The AICUF Story!

And the year comes to a close with the launch of our second issue of Phoenix, celebrating a century of our  AICUF’s existence. With immense pride and gratitude, we celebrate the launch of the second issue of our magazine, which not only commemorates our rich history but also signifies AICUF’s impactful presence. We are also thrilled to announce the simultaneous digital launch of both our first and second issues of Phoenix on our AICUF Instagram page and our blog site. As we bid farewell to another year of activity, I would like to extend heartfelt gratitude, on behalf of the Editorial Committee, to the members of each and every department within AICUF - Social Outreach, Prayer Committee, Women’s Commission, Cultural Committee, Physical and Digital Creatives teams, Public Relations team and the Filming and Documentation team. Your dedication, tireless efforts, and invaluable contributions have been vital in shaping AICUF’s overwhelming success.  I’ll begin by thanking our ...

We are all born someone.  Imagine you wake up in a room full of boxes. These boxes are labelled - “ girl, daughter, child, grandchild, neighbour, classmate, student, teacher, friend, colleague, acquaintance, stranger, client, advisor, parent, a grandparent, crone… someone unknown.”  Each box has its own set of rules; compartments called “identity” and “label”. The thing you’re supposed to be and the thing you’re supposed to do when you’re in that box. You need to jump across these boxes as the world demands you to, sometimes, even juggle multiple boxes at the same time. Imagine doing that since your first breath, imagine running all your life across these aisles of boxes, no breaks, no stop, no reflection, no self.  That is what society has become to us.  We have a name, gender, class, caste, religion, nationality, ethnicity, culture, allegiance assigned to us before we’re born - a status in the family, a role in society. We are set into categories or boxes of labels...

  Animal abuse is a distressing reality that permeates our society, impacting countless innocent creatures. It is a pervasive and deeply troubling issue that spans various forms of mistreatment, neglect, and harm inflicted upon animals. They are sentient beings with the ability to express love and affection, hence it is our responsibility to look after their health and nutrition. The number of animal cruelty cases is rising daily, and there is no apparent reason why these animals are being killed.  Humans dominate every aspect of our planet, including the air, seas, and land. No non-human animal can elude human rule. Whether through the heinous cruelty of the factory meat industry, poaching and game hunting, habitat destruction, air and sea pollution, or through neglect of the companion animals that people claim to love, this dominance frequently causes unjustified harm to animals. Such maltreatment, whether it takes place in homes, farms, or other environments, causes trauma ...

Taylor Alison Swift or the Music Industry as many prefer to call her, was born on 13th December 1989 in West Reading Pennsylvania in the United States to Andrea Swift (mama swift) and Scott Kingsley Swift (papa swift). She was named after the famous singer James Taylor. From a very early age, Ms. Swift began to portray her passion for music by writing songs and singing them to her family and later at coffee houses and much later at local festivals on the weekends. Taylor was inspired by Shania Twain’s songs and wanted to become a Country singer. After watching a documentary about Faith Hill, Swift became convinced that becoming a country singer was not only her dream but also her destiny. Hence, she persuaded her family to move to Nashville (the songwriting capital of the world) to get signed by a record label and to begin her career as a singer and songwriter, all at the age of 14.   What happened after Taylor moved to Nashville is history to which her 12 Grammy awards stand as th...

  There’s no denying that 2023 has been a very rocky year, universally. We’ve gone through challenges and obstacles that we never expected or wished upon us or our fellow earthlings, be it known or unknown. We’ve had a lot of unprecedented moments of weakness, followed by the grievous process of trying to cope with everything - while still trying to put on a good show somehow and deal with life . But, through all the dark grey clouds that have been hovering around us for the past 12 months, I can say (and I hope we can all say too) that the sun did creep through to some extent - especially with my AICUF family! And it is for all these moments of comfort and happiness that I take this time to pen down a few words to express my gratitude for you all! I may come off as partial here, but I cannot begin without talking about my special team - the Editorial Committee. What started in June as a new face for AICUF, with more energy and excitement I never knew what I was getting myself int...

I’d be honest, Christmas brings this energy into me that I’ve not felt since I was a small kid waiting to pack his new box of Hot Wheels. The hype that surrounds it just seems to keep getting bigger. But yet there is this thing that warms me from within this year.   It must be the sweets or the carols. Even more so, just people living in the moment of  spending time with their loved ones. It’s a lot honestly, but to me, it’s just the smiles, the people who are there with me at this moment. Sitting at home and just taking time off to be with them has given me a sense of relief that I don’t know if I can ever describe. On the eve of Christmas as I’m choosing my finest selection of clothes, I only can feel the anticipation of meeting people I’ve not met in a while after mass and it’s just crazy to think that all of us share the air we live in. They say it’s the time of giving, I guess it’s about also giving kindness and giving back to people that mean a lot to us. We all hav...

  "Nandini, today is the thirteenth day of me telling you to clean out your room! Diwali is only two weeks away. You do know that the painters are coming tomorrow, don't you?"   "Mom, are you seriously counting the times you tell me to organise my room?"  "Yes, it is ammunition for our future arguments. Truly, Goddess Lakshmi will think twice before entering our house." Meanwhile, Mukti, my little sister, is running around the living room doing God knows what. She is all squeals and giggles; until she nearly trips over a stack of photo albums.  Seeing the labels - Diwali of 2006, 2008, 2011, and 2016, we call Mom over and sit on the bed excitedly. I open the 2006 album to a photo of me (aged 8), wearing a pink lehenga that I remember crying and begging for. Mom teases me, “Do you remember how you convinced us? You said that new clothes are a new beginning, that they bring good luck and joy, so if you don’t get this lehenga, you will be mise...