Besides everything that has already been said in these comments (each one important and valid), personally - I haven't come across a department quite like Raga in any college festival across the city. Sure, other colleges have newsletters/day-wise itineraries and such but Raga is and does SO much more than that. This is what makes it lovely. Most people here have spoken about how it honed their writing skills and helped them be better writers and in the process they had fun writing but let it be known - Raga isn't just for the writers. It was immense fun to read as well.
It's a department that is uniquely woven into the fabric of Malhar. I can't imagine a Malhar without it. People in college right now should not have to.
PS - Isn't 'Malhar' the Raga of the monsoon? (I'm sure there is a joke there somewhere but I can't find it right now)
- Keith D'Souza
OC ETC 2011
S
Shrivats Kanodia
10 years ago
OC Marketing - Malhar 2007
U
U Verma
10 years ago
I'm an alumnus from BMM who held the department in an immensely high regard for how much it helped aspiring journalists (from my course and others too) get a taste of how to manage a print publication while producing something that all of Malhar duly appreciated.
I know this might be read by the faculty members/top-bosses responsible for this decision so I say this with all the respect in the world, but: IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT YOU FOOLS.
M
Mehjabeen Jagmag
10 years ago
Raga was my first foray into writing. Surrounded by a team of people who were supportive and critical and a process that later encouraged me to work as a journalist, Raga has been more than just a newspaper to me. It will be a shame to shut down the department.
F
Fabiola Monteiro
10 years ago
Featured
Over my four years in Raga, I obsessed over fonts and InDesign layouts, learned to edit, and honed my writing skills. Without it, I'm certain I wouldn't be writing or doing what I am today. It's a pity to see this happening so soon after we were there.
- OC Raga, 2013.
D
Darryl Vaz
10 years ago
Don't shut down Raaga.
S
Senecca Rato
10 years ago
Featured
I've had three jobs since I graduated. I've had a colleague I know from Raga in all three. For a small department of ~25 members, this speaks volumes about how Raga leaves you with actual job skills.
M
Mridula Chari
10 years ago
Some eejits want to talk about cutting costs and going digital for a paper that does not need to have this conversation precisely because eejit sponsors anyway take up most of its front page and masthead to fund its printing. Why would you knock off one of the few departments in Malhar that actually teaches you some skills before you faff off into the real world?
A
Arundhati Velamur
10 years ago
No, shutting it down would be such a terrible idea. I teach school mathematics and have found that writing is a powerful way for my students - as it has been for me - to access the pleasures of the subject. One more reason to keep the institution of writing alive, especially in an academic environment that is becoming increasingly more dismissive of the value of the arts to thinking. I was a Raga volunteer a couple of times.
C
Cherry koshy
10 years ago
It would be an understement to say that Raga was just another college magazine. Having worked together with a dynamic team of talented individuals who are now among my closest soul friends for years, I can confidentially echo the sentiment that is so wonderfully captured in this piece. Shutting it down means chopping away a life valve to creativity and inspiration in a young world that so badly needs it! Think again, and hard! Please keep it alive!
D
Deepa Samant Soman
10 years ago
You have argued your case in a very comepelling manner in your petition
K
Krati Tandon
10 years ago
Batch of 2010
A
Amrita Sabnavis
10 years ago
Raga is such a wonderful expression of everything Malhar! Why shut it down?
H
Hemant Chaturvedi
10 years ago
I was the editor of Raga once. It's the most fun I had in college!
R
Rimmy shah
10 years ago
Volunteer 2007-2008
A
Amrita Singh-Blom
10 years ago
Rolling Raga into LA is a bit like telling the Times of India staff that from now on they will be helping with organizing the Jaipur Lit Festival-- A worthy effort, to be sure, but hardly the same thing.
Those who join Raga love to write and those that join LA love to read and kindred spirits though they are, I think Malhar would be poorer without a dedicated Raga team to capture the zeitgeist every year.
For me, a microbio major back in 2001, Raga represented a creative outlet that very few science majors in other colleges have access to. This is the essence of the Xavier's experience, the opportunity for students to get a fantastic, well-rounded education by having their minds opened to new opportunities and possibilities even outside the classroom. To shut Raga down would be to take away one such opportunity and I despair for the would-be writers who will never discover their love of writing.
For the years that I was involved with Raga, advertising offset the costs of printing and selling Raga during Malhar yielded a profit as well. But profit or loss, surely the intrinsic value of a student-run newspaper goes far beyond the economics of it?
Amrita SIngh-Blom
OC Raga, 2003
S
Sanica Menezes
10 years ago
OG LA (2007)
S
Shrey mehta
10 years ago
I was the Vice-Chairperson Management of Malhar 2007
G
Gayatri Joshi
10 years ago
raga I hope remain a important part of malhar and Xavier's
A
Ammel Sharon
10 years ago
Raga is an enduring record of Xavierite creativity and thought. Not only can it attract money, but it forms a unique archive. My experience in Raga convinces me that it is both vital to Malhar and integral to the history of St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.
Besides everything that has already been said in these comments (each one important and valid), personally - I haven't come across a department quite like Raga in any college festival across the city. Sure, other colleges have newsletters/day-wise itineraries and such but Raga is and does SO much more than that. This is what makes it lovely. Most people here have spoken about how it honed their writing skills and helped them be better writers and in the process they had fun writing but let it be known - Raga isn't just for the writers. It was immense fun to read as well. It's a department that is uniquely woven into the fabric of Malhar. I can't imagine a Malhar without it. People in college right now should not have to. PS - Isn't 'Malhar' the Raga of the monsoon? (I'm sure there is a joke there somewhere but I can't find it right now) - Keith D'Souza OC ETC 2011
OC Marketing - Malhar 2007
I'm an alumnus from BMM who held the department in an immensely high regard for how much it helped aspiring journalists (from my course and others too) get a taste of how to manage a print publication while producing something that all of Malhar duly appreciated. I know this might be read by the faculty members/top-bosses responsible for this decision so I say this with all the respect in the world, but: IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT YOU FOOLS.
Raga was my first foray into writing. Surrounded by a team of people who were supportive and critical and a process that later encouraged me to work as a journalist, Raga has been more than just a newspaper to me. It will be a shame to shut down the department.
Over my four years in Raga, I obsessed over fonts and InDesign layouts, learned to edit, and honed my writing skills. Without it, I'm certain I wouldn't be writing or doing what I am today. It's a pity to see this happening so soon after we were there. - OC Raga, 2013.
Don't shut down Raaga.
I've had three jobs since I graduated. I've had a colleague I know from Raga in all three. For a small department of ~25 members, this speaks volumes about how Raga leaves you with actual job skills.
Some eejits want to talk about cutting costs and going digital for a paper that does not need to have this conversation precisely because eejit sponsors anyway take up most of its front page and masthead to fund its printing. Why would you knock off one of the few departments in Malhar that actually teaches you some skills before you faff off into the real world?
No, shutting it down would be such a terrible idea. I teach school mathematics and have found that writing is a powerful way for my students - as it has been for me - to access the pleasures of the subject. One more reason to keep the institution of writing alive, especially in an academic environment that is becoming increasingly more dismissive of the value of the arts to thinking. I was a Raga volunteer a couple of times.
It would be an understement to say that Raga was just another college magazine. Having worked together with a dynamic team of talented individuals who are now among my closest soul friends for years, I can confidentially echo the sentiment that is so wonderfully captured in this piece. Shutting it down means chopping away a life valve to creativity and inspiration in a young world that so badly needs it! Think again, and hard! Please keep it alive!
You have argued your case in a very comepelling manner in your petition
Batch of 2010
Raga is such a wonderful expression of everything Malhar! Why shut it down?
I was the editor of Raga once. It's the most fun I had in college!
Volunteer 2007-2008
Rolling Raga into LA is a bit like telling the Times of India staff that from now on they will be helping with organizing the Jaipur Lit Festival-- A worthy effort, to be sure, but hardly the same thing. Those who join Raga love to write and those that join LA love to read and kindred spirits though they are, I think Malhar would be poorer without a dedicated Raga team to capture the zeitgeist every year. For me, a microbio major back in 2001, Raga represented a creative outlet that very few science majors in other colleges have access to. This is the essence of the Xavier's experience, the opportunity for students to get a fantastic, well-rounded education by having their minds opened to new opportunities and possibilities even outside the classroom. To shut Raga down would be to take away one such opportunity and I despair for the would-be writers who will never discover their love of writing. For the years that I was involved with Raga, advertising offset the costs of printing and selling Raga during Malhar yielded a profit as well. But profit or loss, surely the intrinsic value of a student-run newspaper goes far beyond the economics of it? Amrita SIngh-Blom OC Raga, 2003
OG LA (2007)
I was the Vice-Chairperson Management of Malhar 2007
raga I hope remain a important part of malhar and Xavier's
Raga is an enduring record of Xavierite creativity and thought. Not only can it attract money, but it forms a unique archive. My experience in Raga convinces me that it is both vital to Malhar and integral to the history of St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.