FLARE 2012 SETS PDPU ON FIRE

Scorching sun and exuberating faces,

Excitement and thrill at unmatched paces.

Dance and music, shouts and screams among teens,

Resonating in the campus as FLARE begins.

Elegance of Kadamb dancers matched steps with grace,

Consecutive events all three days set the spirits ablaze.

Hands waved in tandem while Faridkot was on stage,

Then came Vishal-Shekhar who made sure

Flare was a fun-filled package.

Inside this Issue

Message from DG

Message from Dean

Message from Editorial

Team

Flare 2012 : Glimpses &

Clicks

Plethora of Activities

SLS Scaling Heights

Research Activities

Creati-witty

Upcoming Events

SLS MIRROR Monthly Newsletter from School of Liberal Studies, PDPU

VOL I | ISSUE 01

March 2012

2

Message from the Director General, PDPU

Message from the Dean, SLS

3

Message from the Editorial Team

4

Flare 2012 : Glimpses & Clicks

Flare 2012 came with the theme “Streets

Unleashed” generating mass enthusiasm and zeal

among the students of PDPU. The three day long

techno-cultural fest lifted the spirits of students

from in and outside PDPU and left them exhila-

rated and vivacious. The technical and cultural

events in FLARE 2012 provided students with a

platform to know, mould and bring out their

creativity and talents in innumerable ways.

The events during the fest ranged from technical

events like robotics and online gaming to fine

arts events like shoe painting and graffiti. To add

to the ebullience were cultural events like

Melodia and Ablaze and adventurous events like

R O A D I E S a n d M r . & M i s s F l a r e .

The events witnessed students from various col-

leges participating, tapping their feet, filling the

air with melodious voices and soothing music

and bringing out their intellectual and analytical

abilities through various endeavors undertaken

during FLARE.

Flare 2012 successfully engaged the crowd with

its theme song written and composed by the stu-

dents of PDPU. The performance filled the crowd

with joy, tremendous energy and gusto. The sud-

den surprise element of a Flash Mob as a filler

left the audience awestruck, astonished and took

the excitement level beyond limits.

But this wasn’t all that made Flare 2012 a great

success. The most interesting part was the pro

nights. Keeping in mind the tradition and culture

of India, the opening of the pro nights was done

by Kadam- Centre for Dance and Music. The

beautiful and graceful kathak performance by the

members of Kadamb School of Dance and Music

made the audience sway with them and set the

festive mood. A Delhi based band- Faridkot, con-

tinued to rock the audience on the second pro

night with their jazzy, rhythmic and melodious

beats that got the people on their toes, dancing

and rejoicing with their friends. To add to the

final glow and glitter of FLARE, Vishal – Shekhar

accompanied by Shruti Pathak set the stage on

fire during the final night. The young crowd

danced to the tunes of popular Bollywood songs

for hours. An aura of warmth, zest, energy and

fervor filled the venue. The three nights made

Flare a complete package of fun and frolic, enter-

tainment, jest, life and cheer.

Overall, the techno-cultural fest turned out to be

an event of learning, experience and enjoyment

for all who became a part of it.

Compiled by:

Nupur Saraswat

Parthvi Choksi

Durva Vyas

5

Canadian Deputy High Commissioner’s

visit to SLS, PDPU

He talked about the young, talented pool and skilled workforce in

India versus that of most other countries and clearly believed that

this was the country for new future opportunities. He also spoke

about how India was one of its largest importers of its agricultural

fertilisers and products, along with legumes and pulses, aviation

machinery and technology etc. He was positive of the increasing bi-

lateral relations between both the countries. Mr. Jim Nickel also in-

teracted with the students and faculty, responding to their ques-

tions in detail and with examples. His first visit to the state of Guja-

rat and to PDPU especially sure turned out to be a meaningful one.

The much awaited Canadian Deputy High Commissioner’s

visit to the PDPU campus on 23rd March was a great learning ex-

perience for all the SLS students of Public Administration & Pol-

icy as well as the faculty. Deputy High Commissioner, Mr. Jim

Nickel, possesses a background in Public Policy and is a career

foreign service officer. He addressed many Canadian policies re-

lating to education, bilateral trade and investment between the

countries, agriculture and technology, research, immigration and

most importantly energy and fuel related future prospect trade

between both the countries. He did not shy away from stating

that today India was one of the fastest growing economies as well

as one of the largest potential markets of the world and any col-

laboration of sorts would largely benefit the Canadian economy.

Esteemed Japanese

Professor visits SLS Close on the heels of the visit of the

Canadian Deputy High Commis-

sioner to PDPU, the School of Lib-

eral Studies was honoured by the

presence of Professor Michimi Mu-

ranushi, esteemed faculty of Inter-

national Relations at the Gakushuin

University in Tokyo, Japan on

March 26, 2012. Professor Mura-

nushi, who holds degrees in Law,

International Relations and Politi-

cal Science, spoke extensively on

issues ranging from Japanese impe-

rial history and post-war recon-

struction to emerging international

relations scenarios of the 21st cen-

tury. The lecture was followed by a

freewheeling discussion with the

students and faculty of SLS. The in-

teraction was free, frank and

deeply insightful, covering a wide

range of topics with questions on

international affairs from the North

Korean nuclear program to the

UNSC resolution on Sri Lanka. The

School of Liberal Studies hopes this

interaction with such distinguished

foreign faculty will hopefully be a

prelude to many more such stimu-

lating sessions in the near future.

Plethora of Activities

- Pooja Shah -Arjun Sidharth

6

Expert Session on Research Methodology

and Psychological Disorders

SLS faculty and students at

UGC National Seminar

School of Liberal Studies, PDPU faculty

and students presented research paper

at UGC National Seminar on 'Celebrating

Blackness Offshore' at Ahmedabad Man-

agement Association (AMA) on March

16-17, 2012. SLS also put up a exhibi-

tion on Afro-American Painters.

Expert lecture sessions for Psychology were conducted on

February 27 and 28, 2012. Dr. Manas K. Mandal, Scientist and

Director, Defense Institute of Psychological Research, Defense

Research and Development Organization gave his kind con-

sent to conduct these sessions. These lecture sessions which

were attended by students, focused on career opportunities in

the field of psychology, scope of psychology and application of

psychology in other pure sciences.

SLS students interview

eminent women writers

Sahitya Akademi and Dept. of English, Gu-

jarat University organized the National

Colloquium on Indian Women Writers in

English on 12th & 13th November 2011.

SLS students volunteered for the collo-

quium and also interviewed famous and

prominent English women writers about

various aspects of their lives. There were

personalities like Respected Governor of

Gujarat, Ms. Shobhaa De, Tamil writer

Bama and many others. It was indeed an

experience to be cherished.

-Vaidehi Patel

7

With Hon. President of PDPU,

Shri Mukesh Ambani after

Spanish Flamenco

Dance Performance

at PDPU Convocation

Batch 2011 with Hon. Mayor of A’bad,

Shri Asit Vora during Urban Renewal

Mission Internship Inauguration

Students performing at the

Kankariya Carnival 2011

Delegates from Chinese Embassy

visiting SLS, PDPU to celebrate

Chinese New Year

8

‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ a workshop on

getting hired being conducted for SLS

students

Mr. Nikhil Agarwal, partner at

Lalooji & Sons, with Batch 2011 for

a lecture on Event Management

Mr. Dushyant Joshi, conducting a lecture on

Entrepreneurial Skills for SLS students

Shri. Jagat Shah, Trade and Investment Repre-

sentative for Govt. of Manitoba, Canada in

India gave an interactive session on

International Trade

Shri D. J. Pandian and Canadian

Delegation at the Indo-Canadian

Poster Exhibition organized by

SLS students

9

SLS Scaling Heights

Runners-Up at

Concourse 2011

hosted by

HLBBA, Ahmedabad

Juhi Sharma, Batch 2009

with TV actors

as a part of her

internship in the show

R.K. Lakshman Ki Duniya

Girls Basketball Team

finishing first at the

Annual Sports Fest at

DAIICT, Gandhinagar

10

SLS students’ contingent at the

Maadhyam Fest at Symbiosis Institute of

Media and Communication,

(SIMC-UG) Pune.

Winners in events related to advertising,

journalism, events, PR, short films etc.

Batch 2011 girls were winners of

the ‘Most Innovative Business

Award’ at the M.S. University,

Baroda.

SLS Student Yash Modi in ‘India’s

Got Talent’ on Colors TV.

Press Coverage of SLS students

with Chinese Intern.

11

SLS Scaling Heights

Jignesh Ladhva, Batch 2010 secured 2nd price in a Science Exhibition at PDPU on

28th Feb , National Science Day for making a working model on a theme.

Shreyas Shaymsunder, Batch 2011 won third Prize at Spell Bee, "Connaisance

2012", Insititute of Law, Nirma University and was a Delegate Of Ireland at Young

Leaders Global Conference Model United Nations 2012, P.S.G College Of Technology,

Coimbatore.

Rajaram Surianarayanan, Batch 2009 was the winner at Quiz "Econundrum" in the

2nd National Economics Festival, St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.

Pranav Nair and Rajaram Surianarayanan, Batch 2009 were participants at the In-

dian Student Parliament, MIT School Of Governance, Pune.

Yash Modi, Batch 2010 received a certificate from the Guinness Book of World Re-

cords for breaking the record of maximum tabla players (321) playing for 1 hour

and 15 minutes.

Neha Gurudatt, Vipul Jain and Sachin Chauhan won 1st prize in the Offbeat Antak-

shari Contest at PDPU.

Jainisha Chavda, Parthvi Chokshi and Slesha Modh, Batch 2010 secured second

position in the Flare Business Plan competition-Cocoon Ideas

Aakanksha Vira, Batch 2011 won 1st prize in Clay Modelling at Flare 2012 in

PDPU.

Sarthak Malani, Batch 2010 and his band secured the first position in the inter-

band competition as a part of Melodia, music event for Flare 2012 at PDPU.

12

Research Activities

Dixit Patel & Vibha Bhirud, Batch 2009 presented a paper on “The Role of the Re-

serve Bank of India in Controlling Inflation: Traditional or Beyond Monetary Meas-

ures” at the International Conference on Emerging Management Practices 2012,

Gujarat.

Rajaram Surianarayanan, Batch 2009 presented a paper on “Growth of MBA Pre-

paratory Resource Sites-A New Phenomenon” at the Ninth AIMS International

Conference on Management, Pune in January 2012.

Rahul Bakshi, Batch 2009 presented a paper on “Augmented Reality Mechanical

Assist Device” at the Ninth AIMS International Conference on Management, Pune

in January 2012.

Vani Dwivedi, MA student presented a paper at the UGC National Seminar on Dalit

Literature: Past, Present and Future at the Gujarat University in December 2011.

13

Research Activities

Dr Rupakjyoti Borah presented a paper on India’s Ties with East and Southeast

Asia: Prospects for Regional Integration at the 5th Congress of the Asian Political

and International Studies Association (APISA 5) at the Overseas Chinese Univer-

sity (OCU), Taichung, Taiwan during November 2011.

Dr. Nigam Dave, Dean, SLS presented a paper “Celebrating Black Identity in African

-American Paintings” at UGC National Seminar at Ahmedabad Management Asso-

ciation in March, 2012 .

Dr. Sanjay Pradhan published an article ‘Russia-US Relationship in the Post-Cold

War Era: Can it be reset?’ in the Journal of Peace Studies in December 2011 issue.

Dr. Prashant Panda presented a paper, “Understanding The Innovation Manage-

ment System of Biocon : A Model for South Asian Companies” with Prof. S. Nagen-

dra in May 2011, 11th South Asian Management Forum.

Dr. Tanushri Banerjee alongwith Rahul Bakshi and Rajaram Surianarayanan sub-

mitted paper at AIMS conference in Pune in December 2011. The topics of the pa-

pers respectively were: “Digital Literacy in Education” and “Growth of MBA Pre-

paratory Resource Sites-A New Phenomenon”

Dr. Himani Baxi presented a paper on ‘Testing of Causality between Tax Revenue

and Expenditure in Gujarat’ at National Seminar on ‘Gujarat Economy: Retrospect

and Prospect’ in January 2012 organized by Dept. of Economics, M.S.University,

Vadodra.

Dr. Chittaranjan Senapati, presented a paper on “Reservation in Government Em-

ployment” in the National Seminar on Social Group Statistics and Present Statisti-

cal System: Emerging Policy Issues, Data Needs and Reforms in February 2012

He has been awarded a research project entitled: Deprivation and Social Exclusion

in India and Kzakhstan, in March 2012 funded by Indian Council of Social Science

Research, Ministry of Human Resources, Government of India, New Delhi.

14

Creati-witty

The world is fooled, as it all seems fun

And from yourself you fight and run

Still no reason here, you can find,

To be yourself and leave the rest behind.

Nothing here, no justification,

for the purpose of your continuation.

All seems fine, all is right

The face is sunny and so bright

Smile is plastered, all happy and gay

Words of joy and kindness you say

The world may think you are the sparkling ray

But the gleam of sorrow still inside those eyes stays

You may appear to still survive the fight,

But deep inside you know, something still is not right.

it is then, when you hear this soundless cry,

the cry of survival,

the cry of pain,

the cry of reason,

the cry untamed.

Its just the way it is,

Its the cry.

- Yesha Modi

In my dreams I nurture,

A small paradise

Where the morning sun tickles,

The dew on the leaves

And only yawning flowers,

Are the little heart-thieves

Where gently I awake,

As the morning bird cries

In my dreams I nurture

A small paradise...

Where amidst the butterflies,

I chose to fly

Where the grass is my bed

And carelessly I lie

Where the cotton clouds fill

The vastness of the skies

In my dreams I nurture

A small paradise...

Where chains of dignity

Don't bind my deeds

Where on satisfaction alone

My soul feeds

Where the old is forgotten,

With every sunrise

In my dreams I nurture

A small paradise...

In this dream I float

Time and time again

When I'm tired of compromise

And all the life-bargain

Don't wake me up,

Don't open my eyes

In my dreams I nurture

A small paradise…

- Madhura Deshmukh

15

Creati-witty

Harpalsinh Vaghela

Kruti Nair

Akanksha Vira

Maurya Kadia

Yash Modi

Yash Modi

16

Dr. Himani Baxi

Gayatri Chauhan | Harpalsinh Vaghela | Kruti Nair

Riva Patel | Shinjali Divanji | Yash Modi

The Editorial Team:

PANDIT DEENDAYAL PETROLEUM UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF LIBERAL STUDIES Off Koba—Gandhinagar Highway

Raisan, Gandhinagar, 382007

Gujarat, India

Phone: +91 79 23275231 Fax: +91 79 23275030

Visit us at: www.sls.pdpu.ac.in

Upcoming Events at SLS

Students’ Research Seminar to be organized by School of Liberal Studies. Seminar

Date: April 26-27, 2012.

For further details, please contact: sanjay.pradhan@sls.pdpu.ac.in

Data Dissemination Workshop on House Listing and Housing Data in mid-April

2012

Intensive Training Course (MDP) on Business Acumen for Mid to Senior Managers

planned for April 2012

SLS Batch 2012 Entrance Test on 10th June 2012