The annual festival of St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, Malhar, has been in existence for 35 years. The festival is marked by various characteristic elements, one of the most significant ones being, Raga, the official newsletter.
KINDLY NOTE that RAGA will not be a department in Malhar 2016.Malhar Facebook Page
Consequently, when the college authorities proposed its termination for the annual college festival in 2016, Xavier’s students took to the Internet to voice their opinions.
A petition to save Raga from its imminent termination is doing the rounds in virtual space.
The newsletter has stood as an index of creativity, literature and the art of words. The petition claims, “the alumni of St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, were quite alarmed to hear of a proposal to shut Raga down as a separate department in Malhar.”
Speaking to The Quint, this is what Xavier’s students and alumni had to say.
Raga’s Elimination Seems Unfair
Aishwarya Maurya studied Bachelors of Mass Media at St. Xavier’s in 2013. Commenting on the proposal, she emphasised the importance of the newsletter as a platform for young writers.
Raga has been an inseparable part of Malhar for years and to eliminate it from the festival seems unfair. This has been a platform for young, enthusiastic writers and budding journalists, and to deprive them of this opportunity after so many years speaks badly for this reputed college and its most renowned festival, Malhar.Aishwarya Maurya, Alumnus
The Move Feels Regressive and Disappointing
Currently pursuing Master’s in Public Policy at St Xavier’s, Harnidh Kaur regrets the ending of the newsletter as an uneasy shift. Calling the proposal regressive, Kaur unequivocally disagrees with it.
As a Master’ student, while it doesn’t impact me directly, this move feels regressive and disappointing in context of the overall mood in the college. Xavier’s has always been a student-first college, and the relationship we’ve shared with our faculty has been fun and easy. This feels like a formal, and honestly, uncomfortable shift.Harnidh Kaur, Student
Raga is the Heart of Malhar
For Sanjay Deshpande, a past student of St Xavier’s, Raga is the essence of Malhar. Reiterating what the petition says, Deshpande emphasises that Raga is a manual of sorts for Malhar, an overwhelming experience for any first year at Xavier’s.
Raga is the heart of Malhar. For several clueless first year Xavierites as well as visitors, Raga helps make sense of the mammoth that Malhar is. Also, for many like me, Raga is the sneak peak into the world of journalism and publishing, and it always fascinated me. I cannot believe someone thought of scrapping it, especially quoting financial difficulties as a reason in sustaining it. Raga makes enough through its advertisers to not depend on any external funding from the college or otherwise. Shutting Raga is equivalent to curbing creative freedom.Sanjay Deshpande, Alumnus
Raga is Not Widely Read, All the Literary Talent Could be Used Elsewhere
Sonia Thomas, an alumnus of St Xavier’s and currently working as a writer at Buzzfeed India, begs to differ from those opposing the termination of the newsletter. Thomas claims that she does not view it as an unpleasant development.
A lot of teams have worked very hard on Raga and it was a wonderful department to be part of, at least from what I have heard from friends who were part of it. But sadly, Raga was not as widely read as it should have been. It could be one of the reason it’s shutting down, but I don’t see it as a bad thing. A lot of that literary talent could be used in other departments too, or as part of the contingent.Sonia Thomas, Alumnus
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