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Ipshita Grover

Campus Central

Sri Venkateswara Asks Faculty to Avoid Tests Post-Diwali Break; Some Say Assessments Still On

By DU Beat October 26, 2025

Sri Venkateswara College has advised faculty not to schedule tests from 27–31 October 2025 to allow students to participate in post-Diwali festivities. This is the only DU college to have made this advisory thus far.

Sri Venkateswara College has issued a notification asking faculty members to avoid scheduling academic assessments, including class tests, assignments, and practical exams, between October 27th and October 31, 2025. The communication, circulated by Principal Prof. Vajala Ravi, states that the pause on tests is intended to ensure students can “actively participate in festivities” following the winter break.

According to the official DU academic calendar, winter break runs from October 19th to October 26th. Regular classes resume across the university on October 27, and Sri Venkateswara College will also reopen as scheduled. The college administration, however, has urged faculty to delay assessments until after October 31. This notification perhaps aims to give students some leeway in case of delays in return or time to readjust without ‘academic inconvenience’.

As of now, no other DU college has issued a similar guideline instructing teachers to refrain from academic tests during that period. Given that Diwali (20 October) and Bhai Dooj (23 October) fall just before the period the college has flagged, and with Chhath Puja observed from 25–28 October, many students may already be navigating travel, family commitments, and rituals. In such cases, rushing back immediately for tests could lead to attendance issues or students missing internal marks. Avoiding academic backlogs due to festival delays seems to be the administration’s primary focus.

The timing also overlaps with heavy inter-state travel for many out-station students, meaning disruptions or delays are common and could make immediate academic obligations difficult. The advisory may therefore be aimed at preventing avoidable loss of marks or attendance issues.

However, some students claim the notification has not been entirely effective. Some departments have reportedly retained planned assessments, with faculty members stating that their test schedules were decided well in advance and are difficult to alter at short notice.

Image Credits: WikiMedia Commons

Anjali Paruvu

Campus Central

Students Allege Harassment Amid Backlash Over Palestine Solidarity Meet at SVC

By DU Beat October 14, 2025

AISA and Bhagat Singh Ambedkar Study Circle’s Palestine solidarity event at Sri Venkateswara College faced administrative backlash, with organisers allegedly harassed, threatened, and forced to sign undertakings by college authorities.

On 10th October All India Student’s Association organised a session with Bhagat Singh Ambedkar Study Circle in Sri Venkateswara College’s Rock Garden on the theme of ‘Marking Two Years of The Ongoing Genocide in Palestine’. The event was supposed to be a group discussion as well as poetry recitation in solidarity with Palestine. The college authorities, before the commencement of the session, allegedly called two of the organisers to their office. This incident is what the AISA states to be “harassment and an attempt to terrorise students.”

Witnesses claim that the authorities including the Principal and the Proctor first publicly scolded and humiliated the students in front of the whole college. Mr. Chetan, who is a professor at the Statistics department forcibly took students’ phones and made them unlock it without their consent impinging on their right to privacy. The students were allegedly made to share their contact details extensively. He made remarks of “Main tumhe ghar mein ghus ke marunga, dekhna tum” (“I’ll beat you up in your own house, you’ll see”) and “If you say any of this in class, I will shoot you.”

The Principal, Vajala Ravi, in response to this situation further allegedly warned the students with suspension and forced them to sign a written note stating that such sort of event wont be held again.

Image Credits- Instagram handle of AISA VENKY

Divyanshi Dusad

Campus Central

Amidst Heavy Rain, Ankit Tiwari Concludes Nexus

By DU Beat February 29, 2020

Ankit Tiwari performed on the last day, as heavy rain engulfed Nexus, the annual cultural fest of Sri Venkateswara College. However, the star night was delayed and issues arose, even after strict security.

On 29th February, the final night of Nexus’20, Sri Venkateswara’s Annual Cultural Festival, everyone was excited for the fest to be concluded with the performance of renowned singer and songwriter, Ankit Tiwari. The performance which was arranged to be at 5 pm, was extremely delayed due to unexpected showers and thunderstorm that ensued in the evening.

Before the performance began, the huge crowd which had gathered to listen to the artist, shuffled back and forth between the performance ground and the college building to take shelter from the excessive downpour. The rain kept everyone on their feet, and the muddy grounds were a dangerous territory for people who had dressed their best for the fest.

There was extremely strict security maintained for the star night. Many items were prohibited to be carried. There were staff teachers, and administrators on the main gate as well as inside the barricade. However, the heavy rain tested all.
During the beginning of the performance, the sound system switched offmid-song due to technical errors, causing a ruckus.

A student inside the barricade, told DU Beat, “The issue was that there were a lot of people who wanted in, and as they were trying to enter photographers were getting shoved. Barricade did have administrators and College staff inside to see if everything is okay.”

Despite of security being maintained, the large number of crowd was a test for all. Female photographers present at the venue faced harassment by other photographers and Tiwari’s team while doing their job, with people pushing and shoving others around to get a barricade entry, photographers got shoved and hit as the crowds around the barricade became unmanageable. However, there were administrators present inside the barricade for safety of students.

A female photographer covering the event, in conditions of anonymity said, “The people with Ankit Tiwari told me that if you want a picture then you need to come to his room. As I was the only female photographer, the other male photographers told me to go to the back.”

These events occurring mostly in isolation and behind closed curtains clearly didn’t dampen any spirits as the crowd wholeheartedly enjoyed after the singer arrived on the stage. Tiwari sang some of his greatest hits, like Sun Raha Hai Na Tu, and also invited members of the audience to join him on the stage as he performed, hyping up the crowd. The event ended at 8 pm at last, with rains showing no signs of satiating. People ran helper-skelter to take cover and rush towards the closest metro stations wading through the muddy roads while people struggled to exit the campus due to the excessive crowd.

Rajat Sharma, President, Students’ Union, said, “Day 3 of Nexus was going well even after the heavy rains but some incident occured between the authority, photographers and delhi police which was very unfortunate to happen. I being unaware of the complete situation from all the three sides cannot give my verdict over right and wrong but anything of this sort is obviously not good for tge reputation of the college and if there was any misconduct I am extremely sorry for the same taking the responsibility and blame wherever required.”

However, in Sri Venkateswara College, Nexus, the annual cultural fest is organised by Fine Arts Association (FAA) as well.

Hrithik, President, FAA, said, “Keeping in mind about conditions prevailing , we tried our level best to assure strict security and efficient management . Entry inside the college on the three days was strictly provided to only those who had the valid ID cards . Our officials were present at the main gate and near the barricade to make sure there was no issue .
We appreciate all our media partners including all the videographers and photographers who stood by even in the unpleasant weather conditions to cover our event . My team and I would also like to thank our enthusiastic crowd which helped to make Nexus 2020 a grand success.”

The star night was memorable for all. The pleasant chilly weather soon washed away everyone’s trouble.

Nexus ended on a chilly note, yet witnessed warmth on all three days. The college was filled with iconic Bollywood mementos, the decor was remarkable with them being able to put a ship, owing to the Pirate in all of us, between the College. Nexus, unlike other fests, is organised not just by the Students’ Union, but the Fine Arts Association, as well. The entire college perfectly imbibed the theme of “Lights, Camera, Nexus.”

Feature Image Credits: Manav Ahuja for DU Beat

Shreya Juyal

Satviki Sanjay

Campus Central

Day 2 of Nexus Ends With EDM Night of DJ Lijo George

By DU Beat February 28, 2020

Nexus, the annual cultural fest of Sri Venkateswara College, concluded its second day, which was full of flagship events, with the EDM night of DJ Lijo George, however, the EDM night was cut short due to security reasons.

Mudra: Classical Solo Dance Event
The Indian Classical solo dance event, organised by Nitryangana, the dance society of Sri Venkateswara College, soothed the minds of its spectators with ravishing ethnic performances.

The event filled Nexus, the annual cultural fest of Sri Venkateswara College, with much vigour and enthusiasm with its colourful display.

In the event, Ann Afreen, Janki Devi Memorial College bagged the first position, while Sawmya, Laxmi Bai College bagged the second position.

Kurukshetra: Street Dance Battle

Verve, the western dance society of Sri Venkateswara College, organised Kurukshetra, Street Dance Battle, where street form of hip-hop and freestyle was wildly displayed in its true essence.

Battles were aggressive, highly energetic and full of vigour. The event was conducted in Audi Lobby, and was a definite flagship event of Day 2 of Nexus.

The street dance battle periphery was one of the most crowd attractive ones, with people chanting for their favourite team. Spardha, western dance society of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College won the event.

Goonj: Classical Choir Competition

The second half of the sophomore day of Nexus 2020 resonated with the melodious musings from the seminar room that hosted 12 societies from Delhi at Goonj – The Indian Classical Choir Competition organised by Alaap, The Indian Musical Society of Sri Venkatashwara College. The delightful talent was well praised by the Judge of the event, Ghulam Hasan Khan sahab, who is an eminent classical vocalist and has achieved multiple feats at a very young age, in a stiff affair, Ghulam Sahab adjudged Riyaaz, the music society of Maitreyi College as the winners and Music from Kirori Mal College as the runner-ups of the event.

Corner Taken Quickly: The Sports Quiz

As part of Sri Venkateswara College’s annual cultural fest Nexus, the quizzing society of the college, Conquiztadors organised – “Corner Taken Quickly”, the Sports Quiz, on the 28th of February. The event received a significant turnout from colleges across the city. After two rounds of intense quizzing, written in the first, and oral in the second, Gokul S of the Delhi School of Economics, who dominated the quiz throughout, won by a considerable margin, while the team from IIT Delhi consisting of Partha Dhar and Akshay Gurumoorthy managed to clinch the second position. “The quiz was extremely well researched and a valuable learning experience even for the ones who didn’t win”, opined Satyakam, a member of Conquiztadors.

Battle of Bands

The second day of Nexus featured the most awaited event, Battle of Bands, organised by Crescendo, the Western Music Society of Sri Venkateswara College. The event saw powerful performances from five of the prominent bands in the circuit. The event took place at the main stage, with the same strength and passion as the Yellow Diary and the soon to be DJ Lijo George and witnessed equal enthusiasm from the crowd.
The first prize was bagged by Doob, a band majorly constituted by students of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College of Commerce and the runners up was Calico Skies, a band majorly constituted by students of College of Vocational Studies

Kavyanjali: Slam Poetry Competition

Among other cut throat cultural society competitions, Petrichor, the Creative Writing and Performance Poetry society of Sri Venkateswara College organised “Kavyanjali”, a bilingual annual slam poetry competition.
The event took place in a classroom, but was fairly beautiful decorated owing to the handmade decorations, fairy lights and the fluorescent lights being turned off.
The event saw many participants speak their heart out, talking about their heartbreak stories, insecurities and the political scenario in India right now.

Saarang: Solo Indian Classical Instrumental Competition

Alongside this, the mini stage featured “Saarang” the Instrumental Solo Indian Classical Competition, organised by Aalap, the Indian Musical Society of Sri Venkateswara College.
The competition saw various participants with their classical Indian Instruments, but some with really out of the box instruments, like an electric guitar.
The competition began in the morning and since it was in the centre of the main building, it created a very soothing vibe for someone who would roam about in the campus.

Dard-E-Quizco: The General Quiz

Conquiztadors organised “Dard-E-Quizco”, the General Quiz. The event, conducted by Akhilesh Budhiraja and Shanya Sinha, received a huge turnout, with many seasoned quizzers and some enthusiastic first-timers. After an intense preliminary round, six teams qualified for the final. In a nail biting finish going down to the last question, the team of Adil Jacob and Rabin Jacob pipped the team of Akshay G and Kunal S to clinch the first prize. “It was a pleasure to be host to such a brilliant group of participants and even more endearing to see the quiz go down to the wire”, said Akhilesh Budhiraja, the quizmaster.

EDM Night: DJ Lijo George
To a hustling day of events, and competitions, the EDM Night with DJ Lijo George made everyone in the vicinity grove to the beats of his Bollywood mashups.

However, the night was cut short due to security reasons. Allegedly, people climbed up the stage and badmouthed the students’ union members. There were also rumours of a women being slapped in the process.

A student of Sri Venkateswara College, in conditions of anonymity, said, “A girl reported to the police that a guy hit her, the guy was drunk and when this girl went to the police, the guy came to trash the union.” Hence, to maintain the safety of students in the fest, the college vicinity was immediately vacated.

Feature Image Credits: Mayank Gulati for DU Beat.

Akshat Arora

Faizan Salik

Araba Kongbam

Chhavi Bahmba

Around the Campus

Parivartan In Progress: Students of Sri Venkateswara College

By DU Beat October 1, 2017

The students of Sri Venkateswara College took to the roads and metros of the city to spread a word of change.

Being the capital state of the country; the city of Delhi has all the rights in the world to flaunt its extravagance. It has to its attribution- a rich cultural heritage with a pinch of apparent haunting, a tumultuous yet boastful past, a humongous yet solitary diversity, and the tag of a metropolitan. A metropolitan form only the frame to the entire portrait of the city of Delhi; the colors and the strokes come from the lanes and the by-lanes that intersect life in the different parts.

To get a taste of the city and to improve it, the volunteers of ‘Parivartan’- the independent social service society of Sri Venkateswara College- carried out an awareness cum cleanliness drive in different parts of the city. The volunteers were divided into groups and sent to cover several areas in around the metros. Ten places were covered in total, including- Hauz Khas, Rajiv Chowk, Saket, INA, Chandni Chowk, AIIMS, Central Secratariat and Race Course.
All the student volunteers were armed with self-made posters, each of which had very strong messages pertaining to the two issues that were being addressed, namely, food wastage and the upcoming reiteration of the saga of bursting crackers; which at the end of the day leaves the city in deep despair, thereby, turning a blind eye to the blind city.

With the approaching season of Diwali, the amount of crackers burnt becomes quite evident through the aftermath- ‘THE GREAT INDIAN SMOG’ that covers the entire city till winter sets in. The other groups were involved in spreading a word against smoking and littering in public spaces. The presence of two different-coloured dustbins for wet and dry waste was acknowledged. The volunteers also urged the passers-by not to litter their own spaces, thereby, keeping the city clean. After all, Rajpath is not the face of the city!

Slogans like- ‘Burn your ego, not crackers’- were eye-capturing enough to draw a large part of the crowd towards the volunteers. Sharing his experience, Tushar Bhatia, a first year student states, “The drive was an interesting experience. Initially, everything did not go as planned and all of us had to improvise on the spot which made it even better”. From the metro station to the park and through the distributary lanes to the main road till the Red Fort and back; this was the exact course through which Chandni Chowk was covered. The Sun was at its peak and so were the volunteers. The weather only ignited their enthusiasm that could not be dampened by their perspiration or the scent that the hot breeze carried.

Apart from just the ambience, it is quite interesting to note that they got encouragement form the passers-by as well. Prateek Mittal shares, “I felt really good during the drive. I could see that our posters had attracted a lot of attention and people got our message. It felt very nice when a policeman walked up to us and said”, “achchha kaam kar rahe ho” (you are doing a great job)”.
Apart from just interacting, a signature campaign was also carried out- #NoMoreHungerNoMoreShor- wherein, volunteers were seen getting people to sign the chart that they were carrying. The signature campaign added further impetus to the entire drive with people coming up themselves and asking questions regarding the two issues. Slogans like-“What your tongue likes to taste, would you let it go to waste?”- were successful in garnering people’s attention as well as support. The volunteers were successful in dealing with the passers-by in a much matured manner, since, the entire thing was unplanned. The volunteers used heavy statistics that proved their stance like the number of bird-deaths and how it is harmful to the ecology as well. Aparajita Choudhary, a second year student shared, “All Delhiites have been experiencing the smog that covers the city for weeks after Diwali. It was enough to indicate the perils of burning crackers, peril for both humans as well as the ecology. Many people shared with us, their stories of mishandling of crackers that led or could have led to major accidents. Older people reflected apathy since they had lost interest over the years. They expressed that even though it made them irritable, they did not mind saying anything in the interest of the youth”.

The volunteers experienced helping hands from the crowds as well. There were people who came up to them and upon clarifying their queries, chipped in their ideas as well.

Talking about the effectiveness of the drive; it was definitely a red-letter day event. But a lot of hands need to join to bring about a big change. As Rajat Sharma, a first year student from the same institution puts it, “I guess this initiative was effective as well as highly potential to bring about a change in the society. Those who genuinely wish for the betterment of the society will definitely put their best foot forward. After all, one is enough to make a difference, and we were quite a lot.
As Kamalika Anand, one of the executive heads’ puts it, “This was just the first step”.

Image Credits: Parivartan Society, SVC

Shrija Ganguly
[email protected]

Cultural Festivals

Day 1 at Nexus’17: Venky’s Bollywood themed fest kicks off with ‘Sufi Night’

By Kriti Sharma February 23, 2017

Sri Venkateswara College’s 3-day annual fest ‘Nexus’ began today. This year, the extravaganza is centred around the theme of ‘Bollywood’, something that reflected in the inventive and breathtaking decorations, events and general atmosphere.

Based on the theme of ‘Bollywood, Nexus’s ambience definitely did the theme justice

Lights, Camera and Action! “Hum ek baar jeete hain, ek baar marte hain, aur #Nexus bhi saal mein ek baar hi aata hai!” Sri Venkateswara College’s Annual Fest with the theme #Bollywood has begun! Stay tuned for DUB updates. Image credits- @alex.arthur.7

A post shared by DU Beat (@du_beat) on Feb 22, 2017 at 9:37pm PST

The event began with an inauguration ceremony, which began with invoking Goddess Saraswati, followed by the lamp lighting by Dr. Pawan Sharma, an alumna of the college, along with the principal. The dignitaries were joined by the members of the student advisory board and student union.

The first competition of the day was held by the Western Choir Society and was an A- Cappella competition. The event saw participation from eleven colleges and was a huge success. The first prize was won by Echo, the Western Music Society of Jesus and Mary College. Swaranjali- Music Society of Hans Raj College and Western Music Society of Lady Shri Ram College secured the second and third positions respectively.

This was followed by the Folk Dance Competition. High on energy and vibrant to the core, the event saw huge participation. Gargi College, which presented Badhai, a dance form from Madhya Pradesh secured the first position, followed by SGTB Khalsa. Maitreyi College earned a special mention.

“Dance apne aap mein ek nasha hai.” Nupur, the Indian classical and folk dance society of Kamala Nehru College, performing at #Nexus17 with a Bollywood theme in Sri Venkateswara College. Picture credits: Vegh Daswani for DU Beat

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Mudra, the solo classical dance competition saw Unni Vishwanathan from Hansraj College securing the first position, followed by Reetuparna Vishwanath from Lady Sri Ram College.

The afternoon session began with the Western Solo Competition. The event saw a string of soulful performances. Among the eighteen participants from across the university and the city, Mayank for his cover of the Eagles’ Despererado’ was adjudged the winner. Kishore, with Felix on keyboard from Amity University ended up as the runner-up for his cover of ‘Over the rainbow’ by Judy Garland. Taeysha Kohli from Jesus and Mary College and Rohan from St. Stephen’s College received a special mention for their outstanding performances.

In ‘Saarang’, the solo instrumental competition, Aditya from Kirori Mal College and Megha from Miranda House stole the show, bagging the gold and silver respectively.

The crowd turned up in huge numbers at the choreography event, which saw some engaging performances follow one after another. At the end of the event, Terpsi Chorean, the western dance society of the Hans Raj College and Sensation, the western dance society of Kirori Mal College were adjudged first and second for their superior performances.

But the highlight of the day was the much-awaited ‘Sufi Night’. Returning to Nexus for the second time in a row were the fabled Nizami Brothers. Their music mesmerised the crowd. Their performance resonated with the large numbers that flocked Venky’s grounds to get a taste and sense of Sufi in its pristine form. The concert set the tone for a great start and one can anticipate more action to follow in the next two days of Nexus ’17.

The renowned Nizami brothers brought the first day of #Nexus17 to a close with their heartwarming Sufi music. With two days still to go in this Bollywood-themed fest, “picture abhi baaki hai”! Watch out for more live coverage from Sri Venkateswara College! Picture credits: @hitankshajain for DU Beat

A post shared by DU Beat (@du_beat) on Feb 23, 2017 at 7:38am PST

Feature Image Credits: Hitanksha Jain

Akshara Srivastava
[email protected]

Nikhil Kumar
[email protected]
Kriti Sharma
[email protected]

Sri Venkateswara College

North East Students Association of Sri Venkateswara College organises Oneness’16

By Shefali Bharati March 19, 2016

The second edition of ‘ONENESS ’16’, the Annual Cultural festival of the North East Students’ Society of Sri Venkateswara College was held on 15 March 2016 at Sri Venkateswara College.

The major attractions of the event included, songs and dances, photography exhibition, attires display, a performance by the band Mixers , and a short talk.

The Guest Speaker Ms. Binalakshmi Nepram, Founder, Manipur Women Gun Survivor’s Network; Secretary General, Control Arms Foundation of India, urged the students to embrace the oneness that we all share as Indians. She also stressed on the opportunities that Delhi offers and encouraged the audience to utilize the capitals’ most striking feature- its multi diversity in making friends

The showcase of folk dance exemplified the richness and culture of the tradition and the ‘Mixers’, a band from Manipur, based in Delhi performed their songs. Photos of people, landscapes and culture of the North East were also on display.
The finale was the ramp walk in which the attires of the states and major tribes of the region were represented on stage. Where outfits ranged from Mizoram to Ladakh to Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

“Our society was formed and recognized two years ago, so this is the second edition of the fest. We formed this Association to facilitate interaction between students from our region along with others in order to debunk stereotypes and raise awareness, to ensure that the students from North East do not face any major problems due to their ethnicity at Delhi, to promote the rich culture and diversity of the region through events like this” said Kakho, Vice President of the society

Shefali Bharati

Image Credits: Shivananda Sharma

Inputs from: Kakho Thaoli

Uncategorized

Sri Venkateswara College Organizes Photography Workshop

By Sudisha Misra October 5, 2015

‘EFFULGENCE’- The Film and Photography Society of Sri Venkateswara College organized a Photography Workshop on Thursday 1^st October. Renowned photographer and senior faculty member of Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, Professor, Mr. Ashwani Juneja conducted the workshop.

All aspiring Photographers, beginners and photography societies of colleges were invited in the workshop.

In a session of two hours, Prof. Ashwani in his presentation discussed topics such as what is photography? Principle of photography, depth of field, light controlling device and exposure triangle among others.
More than 50 photography enthusiasts attended this workshop. An interaction session was followed by the presentation where the students asked their queries and doubts.

A photo walk has been scheduled for next week where the students can practically apply the tips and information acquired during the workshop.

Inputs from Shaira Chaudhry

Image Credits- Abhishek Saini

Shefali Bharati
[email protected]