NUJS Football League

As if the Inter-batch Football Tournament and Five-a-Side Football were not enough, the NUJS Football League has been added to the NUJS sporting calendar. Each of the four teams in the League has one or more ‘owners’—interested members of the student body and alumni. They were allotted a certain amount of ‘money’ which they could use to ‘buy’ players who signed up for the league. At a gripping auction held on 14th November, human beings were bought and sold like cattle.

Given the mode of team-formation, neither batch pride nor regional pride is at stake. Still the event has proved popular, proving that people here will get excited about anything. And why not? The matches have produced skilful football, on-field skirmishes, rumours of match-fixing, goalkeeping blunders and all the other ingredients of a truly interesting tournament.

The first half of the league, comprising six matches, has been played so far, and the transfer window has been opened with the Czars leading the table. Football fans are eagerly awaiting the second half of the season, which is to commence in the last week of December.

Basketball Diaries

Under the enthusiastic guidance of Convener of the Year, the Sports Com held the first ever NUJS Inter Batch Basketball Tournament. Spread over two weekends, this tournament saw enthusiastic participation from students. The finals saw the Class of 2011 defeat the Class of 2010 ie the 3rd years belted the 4th years. Leading scorer Siddhart Rao aka Maamaa was spotted by a leading city sports club and is now the first NUJS Student to officially play in the city’s basketball Leagues. The initiative deserves to be congratulated and we hope that the Sports Com continues to hoop it up.

Blood Donation Camp at NUJS

Over 110 NUJS students overcame their fears of needles, blood loss and pro-activeness to donate blood on 30th November 2008 at the Blood Donation Camp organised in NUJS, by the non-profit organisation LUCY. The Boys' Hostel Rec Room was turned into a mini-ward and the place was abuzz with donors, volunteers and LUCY officials.

As there were NFL matches that day and a lot of the players were worried whether donating blood would affect their game, special arrangements were made for players by which they could donate early on in the day; several of them, like Bunty Da (in the picture) were therefore the first to donate.

There was no dearth of volunteers scurrying around all over the place, playing multifarious roles. Some took up the role of cajoling and coaxing nervous students into donating blood, while others fussed over the donors, much to latter's enjoyment.

Just like last year (this being the 2nd Blood Donation Camp in NUJS), several hopeful donors had to return dissapointed, because of medical reasons. Many of them being teased, that it looked like they needed some blood themselves.

Several faculty members, mess workers and other staff also came forward to donate blood and some of the organizers of the camp felt that there would have been even more wider participation if the camp had been held on a week day.

Though there was some misinformation revolving around the magic number of 25, with one donor being told that it was the time it took for blood regeneration, while another nervous donor being told (much to her horror) that it was the time period for which her blood would be drained, the camp for most parts got over without any glitches.

At the end of the camp, apart from the wacky caps and stickers, each donor got the following sms:"

Thank you for the gift of blood you have donated for the welfare of society. Your single contribution will save three lives. You're a real life hero."

Because of the high quotient of modesty running in their veins (pun intended), several donors were heard trying to disassociate themselves from such an image stating firmly that they did it for the food.

Miscellaneous Sporting Activities in November

The chess tournament, which in previous years was an individual open event, was held in the Davis Cup, inter-batch format this year. VD, JNU and Pranab Pegu emerged as the knights in shining armour for the Fifth Years. Playing the Sicilian defence with the black pieces and a variation of the Latvian gambit with the white, they sailed through to the finals, where they overcame the Third Year team 3-0 with 3 checkmates.

Also, in one of the most hotly contested events of the NUJS sporting calendar, the girls’ Throwball Tournament came to an end with the Fourth Years emerging as the winners. The finals saw them pull off an upset victory over the Third Years who have a number of University Team players on their rolls.

Le’Gala Windfall

A highly enthusiastic contingent from NUJS, largely consisting of First Years, noisily descended upon NLS, Bangalore in mid-November to participate in Le’Gala. They got molested by eunuchs, trapped in a lift, and lost a contingent member to a leg injury, but they came through it all to win prizes in painting, sketching, clay modelling and street play.

The overjoyed contingent returned started for ‘home’ on the 24th with sweet memories, but not before being witness to the most awaited event of the whole fest: the Rock Show, better known as Strawberry Fields.

NUJS Hostel Safari

On 18th November 2008, more than 50 NUJS girls made their way through the corridors of the Boys’ Hostel for the first ever NUJS Hostel Safari, an event organised by the MagCom. Armed with cameras, loads of courage and hankies to cover their noses, they bravely walked where few (if any) sane women have ever gone before.

To enrich the Safari experience, the MagCom provided them with guide booklets that contained floor-by-floor maps and highlighted the places of interest. Among these were the rooms widely recognised as the messiest and dirtiest in hostel, and also some which were so elaborately and painstakingly ‘done up’ that the girls themselves were left wondering if they should ask the occupants for a few tips on interior décor. Another prominent place of interest was the corridor where the ‘Pink Lady’, the resident ghost of the Boys’ Hostel, first made her appearance. The adventurers ended their tour at the terrace where some nutters (read MagCom members) put garlands around their necks and “served” them Pepsi.

For a few hours, the NUJS Boys’ Hostel was converted into a monument of interest and viewed through the eyes of an outsider. For a few hours, the Hostel felt like a different kind of circus.

Gym murmurs surface again

NUJS shall soon boast of its own gym. Of course we have heard this approximately every other month for the last three years, but now the rumours are going stronger than ever. The SJA Prez tells us that things look more promising this time. About time too, because there is really no other way to sustain the liquid diets currently in vogue with the student body and also ensure that tummies do not burst through the buttons.

Under the proposed plan, Room 006 shall the gym instead of the reception, as was the case under an earlier (abandoned) plan. Two mechanical treadmills have been procured, the best that could be expected given the available funds. The weights are to be housed elsewhere. The tentative deadline for the gym was November 10 but at the time of posting, there seems to be no sign of any activity along this front. As of now, the only exercise we are getting is by keeping our fingers crossed. Keep watching this space for more.

Amazing Race

The first ever Amazing Race (NUJS Chapter) was organised last year by the Law and Contemporary Affairs Society (LCAS) and featured among other activities – walking around the rim of the cesspool, two at a time, three legged. This time of course Amazing Race 2008 was bigger, weirder and for a lack of a better word, even more amazing!

Throwing plastic packets of water from the fourth floor, jumping around in gunny bags and eating exotic cuisine with some daab: these were just some of the things the participants of the Amazing Race 2008 were forced er…expected to do. The challenges were tougher; the tasks crazier – for example while Round Five involved Christmas caps and shaving form, Round Six involved the use of Rickshaws bedecked with multi-coloured heart-shaped balloons.

The race ended with Siddharth Sinha, Kamaljeet Singh and Pranav Mittal (a team comprising of Third Years) being declared the winners. With the continuing success of this year’s Amazing Race, the clamouring for an Amazing Race 2009 has already started.

Quantum of Solace

Last semester, the newly constituted SJA wooed the General Body with a screening of Rock On. The special screening at Adlabs, Sector V met with an enthusiastic response with the tickets being declared sold out early on. This semester however the SJA organised screening of the latest James Bond flick, Quantum of Solace at INOX, City Centre on 9th November 2008, was received with considerably less enthusiasm by the General Body. Perhaps it was because that the average Noojie still prefers a Pierce Brosnan to Daniel Craig as the debonair agent James Bond, or the fact that a certain Second Year student had already treated most of her class to an earlier screening of the movie. The verdict seems rather unanimous for both the movie as well as the screening – we preferred the earlier one.

The End of an Era

While the general quality of the Hostel food has improved substantially, there have been several complaints that the biryani is just not the same as it used to be. The Mess Comm, never shy of introducing menu overhauls, has therefore removed the iconic biryani from the Sunday menu. Instead they are serving Pulao with Chicken Kassa for the non veggies and some form of vegetables for the veggies. It seems that the day is fast approaching when only the old fogies will remember Sundays like they used to be: half-day classes and biryani for dinner.