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Cafe Fusion 101

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The café looks like a small portion cut out from a plush restaurant. The ambience is soothing and very relaxed. The music adds to the over-all experience. The best part, you can request your melodies. They have everything from The Beatles and The Doors to Gotye. The little painting on the wall keeps the restaurant from looking like too serious a place.

Coming to the menu, they have an extensive one. It is mecca for vegetarians, being an all-vegetarian restaurant. The restaurant offers wraps, pizzas, burgers, sandwiches, and a large variety of shakes and drinks. The Spicy Paneer Wrap and the Achari Wrap are homely and superbly tasty. Burgers come with fries and coleslaw. The french fries are not just salted, but have a sprinkle of spices that delight the palate.

Their specialty sauce, the Aioli sauce is to die for. It tastes good with almost every savoury item they provide. The cheese sticks come with four selections of sauces and are delicious. The Paneer Tikka comes with a delicious marinade and the little burnt flavour gives it a different taste.

The presentation is neat and clean. The shakes are made with much care and they take feedback regarding them.

The prices are not exactly student-friendly, but reasonable for birthday parties and if shared. It is worth it, though. The space for writing messages and feedback on post-its adds a personal touch to the restaurant. The staff is casual, friendly and helpful. Questions about the dishes are answered without any qualms, and suggestions are welcome.

Anugrah Gopinath, a student of Sri Venketashwara College says that the restaurant has “good service, very hospitable environment and can easily knock QD’s or any other established outlet in Satya off the pedestal, provided they include non-vegetarian food in their menu.”

Vishnu Vardhan, an English Honours student found that there was “good food, bad drinks. It had innovative sauces and sides. It was slightly costly, as compared to alternatives offering similar food. Nice ambience.”

 

Shreya Mudgil
[email protected]

 

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Campus Central

Venky Disabled Unfriendly?

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Another example of the callous attitude of the administration at Sri Venkateswara College was seen on 21st January. Few manholes were opened up for routine maintenance purposes; however, these were left uncovered for a long time with no sign to warn passersby. Due to this careless attitude, a handicapped person almost fell into one. The person, shocked and enraged, went to complain about the same to the Vice Principal, Dr. Rajinder Kumar, who is also currently the acting Principal. The victim was mistreated by the administration staff, including the Vice Principal following which he was forced to call the police.

The college administration and Vice Principal Dr. Kumar have both been infamous for their unfriendly attitude towards students, which seems to have hit a new low. What is surprising is that amidst all this and even after the college’s ‘routine maintenance work’, one of the manholes continued to overflow this morning. The leaking manhole was situated in front of the various course counters, where students deal with the admin staff on a day-to-day basis. However, the response is mostly on those days when Mishra Ji and his colleagues are in a mood to deal with students. The incident that took place at Venky is just another example of how the administrative staff at most DU colleges treats its students, despite repeated complaints.

 

(Writer does not wish to be named)

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Campus Central

Light a candle session at Sri Venkateswara College

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Shakti, the Women Development Cell of Sri Venkateswara College, kick started the ‘Nirbhaya week’ with a light a candle session in the college foyer on Monday, 7th January.  A unique signature campaign was also initiated which will continue through the week.

Students and teachers were asked to identify the most appropriate punishments for rapists. The suggested punishments ranged from castration and immolation, to capital punishment and life term. While the students seemed divided on the issue, the teachers were fairly unanimous in their support for life term. There were still others who believed that punishments should be decided on a case by case basis. The participants signed petitions to confirm their respective stands.

The members of Shakti were quite pleased with the response and announced further activities to be held during the week. A slogan writing competition on Tuesday will be followed by a poster making competition on Wednesday. On Thursday an essay writing competition will be held on the topic ‘Agar aurat surakshit nahi to kya purush hain?’.

‘It’s time Indian women learned not to depend on men for their protection’, opined one of the participants.

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Campus Central

Approach at your own risk: Venky Administration

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One sentiment that is universal in the corridors of Sri Venkateswara College is that the college administration is completely “f****d up”. Anyone who has studied in Venky could tell you stories about days spent wasted outside the office, waiting for the people inside to awake from their slumber and pretend to be granting you forbidden favours. The number of classes that are let by every time you need to get something done from the office would alone suffice to push up your attendance by a considerable margin. The utter chaos that reigns on days of fees submission makes you want to pull your hair out. “They are rude and arrogant and do not reply to our queries”, said a 1st year student of the college. Multiple complaints have been made directly to the Principle who assures us every time that adequate action would be taken and that next time, students would face no such problem. However, nothing seems to have changed and students are still subjected to the same treatment. “When I went to get the revaluation form signed, Mishra ji asked me to wait so he could yawn and stretch and then told me that it would take two weeks to get a signature. He wouldn’t respond properly when asked why it would take two weeks”, says a 3rd year student from Venky. Clearly, the administration in Venky does not seem to have a lot of fans. It’s about time that they went in for a complete facelift.   Surya Raju [email protected] Image credits: Sapna Mathur]]>

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Events

Blisspoint 2012-A Curtain Raiser

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Blisspoint, the Annual Economics Festival of Sri Venkateswara College is back with a bang. The 20th edition of the event is all set to be bigger and better than before. Serving under the theme of “Sustaining India’s Growth amidst the Global Crisis,” there will be focus on the imperatives of social development and broad-based growth.

Prominent names like Dr. Pronab Sen (Principal Adviser, Planning Commission) and Prof. Rohini Somanathan (Professor at the Delhi School of Economics) will serve as Chief Guest and Guest of Honour respectively. With panel discussions by alumni and introduction of new competitions, one can anticipate a stellar experience on the cards. Events like Animal Spirits (Mock Stock), B-Plan, Be an Economist, Group Discussion, Siddharth Memorial Debate, Treasure Hunt (comprising two rounds; the first of which will focus on logical reasoning), Quiz (general, not economic) and Filler Events (including photography contests and Sudoku among others) will be making a comeback, while Sell the Sizzle not the Steak (essentially focusing on the product’s USP and not the product itself) and Marshal’s Dojo (Paper Presentation) will test the waters for the first time. BlissMUN which in its third year has managed to make a mark and be known as one of DU’s best MUNs will prove to be one of the most popular events of the festival.

Registrations for all the competitions are open and anyone wanting to participate can simply log on to the website or check out the facebook page.

Shevangee Gupta, vice president of the Economics Society said, “This edition is going to be absolutely fantastic and we invite all to participate and make it a success. We guarantee that it will be a huge amount of fun.”

So, mark your calendars for 27th and 28th of September for Blisspoint 2012 will truly be spectacular.

 

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Campus Central

Venky Elections: Results and Agendas

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Amidst a great deal of anxiety and excitement, Venky’s elections took place on Friday, the 14th of September. Leading up from the intense campaigning of the previous weeks, which included showers of pamphlets being thrown on the students, vote appeals between classes and allegations of bribing voters; it would be sufficient to say that this voting season was full of surprises.

The results were declared soon after the booths were closed and were as follows – Mandeep, a third student of Physics Honours was declared President, Sachin Mann a first year student of B.A Programme the Vice President, Sagar Gupta the General Secretary, Manisha Thakran a second year student of Physics Honours the Joint Secretary and Sanjay Rawal a third year student of Chemistry Honours the Central Coordinator.

All four were exhausted from campaigning but ecstatic at their victory. Said Mandeep, newly elected President, “The credit goes to my friends who supported me at every step of the way, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them. It was my goodwill and that of my friends that ensured my victory.” In response to a question about work to be undertaken he replied, “I want to start a forum wherein CR’s of the classes can talk to the cabinet regarding their problems and in this way we can be in touch with all courses. Moreover, renovation in the canteen, better administrative practices and arranging for a special hostel for sportspersons is on the agenda.”

A jubilant Sanjay Rawal

Vice President Sachin felt that recognition and help from the authorities would be vital for the success of the cabinet. Joint Secretary Manisha agreed with the administrative problems and added, “There are a lot of problems with respect to infrastructure in college that we want to address. The base of which is to ensure working fans and lights which are sometimes ignored and not maintained. Also, we want to start a department library in the Arts Block (a library which caters to specific courses and books can be issued for the whole semester). Apart from that I want to see a bigger and better Nexus 2013.” Joint Secretary Sanjay has a two point agenda. He said, “As of now, there are two things we want to do. First to try and get a lift constructed for differently abled students, who face problems if their classes are held on the upper floors and secondly, get the library hours extended as those courses where the classes end late are not able to avail of the services.”

It remains to be seen how many of these promises the new cabinet can deliver, as of now however they all seem optimistic and ready to face any obstacles that bar Venky from becoming truly world class.

 

Riddhi Dayal
[email protected]

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Campus Central

The KNags of South Campus- Satya Niketan

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[/caption] South Campus is often looked upon as North Campus’ poor cousin; the cousin with few ‘cool’ colleges and not much to offer. But this is only a common misconception. There’s no doubting the fact that South can give North a run for its money any day. Not only does it have some of the best colleges but also some of the coolest hangout zones. Satya Niketan is a shining example of exactly that. It’s South Campus’ answer to their Kamla Nagar, or KNags, as they prefer to call it. It is inarguably the most preferred hangout spot for the South Campus folks. There is nothing else that could possibly explain why students from Venky, JMC, DCAC, Maitreyi, RLA etc. flock to it every day. Known for its hookah parlours, Satya Niketan is also famous for its amazing food. And the variety is mind boggling! 34 Chowringhee Lane needs absolutely no introduction for there is no greater sin for a South Campus student than missing out on their rolls, a sin that can never be atoned. Missing out on the mouth watering rolls which are a specialty of the market is just an added disadvantage. The tandoori momos from QD’s, the yummy milk shakes and Maggi from Keventers, the burgers from Bake Day… the list of the delicious food available is endless. The folks here are also open to experimenting with different cuisines as is proven by the newly opened Naga eatery, Essence of the East. But for those who like to play it safe, there’s also Pizza Hut and CCD. Another major attraction here is the string of pool parlours and gaming arcades. Not only does it prove to be a stress buster for most students, it also serves as a convenient place for them to hang out when they want to bunk classes but don’t know where to go. The only drawback, the market has limited options for shopping. However, a few boutiques have recently opened up here but whether or not they get good business is something that only time will tell. And even if it doesn’t, Sarojini Nagar will always remain a stone’s throw away.   Surya Rajappan [email protected]]]>

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Campus Central

Controversy mars SRCC-Venky football final

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 The incident took place when a tackle by SRCC Captain Ashutosh on Kushagra Rastogi of Venky resulted in an ugly fight between the two players. Soon enough, the other players as well as the SRCC alumni, who had come to watch the match, got involved in a brawl. Finally the coaches intervened and sorted the situation but could not prevent a red card each to Ashutosh and Kushagra.  The incident blemished the final as the incident was talked about more than the match itself. Ashutosh though was cheered by the home crowd after being given the marching orders. When enquired about the incident, Kushagra Rastogi said, “Aggression when overflows results in flaring conflicts off the ball. That being said the opposition player who was involved was, from the start, antagonising me, like stepping on my boots, giving sliding tackles without cause to win the ball. What triggered the outburst was when we were a goal down and I was tackled yet again from behind and the rest as we know is history”.

Although Ashutosh could not be reached, another SRCC player who did not wish to be named said, “It was a spur of the moment thing. Kushagra is a talented player but Venky players should not have messed with the captain and should have respected him.” Shashank Gupta [email protected] ]]>

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Sri Venkateswara College

To Venky… With Love

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‘Life is a race’, realized when I  migrated from Deshbandhu College to Sri Venkateswara college a.k.a Venky. The experience of this transition is worth sharing. Some call it a transition but I consider it as a “miss appropriation”. The changeover was not a cake walk; acclimatizing to the new climate was extremely difficult owing to not only the fact that students over here were brilliant at academics but also that they talked like any top notch journalist or political commentator.

Turns out that academics became the least of my worries; one can’t expect from a 20 year old who spent most of his life in a mundane boy’s school to concentrate on studies if he his presented with a chance to study in one of the most ‘glamorous’ colleges of D.U.  As hard as you try not to stare at them, every moment in college you are spellbound by some or the other girl. Things become worse, when after all the deliberate effort to avoid it, one has to ‘unwantedly’ sit in the lecture hall beside some of the most beautiful female folk of our college. All your sensory nerves are on high alert, you become conscious about every move you make, pretending like everything is normal but you only know that your world has turned upside down.

‘Unwantedly’ not because one doesn’t want to savour these moments, but because one hasn’t mastered the art of being comfortable in such a situation. You feel inferior and out of place when you see your co-educated metropolitan classmates extremely confident and well situated in such occasions. Here the situation is analogous to the movie “Love Aaj Kal” where our metropolitan counterpart is similar to Jai (the younger Saif) who had loads of affairs and people like me can relate to Veer Singh (sardar ji) who had only one affair in his whole life (in our case that one affair is also quite rare).

So boys like us usually end up forming groups like FOSLA (Frustrated One Sided Lovers Association) or NGO (Non Girlfriend’s Organization).

If by any chance one of our FOSLA* brothers gets lucky and  enters into a relationship, it improves their social status. The telecom sector is the core beneficiary of this status elevation. So much so that a couple or more of such cases could actually recover the losses of the 2G scam. Speculating about this former FOSLA member’s love life becomes a more important discussion than the Indian economy or Barack Obama.

A year has passed now and even after opting for Feminism over United Nations as a subject in my third year political science course, I still lack the mannerism required to converse with a female colleague. Engulfed with inferiority complex, fighting with “identity fracture”, I have no clue how this war between middle class values and college corporate culture will culminate. But one thing I observed and would like to convey to all our FOSLA brothers that one doesn’t need a Royale Enfield, dolle-sholle or ek liter doodh to mark his presence in Venky.

Disclaimer: – The writer does not intend to offend any group or sex. It’s a mere depiction of one’s experience. If there is any kind of resentment caused, it is deeply regretted. Your feedback is welcomed at [email protected] .

Vyom Anil

Pol. Sc. (H) III year

Sri Venkateswara College

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Add-On Algebra

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By Oindrilla, Paridhi, Saumia

Add on courses are to be subtracted from many college prospectuses as DU forces colleges to be more transparent and also limit the number of such courses offered by them.

Organized with the help of private organizations or the University Grants Commission (UGC), these courses claim to provide the students with an edge in the intensely competitive job market. However, if a study of the courses offered is conducted then it may be found that colleges claim to offer a lot more than they are actually able provide. Extra courses need proper infrastructure and faculty to back them up while providing students with the care that they have paid for. Another area of concern was the high course fee charged by some colleges for the same course and thus a committee was set up to look into the ways these courses are used to attract students at the beginning of each year. The agenda was to force colleges to be more transparent and limit the number of courses offered by them to a more manageable 7 or 8.

The committee’s recommendations were that the content of the courses should be clearly mentioned along with the fee and timings as well as the faculty who would be responsible for the conduction of the course in question. It also pointed out that if a steeper fee was demanded for a course then it was important to clarify what other substantial material was offered to make it worth the students while and prevent them from being cheated.
In the midst of the inquiry it was also said that there was a basic flaw in offering courses like media studies and tourism due to the lack of adequate infrastructure to support the mandatory practical work.

Many of these courses sound interesting and incredibly fun but the truth of the matter remains that only a few are functioning properly and holding examinations.

Ramjas College for instance has a staggering 26 add on courses listed on their website out of which the classes for only the following were held last year: Development of Entrepreneurship Excellence, Bioinformatics– Future of Biological Research, Communication & Self Development, Biotechnology, Mass Media Ethics Studies,
Film Appreciation, Forensic Science, Peace and Conflict Resolution

It is therefore imperative to be sure of whether a college offers the desired course option before one joins the college. Students are advised to talk to students of the college. Alternatively students can write in to DU Beat at [email protected] .

Other Interesting Add-on Courses in different colleges

Hindu College: Acting Skills, Creative Writing
Miranda House: Course in Theatre Direction with the help of National School of Drama (NSD)
Hansraj College: Radio Jockeying and Travel and Tourism
Gargi College: Education for Peace Building
Sri Venkateswara College: Molecular and Biochemical Technology

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