SAMBANDH 2018-19

September 2018 saw the successful completion of yet another year of Sambandh. While the overarching meaning of the fest revolves around the word ‘Sambandh’ meaning relationships, this year focused on the concept of ‘Identity’. The events began on the 14th of September and was concluded with the valedictory and cultural events on the 19th of September.

Connect the dots was the first event which was on the 14th of September. In this event participants were given two words which had to be linked in a meaningful way and presented in front of the judge after a given period of time. There were many interesting responses connecting the words through movies, songs and common uses. The words ‘Origami’ and ‘World War’ was connected with the fact that both ‘Origami’ and ‘World War’ requires precision and careful execution of steps. Even a small mistake can cost a lot in how the final picture turns out to be. This event signifies the ability to tap into meaningful relationships between seemingly random words.

Diss the Myth was also conducted on the 14th of September. In this event participants were given common stereotypes which they had to break by performing an act. This was a team event. Participants tried to portray the stereotypes of gender through unique and interesting acts. This event signifies the ability to think about our current social issues of nuance and be able to break away from certain age old practices.

Treasure Hunt was conducted on the 15th of September. This is a fun-filled event which saw the participants crack the clues and get the prize. The event was filled with enthusiasm and teamwork was key in connecting the dots and finding the location. It saw the participants start from Block 1, go to kiosk and then find their way through a series of clues to Just Bake where the final prize awaited them. Mobile Photography was an event that was conducted online and the participants had to submit their photographs on the web and the theme was Identity.

Switch was the next event which was conducted on the 17th of September. In this event, participants were given a theme for a story and for a poem and a team of two had to work on each of those topics. After a certain amount of time, they would switch their work with their partner and attempt to complete their partner’s work. The prompt for poetry was - “a treasure chest of possibilities” and the prompt for the story was - “It was the last working day of college when I realised …”. The main theme was Identity. This event saw participants explore their creativity in constructing beautiful stories and poems.

Clothes to Canvas was the event that was also conducted on the 17th of September. The participants were encouraged to explore their imagination and creativity to bring to life pictures that symbolise Identity. This marked the end of all the competitive event of this year’s Sambandh.

The valedictory ceremony along with the cultural programmes were conducted on the 19th of September. The programme started off with the invocation song which was followed by the Sociology Association President’s address about the overall event. The chief guest - Imminent professor and former guest lecturer at the Institute of Social and Economic Change gave his address about the application of subjects in real life and he shared his expertise in understanding various societies like communism. There were poetry presentations by students on the topic of Identity. This was followed by the cultural programmes of song, dance and cosplay which was a treat for the audience. The programme was concluded with the prize distribution for the various events conducted. The class with the most points for participation and performance - III PSECO - won this year’s Sambandh. All the awards were presented to the smiling faces by the Head of the Department of the Department of Sociology and Social Work Dr.Victor Paul.

WINNERS

Connect the Dots

First Place - Anthony from 5PSECO

Second Place - Aditya from 5PSECO and Ronit from 3EPS

Third Place - Gautham from 5PSECO and Tania from 5EPS

Diss the Myth

First Place - Suryaprasad and Sharanya from 1EPS

Second Place - Sheetal and Bharath from 1EPS

Switch

First Place - Payal Porwal and Yagnya Kodaru from 5PSEco

Second Place - Swastika Bhattacharya and Rida Shafeek from 1PSEng

Third Place - Jaspal Kang and Sheenam Samrat from 1PSEng

Clothes to Canvas

First Place - Shuba Subramaniam from 5 PSEco

Second Place - Shristi Sampat from 5 PSEco

Treasure Hunt

First Place - Iswar Chatterjee and team from 1PSECO

Second Place - Malvika Anand and team from 1PSECO

Knowing the culture of Tibet

The Department of Sociology and Social Work organised an interactive session with the representatives of Students for a Free Tibet-India (SFT-India) on Thursday 16 August 2018 during 3-4 pm. The venue was Panel Room. It was an opportunity for PSEco students to be exposed to the culture of people in Tibet. 

Tenzin Tselha is a second generation Tibetan born and raised in India. She has completed her higher education from Pune University in English Literature. She has been actively involved as a student activist with Students for a Free Tibet - India for many years. Tenzin Dakpa was born in Tibet and came to exile when he was only six years old. He has spent the past 17 years as a refugee in India and has not seen his family since he left Tibet. He has completed his Bachelors from Garden City College in Bangalore in Psychology and Journalism.

The session began with a movie screening. The film ‘Tibet’s Cry for Freedom’ was shot between 2007 and 2008 during the run up to the Beijing Olympics that were held in the summer of that year, much to the dismay of those fighting for freedom in Tibet. It interviews most of the main players on the Tibetan side who have been growing more divided about what form the struggle should take, and what it should be seeking as its end goal. The increasing frustration with Beijing’s refusal to grant any sort of genuine autonomy to the region on the one hand, and its continuing exploitation both of the human and natural resources in the area on the other, have created a sharp divide within the community in exile.

It was followed by an interactive session where the discussion was revolved around the life and culture of people in Tibet.

UG SOCIOLOGY RURAL EXPOSURE CAMP 2019

The two-day rural exposure camp at Kolar undertaken by the final year UG students of Sociology department as a part of the elective course ‘Study of Social Movements’ was an extremely enlightening experience and a great opportunity for reciprocal learning. Spread over 1^st and 2^nd of February, it was organised by Department of Sociology in collaboration with the CSA at CHRIST (deemed to be University). The students engaged in several activities and undertook surveys and made interesting observations about the varied aspects of the lives of people in Kolar district. The project leaders at the CSA camp in Srinivasapura, Kolar welcomed us with energizing ice breaker games that really shook us all out of our drowsiness. Following some fun and games we got down to business, starting with an address by the project leader Mr. Anjan and Mr. Nagaraja. We were divided into three groups that visited three separate areas within Srinivasapura with two main objectives: (1) to conduct activities on personal safety and hygiene (2) to go on house visits so we get a feel of how the families are doing in the area.

One group had the opportunity of exploring Muthukapalli. Mrs. Aruna, the leader of the self-help group working in this area showed us  the hospital, panchayat, activity center, schools and PU college in the area. The schools and hospitals were extremely well maintained. Most families were sending their children to school, had functional toilets and did not experience any conflicts with their neighbours. Following the house visits, the volunteers engaged with the students of the activity centre, where we were addressing around 60 enthusiastic children about personal safety and hygiene.

The second team visited a village called Yamunanur. Our experience at the village began with the village transact, where in the project coordinator took the students on a short tour of the village. He also introduced them to the local crops and plants growing in the vicinity of the village. After the village tour, house visits were conducted. Topics discussed included child marriage, education, and water supply issues. Surprisingly enough, the people did not seem to support the idea of child marriage and wanted their daughters to get educated before getting married. Talking about water supply, they mentioned that each day, they had to walk to another village which was several kilometres away to fetch water. This gave us an insight into the hardships faced by the villagers on a day-to-day basis. It was saddening to observe that many houses didn’t pay attention to sanitation.

The third group visited a village called Gandhinagar. The interaction with the villagers were generally based on areas like health, sanitation, occupation and Self-Help Groups. The activity center was carried in one of the houses nearby. The students gathered every evening and were assisted by some guides who helped them in their academic and other activities. The activities planned for senior students were dream tree, self-defense, moral values and personal hygiene.

Our interactions reminded us of the realities of people’s lives other than ourselves. It has reminded us to be grateful for the resources we have. It has enabled us to take our classroom learning onto the field and realize that women’s empowerment, community-based development and so on are real phenomena out there that people are engaging in and benefiting from. Srinivasapura is also testament to the fact that the community can be united on the lines of children’s education, sanitation and health by keeping aside political and caste based differences.