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The
History Society

Yearbook Report 2009-2010
Who said the history society did nothing
this year? We had two trips this year, an ambitious yet successful
venture. The first trip explored the Khajuraho-Orccha-Gwalior
triangle, which is definitely not on India's best known tourist
circuit but nonetheless historically very relevant. The trip was a
delight for one and all, especially those who appreciate erotic art
form (for them, it was a dream come true). Certain 'hindutva'
elements were not so pleased, because of the
purdahfash on their concocted "India's glorious past".
The Agra trip, our second endeavor,
raised fewer eyebrows. It was a bit of a storm in the teacup for we
barely spent minutes in Agra and days in Fatehpur Sikri (most
'normal' people would do the opposite). Other highlights include :
Tania called up Ms. America-India at 12 AM, Sujit slept in a double
room 'technically', Kakati ate beef with an incognito gentleman, Dr.
Baker paid Rs.50 for a cup of tea at McDonalds, Ms. Devika Sethi and
Shobhna Iyer slept incessantly in the bus and the latter spoke
incessantly thereafter.
The society also organized the annual
festival, Kaalchakra. This years theme was ‘Boundaries and
Identities’ (hah! we always come up with abstract oddities) and
featured talks by Upinder Singh, Shahid Amin, Kumkum Roy and Farhat
Hasan (none need an introduction). That was not all, there was a
quiz, paper presentations, a film-screening and panel discussion.
However, the main highlight of the event was the ravenous appetite
of the well dressed audience (some fought tooth-and-nail for a
kulcha others for
biscuits, coffee and pastry). All in all, it was definitely a
gastronomical extravaganza.
If you were a walker, the History Society
didn't spare you either. The "pleasant" walk to Lodi Garden in the
heart of babudom coincided (unfortunately) with the release of Hindi
blockbuster Kaminey. The latter automatically sifted the grain from
the chaffe, leaving those who were 'truly' interested in a walk. The
film festival was critically acclaimed and won laurels across board
- we must recognize at this point, the intense ethusiasm of the
audience that graced all occassions. The documentary by Ms. Salma
Siddiqui titled "Road less travelled" deserves a special mention in
this regard.
India only talks, and so do Stephanians.
So the history society decided to lambaste the arena
of guest-lectures. Lectures included, Susan Vishwanathan, Sunil
Kumar, Supriya Verma (proposed) and Christophe Jaffrelot (proposed).
To conclude, the curtain call must
include the following: Sujit Sujit Chola, Yash Rosaiah, PARIpalpur, the
Giduards, Yamooni, Jasveen, Roshni and Tania; second-in-command:
Sukanya Devi, Anshul-i-Aam, Girija Superior, Priyanka-akka, Tora the
toddler, Casanova Kakati, Rude Shikhar, Avantika, Zoya, Preeti
Mahila Sangathan !
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