Metal – A Culture For, By & Of the Outsiders

- Pranav Rajiv

‘Standing in the rain, with his head hung low,
Couldn’t get a ticket, it was a sold out show.
Heard the roar of the crowd, he could picture the scene,
Put his ear to the wall, and like a distant scream,
He heard one guitar,
*cue a massive sounding guitar riff that defined generations to come*
Just blew him away…’
[Foreigner – Juke Box Hero]

That one song was one of the few that changed my life from mainstream radio pop to the brutal, skull smashing, bone crushing, chaotic adrenaline and rage fuelled frenzy it is today. (It isn’t really, but that’s the stereotypical preconception almost everyone seems to have about metalheads. Metal is most certainly not about a group of guys screaming their lungs out, with nonsensical lyrics and profanities and Satan worship. In fact, not all metal is about growling and screaming. And metal also has extremely deep and meaningful lyrics. That being said, metal is also more aggressive and intense than other forms of music and the lyrics are more than often based on controversial topics such as violence, war, philosophy, urban decadence, fantasy, history, addiction, gore, torture, religion, politics, literature, death or even hedonism.)

How it all began: A personal narrative

It had all started 7 years ago for me. My dad, lucky enough to be in his youth in the 80s, was everything a mother didn’t want her son to be. Rules are meant to be broken, right? Right. Being the archetypal poster boy for heavy metal music, he used to do everything considered wrong by society. Lucky enough to live through the 80s, well because, come on! It was the 80s, for heaven’s sake! Who didn’t want to live during the so called ”golden age of rock ‘n’ roll and heavy metal”?

A thousand splendid books

- Aishwarya Reddy

“There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as we spent with a favourite book.”   – Anonymous

I started reading as a grudging 6-year-old whose mother refused to read her the rest of the Harry Potter book just as it had gotten interesting. I tried conning her into reading it for me but in the end, even tears wouldn’t work on her. I struggled for the first 50 pages and almost gave up on the 3rd but Harry’s adventures and mom’s stubborness was enough  to make me continue. I was forced into the habit which now can keep me occupied for days together and when mom gets irritated to find my nose buried in a book all the time, she knows she can’t blame me for it.

I prefer reading fiction as I consider reading as my way out of the real world. Hence, there is no point in reading non-fiction if you want to get away from reality. My favourite fiction and non-fiction books would be “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Gone With The Wind” respectively. I liked “The Diary of Anne Frank” as it not only gave me my first insight into the Holocaust and what the Jews went through at that point in history but also because I could relate to Anne on a basic level as she tells us her emotions and feeling which almost every girl goes through at that age. “Go” encapsulated everything I loved reading about; old towns and cities and its people; how they dressed and talked, the war and its consequences and of course Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler who continue to puzzle the reader throughout the book.

Leadership Camp

- Pritika Sood

As is a yearly tradition at St. Joseph’s College of Commerce, a leadership camp was organized by the Student Council for all association heads and class representatives, on 12^th July 2014. The main purpose of this camp was to allow all leaders of various groups to meet and get to know each other, and learn qualities of leadership, communication and teamwork through numerous games and team-building activities.

The day began with the division of the students into various groups. There were ten groups of students, all ready to tackle the day’s challenges. After a round of introduction, the students were taken onto the field, where they had to tackle an obstacle course. The obstacle course was simple: play eight out of the eleven field games available, tackle them as a team to earn the most points, in a time limit of one hour. The obstacle course had students jumping, running, skipping, screaming, crying and laughing; one could easily see the range of emotions across everyone’s faces as they worked hard to earn the most points for their respective teams.

Post the field games, the second set of activities were held in the auditorium. Teams were encouraged to brainstorm as they tackled a series of quizzes based on flags of countries, advertisement logos and products, movie dialogues and cartoon characters. This main purpose of this activity was to focus on collective thinking as opposed to individualistic thinking.

Following this was a stick race and a round of tug-of-war, easily the most entertaining events of the day. The day ended with prizes being given to the top two teams, and a mention of the brilliant teamwork shown by one and all, on the field as well as off it. On a joyful note of song and dance, the leadership camp concluded with a lot to learn and takeaway:

“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be proud, but not arrogant; have humour, but without folly.” – Jim Rohn

Meghana Shetty and Pratima Kollali honoured by the Bangalore University for their achievements in sports

Students of SJCC participating in a protest against Gaza bombing along with members of civil society in front of Town Hall on 17 July, 2014

John Niklas of III BBM in news for his beat-boxing skills

Here is the story in today’s Deccan Herald.

A Tibetan Celebration

- Tamara Rebello and Mira Ganesh 

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is described as a simple Buddhist monk. He is the spiritual leader of Tibet. He was born on 6 July 1935, to a farming family, in a small hamlet located in Taktser, Amdo, in north-eastern Tibet.

6^th July 2014 was celebrated with great enthusiasm by the Tibetan students of St. Joseph’s College of Commerce, by greeting everyone at the main entrance in their traditional wear and distributing chocolates to celebrate this day. These students also participated in the Tibetan exhibition held at Chitra Kala Parishath, which was not only a celebration of His Holiness, but also a showcase of various facets of Tibetan culture.

Tibetan Buddha (Sketch by Alisha)

The exhibition was inaugurated with great zest by the Central minister of Tibet and other dignitaries who graced the occasion and spoke to the audience about the life and achievements of His highness Dalai Lama. There were stalls put up which contained artifacts and other small items. One could understand the intricacies of Tibetan culture through these artifacts, and audiences were educated on the same topic.

Simultaneously there were various rituals which included a holy prayer and the ‘Ihabtso’. There were several ‘Butter Sculptures’ which are treasures of Tibetan culture being placed at different altars. All this was followed by the famous Lion Dance. This was truly an experience for all Tibetans living away from home to enjoy their festivities in its true spirit.

TEDx @ SJCC

-  Nimi Mathew

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a global set of conferences owned by the private non profit Sapling Foundation, under the slogan: “Ideas Worth Spreading”. TEDx are independent events organised under TED, for a non-profit purpose.The TEDxBangalore Adventure seeks to highlight real people, initiatives and institutions that are actively involved in making our city better every day.

As part of self-organized events conducted around the city that bring people together to share a TED-like experience, TEDx Bangalore visited St.Josephs College of Commerce on the 25th of June, 2014. Hosted by Neil Mascarenhas of 2 BBM A, the event had an audience of about hundred and fifty students from different classes. The theme for the event was ‘Social Entrepreneurship’, and speakers from the audience were encouraged to make small groups, connect with each other and spark deep discussion based on the theme. An informative TEDTalks video was also screened.

Wattpad- the beginning of a journey

- Ditya Krishna  

As my computer whizzed to life, I was struggling to keep the events of the day from invading my mind, but clearly doing a miserable job at it. I needed to find an escape. The pressure to perform was mounting and the 15 year old me was struggling to cope. “You need to be at the top of your game” “Your responsibilities as a school leader has to come before your personal interests!”In a bid to distract myself, I began looking for suitable book to review; I stumbled upon a link that said, “Discover a world of unlimited stories.”  It was then that this chanced intervention happened. 4 years hence, I am still trying to get rid of my addiction!  My fingers still subconsciously find themselves typing out the letters on the search engine; still open the same application on my phone, unknowingly. With over 25 million unique visitors per month, over 10 million free books to choose from , over 1000 stories being uploaded per day and 85% of its traffic from mobile devices alone, it is of little surprise that 8 years since it was founded, it remains at the top 5 book applications. One word- WATTPAD.

In the day and age where e-books threaten to overthrow their paper counterparts, Wattpad, is a frontrunner promoting the change. Originating in Canada, its readership is primarily concentrated in the USA, UK, Australia, Canada and Philippines. The site also has a featured story list which promotes reviewed content approved by staff and the editorial review board, written by self-published and professional writers.

Stand up, speak out

- Nimi Mathew

Young women need to be part of an organisation to understand the ‘collective consciousness’, says Ruth Manorama. Her efforts have led to the formation of a social organization for the rights of women known as ‘Women’s Voice‘.

The afternoon of 24th June, 2014 saw the Student Council and Ladies Secretaries of St.Josephs College of Commerce join hands with Women’s Voice in a protest against rape and crimes against women. At 12 p.m, Town Hall witnessed a chorus of “We want justice!” rising from a gathering of young women of our college and members of Women’s Voice holding placards and banners. Their efforts helped garner public attention and support for the cause.

The peaceful protest involved classical music presented by members of Women’s Voice, followed by a motivational speech by Annabelle Chang, Ladies Secretary of SJCC. The event concluded with the reading of a memorandum suggesting measures for the protection and safety of women in our country to be submitted to the Central Government by the organization.