campus

vicinity.

The infected students were

given immediate medical atten-

tion. However, it was revealed

that the campus Health Centre

does not have vaccination for ra-

bies in bulk. According to Ra-

jashree Malpath, Chief Medical

Officer, “The Health Centre can-

not keep vaccination for rabies in

bulk amount because it is too ex-

pensive. However, we do ensure

that whenever any emergency oc-

curs, we provide the students with

immediate vaccination.” The An-

imal Birth Control measures

(ABC) come under the jurisdic-

tion of the Greater Hydabad Mu-

nicipal Corporation. The rising

population has also increased the

risk of rabies and other such com-

municable diseases.

As per the Prevention of Cru-

elty to Animal’s Act 2001, the

urban development department is

responsible for sterilization pro-

gramme. However, the law seems

to have become a dead law as the

ABC programme is not being car-

ried out effectively.

Harika Vankadara

A bandi (stall) with a gas stove and a frying pan

constitute a humble set-up that soothes at least a

hundred growling stomachs every night in the cam-

pus. Open up to 3am, C Canteen is the only place

within the campus that provides food for those

burning the midnight oil. One overhears a wide

range of conversations, from what the world should

be doing about the Gaza violence to why it’s im-

perative for heroes to have a retirement age. Some-

times, students bring along their instruments and

play music for themselves, and for anyone who

cares to listen.

C-canteen is open from 10 pm. Variety of

omelets, sweet buns and tea are available. Outside

the campus, there are four commercial food joints

that operate into wee hours, but they do illegally,

without permissions from authorities. Silver

Bawarchi and Mughal Bawarchi in Lingampally

are open till 11.30 pm. 20 restaurants are enlisted

by FoodAsura, an online portal that serves as a

database of restaurants with home delivery serv-

ices, and all of them are boarded “closed” by 10.30

pm. Though the official closing time of the messes

in hotels is 9 pm, most times food is exhausted

much earlier, leaving students in the lurch. There is

a dearth of options for students who stay awake late

into the night, and pangs of hunger are common-

place, resulting in the stocking up of bread and

other packaged edibles in hostel rooms. There

needs to be some source of nourishment in place in

the campus.

Midnight hunger pangs

Social Media: Newcomer to classroom!

“There is a dearth of options forstudents who stay awake late

into the night”

EVENT: Goethe-Zen-

trum and Alliance

Francaise is organising

a university level quiz

competition on “War,

Peace and Memories”

between (1914-2014)

DATE: September 17,

2014.

VENUE: School of So-

cial Sciences

EVENT: Centre for

Comparative Literature

is organising Re-

searchers at Work confer-

ence on “Literatuere

and Culture; Expand-

ing Horizons :New Par-

adigms of Knowledge

Production”.

DATE: September 10-

12, 2014

VENUE:School of Hu-

manities

The University of Hyder-

abad invites students,

faculty and staff to send

high resolution photo-

graphs of the wildlife in

the campus along with a

brief description.

The best pictures se-

lected will be published

in the University Calen-

dar, 2015.You can mail - uohcalendar2015@uohy

d.ac.in till September15, 2014. Kindly notethat the pictures must beclear (without blurring)and must be of high reso-lution (at least 10-15MB)

EVENT: A street play based on ‘The

Soni Sori’ incident will be performed

by the student’s group and supported

by Centre for Women’s Studies.

DATE: September 8, 2014.

VENUE:Shopping Complex (North)

at 5.30 pm and South Campus junc-

tion at 9 pm.

It has become an integral part of classroom interaction

Avnish Kumar

The Department of Biotechnology

and Bioinformatics, School of

Life Sciences organised an Indus-

try Interface lecture where

Prashant Gupta, the Director of

Strategy, Microsoft Cloud and En-

terprise Division, was the guest

speaker. He played a key role in

developing the infrastructure for

its cloud computing technology

called Azure where users can

manage massive data using this

open platform.

Dr. Niyaz Ahmed, Head of the

Department gave an introductory

speech on cloud computing and its

importance for students of Life

Sciences. He also stated that ob-

servations could be tapped using

technology. Mr. Gupta who grad-

uated with MS degree from the

University of Florida, MBA from

Kellogg School of Management is

also Lt. Governor gold medal re-

cipient from the College of Engi-

neering, University of Delhi. The

presentation covered the idea of

tomorrow’s connected world,

technologies that one should be

aware of and its opportunities in

India. The talk even mentioned

how 90s and post 2000 was the

era of mobile and mobile publish-

ing. This is the era of hyper mo-

bility and agility where the notion

of productivity has gone up. He

envisioned a great future in

ecosystems of connected devices.

Questions were raised on sav-

ing and analysing data. Due to a

change in economics, there is a

data explosion and new set of

questions are emerging. He cited

its uses in social and web analyt-

ics, live data feeds and advanced

analytics. According to him,

“Learning machine algorithms

could be used to predict the out-

come.”

He concluded his speech by

highlighting the opportunities for

400 million people in the rising in-

come group as the country has a

large pool of technology talent.

“We have the opportunity to cre-

ate 2500 successful startups in the

next decade and contribute $100

billion to India,” he added.

K Divya

The presence of social media is felt in

all aspects of life these days. It is no

longer a space just for interacting with

friends but it has proved to be a space

where meaningful contacts can be built

and career opportunities can be ex-

plored. It has also made its way right in

to the sphere of education.

For most students at the University of

Hyderabad, social media has become an

integral part of classroom interaction.

Facebook pages, Whatsapp and Google

groups have made communication

within the classroom easier, fun and en-

riching. “We exchange notes, share in-

formation about assignments, take up

discussions and express opinions on our

Facebook page,” said Asmita Mitra, a

student of M.A English.

Besides sharing of information on

subject related work, these pages and

groups have opened up as a platform for

generating meaningful discussion

among the students. An array of topics

is discussed on the page such as interna-

tional affairs, politics and sports adds

Asmita. Often these platforms help save

certain information so that students can

get back to it whenever needed.

Students at most of the departments

use social media extensively for interac-

tions. “We have organised a Young

Economist School (YES) which handles

a variety of activities. For coordinating

the activities of this group we have a

Facebook page,” said Meenakshi

Priyadarshini, a student of M.A Eco-

nomics. Besides this, certain specialised

pages for the Placement cell and intern-

ships also exist in many departments.

Rupali Mohanti, an M.Tech student

said: “We do not have a Facebook page

or a Whatsapp group for our class. This

is primarily because our class consists

of only six students and we are able to

interact easily even without these plat-

forms.”

While students appreciate the role of

social media in making interactions eas-

ier, there is still some debate on its ef-

fectiveness over face to face

communication.

PAGE 3_CAMPULSE_CORRECTED_Layout 1 9/4/2014 1:47 PM Page 1

In the current higher education con-

text in India, Sarojini Naidu School

of Arts and Communication holds a

unique position because of its four de-

partments, which are diverse. Dance and

Theatre Departments involve body

based practices, Department of Commu-

nication involves media studies, print,

television and radio while the Fine Arts

Department is based on the material.

Despite these different materialities and

body manifestations, there is something

in common like the conceptual aspects

of media, art and cultural practices that

work in different arenas based on the

fundamental principle of each depart-

ment. Here many concepts, theories,

histories and aesthetics overlaps across

all discipline. Such a school is rare in

the field of higher education.

Theoretical orientation and interven-

tions of the faculties in the national and

international level are significant. For

instance, events like IAMCR, an Inter-

national Conference co-hosted by De-

partment of Communication, display of

Fine Arts students’ work in a public do-

main like Salarjung Museum, exchange

programmes of Department of Theatre

Arts between

U.K and India, adds to the profile of SN

School unlike the other universities’ de-

partments in the country. Dance Depart-

ment also holds important position as it

equally addresses the conceptual and

theoretical aspects of dance in global

context and concentrates on two major

dance forms - Kucchipudi and Bharat-

natyam.

Convergence of four diverse cultural

expressions is unique about SN School.

Moreover, this is a guiding model to all

the universities in the country. In many

places, arts is seen as a creative domain

rather than a social conduct. The dis-

semination and the extension activities

of communication department at grass-

root level in Indian villages and abroad

for theoretical and action based studies

in the field of Community Media is

highly appreciable in the global context.

The productions in theatre have an out-

reach on the campus and outside

through its outreach unit. Hovering

local theatre activists, enhancing their

livelihood through the extensive project

has never happened in the history of In-

dependent India.

The school’s interventions are further

extending the academic domain to the

stake holders of each subject with di-

verse objectives which makes its activ-

ities more meaningful.

(Prof. B. Ananthakrishnan is a Professor, De-

partment of Theatre Arts and Dean,

SN School of Arts and Communication,

University of Hyderabad.)

4U O H D I S PA T C H S E PT E M B E R , 2 0 1 4 i n s i g h t

The University of Hyderabad (UoH) located

in the city of Hyderabad in Telangana, grew

40 years old in 2014. Spread across 2,300

acres, the university has 12 schools of study within

which there are several departments, centers, and

programmes. Ranked 5th among all central uni-

versities of India by India Today magazine, UoH

saw an intake of 2000 (approximately) students

every year. The University reflects a mini India

with hundreds of students enrolling from different

parts of the country. This year 632 students are

from the northern region, 1,183 students are from

the south and more than 85 students are from the

north-east. The university once again broke the as-

sumed notion that the North-East students are not

given equal opportunities in the admission process.

Whether it is bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the

north-south divide does not seem to affect the at-

mosphere in the university.

Much of bookish knowledge about different

states, their traditions, culture, food habits and lan-

guages are partial in a way, for it remains inscribed

on physical pages. However, the first hand experi-

ence of exploring India can be sensed from such a

platform. Along with a culturally rich atmosphere,

academic pursuits, learning, sharing, exploring can

be stimulated by biodiversity, water bodies and

natural rocks in the university. This kind of diver-

sity is needed even in the state universities as they

to be more state-centric.

Academic institutions should not be confined

with demographics like nationality, religion and

ethnicity. The diversity not just brings students to-

gether but also enhance their personality. With its

motto, Sa Vidya Ya Vimuktaye (Knowledge is that

which Liberates), the University of Hyderabad in-

culcates quality education and widens the perspec-

tive of students.

“What the world would be like if gender did not segregate populace? What then

would determine household chores and childcare roles?”

- Judith Lorber

(Professor Emerita of Sociology and

Women’s Studies at

the City University of New York)

“Women must be the change they want to see in the World”

-Dr. Tessy Thomas

( The first Missile Lady of India)

To get a quick break from

monotonous movie scenes,

nail-biting cricket matches

and unrealistically dramatic Hindi

soaps, advertisements serve the

best form of diversion. Advertise-

ments are normally 30 seconds of

creativity intended to reach people

for promotional reasons. For once,

let us overlook the flipside of

commercials and consider their

positive impacts. We hear people

getting annoyed with advertise-

ments, but when used rightly, they

are capable of changing mindsets

and ushering in change.

Promotional ads with public in-

terest messages are not new to au-

diences. Campaigns like Tata Tea

“Jaago re” which raise awareness

on various issues like casting

vote, 49% women’s voting reser-

vation, position of women in soci-

ety, traffic rules and so on, have

set the trend. However, the initia-

tive ‘Touch the Pickle’ by Whis-

per has once again brought the

phenomena into lime-light.

“Women need not

treat periods as a

forbidden subject.”

The campaign is about busting

taboos commonly associated with

menstruation in India. Catchy and

witty slogans like, “Whisper it

loud” and “Touch the pickle” have

been quite successful, if not in

moving the audiences to action

but in raising their awareness.

Celebrities like Parineeti Chopra,

Shraddha Kapoor and Mandira

Bedi feel proud to be associated

with the Whisper Campaign and

share a common view “Women

need not treat periods as a forbid-

den subject.”

Women have been very recep-

tive to the idea. On being asked,

many girls said, “It is a very cre-

ative approach to break the social

restrictions forced on women dur-

ing their menstruation cycle. In-

stead of spreading awareness,

people are generally blind-folded

with superstitions in the name of

health concerns.”

The benefits of such commer-

cials cannot be overlooked. They

can help a brand come across as

socially responsible and mature,

creating a lasting impression on

the mind of the consumer. It helps

them prove that they are beyond

selling their products to con-

sumers. (Nidhi Gupta is a student at the

Department of Communication,

SN School of Arts and Communication,

University of Hyderabad)

EDITORS : Nidhi Gupta, Basha P

COPY EDITORS: Saumya Painuli, Sanjana K K

EDITORIAL TEAM: Nidhi Gupta, Basha P, Saumya Painuli, Sanjana K K, Joyel

K. Pious, Meghna Neogi, Aalekhya Tadepalli, Venkatesh Mamidi

PHOTOGRAPHERS: Ashutosh Prasad, Priyanka Manikandan, Aalekhya T

REPORTING TEAM: Harika Vankadara, K. Divya, Anupama Evani, Priyanka

Manikandan, Keerthi Kiran, Rajesh Dupta, Ashutosh Prasad, Avnish Kumar

Commercial’s changing trend

Nidhi Gupta

Radiating divergence

Prof. B. Ananthakrishnan

THOUGHT OF THE MONTH

CARTOONSCAPE

Printed and published by the Head of the Department, Dept. of Communication, Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad. We appreciate participation from all departments.

Mail us at dispatchuoh@gmail.com

THE TEAM

DISPATCHU H

A mini India

by

R P

ravee

n V

arm

a

Convergence of four

diverse cultural

expressions is unique

about SN School

O

PAGE 4_INSIGHT_CORRECTED2_Layout 1 9/4/2014 4:09 PM Page 1

5U O H D I S PA T C H S E PT E M B E R , 2 0 1 4 R E F L E C T I O N S

Bol community bol!Recently Bol Hyderabad 90.4 fm celebrated its third anniversary

of Hyderabad (UoH) celebratedits third anniversary of going onair. As a community radio stationsituated on a university campuswhere some pioneering work oncommunity radio (CR) in Indiahas been, and continues to be car-ried out, the journey of Bol sendsout mixed signals with respect toits success and practices vis-à-vissome of the core principles thatdefine the sector.

Over this period, Bol has de-

veloped a wide variety of interest-

ing programmes with innovative

content ideas, appealing taglines

and catchy titles such as Sheher ke

Mashoor Adde, Caught in Pass-

ing, Poetry Mohalla, Woh Kal is

Pal, Airing Books, Katha Corner

and Ulti-Evenings etc.The format

followed is one of discussions and

information interspersed with en-

tertainment. The programmes are

produced in English, Hindi, Tel-

ugu and Urdu. Bol Hyderabad

90.4 FM has a broadcast radius of

15 kilometres and caters not solely

to the university students but also

to the diverse community within

and outside the UoH campus.

However, the programme pro-

duction process in Bol has re-

mained limited to and in the hands

of a few motivated students and

faculty within the Department of

Communication (where it is

housed) and extends at best to

their contacts and acquaintances.

While the mandate of the station

is to follow an open door policy

and bring in more and more peo-

ple from all walks of life, the in-

clusivity quotient of Bol has not

been very high and there is a want

for diversity of voices and talent

in its programmes.

The raison d’être of a commu-

nity radio is to enable the people

residing within its coverage area

to engage in media activity. Such

a robust culture of community en-

gagement and participation is still

conspicuous by its absence in Bol.

One cannot overlook the efforts

that are on by Bol to propel the

participation of the larger univer-

sity fraternity and the community

through open houses, capacity

building workshops and pro-

grammes such as Community

Connect and the more recent Quiz

shows. But, the fact remains, that

a lot more needs to be done to

make Bol a radio ‘of’ the commu-

nity and ‘by’ the community and

not just ‘for’ the community.

(Dr. Kanchan K. Malik is an Associate

Professor at the Department of Commu-

nication, SN School of Arts and Commu-

nication,University of Hyderabad and a

Faculty Fellow at the UNESCO Chair on

Community Media)

On 15 August2 0 1 4 , B o lHyderabad

90.4 FM, thec o m m u n i t yradio station ofthe UniversityKanchan K.Malik

Campus politics

Aalekhya Tadepalli

ties of life.

Along with the dose of independ-

ence that comes with living in the

hostels, students are also exposed

to a variety of issues, some apolit-

ical but mostly political.

The politi-

cal awareness

levels of the

campus are at a

high octave

level. Every

issue be it in-

ternational, na-

tional or local

gets its due at-

tention in the

campus vicini-

ties. The recent general elections

turned the campus grounds into a

hot debate field with constant dis-

cussions and arguments about the

manifestos of different parties.

Take a walk around the campus

and you will notice almost every

wall is filled with posters that are

calling for a march to show soli-

darity for Gaza or film screening

about the Narmada Bachao An-

dolan or a rally remembering

Kandhamal Carnage. Even the

mainstream politics find their

place on the campus walls in the

form of Kinder Garden to Post-

Graduation education by the

Telangana Rashtra Samithi gov-

ernment or about the Bharatiya

Janata Party headed by Narendra

Modi. The documentaries are also

an important form of political

protest tool with several protest

screenings happening in and

around the campus. The rallies

and marches happening around

the campus are very opinionated

with a definite show of solidarity

towards one side. When the Gaza

march happened, the poster

clearly read as

“Stop the Zionist

cleansing of the

Palestinians’ ,

show solidarity

for Gaza” .

But it need

not all be serious

political debates;

there seems to be

a lot of space

even for political

satires among different parties of

the university. Catchy and sar-

donic titles like “Now let us not

call a spear a spade” are often

seen. Funny satires taking a dig at

the political parties using parodies

and funny memes are quite popu-

lar around the campus. The cam-

pus definitely is an active mixture

of serious political discussions

creating an awareness among stu-

dents with a dash of humour.

(Aalekhya Tadepalli is a student of MA

Communication (Print Journalism and

New Media) at the Department of Com-

munication, SN School of Arts and Com-

munication, University of Hyderabad)

Speak out, not shoot outFlaming in social media discussions

Joyel K Pious

University

campus is

considered to

be a place

where one

starts to learn

the nitty-grit-

It’s a battle of

words with-

out any rules of

engagement .

E v e n t h o u g h

there is no

bloodshed, the

war fought by users of online

media is no less fero-

cious. Flaming is a

new term in the ever

increasing vocabulary

of global netizens. It is

a synonym for an ar-

gument happening on-

line that becomes

abusive or ridiculous,

where the discussion

takes precedence over

the objective merits of

the conflicting sides.

These arguments often

start with very trivial

posts or comments in

Facebook or Twitter

and take the form of a virtual war.

Faster than any biological virus,

these posts spread across the cyber

space attracting likes, dislikes and

comments. Unlike any other

medium of communication, on-

line space has given people more

freedom from the constraints of

free speech and has created a plat-

form to discuss whatever they

like. But it comes with riders.

Most of the people who ac-

tively participate in online discus-

sions are not public speakers. In

the real world they may make

long conversations only with peo-

ple they are familiar with. In on-

line world a discussion started on

a healthy note can suddenly turn

in to a fight with people hurling

abuses at each other. This happens

often when people discuss reli-

gion, nationalism and conflicts.

Like a chain reaction people from

unknown corners would jump into

the conversation as if they have

the ultimate freedom to talk any-

thing and the original commenta-

tor would lose control over the

discussion. Often the whole dis-

cussion can be stopped only by

deleting the original post. There is

also a gender aspect to this. It has

been observed that women, who

comment on certain sensitive top-

ics, face more foul language than

men who comment on the same

topic. It is an irony that the initial

topic of discussion would sink in

the waves of other topics that may

not need any public discussion at

all. From the topic of nationalism

the subject would come down to

the topic of anatomy of the com-

mentator. From human

rights violations the dis-

cussions would come

down to the topic of supe-

riority of one religion over

the other, fuelling further

fights.

Even the reviews and

comments on newly re-

leased movies attract

wraths from fans of the

actors. Because of the fear

of viral responses, a lot of

people prefer to stay silent

on important issues. This

is one of the most impor-

tant negative effects of

flaming. Also government and se-

curity agencies justify restrictions

on free speech by showing flam-

ing as an excuse.

Being cautious while com-

menting and posting in online

space can act as a simple step in

controlling unnecessary battles.

(Joyel K Pious is a student of MA Com-

munication (Print Journalism and New

Media) at the Department of Communi-

cation, SN School of Arts and Communi-

cation, University of Hyderabad)

One important

thought that

comes up

while trying to de-

fine the barriers in

an academic space

is morality.Our educational

framework does not speak about a

fixed campus morality.

During a time when moral

policing is budding up as a threat

in every social space, it is impor-

tant to keep the academic atmos-

phere safe from the myths about

morality. As per the hostel guide

book, girls and boys should not

enter each other’s hostel. Rules

should be built on reason than on

some mythical cultural values. In

a campus where students from di-

verse cultures are studying, no im-

position can be made on a

mono-cultural perception. Inter-

estingly, the research scholars’

hostel for men is open for women

while entry of men inside research

scholars’ hostel for women is pro-

hibited. It is very clear that this

exception is made on an age and

gender based ‘maturity’ concept

which is not even imposed by the

government after the age of 18. It

is funny that we are mature

enough to elect our political rep-

resentatives but not our moral

concerns. Last year, the university

tried to restrict ladies from enter-

ing in/out of hostels after 12 in

midnight. Ultimately all these

gender based restrictions come

from a patriarchal mentality.

There is no gender wise restriction

in foreign students’ hostel. This is

another classic example of our ad-

ministration’s misconception on

culture. Academic space like Eng-

lish and Foreign Languages Uni-

versity has not yet enacted these

kinds of restrictions.

Thus, for a campus which

claims to be one of the most pro-

gressive academic spaces in the

country, this illogical morality is a

black mark. It is high time for the

academic community to raise

voice against it. After all, a uni-

versity is a reflection of the soci-

ety of tomorrow. Let it be a better

place where new ideas pump up

without barriers.

(Dheeraj Paleri is a student of MA Com-

parative Literature at the Centre for

Comparative Literature, School of Hu-

manities, University of Hyderabad)

Scrap mythical morality

Dheeraj Paleri

“ It need not all be serious

political debates; there

seems to be a lot of space

even for political satires

among different parties of

the university”

page 5 final_Layout 1 9/3/2014 1:03 PM Page 1

6U O H D I S PA T C H S E PT E M B E R , 2 0 1 4 P h o t o P h i l i a

Doors of perception...Campus hostel rooms are not just a place to live for the students, they are also

a means of expression. Take a glimpse at these doors through the lens of

Priyanka and Ashutosh

PAGE 6_PHOTOPHILIA_CORRECTED:Layout 1 9/4/2014 3:57 PM Page 1

7U O H D I S PA T C H S E PT E M B E R , 2 0 1 4 K R E E D A

Ashutosh Prasad

Debabrot Borgohain, known as

the ‘Strong Man’ of Tezpur Uni-

versity, is a Ph.D. scholar in

Nanoscience and Technology,

University of Hyderabad

(UoH). Besides studying, he has

been practising daily to partici-

pate in the All India Meet of

power lifting. He was a silver

medal winner in district level

power lifting competition in

Assam Here is a sneak peek into

Debabrot’s preparation for the up-

coming All India Meet.

What is your motivation for

power lifting?

When I was doing my Bache-

lors, I used to frequently go to the

gym and that is when I saw my

seniors who represented Tezpur

Central University, practicing

hard. That was my introduction to

the world of power lifting. The

Tezpur University gym trainer

helped me to overcome the chal-

lenges.

How supportive has the univer-

sity been?

The University has been very

supportive of my endeavours. I

have had time to practice well

too. My faculty members have

been very flexible keeping in

mind my hectic practicing sched-

ules. That way I am very lucky.

Is the university well-equipped

for power lifting?

The facilities are good enough

at the university when compared

to others. However, there is a need

to upgrade the gym. Most impor-

tantly, a dedicated coach to en-

courage students is necessary.

Last year during the annual sports

meet, the university organised a

program for power lifting but this

year the Sports Committee is un-

able to conduct it.

What are your future plans?

I want to continue playing till

my body supports me. I have

been busy off late practising hard

for the upcoming All India Meet

scheduled for December. Hope-

fully I will do my best.

Debabrot Borgohain

The burly man of Tezpur

When the ball is in

your court

Priyanka Manikandan

The ‘Sunday Climbers’ as the

trekking club calls themselves,

began the adventures of the year

with a trekking spree on 21 Au-

gust 2014. The promotional

trekking involved 50 trekkers and

climbers from the campus climb-

ing 10 rock formations in two

days, including the Library Back

Rock, Horizon Cliff and Buffalo

Lake Cliff.

Sunday Climbers are a group

of trekkers in the campus. Enter-

ing into third year of its adven-

tures this December, the group has

climbed all major rock forma-

tions and cliffs in the university.

The Sunday Climbers was born

as a university based group in De-

cember in the year 2011 inspired

by the society ‘Save the Rocks’

and the Greater Hyderabad Ad-

venture Club. The founders of the

Club previously trekked with

trekkers outside the campus and

strongly felt the need for a campus

trekking club.

“Our campus has beautiful

rock formations ideal for trekking

and exploring those formations is

an experience. Our intention be-

hind forming the group was to ex-

plore scenic beauty of the

campus. Climbing is a kind of al-

ternative sport too,” said Abhijith

Debnath, a research student of

Cognitive Science and co-founder

of the group in the university.

“Our Facebook group has 120

members and that is the only pro-

motion we do to keep the mem-

bers updated about the upcoming

activities of the club. Information

is passed through the Facebook

page as well as through mem-

bers,” he said.Chandrakant, a stu-

dent, who has been trekking for

sometime seems to be excited

about trekking with the group in

the university. “I came to know

about the group from one of my

seniors and it felt good knowing

about the group. It is refreshing

getting closer to nature and I love

adventure”, says the thrilled

trekker. With a varied topography,

the University of Hyderabad at-

tracts adventurers across the city.

Priyanka Manikandan

University of Hyderabad (UoH) is

known for the bright minds that

pass out every year. However, one

does not hear about students

drawing attention for their

achievements in sports. Infrastruc-

ture-wise, UoH is not behind any

other university.

Yet, it has not been able to at-

tract many athletes due to its ‘No

Sports Quota Policy’, said Dr.

K.V Rajasekhar, Assistant Direc-

tor of Physical Education, UoH.

The stereotypical notions of

‘sports as a diversion’ and the be-

lief that sportspersons have no ac-

ademic future are still a hurdle.

These notions reflect in the uni-

versity’s attitude towards sports.

University Grants Commission

(UGC) recommends 10 per cent

seats in first year of the Under-

graduate course and Honors

course reserved for sportspersons

who have represented the state or

nation in the national or interna-

tional level sports events.

“All major universities have

good athletes as they encourage

physical education. We should

have at least one dedicated seat in

each class for sportspersons”,

added Dr. Rajasekhar.

The UGC does not mandate

‘Sports Quota’, making it a mere

recommendation that may or may

not be implemented. The univer-

sity gives minimum weightage for

sports achievements in the inte-

grated courses. Greater the partic-

ipation, greater will be a positive

influence on the peers, Dr. Ra-

jasekhar opined.

Reservation for students with a

flair for sports ought to be encour-

aged in the university to establish

it as an institution that offers a

well rounded student life.

Sport is a practice, a lifestyle

and a discipline. Academia alone

does not develop personality.

There should be a right balance

between academics and sports for

one’s overall development. Sports

is an essential part of student life.

There is an urgent need to imple-

ment ‘Sports Quota’ and help ath-

letes get admission in university.

Need of reservation in sports

Campus Trekking Club makes most of the weather

On the rocks

The Tennis Court at North Campus

K. Divya

For all those who happen to pass

the Sports complex in the north

campus during evenings, the pul-

sating activity at the recently ren-

ovated tennis court is sure to draw

their attention. Trained players

and amateurs frequent the

court every evening to practice . A

dedicated coaching facility is

available for both the categories of

players who train for one hour

each every day.

“I am a private coach and I

have recently started training stu-

dents here at the university. I

coach for two hours from 4:30 to

6:30 pm every day. Students from

Kendriya Vidyalaya, children of

professors, university students .etc

come to play here,” says Aslam,

the tennis coach at the university.

The previous clay court was re-

cently renovated and a synthetic-

court stands in its place now.

Constructed at an approximate

cost of 25 lakhs, the court is said

to be of excellent quality and on

par with other professional

courts. “The court is exceptionally

good and well finished. Also, the

location of the court is very apt as

it allows one to practice without

any distraction,” adds Aslam.

Previously, the university also

provided students with rackets

and balls. However, the reckless

attitude of students who often mis-

placed sport equipments, some-

times carelessly dumping them in

the court itself, prompted authori-

ties to stop the facility.

“There have been many in-

stances when I was retorted by

students for telling them to respect

the facility,” says Aslam.

There is a need for all to appreci-

ate the facility at the university.

Students need to own up and take

equal responsibility in taking care

of the court.

Sports Quota will ensure a more diverse student community

PAGE 7_KREEDA_CORRECTED_Layout 1 9/4/2014 3:18 PM Page 1

8U O H D I S PA T C H S E PT E M B E R , 2 0 1 4 P o t p o u r r i

Priyanka Manikandan

As the e-shopping sites changes

the definition of shopping experi-

ence at a global level, online

shopping is going viral among the

university students. From veg-

etable and grocery to furnishing,

the shopping

has completely

become a vir-

tual experience.

What makes on-

line shopping a

choice of the

campus?

It’s not time-

c o n s u m i n g ,

saves you from

a tiring journey

and shared auto

charges to Inor-

bit mall or to

Koti. A laptop or

a mobile app

can help with shopping during

free time, day or night. Add to it

the comfort of quick door deliv-

ery. And then comes the best part

‘the big discounts’ ‘festival offer’

and ‘promos’.

Flipkart is the favourite site

of the campus community, the ef-

ficiency in delivery and the avail-

ability of cheaper price makes it

a better choice for stationary,

electronics, lifestyle and books. e-

commerce portal like Jabong

and Myntra which focuses on

fashion and casual lifestyle are

the leading apparel distributors in

the university. Amazon is also

one of the top preferences of the

young shoppers. The increasing

list reflects the increasing choice

of the students to go for shopping

the E-way.

“I can sit on my couch

and shop an entire street without

even sweating. Convenience is

one thing which I love in online

shopping and Myntra is my

favourite site” says Varun

Mohan, a student of MA Political

Science

The university receives an av-

erage of 150 to 200 deliveries a

day from different online shops.

And the e-grocery market ‘Big

Basket’ is a regular visitor of the

university supplying salt to veg-

etables.

“The university has more

number of deliveries when com-

pared to TCS and IIIT. We usually

have 40 to 60 deliveries on an av-

erage per day,” says Baburam a

delivery person

of the ‘Del-

hivery couri-

ers’, which

mostly distrib-

utes consign-

ment from

online shops of

which 90 per

cent is from

Flipkart. Myn-

tra deliver on an

average 25 to

30 and Jabong

has 15-20 de-

liveries a day.

As the e-

shopping trend spreads the idea of

virtual shopping, addiction is also

a serious issue to be discussed.

Just like social media use the on-

line site, visiting these sites has

also become a habit among stu-

dents. If the word ‘%OFF’ trig-

gers the shopper in you and you

buy things that are not necessary

and just because you get it for a

reduced price, BE ALERT! Your

Debit card is on fire and you are

caught by Virtual Shopaholism.

Saumya Painuli

Prachi Trivedi and Ruhi Singh

embark upon a journey to

find an identity for themselves in

the city of

dreams, Mum-

bai. On the

face of it, they

share nothing in

common but both

remain trapped in a

patriarchal society.

Ruhi is a Miss

India pageant aspi-

rant and Prachi is

an inheritor of a

belief system

which thinks that

aggressive Hindutva can set India

on the path to progress.

‘The World Before Her’ beau-

tifully captures the vibrant yet an-

tagonized sections of Indian

society. Directed by Nisha

Pahuja, the documentary depicts

two schools of thought, the fun-

damentalists and the modernists.

The Canadian documentary

makes a polarizing effect on the

viewer’s mind.

The documentary sheds light

on different perceptions pertain-

ing to women. Beauty contest fo-

cuses on bodily aspects whereas

Durga Shakti Vahini empowers

women only to subjugate them

later. In a way, none of the groups

liberate women from patriarchal

shackles. The contestants of Miss

India pageant consider them-

selves a part of the modern soci-

ety. However,

they give in to

the demands of

their male counter-

parts. They unwant-

edly show off their

legs for the beauty

contest.

A distorted idea

of Hinduism as reli-

gion is depicted in

the film. Prachi, her

father and the Durga

Shakti Vahini camp

members have their own under-

standing of Hinduism. Run by

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

(RSS) group, the members of

camp uphold slogans like “If you

ask for milk and rice, we will

give you pudding. But if you ask

Kashmir, we will slit your

throats”.

The filmmaker captured the

propaganda in a straight forward

manner so there is no complexity

involved. The film, however,

does not provide a solution. The

two different worlds are equally

repulsive. Hence, the film leaves

the audience with an open-ended

conclusion.

Flipkarting: New-gen shopping

Be a part of your own campus community

radio station. Drop in to showcase your

talent at Department of Communication,

Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Com-

munication.

Contact us on 040- 23135542 or mail us

at bolhyd@uohyd.ac.in

K. Divya

Douglas O’Connell is an Ameri-

can born; London based director,

video designer and lecturer. He

got bitten by the “theatre bug”

during his growing years in New

York, a time when he would try to

see as much theatre as possible.

While studying Communication at

the Seton Hall University, he took

great interest in theatre activities

and ultimately dropped out of col-

lege to pursue his passion. He

worked in production design in

Off Broadway and regional the-

atre throughout New York and

Chicago. Later, he finished his de-

gree at the Central School of

Speech and Drama in London.

Now, he is a Post Graduate lec-

turer in Digital Theatre at the

University of the Arts London at

Wimbledon.

Douglas takes keen interest in

interdisciplinary approaches to

video and theatre and is exploring

how technology can be used in

.

theatre. He sees theatre as a com-

communication tool and recog-

nises how Facebook, Twitter and

other social networking sites have

become a part of our everyday

language. His work tries to imple-

ment this language in theatre. He

was present at the Sarojini Naidu

School of Arts and Communica-

tion, University of Hyderabad

(UoH) recently as a part of the

UKIERI (UK India Education and

Research Initiative) project. Dou-

glas tried to combine art installa-

tion, theatrical tradition and

technology to create a non-linear

performance. Projecting video

onto a bus and using art installa-

tions to bring out a different way

of storytelling, were among the

prominent features of his shows at

UoH. From his experience here,

he has come to appreciate how

ideas could be made out of noth-

ing. “While commodity pushes

practice in the West, ideas lead

practice in India, which is the

right relation,” says Douglas.

However, he regrets that theatre,

in general, is no longer very effec-

tive as it has turned into an enter-

tainment industry and has not

much to do with communication.

He wishes it to function as a com-

munication tool and hopes that

people do not see theatre as a

static art form and actively ques-

tion its nature and not think of it

in just a specific way.

The Shadow of Samarra is

reminiscent of the fact that our

fate is inevitable. The theme

of the play is adapted from the

the Arabic fable retold by

Somerset Maugham. A combi-

nation of elements of art in-

stallation, theatrical tradition

and technology, the play was

performed at five different lo-

cations at UoH. The audience

were driven to the world of

Samara. The narrative trav-

erses the audience to a surreal

world.

Theatre goes digital with Douglas O’ConnellExploring interdiscipnary approaches to technology and theatre

Mediasaurus

Of reigning beliefs and

double standards

Curtain Call

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It’s gossip time

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