Volume VI, Issue 3 The ST. Xavier’S College NewSleTTer september, 2013

Not anymore, think Stuti Trivedi and Shallaka SajiSabse Bada Rupaiyya

the XaVIer’s press

Yes, the headlines have been shouting it out at you, television channels have been blaring with self-proclaimed experts endlessly discussing and debating, and everyone everywhere seems to be talking about it. But the question is do you really know what’s going on? And even if you do, are you aware of how it even makes a difference to you individually? If not, our writers Stuti and Shallaka are here to tell you exactly that.

Shallaka: So, do you know what the INR

said when they asked him how he felt about the recent jokes being made about him? He said he doesn’t appreciate it.

Waits for Stuti to laugh. Stuti clearly doesn’t appreciate either.

Stuti: Terrible jokes aside, do you even

have any idea why this phenomenon has occurred? Take a look at the economics of it, and you will understand that when the demand for dollars in India increases more than the available supply, then the value of dollars will increase.. Consequently the value of the rupee will fall. A shortage in the supply of foreign currency in India is also caused by the Foreign Institutional Investors withdrawing their investments from our country and moving on to ‘greener pastures’. It is evident that our economic growth is hampered by operational—

Shallaka: Woman, hold your horses. I know you think that all these ‘interesting facts’ will deeply impact me, but we both know that that’s not going to happen. So cut to the chase and tell me what I need to worry about. Do I even need to worry?

Stuti: (sighing) It wouldn’t kill you to know the facts. But yes, while the most common belief doing the rounds

is that exporters and importers are the only ones affected, , in reality, it affect us students as wellFor example, what do you plan to do after graduating?

Shallaka: Not sure, but mostly

further studies, hopefully abroad. Stuti: Yes, of course, why be realistic

when we can dream big?But the fact

is that due to the drastic fall in the INR, studying abroad will become an extremely expensive affair. The annual fee of the University/College, living expenses, even your ticket and visa fees will all shoot up. Think about it.

Shallaka: Okay , so I won’t go

abroad. I’ll study in India then! Stuti: Actually, those studying in

India also may suffer too. Today many students in India appear for examinations like CFA, CPA,, GMAT, etc. to acquire international educational qualifications. These are garnered through distance learning in India which requires payment of fees in dollars.

Shallaka: Oh! You know, I think I’m starting to get the hang of what you’re trying to say. So is this why, and correct me if I’m wrong, the

prices of all the international retail brands are becoming even higher?

Stuti: Leave it to you bring clothes into everything! But you’re absolutely right. You can say bye-bye to those brands for a while.

Shallaka: So basically, Mango, Puma, Tommy Hilfiger are all going to become unbelievably expensive. Zara too?

Stuti: Yes Shallaka, even Zara.

Shallaka: So the depreciating INR equals expensive shopping. What else?

Stuti: Well take Electronics for instance. A large section of the student population purchases gadgets made from imported material. Manufacturers import raw materials, parts and pieces from abroad to produce the end product sold in our market. Due to the fall in the value of our rupee, they will have to spend more money to import these and this added cost will finally be transferred to us. You’ll have to shell out double the amount for the latest technology, as if gadgets and gizmos didn’t cost enough already.

Shallaka: Wow, I never thought of that.

Stuti: Well, think now. iPads, iPhones, the latest laptops and all sorts of electronics including Xbox games are going to become expensive. If that doesn’t move you, then I don’t know what will.

Shallaka: So anything imported is going to be expensive. Wait, wait so Toblerone too? And Lindt?

Stuti: And Nutella. One must never forget Nutella.

continued on page 3

Editors’ Block2Brace Yourselves

I’m not a fan of the word ‘change’. It implies too many things, and promises nothing. As human beings, we’re constantly looking to reinvent ourselves and explore new ideas, but soon we find out that there’s so much more pleasure in procrastination and sleep. That more or less sums up an average student’s CIA month. And while you’re all prepared to rest your brains after a particularly tedious Economics presentation, the end-semester exams come barging through.

The next month or so is the most important time for Xavierites. For all the little errors that you made in your CIA papers, the end-semester exams gives you the opportunity to mask them with a little more studying and little less Facebook. But the approaching exams are no deterrent to a barrage of festival announcements in dire need for volunteers and participants.

If you haven’t already been intruded with the onslaught of Ithaka publicity all over college, you’ll be sure to hear the ominous murmurings of a certain ‘Econundrum’. And if that’s not all, Zeitgeist heads are already wading through bundles of applications, while Zephyrus is preparing itself for another year of unexpected surprises.

However, this month’s XPress will steer away from that (you don’t need us to know more about them), and tackle issues of relevance and of utmost importance. Our cover story throws light on the economic crisis that is pulling the country back a few years by the day. An interview with an especially talented BMM student, a perspective on the rising number of atrocities against women, and a glimpse into the life of a hostel student, are a few of the things you will also get to read in this issue.

I’d like to end by saying this.

Prthvir Solanki

Abhinav Chugh

Confessions of a Hostelite I still remember that day when they

left me here and how I felt so alone and scared. Will I be able to make friends here? Will I get along with people?

Someone walked into my room, then another, then another and we all became friends. Soon we were like a family here. All of us united by the same fears and aspirations, the same feelings and desires and eventually, the same feeling of belongingness.

We eat dinner together every night and tell each other how much we miss home food, we all scramble to our rooms when Aggie sir is on his way to scold us and threatens us to throw us out the next day and we can’t help but smile when Karan sir greets us with that big warm grin on his face. We walk to marine drive when we have nothing to do and sit and stare at the sea for hours before rushing back before our midnight curfew, we crib about how our money finishes in no time yet we all have lavish meals outside every Sunday when Anna’s mess is shut. We

find it silly how we aren’t allowed to use the lift to go down and have to use the stairs instead, we see everyone leave the corridors each day with that dreadful look on their faces because of the long train journey they’re going to embark on and feel pleased not to have to go through that. We wake up for 8 AM lectures at 7:45 AM and we’re never there in time for them, we never wear our IDs or own library cards, our attendance is always the lowest but our marks are always the highest. We learn to appreciate our mothers and the things she’s done for us when we have to wash our own clothes and go hungry at times and promise ourselves to be the best sons when we go back, we learn to be more tolerant and patient living with those we could earlier never get along with and we get closer to the people we think of as our own. We live and we let live and we take pride in living here beside the illustrious legacy.

Who are we? We are the hostelites.

The Xavier’s Press consists of a bunch of enthusiastic writers who present the ongoings of college in the simplest, most accessible, and fun way possible.

Editor-in-Chief: Prthvir Solanki (SYBA)

Editors:

Prakriti Bhatt (FYBA), Kadambari Shah (SYBA) Raadhika Vishvesh (SYBA)Ishita Chaudhary (TYBA)

Writers: Farah Maneckshaw (FYJC) Chinmayi Pilgaonkar (SYJC)

Kriti Krishan (SYJC)Kavya Ravindranath (SYJC)

Kimberly Rowe (FYBA)Abisha Fernandes (FYBA)

Alaric Moras (FYBA)Jheel Gada (FYBA)

Shreya Mathur (FYBA)Neha Tetali (FYBA)

Sayali Palekar (FYBA) Fawzia Khan (FYBMM) Sroojana Iyer (FYBMM)

Harshal Shetye (FYBMM)Tanya Malik (FYBMM)

Abhinav Chugh (FYBMS) Doohan Vaz (SYBA) Sanjana Sule (SYBA)

Mehernaz Patel (SYBA)Stuti Trivedi (SYBA)Shallaka Saji (SYBA)

Ishika Ramakrishna (SYBSc) Adityesh Mishra (SYBSc)

Applications ShutApplication have unfortunately closed! We may or may not open them again this year, but watch out for this space!

The Team

Have queries? Seen something cool? Want to get featured in The XPress? Email us at thexavierspress@gmail.com.And while you’re at it, go like our Facebook page to get the latest updates and follow our Twitter handle @TheXPen for bad jokes, semi-scoops and other fun stuff.

produced for 70-80 paisa is sold at Rs. 9-10. Go to soda shops and quench your thirst with lemon juice or lassi instead I’m sure you love McDonald’s, Subway, KFC, Pizza Hut, but tryeaingt at Jay Bhavani, TGB and Sukh Sagar. Instead of Samsung and Apple gadgets, cut Micromax or Karbonn some slack. Stop hankering after Levi’s and Dolce and try shopping at Spykar, K-Lounge or even Colaba Causeway instead.

Hopefully though, this too shall pass! It always does, eventually, provided proper steps are taken, like in the 1930s in America. For now, look at it this way, maybe there will be lesser evils in the country!

, However optimistically we look

at things, the fact remains that we are in an hour of crisis. Is Raghuram Rajan the man of the hour? We sincerely hope so. Over to you, sir.

Express your thoughts by sending an email to thexavierspress@gmail.com, or reach out on our Facebook page.

Current Events 3Silence prevails for five minutes as the

writers contemplate a dark, depressing Nutella-less future ahead of them.

Shallaka: I guess this also means that vacationing in a foreign destination is going to be unnafordable. Your travel charges, hotel charges shopping expenses and the like will all burn a hole in your pocket.

Stuti: Oh yes! Why only foreign destinations? Even travelling to college will become more expensive as the fuel prices are surging upwards with the fall in the rupee. Importing crude oil from the Gulf now costs much more, which is why fuel inflation is a hard hitting reality.

Shallaka: You know how they say one man’s loss is another man’s gain? Surely someone must be benefiting from all this?

Stuti: One word. NRIs. For them the money they saved is money earned. Depreciation of rupee is certainly good

news for the overseas Indians, because a dollar earned is now nearly INR 70, rather than INR 45 which it was a few months ago.. Those working abroad can gain more interest on sending money to their homeland, they can also afford to invest and buy in India more

Shallaka: Great. Meanwhile for us there’s going to be higher inflation, higher loan rates for cars and homes as I heard my parents say,and apparently a slowdown in job creation! Of what use is my studying so hard if I don’t get a job?

Shallaka looks solemn, Stuti gazes wonderingly at her, wondering what all this ‘studying’ is that she is referring to.

Stuti: Well, the only way out I see, Shallaka, is that you’re going to have to change your tastes for some time.

Shallaka: What do you mean?

Stuti: What I mean is go Swadeshi for a change! A Coke,for instance,

continued from page 1

We All Fall DownAmongst all the panic and chaos of

the depreciating Indian rupee, what have we, as the public, made of this crisis? Aishwarya Acharya, an SYBSC student, offers her take on what this fall means for our economy, “I think the fall of the rupee basically means that the Indian economy is doomed once again, and that we’re not going to recover from the recession any time soon.” Kasab Vora, an FYBA student, shares his views: “With USA’s tactic of quantitative easing, several nations were affected. However, while there has been a decrease in the value of the currency of quite a few countries, India’s inability to implement new and successful policies consistently, has lead to us being hit harder than the others”

Mahendra Jain, a gold and diamond jewelry whole-seller talks about the rupee’s impact on one of India’s major imports (and as some argue, the cause of the crisis), gold. Says he, “When the rupee began slumping, the government increased its duty on gold. So, at the very beginning of this slump,demand for gold was there but gold itself

wasn’t available. However, in the current scenario, no one is willing to buy gold, at least not legally at the current exorbitant price. The black market has thus been boosted from this fall.”

Students too have been hit by the falling rupee. Vandana Sawant, who recently sent her son Anujh to the USA for higher studies, says , “When we made the decision to opt for an American college, the exchange rate was INR 58 to 1 USD. By the time we paid the fees, it had risen to INR 63. Now, by the time we pay for his living expenses, it will hit INR 70. The sharp

rise mangled all the calculations made. If the rupee continues falling like that, good foreign education shall remain a distant dream for the masses.” Ms. Vidya Hegde, Economics teacher at St. Xaviers College, is more worried about the effects back home, “With this drastic fall, an increase in the cost of transport, food and other commodities is expected. Hostelites will be affected; ‘cheap’ food will no longer remain ‘cheap’. Bus fares were predicted to go up, but the BEST has actually seen a profit, so it remains to be seen how things go there.”

With widespread inflation causing the prices of everything from food to firecrackers to rise, Diwali,and indeed, any and every other upcoming festival might not be very festive Electronics and appliances stores may not have huge sales. A few companies are even thinking of increasing their prices. With such expectations and responsibilities riding on the rupee, it remains to be seen whether it’ll be back with a bang, or fizzle out like a phataka.

Harshal Shetye

College News4While speaking to Ms. Kavita Thakkar,

my hand continuously hovered over my pocket where my phone lay, hoping it would offer any kind of protection against the possible violations she constructively listed out for me.

“We’re walking with technology in our hands, in our pockets, in our homes, but we have half-knowledge about them. Imagine carrying a gun, but not knowing what it was used for.”

Ms. Thakkar is a part of Zen Technology who, in association with the internationally recognised EC- Council, recently held a workshop on ‘Ethical Hacking’ in college conducted by Mr. Haja Mohideen. Mr. Mohideen is co-founder of the EC-Council and has his number stored in the US Pentagon database, who give him a ring if the Government of USA have any internet-related difficulties. He explained how we could all be superheroes, albeit not on the streets but in front of a computer screen (cape optional).

“Technology has changed the world,

but it’s also very easily manipulated. I can access your bank account and take away all your money by just sharing the same WiFi signal.” Ms. Thakkar explained the various atrocities committed by internet hooligans the world over, and gave chilling warning

of how the next act of terrorism could be pinned onto you, only because you happened to leave your laptop on.

There is a need to educate people about the security lapses the internet could face, and the workshop (to be held all over Mumbai) aimed to do

the same. Reactions have been more than positive. Sherwyn Gonsalves said “There is a need for internet security that surprisingly is overlooked by even IT professionals. All they care about is making money and getting jobs but even when they are working (in India), nobody cares about security, and there are systems left wide open for even a mid-level hacker to access all private information. This workshop did a world of good.” Kedar Deore also believed it helped, but also said “It’s good to create awareness, but if we don’t have a course heading in that direction then it hardly matters.”

Incidentally, Ms. Thakkar hopes to start a course in college soon so as to educate the younger generations on the problems people could face and its dangerous implications. If we have a more aware group of individuals on the World Wide Web, the planet would solve half its problems.

Extra on the EC-C

Problem? Read This.Got a problem? Well, they hear you,

they’ll listen and they’re really here to help.

The studs in the Student Council have come up with the Grievance Tribunal, a forum where students can voice their concerns about absolutely anything in college.

Initiated following a suggestion from the NAAC Committee, the Student Council realised that students didn’t have an official forum where their troubles would be heard out.

They thrive on student participation and they’ve even solved issues regarding cleanliness of the college, theft and ragging.

So, how does it all work? You drop in your grievances either through an online Google Doc form, the link to which is on their Facebook page or go old school with the drop box outside the Student Council Office. The updates are checked at least once every other day, segregated and compiled. Depending on the urgency of the issue, the suggestions are then taken up with

the concerned staff members and the management. How long will all of this take? It depends on the issue, but latest, by a week, claims Parth Maheshwari, a Student Council member.

And you can take their word for it. A certain offhand comment by some visitors regarding the cleanliness of the foyer and the need for larger dustbins was promptly taken up with the management, which was able to provide new, larger dustbins within just four days.

“The Management and Staff Committee, especially Fr. Frazer have been very supportive and encouraging of this endeavour,” says Shambhavi Priyam, General Secretary of the Student Council.

“The Student Council is not a body which can implement changes on its own. Ultimately, it is the management’s duty. Our job is mainly to highlight those problems with the help of the student body,” she concludes.

Walk into the majestic edifice that is St. Xavier’s College, and it’s not unlikely that you will see people standing around gaping at – and often exclaiming about – the gorgeousness of the place. But, walk a few steps further into the college and you will be exposed to the inexplicably loud and febrile environment of the Foyer. Now, while considered the ideal location to while away ones time endlessly, the Foyer has always been a place where one must walk cautiously, lest they might step on something dirty.

For this very purpose, and to slay the growing monster that takes form as a heap of wrongly placed dirty white plates, a Cleanliness Campaign was put forth. With a bold green poster flooding almost every bulletin board, this campaign has many ideas in mind to make this college a cleaner one. Their main aim so far has been to instill basic civic sense into the students, says member of the Student Council Shambhavi Priyam.

Keep our campus

Chinmayi Pilgaonkar Kriti Krishan

Clean

Ishita Chaudhary and Prthvir Solanki

College News 5Honour Thy

HonoursAs the first end semester exams

approach, we are flooded by all things academic. Some of us even have to make the decision: to do or not to do the honours programme.

In European and some African countries, the bachelors’ degree is equal to the honours degree of other countries. However, the honours program in our college is not a degree. But this program adds weight to one’s curriculum vitae. By attending a series of lectures and submitting a written report about the s e s s i o n s , you can easily score t h e s e c r e d i t s learn far more than the usual fare.

In the arts stream the most p o p u l a r h o n o u r s program is offered by the sociology department. This year they have already completed their annual seminar at Khandala, the theme of which was ‘Religion in Contemporary Society’. The department has also planned workshops on the theme of environment, and anthropology of photography & media. The Political Science department also conducts an honours programme.

In the science stream, the program is offered for zoology, microbiology and information technology. According to Professor Subhash of the BScIT department, there are sessions planned on the topics of advanced Microsoft Excel and image processing with Matlab. These sessions will span over twelve to fifteen hours.

Vishvesh Makwana, FYBSc, said that the physics department has planned to do courses on astrophysics, nuclear physics, an analysis of Einstein’s research, electromagnetic radiation and experimental physics.

These programmes are very interesting, but require a lot of commitment. But for all you overachievers out there, this is your niche and I’m sure that you will enjoy it!

Pravin’s anatomyRecently, the BMM department of

our college started their Honours programme off with a course on Brazilian culture. Spanning three days, students were shown three Brazilian movies that portrayed different aspects of the culture and society of modern Brazil. The course was successfully conducted by Pravin Kumar, a second year BMM student, who also was a part of the team that made the critically acclaimed ‘Ship of Theseus’. The first movie was a Brazilian crime drama City of God, the second movie was a documentary called Bus 174, and the third movie was a fictional drama.

We went to him (or hounded him), and asked him questions about the course, the impact of films, the importance of our college’s BMM course and the secret behind life (this last one may not have been asked).

Interviewer: Most students don’t know what BMM students do. Tell us what it’s like to be in the department?

Pravin: The BMM department introduces to more counter-views which you’d hardly ever come across in the mainstream media/lifestyles. There is a clear push in that direction to develop the student’s perspectives.

The entrance exam is something that’s quite fresh a procedure itself at our college. I can’t comment on the totality of it, but it sure does bring in some brilliant minds who otherwise would have not had that opportunity based just on 12th marks.

I: And how do you think film can tie into that?

P: Film can provide you with wholesome education. But it gravely depends on what you choose to watch. Documentaries aside, fiction-features like Virumaandi, Z and Rashomon are what formed the idea of different perspectives, which on coming together

forms an explanation that helps you analyze thought, action and reaction but just counterfeits the idea of the existence of an objective truth.

I: Which brings us to the Brazilian Culture course that happened recently. We saw three films that covered a variety of topics. Tell us about them and why exactly you picked them.

P: The basic reason was because I had them, that’s it. The three films were critically celebrated among the most famous films that hold some water in the lieu of world cinema. They also were more simple and gritty in their presentation. One was a documentary, one was a completely fictional road-trip, one was an all out violent action-drama

but all of them arguably gave very deep sociological insights into the country’s culture as well as politics.

I: How does a course like this help out students in India, though (regardless of which degree

they’re pursuing)? Basically, what kind of parallels and meanings could be drawn out of the 3 movies that could reflect on Indian society?

P: Generally speaking though, viewing world cinema is trying to get that closer to an individual or a set of individuals whose stories are being told by us through this medium and realize, empathize, form a more holistic understanding of how a singular or plural human entity functions. You can get so much out of it if you just want to. That understanding of an individual, that understanding of a people, their worlds - physical or psychological gives you food for introspection and ‘outrospection’. Your analysis is more open because there is an additional aspect, an additional possibility that you’ve been informed of. It is purely a means of Learning.

Sroojana IyerTanya Pal

Features Page6

A Proper Education

Empower YourselfWe live in paradoxical times. “We,

the People”, are the same people who didn’t pay heed to the battered couple that lay thrown on the side of the road on December 16, 2012; but raved and ranted and came out in full protest post the breaking news of the rape. Ask any citizen to protest against a gruesome rape incident, and you see people voluntarily go AWOL to take part in candlelight marches; or to change their profile pictures all over social networking sites to a big, black dot. But ask them what they would do if a rape victim, known or unknown, came asking for help; and they draw a blank after a clichéd: “Go to the police station and file an FIR.” How empowered are we, really?

To contribute, in the true sense, you must concentrate more on the remedial measures rather than simply looking for various creative ways to express your support. Here’s what you can do, whether you are the victim or the victim’s friend:

• Before anything, try and go to the nearest hospital and get a thorough medical examination done to collect evidence of the offence and to get necessary treatment. Do NOT wash up

or try to clean anything. The hospital will have to compulsorily refer the case to the local police station and it will be failing in its legal duty if it does not.

• Once the police come to at the hospital, insist on the presence of women police officials and insist that

the line of questioning is done in a humane manner. Request that the statements are recorded, if possible, in the presence of a Magistrate. If the statements are being recorded in the regional language, insist on the same being read over and explained to ensure that that they have been recorded accurately. Get the basic information out of the victim and avoid getting into details just yet. Keep information confidential and respect her privacy. The law makes it mandatory that the

victim’s name not be disclosed in the media.

• If the local police station shows a lackadaisical approach, write to the local DCP and the Commissioner of Police (you will find all the contact details on http://mumbaipolice.maharashtra.gov.in/). If you know crime reporters of local newspapers, bring out the non-cooperative attitude of the police in the media, and build pressure through local peer groups. Please remember, the police have a legal duty to inform you about the progress of the investigations.

• Make sure you consult a counsellor to help your friend tackle the stress. Ensure that someone is constantly present. Try to maintain a normal atmosphere, but at the same time, don’t pretend like nothing has happened. Involve her in distracting activities, and if funds permit, take her away to a places to recuperate.

• Most importantly, if you come across a victim of an offence, don’t turn a blind eye and hurry on your way. Stop and lend a helping hand. It is our moral and legal duty to do so. You never know when you might need it yourself.

I listened to my grandfather talk about the time before his. He began with how I belonged to a generation that behaved in an unimaginable way. I heard his stories of the gurukul parampara, a system that prevailed in ancient India. The students stayed with the teacher in his ‘ashram’ or house and learned lessons (mostly practical ones pertaining to life ) in return for a few services offered by the pupils. A system, my grandfather believed, that taught children more and a time when children wanted to learn more.

This got me thinking. Was a system change enough to change the way we imbibe the education we receive?

Our country has seen a massive change in the system of imparting education. While a part of it may have

been criticised, what has and will always remain the same is the aim of education.

Less discussed though, is the debate of why we pursue this education.

The answer to this cannot be just one. Every answer is correct. However what isn’t correct is using just one aspect to explain the aim of education. Education aims at bringing you degrees while making you ‘educated’. It aims at developing your skills while making you acquire more. It aims at polishing you and at the same time, makes you acquire new skills.

The system we follow has its pros and cons. It may have too much learning and theory but we must not forget that theory leads to practicality. We begin to compare schools and teachers but we forget the attitude we pose

while receiving knowledge and attending class. We are happy with as little as we can get only because we have the name of an institution. Where is our desire to ask for more? Where is our hope to reach out for more? And where is our sense to know that there are people getting a lot more?

The fact of the matter is as Oscar Wilde puts it “You can never be overdressed and overeducated”. No matter where you go and how much you learn, it can never be enough. And the day it is, you’re useless, gone and brain dead.

Neha Tetali and Prakriti Bhatt

Tanya Malik

Leisure Page 7Your Guide To Recognising A BSc.IT Student

You know those people who can be found pouncing on computers and rattling off fancy terms about hardware and software which sound like gobbledygook to most of us? These are the same people who had the much envied “pure science” label in Junior College/plus 2. These champions can also be found in our college. Here are a few tips to recognize them:

1.Their way with computers is their biggest strength. They threaten us laymen with “I will steal your Wi-Fi” if you refuse to treat them in the canteen to “I’ll kill your wow (World of Warcraft) character and steal your gold” if you refuse to lend them your stationery.

Studboy SachinSachin, our 20 year old, ever smiling

and efficient Chinese counter guy seems to connect with almost every student in the foyer. You’ll find him waving energetically at anyone who smiles at him. Amidst the break-time chaos, he makes jokes, serves food at 240mph and calculates how much change to return simultaneously.

How much do we know about this dynamic and tireless chap?

Sachin, born and brought up in Mangalore was a mischievous young lad. His father, thus, sent him off to Mumbai where he found an uncle who runs a hotel in town. Before he knew it, he had landed a job at the Xaviers’ canteen. He lives in the Boys’ Hostel in Xaviers and fills his stomach with Anna’s food every night (although he doesn’t particularly like any of his roti-bhajis). This year, he started going to Degree College after hours near VT. He’s studying commerce and hopes to be a CA some day. He speaks Hindi,

Marathi, Kanada, Tullu, English, Tamil and understands Konkani. (Impressive, huh?)

One would think he hasn’t the time for anything apart from work and college, but Sachin says he gets back to his hostel room at 9:30pm and then studies for a couple of hours. (At this point, his colleague laughed hard). Sachin loves cricket and spends Sundays and most

of his free time playing with his friends. He also makes time for movies and likes love stories and horror films.

Food-wise, Sachin eats a whole lot of Chinese, his favourite being BBC with fried rice. He says the strangest combination asked for is shezuan rice with BBC. The two best selling items from his menu are BBC with fried rice and the Chicken Cotton Blue. Quite the cook, he knows how to prepare everything on their menu and says that Crispy Chicken is the most fun to cook since it crackles when you flip it over. Apart from Chinese, his recommends the neer dosa.

There’s a lot more to each of our canteen ‘Bhaiyyas’ and ‘uncles’ than we know, and Sachin is testament to that fact. We ought to appreciate his time in our canteen a lot more, smile at him more and try to give him exact change instead five hundred rupee notes.

2.

They generally made up most of the applications for Comps in Malhar’13.

3.They are generally found in the hostel building and the only reason they stand out from the BMM and BMS students is because their books almost always be guaranteed to be written in minuscule code with complicated diagrams.

4.They create technical jokes about the cookies they had yesterday. Speaking of biscuits, their acronynm, BSc.It is often called ‘Biscuit’.

They are the privileged lot who can wake up at 9:00 am while the rest of college juggles their night happenings, crowded trains, bit torrent downloads and torrential rainfall (at least right now) to attend their 8:00am lectures.

5.

Adityesh Mishra

Ishika Ramakrishnan