Sections

Gift #1 BORN VICTIM

Born Victims--the plight of a tribe

Before they fought with the British for the freedom of their country and now, when the country is free, they are fighting for their own freedom!
What an irony!!

Let us focus our attention on the infamous and less blessed Paradhi Tribe. Instead of celebrating the heroic heritage of those designated 'criminal tribes' by the British rulers, Independent India continues to ill-treat them. The irony is that it is this harassment by our very own people that drives some of them to crime. Phase Paradhi (or Phasse Paradhi) is a tribe in India. The tribe is an indigenous to Maharashtra and can also be found in parts of Madhya Pradesh. The Phasse are a sub tribe of the Paradhi caste, which includes sub-castes like Gav-Paradhi, Berad-Paradhi, Gay-Paradhi and Chita-Paradhi. The word 'Paradhi' originally means 'hunter' and that is what they were until the British took over the forests for commercial purposes. Their history shows that their ancestors were either forest inhabitants or wandering tribes who had distinct cultural identities......
Gift #2 MISSING JINGLES

Where have the Jingles Gone?

A few days back while surfing the Internet I came across an old advertisement for Bajaj -- the "Hamara Bajaj" commercial, and as soon as I saw the ad I started to sing along with it. It was an old advertisement, but strangely I realized that I was able to recollect all the lyrics of the song in the commercial as soon as it started playing. The ad brought back some very old memories and most importantly it brought a smile to my face. I searched on the internet for few more such old ads like the Bajaj one and came across a few others like Amul Butter, Limca, Pepsi, Nirma etc. What makes us still remember these ads? Why is it that as soon as we listen to them we start singing along? One of the most important reasons for the immortality of such ads is the creative jingle associated with them. These jingles were simple, catchy and easy to remember and hence have stuck with us long after the ads have gone off air.....
Gift #3BOOK REVIEW

THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS – SIGMUND FREUD (1856-1939)

Sigmund Freud has always been one of the most controversial thinkers in history due to his theories based on psychoanalysis and sexuality. The book ‘The Interpretation of Dreams’ is one work which contributes to this image: this text is vehemently criticized and at the same time one of the most celebrated books written by Freud. Sigmund Freud took pride in meddling with the natural thinking process of his readers. We all have dreams and interpret in it in our own ways, but Freud came up with a methodology to crack the meaning of the dreams. The book was published in 1899, but Freud requested the publisher to print the publishing date as 1900, in order to create the impression that his thoughts were developed in the 20th century. Freud was disapproved by his colleagues and the book seemed to be an eccentric piece, only for a handful of readers. The book sold merely 350 copies in its first 6 years....
Gift #4MBA DIARY

Brand New Year, same old antics!

This phrase sums up pretty much all of what the MBA batch of IITK has been up to the entire month. With a brand new semester (which was incidentally started 4 days before 31st - the administration was really keen on making us celebrate the new year together - or raking in a decent amount of late fees from people who join after 1st, which was duly explained by the late-registration extended deadline of 5th January?) after a month long vacation, the junta was in no mood to study. The Professors however, always being more concerned than the students about their careers, were in no mood to relent and the train chugged off to a sluggish start, picking up steam till about the 10th of the month.
For the 2nd year students, nostalgia had already kicked in despite their still being in the campus-- From sentimental gtalk status messages, to full attendance in even the most boring electives, they are really feeling sad about leaving the insti, which makes the juniors wonder what there is to be sad about.....
Gift #5 CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate Change: An ignored crisis ?

When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves

For the past couple of years, we have witnessed many global financial economies in free fall. Living had become a fight for survival. Every possible resource was dedicated towards supporting and strengthening the economies. Now we hear that we are on the path of recovery and are assured of bright times ahead. Isn't there anything else threatening us with a greater magnanimity? Can we really say that we are in the "safe zone"?
The buzzword is 'climate change'. It refers to the change in weather patterns over a long span of time. It is a gradual process that happens due to variations in solar radiation, deviations in Earth's orbital motions, movement of tectonic plates reconfiguring land and ocean areas, and changes in greenhouse gas emissions. But over the last several decades, this process has hastened considerably.....
Gift #1 Gift #2 Gift #3 Gift #4 Gift #5

Toon of the Month

Ripul Kumar
MBA Batch of 2011
IIT Kanpur

Editorial

Dear Readers,
WELCOME to a Brand New, Revamped edition of Avant Garde !!
WikiPedia defines the term as “people or works that are experimental or innovative”. Well, in this issue, which comes after a long gap of 2 months, we have decided to incorporate both: experimentation, with respect to content and layout, and innovativeness, in the form [...]

Born Victims – the plight of a tribe

Born Victims – the plight of a tribe
Before they fought with the British for the freedom of their country and now, when the country is free, they are fighting for their own freedom!

What an irony!!
Let us focus our attention on the infamous and less blessed Paradhi Tribe. Instead of celebrating the heroic heritage of [...]

Where have the Jingles Gone?

Where have the Jingles Gone?

A few days back while surfing the Internet I came across an old advertisement for Bajaj – the “Hamara Bajaj” commercial, and as soon as I saw the ad I started to sing along with it. It was an old advertisement, but strangely I realized that I was able [...]

Climate Change: An ignored crisis?

Climate Change: An ignored crisis ?

When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves – David Orr
For the past couple of years, we have witnessed many global financial economies in free fall. Living had become a fight for survival. Every possible resource was dedicated towards supporting and strengthening the economies. Now we hear that we [...]

The Interpretation of Dreams

THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS – SIGMUND FREUD (1856-1939)

Sigmund Freud has always been one of the most controversial thinkers in history due to his theories based on psychoanalysis and sexuality. The book ‘The Interpretation of Dreams’ is one work which contributes to this image: this text is vehemently criticized and at the same time one of [...]