All the world is a stage

Situated in the heart of Delhi University —North Campus — and quite close to each other, both these colleges are often compared for their cultural societies. The most competitive ones being the theatre societies of the college — The Players (Kirori Mal College) and Shunya (Ramjas College). As a part of our series on campus face-offs, this week, we bring to you two popular colleges of the varsity. Here’s what makes them the most sought after with their students.

Kirori Mal College

Founded

The college began as Nirmala College and was located on Qutub Road. Faced with problems relating to the staff in the period following the partition, the management of the college changed hands and the trust founded by Seth Kirori Mal took over. It shifted to its present campus on February 1, 1954

and has already celebrated its golden jubilee.

Famous Alumni

Noted Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from this college. Other famous alumni of the college include actors Shakti Kapoor and Kulbhushan Kharbanda, filmmaker Satish Kaushik and former Chief Minister of Delhi, Madan Lal Khurana, among others.

Cool Quotient

One of the coolest and most popular campus theatre groups of the varsity — The Players — belongs to Kirori Mal College. The

society’s alumni have made a mark in theatre, cinema and television. It hosts an annual inter-college theatre festival too. Other popular societies include the Musoc, Debsoc, Fine Arts and Photography Society (FAPS). The Facebook page of the college is quite active and abuzz with news.

Canteen

The college has a spacious, newly renovated canteen that can accommodate up to 200 students at any given time. It’s known for serving Chinese and Indian cuisines and knick-nacks. The most popular food item here is vegetable chowmein (Rs 20). Rajma rice (Rs 15) is another hit with students. The rates of most food items are easy on the pocket.

Ramjas College
Founded

Founded by educationist and philanthropist, Rai Kedar Nath, in 1917, this college is one of the oldest in the city. Originally located at Daryaganj, Ramjas was one of the three colleges to be brought under the purview of Delhi University when it shifted to its present location in 1950. The college was renamed in the memory of Lala Ramjas, father of the founder Rai Kedar Nath.

Famous

Alumni

Filmmaker Prakash Jha graduated from this college with a degree of B Sc (Hons) in Physics. Actor Manoj Bajpayee studied History (Hons) from the college. Other noted alumni include actor Rahul Roy and television personality Shekhar Suman.

Cool Quotient

The college boasts of active cultural societies, which is one of its biggest USP. The college has also featured in the top 10 colleges in Delhi in all three streams — Arts, Science and Commerce. The dramatics society of the college — Shunya, comprises of both stage and street theatre. It organises its theatre fest Mukhatib annually, which is another feather in its cap.

Canteen

The food on offer in the canteen varies from snacks to proper Indian meals. If you get a chance, do try out their samosa (R5). For instant refreshment, there is an ice-cream vendor outside the canteen and a fresh fruit juice stall too. In Indian food, they have rajma chawal, kadi chawal and chole bhature. The students have a choice to either sit inside or outside the canteen.