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Sydenham College

 

Location:  B Road, Churchgate - it's housed in a strawberry pink building with large classrooms and an even larger audi. The building's pretty big already, but considering the number of students who want to get in, it could be bigger. Why pink? Hah, that's something Sydenhamites themselves don't know! Fine. Then why Sydenham? It gets its name from Lord Sydenham of Combe, the governor of Mumbai, who had a hand it setting it up.  

Age:  85 years old. It was established way back in 1913, even though it was housed somewhere else. What's so special about it? Sydenham was the first Commerce college in all of Asia. In the years to come, it grew to be the best, too. 

 Major plus points:   It enjoys a reputation that would put even the best of colleges to shame. Time magazine rated Sydenham as the 'Best Commerce College this side of the Suez.' Any negatives? It's a government college, so red-tapism is redundant.  Any big names from here? Actually, there're too many of them. Almost all successful Indian businessmen seem to be from Sydenham. Be it Kumaramangalam Birla, Uday and Suresh Kotak, the Mafatlals or the Piramals, they've all been here. Other big names include Juhi Chawla, Vinod Khanna, Shiamak Davar and Rahul Bose.  But the biggest name is: Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, father of the Indian Constitution. He wasn't a student, but he taught here as professor for two whole years.

 What about the students?   They're very talented. They've been carrying home the Overall Trophies of Malhar, Kaleidoscope and other fests for a long while now. Absolutely blinded by their love for extra-curriculars, they can't see beyond their societies.  What societies? Student organisations - while other colleges have five or six of them, Sydenham has twenty. Rapport - The Sydenham Students' News Media, the Co-operative Stores and the Public Speaking & Debating Society are the more popular ones.  What's the Sydenham attitude like? Being in a society is a smart thing. All those who aren't are labelled 'verns'. Attending is not in, but being seen with popular students definitely is. Sydenhamites aren't really choosy about what they wear, but looking presentable is important.  How's the food scene? The Canteen's a popular choice for tasty idlis and oily Chinese. If you drop in, don't forget to try the Coffee topped with either cinnamon or chocolate. It's simply the best!

 Hang-outs:  The canteen, the common room, but never the classroom. Yankee's with its jhoolais a cosy spot, though it does get a li'l hot in the afternoons. Satkar, Pizzeria, Cafe Sundance or even the Sandwichwala opposite the front gate or Anna's, the hawker next to him - for a typical Sydenhamite, anything will do!