The Stamp

Photo exhibition shows subaltern suffering

“A Pourkarmika’s legs as he steps out of a main hall, earning Rs 60 per day, no holidays.”

This was a caption of one the photos exhibited at a the photo exhibition held on the campus on Thursday.

The theme of the exhibition was ‘Destructive Creation’. Most pictures portrayed vividly the suffering of the underprivileged.

Eshwarappa, who is a social worker and a photographer, has gotten into a new role of being a representative of the under-represented. His photos at the exhibition drew a lot of attention from the students of the College. Eeshwarappa (Eshu), said, “Each picture carries a story.”

According to him, the priority of the government should be all-round development, but the concept of development has changed. “The new development programmes have benefited only a section of society whereas the labour community has been exploited in the process of development,” he regretted.

He further stressed that development should not take place at the cost of the labour community. This was his third exhibition and he said there were three more down the line, of which two exhibitions would be held outside the state, in Delhi and Mumbai. Asked about his upcoming projects, he said that they would be based on ‘Tribal Communities’ and ‘Women’.

The exhibition saw good response from the students. Mario, of I CEZ said, “A lot of hard work has gone through. No words to describe it. Hats off!” Harshita from III PCM said, “Development happens when either side is balanced. We should think in the lines of humanity.”

- Vito and Tanmay I MS Com

Malayalees on campus nostalgic about Onam

Onam is one of the biggest festivals celebrated by Malayalees. It is celebrated in honour of Mahabali, the mythical Asura king of ancient Kerala. Mahabali returns to visit his subjects on the day of Onam. It is also a harvest festival, celebrated during August/September. The celebrations of Onam start on Atham (the first day), 10 days before Onam. Earthen mounds, representing Mahabali and Vamanan (an Avatar of Vishnu) are placed in the dung-plastered courtyards in front of the house and beautifully decorated with flowers called ‘Onapookalam’, a carpet made out of the gathered flowers.

People wear new dresses, visit as many temples as they can, perform dances like Thiruvathira kali Thumbi Tullal.The most important thing is the grand lunch (sadya) on the Thiuruvonam day, which is also called the Second Onam. This is usually a feast served on banana leaves with rice along and at least 15 dishes. Traditional pickles and papadam are also served. Dessert is usually 'payasam' and other traditional Indian savories. There is a saying in Malayalam: "Kanam Vittum Onam Unnanam" which means "We should have the Thiruvonam lunch even if we have to sell all our properties" which shows the importance of the grand lunch on the Thiruvonam day.

The Vallamkali (the snake boat race) is another event that is synonymous with Onam. About 100 men row huge and graceful snake boats and men and women come from far and near to watch the snake boats skim through the water. Boat races are also conducted.

“During onam there is equality among our people. In Kerala it is an extraordinary festival. My family invites under privileged workers around our neighborhood. People at home get together with great joy. The pookalam is the most adorned part of this event. We prepare only exotic vegetarian food. Friends and relatives set a great ambience. It’s a very nice feeling, a great time to relax, forget all our worries and plunge into creative activities. Once someone experiences that joy it’s hard to forget it,” says Dr Shanty Mathew, Lecturer, Chemistry Department.

Sijo K C, II IES, says, “It’s indeed a pleasurable occasion. I get together with family members. Eat traditional Kerala foods and hang out in hot spots with my buddies.”

“I am a hostelite and I really miss my family on this special occasion. I am going to celebrate in the best possible way with my friends here,” says Indu Joseph of III HEP.

“Since it’s a joyous occasion, we as an entire family get together. I usually get brand new clothes for my kids. We invite friends and celebrate in a traditional way,” adds Dr Mohan Das, Professor, Chemistry Department.

- Lakshmi Thomas I MS Com

Antakshari draws many participants

The Hindi Parishad conducted antakshari on Tuesday, drawing numerous participants and audiences. The show was hosted by Sabena of II CBBT. This event was open for non-Hindi students as well.

Initially, the event saw participation of 12 different groups consisting of 3 members in each team, both from Arts and Science streams. However, only 4 teams were qualified for the finals.

Three rounds of singing were conducted. The first round was an elimination round which was a self antakshari. The second round had two sections. First, dumb charades followed by “Jodi” round. The third round was dedicated to playback singers.

Hannah Benjamin of II HEP, said, “It was quite entertaining. The event was well organised and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

The winners at the event were Soumya, Jasmine and Vanessa, all from II HEP.

- Lakshmi Thomas I MS Com

Meghna, Madhusudan win Maths quiz

The Mathematics quiz conducted by ABACUS (Association of the Mathematics Department) concluded on Monday with Meghna and Madhusudan of I PCM emerging victorious.
The ABACUS quiz consisted of two stages: the preliminary and the finals. Fifteen teams participated in the first round, out of which six teams were selected to the finals. Both the stages followed a four segment format, consisting of a written segment, followed by a live quiz segment, a written segment again and finally another live quiz segment.
The written segments consisted of ten questions which had to be answered in a given time limit. The live quiz segment had questions fired at the participants and the first person that responded with the correct answer got the point.
The president of ABACUS, Collins Rodgers of III PCM said, “I never really expected so many people to turn up for the quiz. We needed only six teams, but fifteen teams turned up. So the response was very good.”

- Siddarth I MS Com

Kavyashree wins Kannada Dumb Charades

The finals of the Kannada Dumb Charads came to an end on Monday. Kavyashree of II PMC secured the I place. The II place was secured by Neethu of III PMC and her team and the third place was won by Gagana of II MEC and team. The theme of the Dumb Charads was Sandalwood movies and songs.
A thrilling tie between Neethu’s team and Kavya’s team kept everyone guessing as to who would win the first place. Kavya’s team narrowly won the tie breaker round by guessing three out of five, while Neethu’s team got two correct.
Kavyashree, the winner of the Dumb Charads, said, “At first it was difficult, because our team didn’t know many movie names and songs. Only based on the way it sounded we were able to guess. At the end we picked up and it was easy for us.”
Sowndarya, host of the event, and a member of the Sangha, said, “I was happy with the response that the participants and the Kannada students showed. This competition was based on Kannada movies and songs. We had a tie breaker where each team was given five Kannada words.”
- Gabriella I MS Com

Aravind Kumar is funniest Josephite

Arvind Kumar Bhakta of I CBZ emerged as the funniest Josephite in a comedy competition held by the Hindi Parishad of SJC here on Friday. The competition was judged by Dr Denis of Chemistry Department. Abilash, I HEP won the II place while Kapil of I HEP won the third. The event saw a participation of about thirty people.

Jokes on various subjects were recited by the participants, some more amusing than the others. The joke that got the maximum chuckles was: “The teacher asked the students what is the difference between truth and false. One student replied, what you teach us is true but if you think we are listening to what you are telling us, it is false!”

Arvind Kumar Bhakta said, “My sister told me in the morning about this competition. So I started preparing, using the five minute breaks between classes to formulate and practice my skit. I was a little nervous at first, but had confidence in myself. Then the judge announced the 3rd and 2nd I was disappointed that I wasn’t included, but to my surprise I had won the first prize.”

Dr Denis said that the main purpose of such programmes was to discover the hidden talent. “The performance was ok, but a lot of improvement is required. The participants lacked originality and they need to improve their expressions,” he said.

The president of the Hindi Parishad, Sabina Naaz of II CBBT said, “An inter-college is going to be conducted on the 31st at Jain College and we need to find a suitable participant. As the judge said, a little more work was required when it came to expressions, but I fully support the winner and I am confident he will do well.”

- Shimreichon I MS Com