Farmer's daughter, 52-year-old French MA graduate among gold winners at BCU's fourth convocation on June 11
Her father is a farmer and her mother works in a garment factory. Everyday, she travelled for two hours one-way from her house in Electronics City to the college. 'Travelling to college was my biggest challenge as on some days I would have labs until 5.30 p.m. and it would take at least two hours to get home after that. Studying in a government college, I thankfully did not face any financial difficulties,' Ms. Anusha said. She scored a CGPA of 8.4 in her course and wishes to pursue a PhD.
Learning French at 52
Priya Bhalachandra, a 52-year-old working woman who took a break to pursue her MA degree in French at Central College, is among the graduating students and she secured two gold medals. She has obtained a score of 72.8%. 'I would like to teach French in the university and hopefully enroll for a PhD programme,' she said about her future plans.
There is also Lichumthung Kikon, a student from Nagaland, who has won two gold medals in Masters of Hotel Management. He came to Bengaluru in 2022 to pursue MTTM in The Oxford College of Hotel Management. He secured 71% and he plans to write the Nagaland public service exam.
A total of nine PhD, 7,285 postgraduate, and 32,486 undergraduate students will receive their degrees during the convocation ceremony. 'A total of 64 students will receive the rank certificates, gold medals and cash prizes during the convocation. Out of 41 gold medals instituted by the university, 36 gold medals and cash prizes will be awarded to postgraduate students and five gold medals and cash prizes will be awarded to undergraduate students In addition to the gold medals instituted by the university, the students will also receive 16 gold medals instituted by donors,' said K.R. Jalaja, Vice-Chancellor of BCU addressing a press conference on Tuesday.
Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot will preside over the convocation while Justice P.B. Bajanthri, judge, The High Court of Judicature at Patna, Bihar will deliver the convocation address.
(With inputs from Pavi K.R. and Vaishnav G. Edappattu)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Hindustan Times
Oui Transfer: An archive turns playful in Puducherry
It looks like someone has hurriedly left their office. At the mock office. (Institut Français de Pondichéry / École Française d'Extrême-Orient) On a wooden desk in a lamplit recess, an animated computer screen stands mid-scroll. Books, a set of keys and tasteful knick-knacks sit on nearby end tables. Then one notices an unusual element of décor: a translucent parchment screen above the desk. Pressed into it are replicas of plant specimens. A 10-metre scroll unrolls from ceiling to floor nearby, holding rows and rows of entries (more on this in a bit). One of the books on the desk turns out to hold Sangam-era poetry in the original Tamil. A cabinet nearby turns out to be a repository of images drawn from a long-gone Pondicherry. Past and present, history and lore, art and archive merge in the exhibition titled Sleepwalker Archives, hosted by the French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP) to mark its 70th anniversary. The institute's yellow-and-white structure, typical of Puducherry's White Town, and its stained-glass windows, vintage furniture and teak bookcases were roped into the interactive exhibition too. But the star of the show was the institute's extensive archive, made up of tens of thousands of photographs, specimens and manuscripts, some dating as far back as the 2nd century CE, all focused on the cultures, people and ecosystems of south India. The translucent parchment screens. (Institut Français de Pondichéry / École Française d'Extrême-Orient) Plants, poetry, love Before we return to the exhibition, a bit about the French Institute. It was established, interestingly, in 1955, a few months after the colony of Pondicherry was transferred to Independent India, in 1954. The institute was something of a goodwill gesture (if such a thing can exist between coloniser and colonised), meant to serve as a repository of all the information the French government had gathered in its time here. The repository turned out to be vast: nearly 28,000 plant specimens, 160,000 pictures, over 11,000 manuscripts in Sanskrit and Tamil, and periodicals on France's colonies in India, some of these dating back to 1823. Data-gathering continued until the early 2000s. (The institute is now run by the French foreign ministry and French National Centre for Scientific Research). In deciding how to help visitors engage with this trove, the curators of the exhibition — photographer Karthik Subramanian, 40, writer Devarati Chakrabarti, 28, and historian Sujeet George, 40 (aided by a grant from the Bengaluru-based not-for-profit India Foundation for the Arts) — decided to focus on engagement and interactivity. 'The project was an attempt to answer the question: How can we make an archive more playful than pedantic,' Subramanian says. Some of the manuscripts and periodicals are, accordingly, accessible to visitors, in an extended library made up of bookcases spread out across parts of the two-storey structure. The institute and the exhibition also feature in a film by Subramanian, titled Sleepwalker Archives, with screenings scheduled in Kolkata in September and October. A 1995 image of Montorsier Street, from the institute's archive. (Institut Français de Pondichéry / École Française d'Extrême-Orient) 'Since about 90% of the plant specimens had been digitised, that gave us the idea for public access via an Excel sheet,' Subramanian says. In the mock office, the scroll let visitors read through details of plant species documented in the region, and match these with some of the renderings traced by George and his team onto parchment screens. In the wooden index-card cabinet, 66 drawers hold images that spill out like tongues, in accordion folds. This part of the exhibition, curated by Chakrabarti, features photographs of prehistoric rock art, ancient temple architecture, carvings on temple chariots, palaces, cityscapes, jewellery, and sculptures in stone, bronze, wood and ivory. 'The aim is for visitors to explore the links between the idea and the object. Open a drawer labelled 'Threshold', for instance, and one finds archival images of the thinnai or courtyards seen in traditional south Indian architecture,' Chakrabarti says. Look closely and a connection also emerges between the 10-metre scroll and one of the Sangam-era verses in the book on the desk. Kurinjipattu (Song of the region of Kurinji) is a love poem that lists 99 flowers that the protagonist collects for her lover. 'This is empirical data as well,' Subramanian says. 'The poem too is essentially an archive.'
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Indian Express
Why Bengali kasundi is the most powerful mustard sauce you've never tried
Imagine a slice of soft white bread, layered with sharp Colman's mustard, and topped with either boiled, shredded chicken or mashed eggs. It's the mustard that gives it the edge—the sharpness and vinegary tinge elevating the simplest of sandwiches or dishes to another level. I'm a big fan of mustard—not the shorshe or sarson used in Bengali curries, but the kind made into a sauce, served as an accompaniment to various dishes. And one of my absolute favourites is Bengal's kasundi. The making of Bengali kasundi is nothing short of a rite. I come from a home where it never played a starring role on the dining table. Despite enjoying some of the finest Bengali cuisine, kasundi wasn't something we ate or served much—and so it was never made at home either. Like sandesh and many Bengali sweets, which are tedious to prepare, kasundi is widely available across Bengal, bottled and sold by numerous small and large manufacturers. So why this sudden ode to kasundi? Because of a food guide that's been stirring up debate in culinary circles in recent years. TasteAtlas—a relatively new guide from Croatia that launched in 2018—ranks everything from global dishes and restaurants to ingredients. Naturally, these rankings cause much heartburn, particularly when they seem misinformed or arbitrary. Their latest list, on the world's best mustards, included several German, French, English and even Chinese varieties. But not that most nuanced of mustards—Bengali, and therefore Indian, kasundi, which is sharp enough to clear your sinuses. Mustard—sarson, sometimes rai—is widely used across India, either for tempering or as a paste to flavour dishes. The leaves are cooked into sarson ka saag, or sautéed like spinach in many regions. But only in Bengal is mustard turned into a sauce that could rival the finest mustards in the world. We eat it with spinach, drizzled on top, or as a dip for crumb-fried fish or 'chops.' It's sharp, piquant, and utterly delicious. Making kasundi, however, isn't as simple as blending mustard seeds with water and salt. And neither is its past. I suspect the reason kasundi was never made at home is because we didn't observe certain archaic or regressive customs—especially those rooted in caste or gender roles. Traditionally, kasundi was only to be prepared by Brahmins. I can't imagine my very educated and independent great-grandmother following such a rule. Hence, we stuck to bottled kasundi. Kasundi is traditionally made on Akshaya Tritiya, in the Bengali month of Baishakh, right after the mustard harvest. According to old customs, only Brahmin men were allowed to make kasundi. Even Brahmin women could only wash, dry, and pound the mustard seeds—not make the actual paste. I've never seen this rule followed, even in the most traditional Bengali homes—but it is what the old prescriptions say. What I have witnessed is kasundi being made in a kitchen—and the sheer complexity of the process amazed me. This is a sauce that's been prepared for centuries, without any fancy tools, using bare hands and traditional knowledge. Over a dozen spices—green and black cardamom, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, mace, long pepper, chillies, black pepper, and the uniquely Bengali radhuni (wild celery seeds)—are used to create the spice mix that gives kasundi its signature punch. What sets one kasundi apart from another is the exact mix and measure of these spices. Once dried, the mustard seeds and spices are pounded and sifted, then mixed with water, salt, and vinegar. Before refrigeration, this mixture would be stored in earthen pots and sealed for two and a half days in a cool, dark place. A version called phool or aam kasundi is made with turmeric, chillies and green mango, for an added flavour kick. The closest mustard I've found to kasundi is Colman's. Especially the powdered version, when mixed with water, it comes close in sharpness and tang. But here's the thing: you never cook with kasundi, contrary to what many modern recipes suggest. It's a dipping or flavouring sauce, meant to be eaten as is. It's also one of those rare Indian condiments that has no regional variant outside Bengal. My advice: Eat it the way it's meant to be eaten. Be a purist. Don't slather it on your sandwich; for that, there's Dijon. Instead, have it with fish fry or drizzled over sautéed spinach with steaming hot rice. That's when you'll realise how the simplest ingredients can deliver the most complex tastes. Below is the only kasundi recipe I've ever followed. I made it once, and it's absolutely worth trying. 1 bay leaf 1 tsp black peppercorns ¼ tsp ajwain (carom seeds) ¼ tsp radhuni/celery seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp coriander seeds ½ tsp fenugreek seeds 2 cloves 2 tbsp white vinegar 2 tbsp mustard oil ½ tsp turmeric powder 1 cup yellow mustard seeds ½ cup black mustard seeds 2 dried red chilis 2 green cardamoms 1 tsp salt 1. In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, except turmeric and salt. 2. Heat a pan and dry roast the spices over low heat till they are fragrant and start to crackle. 3. Do not let the mixture burn; allow it to cool and then grind to a fine powder. 4. Start adding boiled and then cooled water to this powder slowly, to create the consistency of mustard paste. Now add the turmeric. The consistency should be thick. 5. Stir in the salt and white vinegar. 6. Transfer the mixture to a glass jar, add the mustard oil over the paste. Do not stir into the paste – this is simply to ensure that the top layer of the paste is covered. Keep the closed jar in the fridge for at least a week or 10 days, allowing it to ferment before you dig in. Next week, I'll be writing about Lady Canning. Why? You'll have to read to find out.
News18
3 days ago
- News18
Why Was Agra Chosen For Taj Mahal Why Doesn't Yamuna Flood Shah Jahan Monument
While the Yamuna River has been swelling in parts of Uttar Pradesh flooding areas like Ghaziabad and Prayagraj, the Taj Mahal in Agra seems to remain protected. Some places are remembered for the stories they hold. Agra is one such city which is home to the Taj Mahal, a monument that continues to draw admiration for its beauty, architecture and the emotion it represents. Even after centuries, it stands steady beside the Yamuna River untouched by both time or tide. While the Yamuna River has been swelling in parts of Uttar Pradesh flooding areas like Ghaziabad and Prayagraj, the Taj Mahal in Agra seems to remain protected. So why did Shah Jahan choose Agra and the specific site to build the Taj? And how has the monument stayed unharmed despite being so close to the Yamuna? Why Agra Was The Chosen Location At the time the Taj Mahal was planned, Agra was the capital of the Mughal Empire. It was where Shah Jahan's court was based and where access to skilled labour and raw materials was readily available. But beyond practical reasons, the riverbank offered a natural setting that supported the monument's design and stability. The flow of the Yamuna in this region is such that it does not cause damage to the building. A 22-Year Effort With 20,000 Workers Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632 AD and took around 22 years to complete. It was finished in 1653. The work involved more than 20,000 artisans, architects and labourers from across regions. Built as a symbol of eternal love in memory of Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan's third and most beloved wife, it soon became one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture. Why The Yamuna Doesn't Flood The Taj A major reason the Taj Mahal remains protected from the Yamuna's flooding is the site's natural geography. Historians and experts believe that Shah Jahan deliberately chose a spot along a specific bend of the river. This bend helps reduce direct impact from flowing water and protects the riverbank from erosion. The Taj is also built on a high red sandstone platform which raises the white marble mausoleum well above the usual water level. This elevation along with the natural curve of the river has helped the monument survive without major water damage for centuries. Was A Black Taj Ever Planned? Legend has it that Shah Jahan intended to build a second Taj Mahal, this one in black marble, directly opposite the white mausoleum, across the Yamuna River at the site of Mehtab Bagh. The story traces back to French traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier who visited Agra in 1665 and wrote that Shah Jahan had begun work on his own tomb but the plan was halted by the war with his sons. After being overthrown, Shah Jahan was placed under house arrest by his successor, Aurangzeb, who reportedly had little interest in continuing his father's grand vision. Shah Jahan's View Shah Jahan spent his final years under house arrest in Agra Fort. From there, he would look at the Taj Mahal, possibly through a diamond fixed in the wall, and see the monument that held his wife's memory. After his death, Shah Jahan was laid to rest beside Mumtaz Mahal inside the tomb. His casket remains the only asymmetrical element in the perfectly balanced structure. view comments Location : Mumbai, India, India First Published: August 07, 2025, 08:30 IST News viral Why Was Agra Chosen For Taj Mahal Why Doesn't Yamuna Flood Shah Jahan Monument Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
