Thiruvananthapuram  :

Following Yesudas’s controversial comment on jeans, a college magazine has come out with a survey on whether jeans is a good choice. But that is not the only reason why the magazine put together by the BEd (Social Science) students of St Thomas Teachers’ Training College is making waves. The magazine is a piano-fold which would open into a 2.2-metre-long sheet which needs at least 10  people to hold it.

The magazine, named ‘Mayoorika’, was made by sticking 113 pages, and has 25 articles all written in the hand of its editor, Sunitha Mohan. Work on the magazine continued till the dawn of its release. “We began the groundwork for the magazine around two months ago. But towards September end, we had our viva exams. On November 5 our exams start. The college faculty supported by writing messages the moment we asked them to. Still, finding the time was highly challenging,” says Sunitha.

The ten-women-crew, who worked on the articles, conducted the ‘jeans survey’ just last week. The sample size was 100. The verdict: 83 per cent of the men, 89 per cent of the women and 63 per cent senior citizens are in favour of wearing jeans. They have also provided the views of Usha Uthup against Yesudas’s comment as well as the statement of Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi supporting the singer.

The magazine is vibrant and colourful but not noisy. Some of the headlines have been made of words neatly cut out from various magazines. What might seem like one image could be composed of several photographs taken from numerous sources.

There are poems and opinion pieces by students. One of the students, Latha, has written a travel memoir on Nagaland. In it she says that the climb to Phek district in Nagaland is not easy as the winding roads are sandwiched between enormous mountains and frightening gorges. “However, once you reach there, you don’t feel like coming back,” she says in her memoir.

The idea of the magazine was kept a secret until the last day. Principal Anila Chacko said: “When I saw a long array of benches and desks, I had no clue that it were to hold this long a magazine,” on Wednesday, releasing the book.

The book was received by Helen Hepsy, Social Science faculty at the college. She said: “The name ‘Mayoorika’ means memories. No one in the college is going to forget this magazine, ever. Moreover. ‘mayoor’ means peacock. The magazine with its colourful content is like a dancing peacock.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Archana Ravi / October 09th, 2014