Two day NEN workshop!

On 29th and 30th October, a 2-day workshop was conducted by NEN at APIM, Noida. The workshop saw enthusiastic participation from all the E-Leaders of colleges from Delhi-NCR. Two Entretia members also got a chance to attend the workshop.

The main objectives of the workshop were:

• Driving the development of a community

• Importance of staying connected for E-cells and E leaders

• How to: Scaling Up and Tap into the community

The workshops were a gush of fresh air literally, instead of sounding like ‘rocket science’, as entrepreneurship workshops generally turn out to be, they were interesting and had loads of fun activities to keep us on our toes! From sketching random stuff to putting puzzles together, we did it all and I must say people enjoyed it a lot! A lot of the students present put forward the problems they face in running their E-cells and then later solutions were worked out for the same. In all it was a great experience, an event not to be missed for sure! :)

DIREC 2010

The global concern over the rising oil demand and the subsequent rise in its price, the ubiquitous economic recession leading to economic imbalance were some of the topics of discussion at the Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference (DIREC). It was a three day conference (27^th-29^th October, 2010) held at India Expo Mart, greater noida. The conference witnessed global environmentalists deliberating on the exploitation of renewable energy to combat the existing energy crisis all over the world.

The honourable Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh gave the inaugural speech. His speech was followed by a panel discussion which involved environmentalists from India and abroad. The main agenda of the conference was energy security, universal access to energy and eradication of poverty. Energy plays a significant role in accelerating economic, social, industrial and infrastructural growth. The issue of depleting non renewable energy resources has induced man to find alternatives to sustain life on earth. About 1.42 billion people have no access to electricity. The International Agency for Renewable Energy is striving to reach the target of making energy universally accessible by 2030. Sweden has proven to be a perfect example of “green economy” because of its increased use of renewable energy which has also resulted in increase in its GDP to 44%.

The small renewable energy village drew appreciation from everyone because of its simplistic grandeur. From solar cookers, solar water heaters, solar stoves to biogas plant, it presented a perfect example of a clean, green and eco-friendly future. It was meant not only for appreciation but for its efficient utilization to reduce the growing pressure on renewable energy. The makings of eco-friendly chullahs, assembling solar lanterns are examples of some of the small scale industries providing employment to rural women. This gives an insight into the scope of employment generation brought about by the exploitation of the renewable energy resources.

The conference was illuminating as it brought some serious environmental issues to the forefront. It was a great experience and rather an exciting process of edification. The pondering period is over and we need to resort to strict measures to abort energy crisis.

Two day NEN workshop!

On 29th and 30th October, a 2-day workshop was conducted by NEN at APIM, Noida. The workshop saw enthusiastic participation from all the E-Leaders of colleges from Delhi-NCR. Two Entretia members also got a chance to attend the workshop.

The main objectives of the workshop were:

• Driving the development of a community
• Importance of staying connected for E-cells and E leaders
• How to: Scaling Up and Tap into the community

The workshops were a gush of fresh air literally, instead of sounding like ‘rocket science’, as entrepreneurship workshops generally turn out to be, they were interesting and had loads of fun activities to keep us on our toes! From sketching random stuff to putting puzzles together, we did it all and I must say people enjoyed it a lot! A lot of the students present put forward the problems they face in running their E-cells and then later solutions were worked out for the same. In all it was a great experience, an event not to be missed for sure! :)

CWG volunteering experience!!

After the filling of forms, general, role and venue specific training…..finally I got my roster and started working as a volunteer from1st October!! On reaching my venue i.e. the Main Pess Centre (MPC) situated in Pragati Maidan, I came to know my work…..organising the one to one interviews and press conferences and sitting at the communications help desk. Happy and enthusiastic on the first day I started my work….the first press conference was with team

After my first 2 days slowly I got used to my environment…..I no more jumped at the sight of anybody whom I had seen on TV n never in real life…..to top it all I did not even click a picture of P.Chidambaram when he came to our venue….I still had the enthusiasm in me but no more craziness left in me to run n take a picture or get an autograph!! Volunteering works specifically of such level turn lil weirdos like me into more mature and controlled human beings!! As my role was Press Operations n I want to work in the field of journalism in future seeing great Indian n international journalist work from a close distance was a valuable experience for me. The contacts and the enlightening conversations that I had with some of them would surely help me in time to come. Also such volunteering work changes the way you look at things, I always thought that I could never find somebody worth talking to from a college like Satyawati…..I had a rilli weird image about all the students there….I found rilli good natured people with a good sense of humour coming from the colleges I detested. I am friends with them now! :P

CWG 2010 Volunteering has been a life changing experience for me…..if u get a chance too any day of volunteering for such a grand event….never let it go….its worth it!!

Visit to the green NGO!! :)

On 28^th September 2010 two members from the Prakriti team visited Sulabh. The NGO is very eco friendly and has adopted some very nature friendly practices for there day to day functions like- waste management, waste water treatment and Bio gas plants. The pictures given below are of the rechargeable toilet pits- a design that is cost efficient and eco friendly.

The following picture shows the treated waste water stored in bottles that can be used for irrigation.

The NGO also has a bio-gas plant which provides the needed energy for lightening and cooking purposes. 

Prakriti Activities 2009-2010

Prakriti, the Environment Society of College, organized a plethora of activities round the year. It continued to make its mark in maintaining the environmental consciousness and aesthetic greenery of College. The society inaugurated the year with the sapling plantation for freshers. This was followed by a talk by Dr. Aarti Bhalla on “Impact of Climate Change in India ”. The society worked towards promoting a peaceful Diwali by organizing a workshop to paint diyas that were then were sold at the NSS Diwali Mela. The Prakriti stall saw a host of products such as painted ‘kulhads’ which could be used as pen stands, saplings, recycled paper etc. The English Debating Society and Prakriti organized The Murlidhar Memorial Debate on the theme of “Climate Change”. The society also conducted a paper recycling drive. One of the major projects of the society was the mapping of the college’s carbon footprint. A report on this was presented to the college community during Prakriti week. The week also witnessed a series of events including talks on “Youth and Environment” by members of IYCN. There were two movie screenings. The first was The Hunted about tiger poachers and the second was A Degree of Concern about the impact of melting glaciers in Leh, Ladakh. There was a photography competition organized on the theme of ‘Capturing the secrets of Nature’. The week culminated with a nature walk conducted by Mr Ajay Mahajan. Prakriti won accolades at the DU Flower show.  Its members won second and third prize in the eastern style flower arrangement and third prize in the western style flower arrangement.

PRAKRITI - The Environmental Society

Prakriti or the environment society is the platform through which students enlighten themselves and others about the importance of environmental issues and sustainable development. Every fresher enters the vast arena of extracurricular activities of LSR by first planting a sapling on their orientation day organized by our society. We hope to initiate freshness, new life into the college, by entrusting each student with a sapling to nurture, to love and enjoy the beauty of watching it grow. Throughout any given year, we organize various competitions, workshops, seminars and talks on nature to explore the different ideas that students may embark upon. During the Diwali Mela, Prakriti displays the LSR jute bags and calendars. We also lead the colleges in the Delhi University Flower Show and have won the prestigious Green Cup of Delhi University for the 9th consecutive year. Prakriti seeks to foster every individual’s natural love for nature and works to inspire their willingness to work for the environment.

Logo Making Competition

The logo making competition organized by Entretia saw active participation by students. The numerous entries which we received is proof enough of that. Students from all the three years and different courses turned up at the given time for the event and soon the venue i.e. the Principal’s gazebo transformed into an artist’s paradise (see pic). Students came with really innovative ideas and cool concepts. Our judge for the event Mr. Shadab Mobin had a really tough time choosing the winner. Finally Chhavi was declared the winner. Also, the winning entry will serve as the official logo for Entretia!

National Entrepreneurship Network Session

Entretia organized the orientation of National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) on our campus this Thursday. The interactive session took place in room no 28, and keeping in mind the fact that it is the ‘assignment season’ in our college – almost every department is busy with assignments- we had pretty good crowd for the event. The session unfolded slowly with a short presentation which was followed by a witty and straightforward talk on entrepreneurship. The audience which was pretty much impressed by Mr. Siddharth’s speaking skills and good sense of humour, made the session all the more interesting. The session turned out to be a fun event, where not only did the students interact with the NEN representatives during the workshop, but they could be seen talking to them even after the session was over. Thanks to the Entrepreneurship cell of our college we got to attend such a lively session after a long time!

Logo Making - the Event

The logo making competition organized by Entretia saw active participation by students. The numerous entries which we received is proof enough of that. Students from all the three years and different courses turned up at the given time for the event and soon the venue i.e. the Principal’s gazebo transformed into an artist’s paradise (see pic). Students came with really innovative ideas and cool concepts. Our judge for the event Mr. Shadab Mobin had a really tough time choosing the winner. Finally the entry by Radhika Piplani and Chhavi Gupta (eco hons.2^nd year) was judged as the best and inducted as the logo of Entretia. Sanchita Goyal’s (b.com hons. 1^st year) was judged as the second best

Logo Making Competition

Heyy guys!! Let your creative juices flowing as Entretia brings you the Logo Making Competiton this Monday. You have to make the logo for your very own society Entretia. It should accomodate what the entrepreneurship cell of our college means to you and should amply illustrate the role that it plays in college activities. The details of the event are given below:

Date: 6 September 2010, Monday
Time: 12:45 to 01:15
Venue: Principal's Gazebo

Winners will be getting certificates, and there are 1st and 2nd prize to be won by participants! Looking forward to your creative entries for the event! :)

Contest Rules:
• The contest is open to all the students of LSR.
• The logo can also include a slogan/message for Entretia.
• A one-page rationale describing the components of the logo should also be included with the entry.
• Any individual or a team (of two) shall only submit a single piece of artwork; multiple entries will not be accepted.
• No group projects are allowed; only two participants may work as a team.
• The logo must be clear and recognizable at small size
• The logo should look good in black and white.
• Fit the logo into a square layout if possible, avoid obscure layouts.
• Avoid intricate details.
• The logo must have some connection to what it is representing.
• Keep in mind that - Even large companies need small logos.
• The logo must look consistent across multiple platforms.
• The logo should not be distracting.
• Avoid recent logo design trends. Instead, make the logo look timeless.
• Entrants should take care to ensure that their entries are not in any way similar to existing logos or other copyrighted images
• Do not combine elements from popular logos and claim it as original work.
• The entry should be honest in its representation.

Judging  and selection of winner:
• The logo-making competition shall be judged according to the following criteria:
Concept/Message - 40%
Originality - 30%
Impact - 30%
• The winning design will be selected by judges appointed for the purpose.
• Their decision will be final. No further correspondence shall be entered into.
• The winning entry will serve as the official logo for Entretia.
• The winner shall be informed through email and telephone call from a designated Entretia member.
• All entries submitted as entry for the contest shall be considered as property of Entretia, and maybe used by the society.

Entretia Achievements 2009-10

Entretia, helped promote the spirit of entrepreneurship among students by organizing talks, movie screenings and informal events. The movieThe Pirates of Silicon Valley about the lives and entrepreneurial journey of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs was screened. There were talks by Ms. Renuka Sharma, Founder Head, Incredible Routes and Mr. Melvin Bareto, CEO, Orange Cross. In the ‘Know Your Entrepreneur’ competition, participants made several presentations and short videos on various business ventures. Entretia also put up a stall in this year’s Diwali Mela to engage the members in entrepreneurial activity on campus. ‘Untangle the cases’, ‘Creativise yourself’, ‘Virtual traders’, ‘Young Entrepreneur’ and ‘Wall Quiz’ were some of the competitions organized as a part of the Entrepreneurship Week. These saw participation from students across departments. Besides, there were regular updates of various articles, newspaper clippings and case studies related to different aspects of entrepreneurship on the board.

ENTRETIA - The Entrepreneurship Cell

Entretia aims at promoting entrepreneurship in the college and to inculcate entrepreneurial skills in the students. ENTREPRENEURSHIP means the courage to stand out from the crowd, take initiative, think freely and take your own decisions. E-Cell helps students by organizing various interactive sessions with entrepreneurs from different industries, entrepreneurial workshops on idea generation, feasibility studies, product designing, etc., case studies and other fun filled activities. Entretia is a newly formed wing of Infocell which was started on 24th November,2008. Last year it organised an Entrepreneurship Week from 9th Feb - 13th Feb,09 , the theme of which was "Go Green : The World Is Our Business."

E-Cell at Lady Shri Ram College believes:
"WE CAN, WE WILL"

Ohh my god....I am a Senior! :o

So the new session has begun and I still can’t get over the feeling of being a ‘Senior’….just cant get over that word! I was a fresher last year, now we have a whole new crowd of first years…..time flies really fast. The third years we knew have passed out, and the second years who were our companions in not knowing everything on earth have now become the third years! I have a weird feeling whenever a first year comes and enquires about the way to the ‘Upper seminar room’ or the ‘Administrative office’ (we are so used to short forms aren’t we). The same feeling starts taking a hold of you when you sell your books to the freshers or when you tell someone a better route from there place to college. This feeling is difficult to explain…like you cannot explain what an orgasm feels like unless you’ve experienced it, similarly you cannot explain what it feels like once you are no longer a fresher. In the first year you are inquisitive, and full of energy and questions (though it’s the same for the second and third years in LSR), it’s a bit more in the freshers! Its like a baby learning about the world after its born, you want to know everything and understand it in your own way. So if any fresher chances to read this blog, use this fervour, this vigour to the fullest cause time flies away, you wouldn’t even realize and the first year would come to an end. Perhaps you would even be giving the same word of advice to the then freshers! Make most of your first year, you will love it!! :)

Delhi Goes Green: Ecofest at American Centre

Eco Fest 2010 organized by KRITI Team with the American Centre was a three day event (4-6th June). An Eco competition was held which saw active participation from students in the form of paintings, photographs, small installations and poetry on the given themes:
-The impact of the preparations for the Commonwealth Games on Delhi's environment
-Climate change: Myth or reality?
-My contribution: My Eco-footprint

Winners took home eco-friendly prizes! (I won….yippee after a really long time) :)

Eco Art Workshops where they taught you how to make attractive bags, stationary items, etc by recycling stuff and using your junk was rightly named ‘Waste et al creations’. There were innovative dance and puppet performances too depicting climate change and its effect on environment. ‘Eco Reels’ saw screening of documentaries and children’s films like: Shruti and Kuki, The Jungle Gang meets the Rhino, The Story of Stuff, The Story of Bottled Water and The Groundwater UP Project. Other highlights included the EcoHaat, a collection of useful ecofriendly products made by low income community groups for display and sale that provide us alternative options to consume in a sustainable and ethical way. The EcoCafe with a selected organic food menu and drinks that were healthy and tasty for the palette saw a huge rush. There were EcoBins set up at different places within the venue for people to bring recyclable material like paper, plastic, tetra packs, as well as old clothes to get them recycled.

The festival brought together a combination of educational, entertainment and consumption related activities that can enable us to live and work in an eco-friendly manner. Such gatherings show us the right spirit of celebrating World Environment Day (5th June)....go Delhi....go Green!

Fishy Issue: Bhopal Gas Tragedy

The verdict for Bhopal Gas Tragedy is out and has been creating a lot of waves in the media and among the citizens. I have collected some data which hints towards an international conspiracy, and how the issue was brushed under the carpet, check it out and decide for yourself.

The Indian government filed a law suit in an US court and claimed damages worth $3.3 billion, in 1985. In February 1989, the Indian Government, led by Rajiv Gandhi, reached an out of court settlement with Union Carbide for $470 million, about 14% of what they originally claimed. Why did the govt bend so much? Because of the US pressure?

Arjun Singh, the CM of Madhya Pradesh when the disaster happened, 'got a call from someone, and he just obeyed the orders' to treat the Chief of Union Carbide warren Anderson as a state guest when he was "released" on bail, put on a state government flight, and flown to New Delhi. Anderson left the country soon thereafter, never to return ever again. Singh went on to become the Union Cabinet Minister for HRD in the early 90's and in the 2004-2009 UPA government.

Do you know who the lawyer for Dow Chemicals, which took over Union Carbide in 2000, is? Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Do you want to know what his official position now is? He is the official spokesperson of the Congress party at the national level.

Dont you think there's something fishy?? Feel free to comment.

Finally my exams get over!! :)

Yippeeeeeeee!! I am back. Yes, so finally my exams got over. Now I have lots to look forward to. But well am not going to celebrate too much (at least not yet).
Not waiting for the results; but planning to enjoy! I'm back to normal!! Meanwhile, give some excuses I can tell my parents if I don't get expected grades?
P.S:- This probably will be the shortest post in a long time to come.

Auto Expo 2010 messes my day

My college had reopened after the winter vacations on 8th January 2010, even in this chill they did not think of extending our holidays till at least a few more days! Nevertheless I got up and was dressed by 10:30, though my college starts at 1 o’ clock I left early with my dad so that I could return my library books. He dropped me at Moti Nagar metro station from where it takes me about 1 hr to reach Pragati Maidan. As soon as the metro arrived on the platform…whoaaaa….I couldn’t believe my eyes!! It was so crowded that people literally fell out when the doors opened. It was announced “Please don’t board this metro it is overcrowded, we are increasing the frequency of metro to one minute. Kindly wait and board the next one.” I had no choice but to wait. I waited for the next one to come, but even this was equally crowded. I missed a few more of them, I then glanced at my watch it was 11:30, now I had to board it somehow. As soon as the next one came I jumped in and some other passengers who were waiting like me equally frustrated pushed me in. Thank god finally I was at least inside metro! I somehow managed to reach Pragati Maidan – crushed, dilapidated, and half dead. On getting down I got to know the reason for this madness – Auto Expo 2010, Delhi!! But this wasn’t the end of my trauma; there was a huge crowd at the bus stop as well. I was so mad after all this that I had turned into a wild beast. As soon as the bus I had to board arrived, I jumped in and people won’t believe but I got a seat too. It was 12:30 by now and I had half an hour to reach college, but seeing the traffic around me I felt hopeless. Dragging the bus somehow the buswalla managed to get us out of the traffic jam, and I reached college exhausted 25 minutes late (thanks to the traffic). I will remember “Auto Expo -2010” throughout my life because of the mess it created for me; I was late though I had left early from my place. If you’ve never been to Delhi, then this is the kind of traffic we have here – it makes you go mad!

Finally my bus pass is made!

I am so happy :) Geeeeeeeeee I can’t stop smiling! After almost 8 months of college finally I got it made….huhh what a relief! It took me two long months to figure out which bus depot to go to get it made, then it took me another four months to get it verified with all my documents in place. And then the biggest blunder of all was waiting to happen, suddenly the govt. thought of increasing the fares of the DTC buses and the rate of bus pass…bad for a girl on a tight budget like me (I know its same for a lot of other students). As it is “Mission Bus Pass” had become a pain in the neck, and on top of that this problem. No one seemed to know the increased bus fares, the increased bus pass rate, I was confused. In November I somehow managed to reach the bus depot with time in hand and got to know that they were making it for one month only! I was so heartbroken I fought with my dad…..with my dad (those who know me would know how serious this was cause I love him a lot). So finally in November I got to know that they are making it for 4 months now and that too for 415 Rupees, not much. In December I had my exams so today a day before my college opened I went all the way from my place in north Delhi to Nehru place bus depot in south Delhi (see the pic above) in this chilly winter and finally got it made! Now I can rest for four months and after that to renew it I’ll have to undergo the grueling session again! Bhagwan agli baar bacha lena…please!