Bemused by the heavily alliterative rubric? I’m sure what Calvin Candie (played by Leonardo DiCaprio in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained) is saying in this image is what’s resonating in your mind as you see the wacky title. Allow me to elaborate.

Tarantino is one of the best modern-era directors. I hope you got to see at least some of Tarantino’s amazing movies this quarantine-o. Name one Tarantino fan who just doesn’t love it when Sam Jackson shouts the Oedipal polysyllable? (I dare not say it, though. Do Professors read Quirk?).

One often wonders – how does this man have this ability to garner rave critical and audience reviews? Well, we need not look far, for the acclaimed director himself has the answer to this rumination: “I steal from every single movie ever made.”

Yes, Tarantino openly admits to chaapo-fying scenes from hundreds of movies across genres and countries, and using them in his movies. Most are audaciously copied to a T. For instance, the scene in Pulp Fiction where Bruce Wills, who is in his car, sees arch-nemesis Marsellus Wallace on the street and drives away immediately, mirrors a scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Even the seemingly spontaneous, iconic Pulp Fiction dance routine featuring Thurman and Travolta is copied (sigh). Scenes from Jackie Brown are ‘borrowed’ from the movie Foxy Brown.

I can go on and on, enumerating the various sources of ‘inspiration’ (as Indian music composers and directors and Constitutional Law Professors often say) used by Tarantino for his movies. Applying this to Law School context, it parallels our attempts to seek ‘inspiration’ from already-written literature on our project topics, as we race against time to come up with a ‘novel’ project.

But there is a major difference. Tarantino is hailed as a master and an auteur for whom grandiloquent praises are sung. On the other hand, we — the students — whose Turnitin reports faithfully point to unsuccessful attempts at borrowing from internet sources, are in the soup. Teachers look at our Inglourious Turnitin reports, showing us (Death) Proof of our botched attempt at seeking inspiration, and Kill(Bill) our hopes of a great grade — by pointing out each and every line that was ‘copied’ from online sources written Once Upon a Time, without citing them (Huff, that took quite some effort).

Tarantino definitely got lucky, there’s no Turnitin for Hollywood. But there’s more to it than just that. Most of the similarities that I mentioned previously don’t exactly strike us despite watching his movies more than once (just like the answers to any HUF question in Family Law-2). The manner in which Tarantino adapts these sources and smorgasbords them into a wholly different film is a testament to his directorial abilities. Therein, I submit, also lies our ability as researchers, to come up with ‘novel’ projects. You may have heard the idea I’m alluding to here, given that we have all been through the whirlwind that was History-1: it’s postmodernism.

Postmodernism in film-making advocates that everything in the world of art is already there, lying in wait for auteurs to employ in their movies. How does the question of originality still arise? It is when the content already available is compiled and packed by directors in a manner different from existing source(s) of inspiration. Tarantino knows that even if he admits to ‘stealing’ from other movies, his content will be devoured by his fans. That confidence he has is because he takes two and two, and comes out with five: he magically spins out wholly new yarns of storytelling that he has masterful control over, with a paradoxical originality to them.[1]

This ability to take already-existing research material (in the form of books, research papers, articles, blogs, reports, etc.) and process them in a manner different to what was advocated in the original source would, I submit, define how our project comes out. This is the postmodern technique of pastiche.[2] Pastiches are successful in bringing the required element of novelty, because the sources of inspiration aren’t looked at as mere works (or, in our context, texts). Tarantino employs the pastiche-method, by understanding those existing movies, their context, and the time they were made in. Then he weaves a movie in a different time and in a different context altogether, while based on similar ideas or concepts as past movies, thereby bringing out something ‘unseen’ till now.

Law Schoolites, take cue. For us, too, having a humongous library is copacetic, in that we have a lot of legal literature to access. However, it serves as a stark reminder that what you intend to argue in your projects could already be present in legal academia. Impossibility, thy name is novelty.

Consequently, to take a stab at novelty in projects — traversing the postmodern, pastiche road just like Tarantino does — should be a good alternative. You could be a sceptic postmodernist and critique existing literature dealing with your project’s topic, hence reinterpreting arguments the works have propounded. Alternatively, you could examine the criteria which the book/article bases its arguments on, compare material dealing with the same issue, and emerge with unexplored interpretations from a combined reading of existing literature. Therefore, in a postmodern way, by understanding material not just in terms of what the text is, but by trying to understand the context and the intent or logic behind those points already made in existing works, and by subsequently invoking these points in a different manner, in a different context, we can evade the jaws of Turnitin in our projects. We don’t need to be original (according to postmodernists, we cannot), we need to be authentic.[3] And thus, we can emerge as Natural Born Researchers.

Anyway, best of luck for the projects! Work hard in silence, like the D in Django. Let the success (and the illuminating Turnitin Reports) speak for itself. Get back to project (and perhaps postmodern) work, all of you!

[1] It would have been too ironic if I hadn’t cited the one article I was ‘inspired’ from for writing this piece:

https://www.businessinsider.in/video/how-quentin-tarantino-steals-from-other-movies/articleshow/70441598.cms.

[2] There is often a debate about what pastiche exactly stands for. However, for current purposes, it is a technique that imitates motifs present in existing work(s) of art, not by way of mocking it (which is what a parody does), but by respecting, adapting, and honouring that work. Thus, in a way, postmodernism and pastiche get along.

[3] Dipankar Gupta, ‘A Critical Study of Trump, the Postmodernist’ (The Hindu, 30 April 2020) <https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/a-critical-study-of-trump-the-postmodernist/article31466682.ece> accessed 25 August 2020.

I have been a part of the Sports Committee since my first year. In my time, I was only used to fretting, working, and going crazy during this time of the trimester. As I see all the memories popping up on my Instagram and Snapchat from the past two years, I cannot help but miss the insanely stressful yet most fun event that I have ever been a part of in Law School![1] I’m quite sad that I didn’t get the chance to host Spiritus during my final year on the Committee, so I made this little animation for myself, for the Sports Committee members, and for all the people who love Spiritus, as a throwback of sorts!  #RIPSpiritus2020-21

[1] Personal opinion. Don’t go all crazy over it.

Why not to read 40 pages in a book and think it qualifies you to theorise about sexual assault

This article has been written by Anonymous. The cover illustration is also by them.

Trigger Warning: Mentions of sexual assault.

I’m your average run-of-the-mill feminist who is kind of tired of reading dumb shit on the internet, so I don’t usually bother responding. But sometimes, you read something that really ignites your inner feminazi, you know?

In a previous Quirk articled titled “Alcohol and Assault: Who’s to Blame?”, the author establishes a positive relation between hypersexuality, alcohol, and sexual assault on campus. While conceding that alcohol is not the sole cause of sexual assault, the author says that alcohol causes short-sightedness and puts you at the “mercy of your environment” (whatever the hell that means).

I am going to tell you three reasons why painting alcohol even as one of the reasons for sexual assault detrimentally impacts our understanding of the same. Then I will tell you why this idea of hypersexuality is just a dumbass way of patrolling sex lives.

First, let us break down why causation is so important. Sexual assault is a very specific form of gendered violence that uses sex and sexual acts as a way of reinforcing the power of one gender over the others. Like we learnt from the many readings in the History II course, (I’d suggest the author of the article I’m responding to take time to go through those again) inequality is what is sexual. The fact that a man, at any point, can feel the urge to touch a woman against her will and then act on that urge is not random. It’s based on years of understanding women as property and women as merely existing for the sexual gratification of men.

However, most of you already know this. The reason it is so wrong to associate sexual assault with alcohol is that it shifts the blame away from this patriarchal structure and onto a seemingly frivolous shot of vodka. In other words, blaming alcohol erases the systematic nature of sexual assault. It reduces it to a mistake that happens when you’re drunk. Sexual assault does not happen because people get drunk. It happens because people had those misogynistic ideas before they got drunk.

Second, let us tackle this idea about whether people in college understand consent just because they are in law school, because the author answers this in the positive. The author, in musing whether “lack of understanding of informed consent” has a role to play in sexual assault, opines that we have a good understanding of consent. Now, let us consider this point against the backdrop of sexual assaults on campus. When you superimpose this idea that people understand consent, and that sexual assault happens a lot while people are drunk, it leads you to this ludicrous pro-harasser stance that says people generally understand consent, and that alcohol just results in short-sightedness and lack of control.

All sexual assault is because of a lack of understanding of consent. Saying alcohol leads to short-sightedness and lack of control is justificatory behaviour that takes away from the fact that sexual assault is a function of lack of consent. This is no different from the typical “Oh, he just didn’t know what he was doing” BS that women hear every day.

Third, let us understand how the article in question, whether knowingly or unknowingly, has created a framework that blames the victim for assault. You will notice that everywhere in the article, the author says “here is what causes sexual assault”, not “here is why men sexually assault”.*

Know that there is a subtle difference between the phrasing. But my point is, that even when he is talking about short-sightedness and one’s acts being dictated by the environment, he never points this at the harasser, because the truth is that alcohol causes everyone to be let their guards down. And this is where the article blurs the line of “whose fault is sexual assault?”. This is because, the premise of the article appears to be that if you are choosing to drink, or be around people who drink, you run the risk of being sexually assaulted. So, if you make that choice, the consequences are something you need to be ready for. Not just that, it really fucks up the idea of continuing consent. For instance, if a woman and a man are drunk and the woman consents only to making out with a man, but he wants to have sex, the author really, really cannot say that that they were both short-sighted, and around people who were hooking up and that is what caused the assault. By doing this, the author makes the victim seem complicit in the crime that was committed against her just because she was also part of an environment that was consuming alcohol.

Finally, let us try to understand this word “hypersexuality” that was thrown around a lot but never really explained right. Hypersexuality is defined as a “dysfunctional preoccupation with sexual fantasy”.

While I don’t really think the author used the right word, I understand the essence of what he’s saying. College kids just wanna bang all the time (guilty). And in wanting to engage in intercourse/fuck/make love/ do the deed I don’t know whatever you want to call it, we’ve put sex on a pedestal and that is problematic. I get his point – sex should not have to be viewed as the end-all, and such a view often leads to environments where women feel pressured to oblige.

Here’s the thing though. There is a difference between saying that putting sex on a pedestal causes sexual assault, versus saying that physical expressions of sexuality lead to sexual assault. This is something a friend told me after reading the article – “It seems as if the article seeks to blame sexual environments for sexual assault”. To put it really simply – I could be at an orgy, and if I say no to sex that counts as a valid choice. Anything after that is assault.

At the end of the day, this is only really impacting women’s desire to be or act or dress sexy, right? Women should be able to twerk, grind, #freethenipple or whatever it is that they want to do (without harming anyone else of course), without the fear that their expression of sexuality will lead to them getting assaulted. Otherwise, this is just moral policing.

Anyway, this is my two cents as a woman who has read slightly more than 40 pages. Dear Author, to clarify, I do not think your article had any malicious intent. It was just poorly researched and badly worded.

Sexual assault on campus is far more complex than just being a function of kids getting drunk. We need to take responsibility and identify the right issues. Without that, we’re never going to get anywhere with making campus safer for women and sexual minorities.

*Yes, men also get sexually assaulted and women sexually assault, please do not come @ me for being a fAke FeMiniSt.

Quirk Team Note: Other responses to “Alcohol and Assault: Who’s to Blame? can be found in the comments section of the original piece. We’d encourage readers to read those as well.

Trigger Warning: Mentions of sexual assault.

It has been one month since I completed four years at the University. One thing I remember from my initial days is that alcohol was told to be the sine qua non of Law School life. I was told that my chances of getting through NLS without alcohol were bleak. However, my single kidney has been stronger than Law School influence. I just feel sad for the kidney to start with – when I was 10, the only pressure that this lone kidney felt was that of supporting a 6-foot body without a partner kidney. Never did the kidney imagine that 8 years down the line it would be bestowed with the task of endlessly fending off the societal pressure of drinking. Don’t worry, this piece is not about my journey coping with the Nashe, Liquor and Spirit (“NLS”) culture. It is more or less a Megha Mehta summary about and subsequent localisation of something I read during the lockdown, namely, a chapter titled ‘The Fraternity Part’ in Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell.

The reason I chose to write for the first time for Quirk is that 40 pages of that book resolved my long-standing doubts regarding the relationship between campus drinking culture, sexual assaults, and quad parties. Some of you may choose to stop reading here. Why should you read about this from someone who has never tasted alcohol? Fair, but, let me tell you that my friends have been gracious enough to pass on their expanse of knowledge to me (not thankful!), which, I have studied with some rigour. I kid you not, my father is convinced that I am a raging alcoholic and my sister has proposed that I undergo medical tests as soon as possible to prove my teetotaler status. With this, I prove my locus and hope to have fulfilled the quirky threshold requirement to be featured on this blog.

Now, I will urge you to seriously read the remaining portion because it might help us improve as a community. Everyone is aware that NLS has had a fair share of sexual assaults fuelled by campus drinking at quad parties. For the longest time I did not understand two things: first, the real cause of such acts of sexual misconduct and; second, the standard for consent when alcohol was involved. I have spent a good amount of time pondering over these questions, but it was all in vain. I was able to draw clear linkages only when I read the aforementioned chapter in Malcolm Gladwell’s book talking about a ‘Fraternity Party’ at Stanford University which sounded very similar to our very own NYP.

My only hope is that by the end of this piece you won’t be plagued by these questions. The purpose of this piece is to show that each and every Law Schoolite, present and past, is culpable for each and every act of sexual misconduct that has happened under the influence of alcohol on campus.

Let me start with some yes or no questions (the answers to which you have the full right to disagree with):

• Is intoxication the sole cause behind sexual assaults in parties? No.
• Is the lack of respect that a person holds towards women the sole factor behind sexual assaults? No.
• Are the other people present in the party responsible for not having taken steps to prevent the assault? No.

You may be confused now, and wondering what it is that I’m trying to say. Who is really causing the assault then? Why did I make this tall claim of every Law Schoolite being responsible? Am I saying that there can never be consent when there is alcohol? You will have stick with me till the end to find the answers *sick move*.

Discovering causation

Alcohol cannot be the sole factor leading to sexual assault. Interestingly, an indigenous group, Camba, in Bolivia drinks laboratory grade alcohol in groups. The Cambas have a solitary lifestyle except for on the weekends. They party every weekend, from Saturday evening to Monday morning. They pass out, regain consciousness, drink more alcohol, and pass out again in this time period. You’d expect that such a lonely life, when combined with highly potent alcohol, would lead to sexual activity on the weekends. However, there are NO instances of harmful sexual conduct. Why?  Again, you will have to wait for the answer.

What exactly is driving the trend of sexual assault in NLS then? Is it the lack of understanding of informed consent? Or is it the character of the person responsible for such assaults? In the context of Law School, I will answer both these question in the negative. In my opinion, we are sufficiently made aware of what constitutes consent. Some may suggest that there is an understanding deficit given the absence of sex education in schools, and that navigating consent in a liberal space like our campus can be tricky. However, I do not endorse this view because I believe that Prof. Elizabeth’s session in the first year, substantive criminal law classes in the second year, and general discussions on campus are sufficient to equip us. Further, I also refuse to fully support the character theory, because I have observed that those accused of grave sexual misconduct have also been extremely aware and respectful in other instances, including when they were in an inebriated state. Thus, I do not believe that character can be the sole cause for inappropriate conduct as for some perpetrators, such behaviour is not repetitive. This does not mean that only repeat offenders are liable for their actions, I simply want to illustrate reasons in addition to character that contribute to sexual assault.

Now, let’s look at the NLS community’s role in promoting instances of sexually inappropriate behaviour. We are responsible – but not because we did not stop the act when it happened. We are responsible – but not because we failed to stop a student from taking someone to the washroom during a party. These instances could have happened and may happen without anyone spotting the act or the perpetrator.

We are responsible – but not even because we did not explicitly speak up when such an incident happened. The biggest disasters have happened when we have blindly believed the words and conduct of a person on the face of it (to explain this point, I will write an article some other time). Just because Modi says that he cares about minorities and considers them part of India, doesn’t mean he believes that. Hence, taking a stand may be of no relevance in a wider scheme of things. In my opinion, taking a stand could be just a convenient way to divert blame. Mere words are insufficient and silence in condemnation may not always mean ‘being an enabler’ – what we need to do is look around and go beyond performative activism. We need to take responsibility for the culture that prevails.

What we are responsible for is creating an environment of hypersexuality and alcoholism during our parties. The culture of hypersexuality when mixed with alcohol is instrumental, and is the trigger for all these sexually inappropriate behaviours. This culture has been passed from one batch to another. Hence, no Law Schoolite can be absolved.

To better understand this deadly combination, we will have to go a little into the science behind alcohol. To say that alcohol helps its consumers put down their guards and makes them happy is not absolutely true. What alcohol actually does is, after a certain level, induce myopia. Myopia has two components. First, the person is incapable of assessing the long-term implications of his act, and second, his acts start being dictated by his environment.

• First Component: Short-sightedness

Myopia narrows our emotional and mental fields of vision. It creates, “a state of shortsightedness in which superficially understood, immediate aspects of the experience have a disproportionate influence on behaviour and emotion.” Alcohol makes the thing in the background less significant. It makes short-term considerations loom large, and more cognitively demanding, and longer-term considerations fade away. (Excerpts from: Malcolm Gladwell. “Talking to Strangers”). Alcohol incapacitates parts of our brain which handle complex, long-term considerations. In simpler words, a person is rendered incapable of assessing the long-term implications of his conduct. Potential police complaints or SHARIC proceedings do not threaten the person and are irrelevant considerations. This provides an answer to all those who have asked me why someone acted in such a manner even after knowing that there may be consequences. It also means that repeated amendments to strengthen the SHARIC Code may not yield substantial results.

• Second Component: Acts Dictated by the Environment

Drinking puts you at the mercy of your environment. As previously noted, immediate and near considerations gain paramount importance in an inebriated state. It is on you as to how you structure your environment. If you were to drink alone, you are likely to feel more lonely. If you are drinking with your best friends and joking, you are likely to have a great experience. If you are going to drink in a conflict situation, you are likely to aggravate the conflict. Similarly, when someone is blind drunk, with people grinding on the dance floor who are hell-bent on going mad, then such an environment can possibly induce some short-sighted sexual consideration. This must also be seen in a broader framework, whereby hookup culture is glorified on campus. In fact, hypersexuality is inculcated within us on the very first day of college by asking our “Top 5”. Also, irresponsible drinking is the key defining feature of our NLS Culture. Be it Freshers, NYP, or SF, all I can see is people who are not really in their senses. Despite knowing the consequence, we boast about the unlimited alcohol availability at our parties and afterparties, and try to justify it with a 5-minute SHARIC Orientation parade.

The shortsightedness highlighted above, induced by irresponsible drinking and combined with a culture of hypersexuality, leads to the occurrence of grave sexual offences on campus. Even after knowing this, I am sure we won’t do much. Rather than addressing the issues of hypersexuality or irresponsible drinking, we will choose to cancel parties altogether or just blame those who may have committed such acts in the past and prevent them from attending parties.

Taking you back to the Camba, do you know why there is no sexual misconduct in their gathering despite them leading a lonely lifestyle? It is because they have used transformative power to create a healthy communal expression for themselves – they have used the myopia of alcohol to temporarily create a different world for themselves. They gave themselves strict rules: one bottle at a time, an organized series of toasts, all seated around the circle, only on the weekends, never alone. They drank only within a structure that had a world of soft music and quiet conversation: order, friendship, predictability, and ritual. This Camba society was manufactured with the assistance of one of the most powerful drugs on earth. (Excerpt from: Malcolm Gladwell. “Talking to Strangers”)

With that said, seniors should not and need not take pride in the number of first-years they help pass out in the Freshers Party. Similarly, there is no need for the DJ to play the “Manali Trance” song to make the party wild. Whenever college reopens, we must endeavour to have a more disciplined party culture, particularly involving clamping down on alcohol consumption. If you want the liberty to drink as much as you want, stay in your room. As I said before, alcohol by default does not lead to social pathology. The culture of hypersexuality is what makes it toxic. It is on us to control consumption and hypersexuality.

Conclusion

What I said may have been very obvious. If you thought it was, then you’re on the right path. However, connecting all the dots may not be that easy for everyone. By the end, all I have is three conclusions.

First, each and every Law Schoolite, present and past, is responsible for the instances of sexual assault that have happened under intoxication in law school parties. Even more than the accused, I’d say. Many of us may have made the mistake of facilitating an environment for such wrongdoing, but it is high time that we make amends. Let us moderate the alcohol and alcoholism, and bring down the hypersexuality. Second, writing a Quirk article when I am supposed to write a seminar paper is not a good decision. Third, my summary writing skills are not even close to those of Megha Mehta!

May we have safer parties in the future!

Late at night, I stay up wondering why I can’t sleep, held to consciousness on the thread of a thought that was too inchoate to be put into words. I want to say “I miss you”, as I lie curled up and alone in the corner of a large bed in a room that I used to call home but now feels a bit too big for me, lit up by nothing but the harsh light of a screen. But my hands waver, and I can’t quite get the words out – I hesitate, because those aren’t the right words, and strangely enough I can’t discern to whom I wanted to say these words.

The screen, though lit with a red light, didn’t convey the warmth of what I was trying to say. Neither would sending that message bring me the warmth or whatever it was that I craved, or anything more than two ticks (one if I was unlucky). The words were inadequate, and only a facet of what I was trying to say. And there was no one person who saying this to would feel enough – it would not even be enough to text the words to several people whom I missed.

Perhaps, in some sense, the feeling of wanting to send this message is perfectly captured by Marina Keegan when she wrote, in 2012, “We don’t have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I could say that’s what I want in life (in this lockdown, in 2020, you get the idea)… It’s not quite love and it’s not quite community; it’s just this feeling that there are people, an abundance of people, who are in this together”. [1] That, is whom I want to write my message – my “I miss you” to – to this abundance of people living creatures – be it students, or staff, or doggos (miss you Leah uwu) who are in this together, who create this intertwined net of the opposite of loneliness at Law School. I want to send this message to you, but to you as a part of us, a part of this living breathing fabric of Law School – I miss you.

Except, as I mentioned, missing is not quite the right word, if one thinks of missing as feeling sad when this abundance of people is not present. Missing would apply to friend circles and significant others and roommates and other such inner circles – it is specific, intricate, and heavy – it weighs on you. But the feeling I have, it is different. It is more universal – it does not require me to know the specifics of the individual people in this abundance or have an intricate relationship with them. It is also a lighter and simpler feeling, in that doesn’t induce sadness in the same way or to the same level, nor does it have the layered, complicated ties of relationships.

It’s more that I yearn for the presence of this abundance of living creatures – the scattering at the field on a starry Friday night; the throbs of quad parties long bygone; the attendance calls of 8:50AM, the chatter of mess halls; the trickle from the library every night early early morning; the comforting woofs of a Chetta break; and the weekly jingles of a Happy Birthday; the music, laughter (and smoke :P) of hostel corridors and the gentle breath of roommates, just footsteps away.

Which brings me to the last part of what holds me back from sending my message – the message to this abundance of people, that I yearn for the presence that they create together – I cannot send it because I alone cannot fully capture the experience that Law School provides its abundance of people. The thing is though, the presence that I yearn for, it’s not something that I have wholly experienced – I am but one person in this abundance after all.

There is a concept in tumblr and pinterest feeds philosophy and psychology known as “qualia”. It refers to an instance of individual, subjective, conscious experience. An easy way to understand this is through a thought experiment – a neuroscientist, Mary, studies the science behind colour vision, and understands the biology and physics of it completely, but has lived in a black and white room all her life, and has therefore never experienced colour. Therefore, if she is now suddenly exposed to a world of colour, she will learn something new about colour, and this experience of it, which she cannot gain by otherwise studying about it, is qualia.

As Law School turns into Zoom University bit by bit, the experience of living Law School, which we can call the qualia of Law School is something that we realise we are losing out upon. Because even if we were to bring this abundance of people onto a massive video call, it would not be able to replace the sensation of physically being there, in that togetherness, it would not replace the original experience.

And I think the most beautiful thing about the qualia of the Law School experience is this – that it is a subjective, individual experience – it differs from person to person. Because each of us experiences this place differently, remember it differently, have different memories of it, and it means different things to us – and so, we yearn for it differently. And my yearning alone is inadequate because it stems from an infinitesimal fragment of the qualia of this abundance of people.

And that is what I yearn for – to really be there in Law School, in that abundance of people, in that togetherness, truly experiencing it, not just as an individual, but rather as a person interacting with this abundance, and their qualia. To be a smidge on the scattering in the field watching a Nags sunset, and throb along to the quad party music; to answer an attendance call, chatter away in the mess halls; trickle away from the library; to relax with the basketball court doggos (and maybe even Olivia), and sing a Happy Birthday at a Chetta barb; to laugh, play music, and fall asleep in a hostel room. I yearn for the warm envelope of these sensations, I yearn for the abundance of people that make that togetherness real, with their own qualia of Law School, and I yearn to be a part of this living breathing fabric of Law School.

And I know there’s not much I, well, we, can do about it. That’s another reason, after all, why this feeling isn’t the feeling of missing Law School. See, if this feeling were one of missing, we would do something about it – we do do something about it when we call or text or share a meme with the people that we miss. But this, this abundance of people, and this Law School experience it is not something that we can miss, and attempt to make up for, it is only something we can yearn after.

There is still hope however, I think, for my yearning. It’s true that there’s little we can do about yearning. I don’t think it would actually be a good idea to have a Zoom call with all of us – Zoom has a 40-minute limit and we’d never all be there on time, that at least is an aspect of Law School we have managed to retain. However, we can, as we yearn, think of it, the way Carl Sagan thinks of the pale blue dot.[2] We can observe the fact that we are one in this abundance. We can take a moment to savour the qualia of Law School that we have a memory of experiencing. We can let it pique our interest that we are but one of this abundance of people, and reach out to another, to get a glimpse into their qualia of this experience that overlap in so many ways, and yet do not completely share. We can listen to them talk – about their solitude on the field; the beat of a quad party; their mad rush to the attendance call; the quiet of a Homely lunch; and the AIR Café group study well past 3AM; the rant that only the puppy by Gate 0 heard; a Navalgund barb; the warmth of a small hostel bed and the hug of a roommate. And as we listen, as we really take in a minutiae of this living, breathing fabric of Law School that we are a part of, we can remind ourselves to be grateful of what it has left us with, to deal more kindly with one another, and to cherish it more, once we are in sight of the tall tower against its stunning sunsets, once again.

[1] Keegan was an author, playwright, and journalist working at the New York Times. A collection of her works, which is named after her graduation essay from which this quote is taken, The Opposite of Loneliness, was published posthumously. Keegman died in 2012, a week after she graduated magna cum laude from Yale University.

[2] The pale blue dot is a reference to an image of the Earth as seen from nearly six billion kilometres away. Carl Sagan, in his book of the same name, writes, “There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”

Mixing recent hits with the old-time favourites, this playlist is a pure throwback to our time at Law School. With the current pause on our lives, why not rewind and hit play on our favourite highlights from these courses over five years. So, look for a comfy corner, plug in those earphones, and dive right in!

If you like a tune, add it to your library. Here is the link to this playlist for Spotify.

1) Economics –  Daft Punk’s Instant Crush for the marginal utility that never diminishes as far as our in-house RAW agent is concerned.

2) History –  Arctic Monkeys’ Do I Wanna Know (what is history)? Psst, E.H. Carr says it’s a continuous process of interaction between the historian and his facts.

3) Legal Methods – Nelly Furtado’s Maneater because where would we be without the Case of the Speluncean Explorers?

4) Torts I –  Drake’s God’s Plan for lessons on the Acts of God, because even in the legal world, “upar wale ki marzi thi” (“it’s God’s will”) is a defence.

5) Torts II – Eminem’s Love the Way You Lie, because even though puffery is permissible, misleading advertisements are not. Jaago Grahak, Jaago! (Wake up customer, wake up!)

6) Sociology – Luis Fonsi’s Despacito because just like the lyrics, we had no idea what Michel Foucault was trying to say.

7) Contracts –  Beyoncé’s Drunk in Love + Beyoncé’s Crazy in Love to remind us that one can be drunk and/or crazy in love, but not while entering into a contract.

8) Political Science – Jonas Brothers’ What a Man Gotta (ought to) Do? was a question which haunted us all the way till the exam hall, courtesy an all-nighter studying political obligation.

9) Constitutional Law – Lauv and Troye Sivan’s I’m so tired… of learning those countless case names (but I must carry on because I also want those brownie points for remembering their citations).

10) Family Law – Taylor Swift’s Bad Blood for what started all the familial drama and left us dealing with Prof. Sarasu’s mind-boggling succession problems.

11) Criminal Law – Green Day’s 21 Guns for the times we watched Prof. Joga Rao “thak-thak” his way into our hearts and memories forever.

12) Jurisprudence I – Black Eyed Peas’ no, no, no, no, Don’t Phunk with My ‘Hart’ because there’s a debate Fuller’s ready to start.

13) Property Law –  Kesha’s Timber for helping us remember that ‘standing timber’ is movable while trees aren’t.

14) Land Laws – Jason Derulo’s Tip Toe because that’s what we did five minutes into, and out of, each class.

15) Law, Poverty & Development – Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball because LPD came in like one right when we thought we had a ‘chill’ trimester.

16) Law of Evidence – Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling in Love for the wise man who taught this course and made us love the law, so much so that we still remember his definition of hearsay.

17) Civil Procedure Code – The Pussycat Dolls’ Wait a Minute because that’s what anyone who hoped to make it before Prof. Shankara locked the classroom door, wanted.
P.S. He did not wait a minute.

18) Jurisprudence II – Nelly’s Just a (Bad) Dream we all wanted to wake up from.

19) Corporate Law – Post Malone’s Circles because no class would be complete without Prof. Pillai circling back to pierce the Salomon v. Salomon corporate veil.

20) Alternative Dispute Resolution – Dua Lipa’s New Rules because hey, who wants to learn how to lose-win, when we can win-win.

21) Drafting of Pleading & Conveyancing – Shakira’s Can’t Remember to Forget You, for those word-for-word, letter-for-letter, and line-for-line conveyances you couldn’t afford to forget.

22) International Law – Priyanka Chopra’s Exotic for our desi dils (Indian hearts) learning some pardesi (foreign) laws.

23) Labour Law – Rihanna’s Work (work, work, work, work, work) even as the laws we studied are being tinkered with.

24) Human Rights Law – John Lennon’s Imagine for the dreamers amongst us, who, like Lennon, imagine a world with no religion, hunger and greed.

25) Professional Ethics – Imagine Dragon’s Bad Liar in honour of all of the bad “laa-yer” sneer that may come our way if we forget to play fair every day.

26) Environmental Law – Justin Timberlake’s Cry Me a River because that’s what we’ll have to do when there are none left.

27) Intellectual Property Rights Law – Billie Eilish’s Copycat is what you’ll be if you use any of these songs^© without permission.

28) Taxation Law – Rihanna’s B*tch Better Have My Money because 2764187 Sections of the Income Tax Act, 1961 say exactly that.

29) Litigation Advocacy/Trial – Sam Smith’s Too Good at Goodbyes because while he may have been, with Law School coming to an end, we weren’t.

30) And in honour of the “one last, one last, one last” chants that would echo in the quad at end of a party, Maroon 5’s Memories, ‘Cause the drinks bring back all the memories; And the memories bring back, memories bring back, you.

We’d love to hear if these songs struck a chord with you and what you relate each course with!

]]> http://www.nlsquirks.in/law-school-musical-a-playlist-featuring-the-1-hits-from-all-your-favourite-courses/feed/ 0 http://www.nlsquirks.in/to-all-the-things-ive-loved-before/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=to-all-the-things-ive-loved-before http://www.nlsquirks.in/to-all-the-things-ive-loved-before/#respond Thu, 30 Apr 2020 12:53:43 +0000 http://www.nlsquirks.in/?p=9080 Continue readingTo All the Things I’ve Loved Before]]> This doodle was created by Anshita Agrawal (Batch of 2023). This piece is the second in the mini-series: ‘Missing Law School’.

[Image Description: The focus of the picture, in the centre, is the NLS library. Surrounding it are doodles of various things in Law School. There are mentions of all the food places in and around campus – Bistro, Chetta, Rohini, Hungry Hub, Juice Shop, Atithi and Gokul. Law School events are depicted – Spiritus (with a basketball hoop), SF (with a strawberry wearing headphones), Univ Week (with a banner), GCL (with a cricket bat and ball), Mooting (with a trophy) and Nego (with client and counsel placards). There are doodles of Dan, Dominos, Pride, a laptop running out of charge, a bookshelf, a hot beverage, weak wifi, a clock with the bell – various aspects of Law School. These are accompanied by mentions of Nagarbhavi skies, field scenes, Maggi and bun butter bhujia, tort v torts, “pedagogy” and “academic rigour” – all those little things that make Law School, Law School.]

P.S.: We still love you, Law School.

They are at home, they are managing their families, they are planning their finances and supplies, yet they are also helping run the college efficiently. Quirk reached out to Madhu Sir, our Assistant Librarian, Padma Ma’am, Supervisor of the UG Course at the Academic Administration Department, and Usha Ma’am and Beena Ma’am, Administrative Staff at the Vice-Chancellor’s Office.

Quirk also wanted to interview other members who may not officially be a part of the University but are a beloved part of the NLSIU Community. Quirk reached out to Chetta, owner of Aishwarya Bakery, and Jayaram Sir, owner of the printing shop at the Library. These are people who are non-salaried and who get by on account of the business that the NLSIU community gives them. Quirk felt that it would be important to understand the disproportionate impact that the lockdown has had on different members of NLSIU. 

These interviews were carried out by the Quirk Team, with help from Karthik Rai (Batch of 2023).

This article is the first of a series, Quarantining with Quirk. 

Madhu Sir

Assistant Librarian at NLSIU

I am home alone, so I am trying new recipes. My routine includes cleaning the house, washing clothes, listening to lots of music using apps like Spotify, SoundCloud and Amazon Music and downloading new movies through Telegram. I am watching movies and series on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar. I am a huge fan of Manchester United, so I watch old matches on YouTube. I have gained weight so I work out daily. I also video call my friends who are abroad. I am making videos about the quarantine and sharing them on Whatsapp with my friends.

With respect to work, I am working from home. So you can call me ‘Home Librarian’. I am constantly in touch with my colleagues – without their help and cooperation, I can’t fulfill any of the requests sent by the faculty and the students. We are online 24/7. My colleagues and I have compiled the list of open source websites which will be very useful for the user community during this lockdown period. We are supporting our users through Digital Reference Service everyday.

The greatest difficulty which I am facing right now with respect to doing my job is the frustration that I feel because of working from home. It’s very hard to find materials and fulfill the users’ requirements while sitting at home. It’s hard to not be able to order new books and receive them quickly to help out our faculty and my students. 

I miss my library so much. I miss playing football with my students, helping them find materials, receiving new books and ordering new books. I also miss my colleagues and having tea and lunch with them. I am worried about campus dogs – since no one is there on campus, I don’t know who is feeding them? 

Praying for everyone’s safety during this crisis and looking forward to getting back to normal life ASAP. 

Chetta

Owner of Aishwarya Bakery at NLSIU

I’m right now at my friend’s place in Bangalore. I couldn’t travel home because of the lockdown. The other chettas are home, but I am stuck here since only I arrived first for the reopening in March. I had planned to leave on Monday (23rd March), but there was unsold ice-cream. Before I could sell all of it and make travel plans, they announced a lockdown. I can still go home by going to Mysore and taking a bus from there. But I heard they mandatorily admit everyone to the hospital and only discharge us after a 15-day quarantine.

What do I to spend time? Nothing much, just sitting in my room (laughs). Those back at home also don’t have much to do. My friend has a grocery store here which opens at 12pm. Sometimes I sit there for a while. Sometimes I watch TV. If they do lift the lockdown restrictions on April 15th, I’ll try boarding a bus and getting home, so let’s see what the government decides. Of course, even if they do lift the restrictions, people would be travelling around and crowding again. 

As of now, I don’t face any financial problem as such. But obviously, isn’t everyone affected financially? People employed by the college might still be receiving their salaries. But it’s been a while since we’ve been on campus: February, March, April – it’s been three months. That’s the problem. We can’t do anything about it either, except sit in our rooms. Thankfully, there’s no problem with availability of food and other essentials here. The main problem is not being able to go home. I can somehow manage here. Even if I send money home, they can’t go to an ATM to collect it because they’re only allowing people to go out for essential goods and services. So at home, they might be facing a few problems financially. Kannur (my hometown) is really affected as there are a lot of people who returned from the Gulf, so it’s understandable. They don’t realise how harmful it is (to wander around). In Kasargod, one man gave the disease to everyone, right? If he had been careful, the spread could’ve been mitigated. Similarly, in Delhi, a lot of people gathered together. That’s the problem. I don’t think the situation will be alright even after this month. The number of cases is only increasing. 

The biggest thing I miss about NLS is the fact that I don’t have anything else to do now. I’m stuck on my own. I watched movies for the first week, but now I’m fed up of movies. How many films can someone watch? (laughs) I switched to a six month post-paid plan so I could make maximum use of it.

Padma Ma’am

Supervisor of the UG Course in the Academic Administration Department

I couldn’t spend quality time with my two daughters earlier, but now I am finally spending time with them. My day includes cooking a variety of dishes, playing indoor games with my children, taking care of my mother who is 86 years old and watching Maha Bharath.

Apart from that, I am working from home and giving as much time as I would have if I was working in the office. The only difference is that I don’t have physical files to refer to and work. Therefore, I am finding it difficult to address all the students’ queries and attend to faculty needs satisfactorily while working from home.

I miss our students a lot. I am extremely attached to the NLS campus, office and students as I have been completely involved in work and committed to NLS since 1989. I miss everything at NLS.

 Jayaram Sir

Owner of the printing shop at the NLSIU Library

I am not in Bangalore as of now. I have gone back to my hometown, which is about 20 kms from Tumkur. My life during the quarantine is very boring. There is nothing that we can do, we are jobless (laughs). My network is also really bad so it’s difficult to speak to people. I only watch movies on TV, which also becomes boring after some time. We own a plantation, but there is no work going on. Since we aren’t supposed to go outside, and with the increasing uncertainty, the 7 people in our home just spend time with each other. We play board games, like Chowka Bara (chuckles) or chess at times. That’s is my only time pass strategy.

My finances are the biggest problem in this lockdown. Sure, we have been asked to return to campus on the 14th of April, but with the recent spike in the number of cases, who knows what is going to happen? Unless something is found or something is done about it, we do not know anything for sure. We have suffered a lot due to this lockdown. No one is working from our family, and it’s a complete loss now. All we can do is subsist on savings, and we don’t even know how long that will last. I don’t know how I will be able to manage. It is very difficult to stay away from business for a long time.

What can I miss in NLS apart from my printing/photocopying business? Since my only job in NLS is my business, which is what earns me money, it’s the only thing that I really miss right now (sighs). 

Usha Ma’am and Beena Ma’am

Administrative Staff at the Vice-Chancellor’s Office

We are taking all possible precautions and are spending our entire time in the house. Indeed, sometimes it is very difficult to spend the whole day in the house. But we don’t have a choice because it is an issue of the health of the entire country which cannot be compromised at any cost. We are spending time by reading books, getting in touch with our relatives, meditating, exercising, and taking good care of our health.

We are working from home. However, as we are non-teaching staff, we are not in a position during this lockdown period to do all the work that we used to do while being in the office. The University authorities were very quick in taking the decision to start online classes so as to see that the loss to the student community was minimised to all possible extents. Even the non-teaching staff are attending Zoom meetings which is a new learning experience for all of us and we are happy that we can contribute in some way under these extreme circumstances. As staff of the Vice-Chancellor’s Office, we are arranging and attending meetings, coordinating with different departments, getting in touch with concerned officials via the phone and through mail and are doing our part to the best of our abilities under the prevailing circumstances. 

What we miss most is interacting with students. We also know as parents, how difficult it is for the students to cope under these circumstances. However, we expect all of you to make the best use of the facilities made available to you by the University at a very short notice and continue your academic pursuit. At the same time, do take care of your health, have fun and we would like to see the same confident, smiling, and active students back in the University at the earliest.

]]> http://www.nlsquirks.in/quarantining-with-quirk/feed/ 0 http://www.nlsquirks.in/nls-mobiles-presents-laaskool-2-0-a-brand-new-budget-smartphone/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nls-mobiles-presents-laaskool-2-0-a-brand-new-budget-smartphone http://www.nlsquirks.in/nls-mobiles-presents-laaskool-2-0-a-brand-new-budget-smartphone/#comments Thu, 05 Dec 2019 07:34:17 +0000 http://www.nlsquirks.in/?p=2852 NLS Mobiles Presents: Laaskool 2.0 – A brand new budget smartphone!
#ANewSmartphoneForANewEra

Do check outs its features! [Powered by Quirk]

(A Quirk visual piece)

National Law School of India University
P.O. Bag 7201, Nagarbhavi, Bangalore – 560072.
Date: 22 September 2019

Executive Summary: Four-Member Committee Report

The Four-Member Committee, constituted on student demands, came to an unequivocal conclusion that:

I. On the issue of conflict of interest, requiring the recusal of the Registrar in the appointment process for the next Vice-Chancellor

1. The Registrar, in his ex-officio capacity, is the Secretary to the Executive Council (“EC”), which has the power to select the new Vice Chancellor (“VC”). However, the Registrar himself had applied for the post of the VC. This gave rise to a situation of conflict of interest, as admitted by the Registrar himself.
2. A High-Level Committee (“HLC”) comprising Prof. M.P. Singh (Chairman), Attorney-General Mr. K.K. Venugopal and Sr. Adv. Mr. Arvind Datar, was constituted under the NLSIU Regulations, to shortlist and recommend the candidates for the position of the next VC.
3. The Registrar disclosed his conflict of interest to the HLC, which was then referred by the HLC to the NLSIU Administration. Even though the former VC ‘apparently’ permitted the Registrar to continue in his position (undocumented), the conflict of interest still continues to persist.
4. On the demand of the student body for the Registrar’s recusal from being involved in the appointment process, he sent his intent to recuse to the VC Full Additional Charge (FAC) Prof. M.K. Ramesh. This was not accepted by the VC (FAC) as he found himself lacking the locus to accept the same, being in a transitional position. However, it is the finding of the four-member committee that it should have been accepted because:
   1. A recusal is a temporary measure concerning only issues related to the appointment of the new VC. This would mean that he would neither resign from his post as a Registrar, nor recuse himself from his other duties. Thus, the VC (FAC), even in his transitional position, was within his powers to allow for the recusal of the Registrar from the new VC’s appointment process;
   2. In any case, a recusal is an ethical response to a situation and should not be subject to any approval by a higher authority.

II. On the issue of delay in the appointment of the new VC

1. On 6 July 2019, the EC empowered a five-member sub-committee, chaired by Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.A. Bobde and having Hon’ble Mr. Justice M.M. Shantanagoudar as a member, to give its recommendations including the next procedural steps to be followed for the appointment of the VC.
2. In that capacity, the five-member sub-committee recommended and approved the candidature of Prof. Sudhir Krishnaswamy as the next VC, bringing the selection procedure (which it was authorized to set) to an end.
3. Since the approval of Prof. Krishnaswamy’s candidature by the five-member sub-committee, there has been an inordinate delay of 50 days in completion of the process with no certainty as to when it shall be finalized.

III. On the issue of Composition of the Executive Council

1. The five-member sub-committee, for the purposes of appointment of the new VC, was constituted by the EC at its 88^th The members of this session included three special invitees – Hon’ble Mr. Justice M.M. Shantanagoudar, Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.A. Nazeer and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Deepak Gupta.
2. The 89^th meeting of the EC is scheduled to convene on 28 September 2019 and it may discuss the issue of VC appointment. However, the composition of the EC has been altered merely a week before the scheduled meeting. These alterations include violations to the effect that:
   1. An additional member from the Bar Council of India (“BCI”) has been invited to be a part of the EC. This is in violation of the BCI member quota under clause 7(1)(g) and (h) of the Schedule to the NLSIU Act, as the upper limit of 5 members has already been reached.
   2. Chairman of Karnataka Bar Council has been nominated to the new EC. However, it remains unclear as to under which provision of the NLSIU Act has he been nominated.
   3. The three special invitees – Hon’ble Mr. Justice M.M. Shantanagoudar, Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.A. Nazeer and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Deepak Gupta, to the 88^th meeting of the EC meeting, who were integral to the process of appointment of the new VC, have not been invited to the 89^th meeting. Although the special invitees are not necessarily required to be invited to the 89^th meeting under the NLSIU Act, procedural fairness and continuity of decision making process demand their presence.
   4. It is strongly recommended that Hon’ble Mr. Justice M.M. Shantanagoudar, as a member of the five-member sub-committee, should be invited to attend the 89^th meeting of the EC as per Clause 11(2) of the Schedule to the NLSIU Act. However, as per the new constitution of the EC, he has not been invited currently. This is again in violation of procedural fairness and continuity of decision-making of the VC appointment process.

3. The VC of NLSIU enjoys a voting power at all EC meetings. However, Prof. MK Ramesh’s appointment as VC (FAC) is not in consonance with the NLSIU Act and Regulations. Hence, he should not be considered a regular voting member at the 89^th EC meeting.

IV. Student Grievances against the Administration

In his interaction with the four-member committee, the VC (FAC) asked the committee to deliberate upon other grievances that the Student Body had raised earlier. However, it was the opinion of the committee that the same requires deliberations at length and should be addressed separately by an appropriate committee at a later stage.

Hamza Tariq                                                                                   Divyanshu Ramratan Badole

President,                                                                                                             Vice-President,

Student Bar Association (2019-20)                                      Student Bar Association (2019-20)