Temple of Learning: St. Stephen

St. Stephen's college, New Delhi, India: Here it’s all sparkling & emerald red bricked structure, with English speaking folks, supposed to be India’s best, established in 1881 by the Cambridge Mission in response to Government policy promoting education. St.Stephen college is one of the nation’s very best institute. Getting admittance into this college is some task
with cut-off percentage increasing every year.

Doorway to the chapel: Here you may assume you are in a century-old English garrison. Not factual, the construction is as new as New Delhi, constructed during the 40s. Don't be disillusioned. Continue hovering aimlessly. At St Stephen's, distinct to other Delhi colleges, anyone can go in, amble around, and lounge down on the grass. Yes, even stroll down the hallway. No predicament. But don't ogle at the classroom aperture. Harangue may be taking place. Studious & snobbish folks: Nonetheless, if nearby is a vacant hall, tread in. The unfilled bench and the portrayal of dead professors make the environs as hushed as a... well,
tomb If that's not spooky enough, try this: at the ground is an old well, now safe and sound inside a rounded construction. Gaze through the filthy casement and you will locate stairway going downstairs.

Corridor of wisdom: Having produced from Presidents (Fakhrudiin Al Ahmed, Zia-ul-Haq) to top journalists (Barkha Dutt, Sagarika Ghose), from sports person (Jaspal Rana, Kirti Azad) to writers (Khuswant Singh, Shashi Tharoor) it still continues to give gives India some of its best citizens. (See wikipedia LIST of famous Stephen’s alumni)Play time: I fully revere the stringent selection criteria employed by the college, which makes sure the high quality of our student intake

At the same time, I recognize that St. Stephen's has always understood that some of the most important elements of our edification occur in college outside the classroom, and that the remarkable young all-rounder with 92% marks is often a worthier Stephanian than the swat with 95 per cent. The Principal himself had authored an article titled `Marks Can't Be the Sole Indicator of Merit' on the St. Stephen's College web site (www.ststephens.edu). Someone St. Stephen's should be proud to admit; to turn him down over a few percentage points was folly indeed. At the same time St. Stephen's was, astoundingly for a college in Delhi, insulated to a extraordinary extent from the prejudices of middle-class Indian life. It mattered little where you were from, which Indian language you spoke at home, what version of religious faith you espoused. But at St. Stephen's, religion and region were not the distinctions that mattered: what counted was whether you were "in residence" or a "dayski" (day-scholar), a "science type" or a "ShakSoc type", a sportsman or a univ topper (or best of all, both). Caste and creed was no bar, but these other categories determined your share of the Stephanian knowledge.

Some fun : College's snobbery was still elitism in an Indian context, although one shaped, like so many Indian institutions, by a colonial legacy. There is no denying that the aim of founding St. Stephen's in 1881 was to produce more obedient subjects to serve Her Britannic Majesty; their idea of constructive missionary activity was to bring the intellectual and social atmosphere of Cam side to the dry dust plains of Delhi. Improbably enough, they succeeded, and the resultant hybrid outlasted the Raj.

The bright red brick structure: St. Stephen's in the early 1970s was an institution whose students sustained a Shakespeare Society and a Criterion Club, staged avant-garde plays and wrote execrable poetry, ran India's only faculty-sanctioned Practical Joke Competition (in memory of P.G. Warehouse’s irrepressible Lord Ickenham), invented the "Winter Festival" of collegiate cultural competition which was imitated at universities across the country

Harmony- college feast: Invariably reached the annual inter-college cricket final (and turned up in large numbers to cheer the Stephanian cricketers on to their accustomed victory), maintained a careful distinction between the Junior Common Room and the Senior Combination Room, and allowed the world's only non-Cantabridgian "gyps" to serve their meals and make their beds.

Fashion parade in Harmony: And if the punts never came to the Jamuna, the puns flowed on the pages of Kooler Talk and the cyclostyled Spice (whose typing mistakes, under the impish editorship of Ramu Damodaran, were deliberate, and deliberately hilarious.)

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Women Pride: Lady Shri Ram College

Birds eye view of LSR: Here's no noise, no dust. Just trees, hedged pathways, redbrick structures and English-speaking kids, rumored to be some of the country's brightest. These girls are slecet few who get chance to study in one of India's best women college. Established in 1956 in New Delhi by the late Sir Shri Ram in memory of his wife, the college had its modest beginnings in a school building in Daryaganj, Central Delhi, with 243 students, 9 faculty, 4 support staff and 3 distinct courses of study. The aim of the institution was to provide access to higher education of quality to women. LSR is a testimony to the farsighted vision of its founder and his indefatigable enthusiasm to actualize his dream.

Beautiful Lawns at LSR: Today, the college is located in a beautiful 15 acre campus in South Delhi, has approximately 2000 students, over 150 faculty, administrative and support staff and 16 courses of study. Guided by an enlightened and supportive Board of Governors, drawn from the fields of industry, law, journalism, academics and the bureaucracy, under the inspiring Chairmanship of industrialist and philanthropist, Dr. Bharat Ram, the College has become a byword for academic and extra curricular achievement.

Why should boys have all the fun?,Dramsoc Actors of Lady Shriram College for Women:The vision of creating a centre of academic and extra curricular achievement for women, of providing a context that emancipates the intellect and the spirit, of zealously guarding a space that develops critical thinking and rescues the imagination, has been actualized. The journey well begun, has infinite potential to evolve further setting newer standards of excellence.

COLLEGE SPORTS UNION (2008-09):When it comes to food, there are few who would not have heard of the LSR Café. Along with being ranked as one of the top colleges of Delhi University, LSR girls have an added advantage in the form of their quaint café.

LSR Cafe - popular hangout!: Tucked away in a separate corner, it has a unique charm of its own, with stained glass windows and stone and marble interiors. It captures the heart even before one reaches the menu billboard. However, one must keep in mind never to refer to the LSR ‘Café’ as a ‘Canteen’, particularly before an LSRite.

This cozy café has a little something for everyone. One of the few canteens…I mean, Café’s around to serve a tempting Seekh-kebab Roll and Chicken Kathi Roll for a reasonable Rs 25 and 30 respectively. There are equally tempting items for the vegetarian palate.

One plate Masala Dosa costs around Rs15 and an equally delicious plate of Cheese macaroni (Rs 22), are a must try. Have a sweet tooth? The scrumptious Apple Pie (Rs15) and Chocolate Tart (Rs14) will definitely take care of that. It does not stop here. One can even expect to find a change in the menu with a change of season! Soups, both chicken (Rs18) and vegetarian (Rs15) and doughnuts are specially served during winter months! With the hot sun sapping ones energy out, the Lime Soda (Rs10) is truly a refreshing drink. For a change, there are other options available as well. Right outside the college gates stands a culinary adventurewala, so famous among the students that they claim not to enjoy it from any other place! A mouth-watering plate of sevpuri is available for a reasonable Rs15. For those addicted to culinary adventure can catch the Momo wala in the same area.

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DU’S MOST TALKED ABOUT FEST

A group performs at dance competition

Khalsa College girls brought back the school days

SRCC’s annual cultural festival, Crossroads, turned out to be a crowdpuller this year too. The fourday-long event had the college campus buzzing with activities. A plethora of competitions saw students from across Delhi University flaunting their skills. As Yogesh Jahanjarya, a final year student of DU, said, “Although many other college fests are going on simultaneously, I had decided that I would not miss SRCC’s fest. This is the place where all the fun activities happen.”
LIVE-WIRE: The college had invited KK for a live performance. The news of his performance had spread like wildfire across DU and students were jostling each other to get an entry. We overheard a student telling a volunteer, “Yaar, andar aane de na. Hum apne college mein teri bhi entry karwa denge!” Students went crazy as KK sang some of his most popular numbers. Pal, Aapki Dua, Tadap Tadap... had the students singing along. Pankaj, a DCAC student, said, “The fest was amazing. I wish KK’s performance had gone on for a little longer.”

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Students get big picture

Screening of films is nothing new in the Delhi University’s North campus but for the first time the students witnessed a host of fantastic documentaries last week. The Department of Sociology, Delhi University in association with JB Media Resource Center, AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia/ School of Environmental Studies/ Alliance Francaise/ Embassy of France/ Embassy of Brazil/ Embassy of The Netherlands organised the first Delhi International Ethnographic Film Festival (DIEFF). For Delhi University the chosen venue was Vivekananda Hall, Delhi School of Economics, which incidentally is considered as the meeting points of many great working brains of the campus apart from being one of the coolest hangout zones.One thing that sets the film festival apart was the presence of filmmakers and film critics from different countries who took active part in several panel discussions and post screening interaction with the various audiences present at the venue. This not only provided a perfect opportunity for the spectators that comprised of the students, lecturers and other staff members of the colleges to discuss issues threadbare but also led to a more animated debate among the audience which is quite a rarity in the campus film screening programs that are often held in the premises of the campus. The Department of Sociology has made a fresh beginning with DIEFF. Hope it continues to touch new heights by screening famous documentaries in the coming years and enlightening the students.

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Innovation holds the key

Anukriti, the 52nd year old Hindi Dramatic Society of Miranda House, continues to stage meaningful plays that deal with burning issues of the day with a rare commitment

Miranda House College has always been in the vanguard of experimental theatres and pushing the limits of its creativity. No doubt, its Hindi Dramatics Society, Anukriti, continues to hold a mirror to socio-economic problems plaguing the country. The Dramatic Society recently celebrated its 52nd year. Apart from being one of the well-known societies in the campus, Anukriti also happens to be the oldest creative society existing in Delhi University (DU).


"As the name of our society suggests, Anukriti, meaning innovation, we always strive for creating something new, fresh and unique which are avant-garde pieces," says a beaming Neha Jain, the president of Anukriti. There are two major productions which are organised every year: stage play and street play. "This year’s stage play is an adaptation from Sharad Joshi’s writings called Andhon Ka Haathi and the street play is titled Gum Awaaz which talks about the issue of child trafficking," she explains while spilling more details about her passion for Anukriti.

With loud voices and expressive eyes, the girls are all gung-ho about their pursuits, be it street play or stage play they grab the spotlight. Donning red kurtas and black dupattas, they deliver every dialogue with a rare spontaneity and, if need be, improvise as and when the occasion demands. This is something that sets them apart. While the girls prefer to attribute this rare trait of theirs to the regular workshops being organised courtesy National School of Drama (NSD) where there is a high degree of detailing about all gestures right from the body language to perfect voice modulation as per the situation demands.

Anukriti has performed in a number of DU colleges like LSR, Hindu, winning the first prize at Gargi College and even at IIT Kanpur, where their street play was highly appreciated by one and all. "We are still left with our performances in Janki Devi Memorial College (JDMC), Jesus and Mary College (JMC) and SRCC Theatre Fest. Apart from going to the other colleges, we also invite experienced theatre personalities to our college to guide us in our shortcomings and prepare us for the next challenge.

For instance, last year a group of students from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) performed Shakespeare’s Macbeth in Miranda in a very innovative way ie, by moving around the bonfires," reveals Neha. And adding another feather to their cap, Anukriti organised the first bilingual festival this year called DRIS`YA.

The alumni list of Anukriti is quite long as 70% of the NSD comprises of Anukritians. An interesting trivia: Amitabh Bachchan first performed in Miranda House during his heydays in Kirori Mal College (KMC). So it again call for a huge applaud for the girls’ acting skills as their group throws an open challenge for the guys too.

So, at the end of the day, what is the basic success formula behind this enormous success of this dramatics scociety ‘Anukriti’? The president takes charge again, "Well, frankly speaking, there is no magic potion that we drink or any success mantra that would be good enough to defines us, but, most importantly, it is the invigorating and the innovative environment which is enough to motivate all of us. We try to give opportunity to as many first year students as possible and explore new talent for our group. At the time of the selection, we make sure that we choose only those individuals who eat, drink and sleep theatre."

That says it all about Anukriti. Here’s North Delhi Plus wishing them all the luck with all their future endeavours.

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Delhi Uni(versi)ty

While North Campus is abuzz with life and academic hulchul, the foreign students in the campus shared their views about the same .Talking of North Campus and not discussing about international students would be an aberration. Foreign hands are definitely playing a role in the campus in transcending the geographical and cultural barriers between the East and the West. Even Rudyard Kipling has been proved wrong who once, in a moment of short-sightedness, averred that "East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.’’ grabbed a rare opportunity to bring to the fore the perfect amalgamation of diverse cultures in North Campus through a bunch of students selected on board to project the vivid culture in North Campus. Initially, it took them a little while to open up and share their personal experiences but then gradually they poured their hearts out and pulled no punches while talking about the various aspects of North Campus. Starting from Priyangwada who talked about how North Delhiites helped her to recover from deadly brain haemorrhage to Faaiz’s critical remarks about the omnipresent potholes in the campus, they discussed it all. While Thomas preferred to hold forth on students exchange programme, Sam dwelt at length on how lack of reliable public transport knocks the stuffing out of night life. It would be fun to read the diverse views of Moelelwa and Gatien about the safety concerns in the campus. So, it’s time to read about the candid views of these students and to understand the same old campus from global perspective.

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Foreign languages: The hot-pot in DU

ONE BEST thing of the world today is that there is a profession and career for everyone, there are enormous choices for youngsters to follow their dreams. Professions that probably our parents would never understand are making a huge draw with the young population these days. And believe me, they are worth and paying as well.
With the admission process in full-swing at Delhi University (DU), the most happening off-beat courses that’s attracting students are the language courses. BA (hons) in French, German, Italian and Spanish can prove to be the road to a high-paying career in just three years.
With a flourishing tourism industry and mushrooming of multi national companies (MNCs) in India, these undergraduate courses are poised to become th hot courses on campus. The best part being the eligibility percentage being just 45 per cent, even students with low scores can be hopeful of making it big in this field.
Head of the department of the German and Romance studies, prof Shaswati Mazumdar said, “IT companies, knowledge process outsourcing companies (KPOs), tourism and travel companies constantly contact us for students skilled in foreign languages. There are a lot of opportunities today in the area of foreign languages and every student from the last batch has been recruited by the companies.”
with such rising demand for professionals in foreign languages, these courses are turning more and more eyes on them. Beyond degree courses, certificate courses can also be pursues from various colleges of DU. These courses can also be up-taken simultaneously with the degree that you are pursuing.

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Canteen Hons Whats That!!

Not the ones to waste any time, Delhi University students believe in pursuing add-on courses. The hottest among all being Canteen Hons – a course that comprises hanging out with friends, snatching a glimpse of that hot guy of your college or checking out the latest fashion trends. Oh! We forgot, eating your favourite snacks might fetch you some extra marks too. Sayesha, a fresher at Delhi College of Arts and Commerce says, “We catch up with friends from other departments, share gossip and fun stuff. Sometimes, we even bunk lectures to be in the canteen. Since the college has just begun, we don’t miss out much in terms of studies. But once the classes are in full swing, we may have lesser number of sessions in the canteen for our Canteen Hons course.”

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The DUSU Affair

Ihave finally got some time to rest,” says DUSU president Nupur Sharma. An Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad candidate and a student of Law Centre-I, Nupur defeated her rival, NSUI’s Sonia Sapra, by a margin of 1,739 votes. Calling this triumph of experience over amateur aspirations, Nupur says, “There were talks about how students vote going by the looks of the candidates and not their qualities. But my victory has proven all this wrong. I have experience on my side and DUSU elections are certainly not a beauty pageant. Now is the time to begin the real battle.” The 23-year-old is also clear on what tops her to-do list right now. “I have to make sure that the faith that DU students have lost in DUSU is restored. Low voter turnout during the elections vouches for the fact that students are either not aware of what DUSU stands for or are simply not interested in being a part of it.” And like all things political, Nupur does not forego the opportunity of taking a dig at the out-going office bearers. “For the past five years, no concrete work was being done in DU. A ban on smoking was announced but not properly enforced. Students would sit in the DUSU office and smoke and drink openly – then how were the office bearers expecting the DU students to follow the rules? A lot was also said about the upgradation of college campuses, but some colleges still function out of almost ruin-like buildings.”

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