Why Hans Raj College Rocks!

Braving sweltering heat and sweating profusely, we began our voyage to North Campus.

 

We knocked down numerous hurdles and obstacles – after all, we are a bunch of gallant CJs! So, armed with a notepad, pens, jholas and bunta- we started our expedition.

My pit stop was the much revered Hans Raj College. Many of us are familiar with this college’s greatly celebrated alumni network consisting the likes of Anurag Kashyap, Shah Rukh Khan, Rannvijay Singh, Vinod Dua, Naveen Jindal, et al. However, exploring the college made me open my eyes to numerous other wonderful aspects as well. We entered the college and were greeted with an air of humility. Everyone exuded a humble demeanour- even the college guards! We further walked down the impeccable campus and immaculate hallway- the ambience laced with an aura of enthusiasm. We walked past the helpdesks figuring out which direction we were headed towards.

After roaming around the campus, watching eager applicants and interacting with them, we decided to gain insight on some expert opinions regarding this college. And what better than a senior lecturer?
No sooner, we found ourselves seated in the staff office, interacting with the Associate Professor of Commerce, Mr. Naveen Jain. A silver tongued and sprightly individual- he has been associated with Hans Raj for more than 20 years.

What followed was a series of lively discussion and interaction. Teaching 3^rd year B.Com. students, he tried to throw light on many aspects concerning commerce students. Staying loyal to my innate loathing for Mathematics, I was quick to ask, “Now that Math has been rendered not-so-compulsory for students wanting to pursue commerce, is it a little unfair to those who did end up studying a subject which scares students like me quite a lot?"

“Firstly, let me enlighten you that once many colleges used to have categories (for those who took up commerce with Math and those who didn’t) - penalizing those students who didn’t study Math. Even when the University came up with the decision to make Math compulsory for commerce students, who said anything about including Math in your best of four? The important thing for you is to study this subject.”

Now, that was a shocking revelation for many other clueless students like me.

Ask him about the much hyped FYUP, and he quips, “The FYUP is here to stay.”

But what are the pros and cons of this experiment?

“This is not an experiment but a formidable change. Yes, there is not much of a flipside to it except that Delhi University does not represent the entire country. Supposing, you wish to get a job in some other part of India, say Mumbai. A student completing his graduation in 3 years will also get the same job for which you studied for 4 years. So yes, if you look at it from that perspective, and if an extra year bothers you a lot, then this might be troubling for you.”

And what about those students wishing to study abroad? Isn’t this a breather for them?

“Agreed. But tell me, out of say, 1,000 students in a college, for how many of them studying abroad would actually be a viable option?”


After a prolonged discussion about the FYUP and Discipline Courses, we moved on to talk about the college. Talking about the Extra Curricular Activities (ECA) and Sports Quota he says that Hans Raj is big on the ECA scene. In fact, there is no set limit for how many marks can be increased for a student.

“If the student is really exceptional, we are more than happy to welcome them. There have even been instances when we accepted students scoring an aggregate of 60%, into their desired courses because they were so extraordinarily talented.”

He also proceeded to talk about how unlike other colleges, Hans Raj is one of those colleges that honours its first cut-off list.

Discussing about the college’s fest and societies, he says, “Our college fares very well in the inter college competitions. Our annual fest, CONFLUENCE, is splendidly successful in the campus. Even the various societies, especially choreography and dramatics is highly talked about.”

Talking about the college’s hangouts, he mentions the most popular Lover’s Point, or LP. However, the real fun was when he himself showed us around the campus. We were left delighted by his cordial personality and generosity!



Later, we spotted three alumni of the college sitting at their adda- the LP (of course!).

Ask Arshdeep, Pikky and Mikita about the college’s annual fest and pat comes the reply. “Our fest, Confluence, is awesome!”
And what about their favourite society?
“Umm… it has to be the Dramatics society, I think." says Pikky.

Lastly, they tell us the typical daily scene of the college- "a lively bunch of people scattered around the campus- some humming to themselves and playing guitar, others frolicking, basically just having a fun time.”

That was enough to render us smitten by the college. Awesome campus? Check. Wonderful crowd? Check. Excellent faculty? Check.

So, if you wish to be a part of North Campus, Hans Raj should make it to your "top college" list!