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A commerce college with a triple A-rated blue chip brand name, the Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Delhi, is basking in the afterglow of its platinum jubilee celebrations-it turned 75 last year amid a shower of bright sparks like former students Arun Jaitley, the Union law and company affairs minister, and television host Rajat Sharma who came to bond with the present batches.

BRANDED: SRCC has a special inclination for culture and sports

The special occasion apart, Professor J.L. Gupta, who has been the principal for the past 17 years, hopes the serious student will "forgive" the "little problems" that make its exteriors less than inspiring. The scrubby, dust-filled space in front was once intended as a lawn; water shortage and, of course, the regular power cuts make the less fortunate label it "SR chee chee". But it is the stringent admission criteria, not compromised through years of "immense pressure" that, according to the principal, make it the mecca for those who aspire to great things.

SRCC's vital stats are highly impressive. To begin with, the college has maintained the top slot in Commerce in the India Today-Gallup survey for the sixth consecutive year. It is among the few colleges in India that routinely sends students to the Indian Institutes of Management by the dozen. Management guru Shiv Khera and the late nasscom president Dewang Mehta are among its contributions to the business world. Its students make preferred recruits for accountancy and consultancy firms like PriceWaterhouse-Coopers, KPMG and McKinsey. And their contribution to the university toppers' list is so regular that it is mundane in the SRCC scheme of things.

The list of accomplishments does not limit itself to the world of economy and business. SRCC's students are among the best-known names in spheres like politics, law and the bureaucracy too-apart from Jaitley, BJP MP Vijay Goel and leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Jagdish Mukhi are among its alumni. And that these SRCCians are all-rounders is hardly surprising.

SECOND-TIME LUCKY: Tight discipline, strict rules about attendance and penalty for latecomers and class-duckers keep the students at St Xavier's, Kolkata, on their toes

Far from being a purely academic college churning out brilliant chartered accountants and multinational executives, SRCC has a special inclination for culture and sports. Its annual festival Crossroads is an eagerly awaited high point on the university's culture map. It also won the Chancellor's Trophy for excellence in sports recently. It has a history and political science society which organises stimulating lectures and even does Goa trips, Dil Chahta Hai-style. And yes, there is an English literary society too. When you're getting all of this, why complain about the lawns?

SRCC's closest rival St Xavier's, Kolkata, has also retained its No. 2 position. The Kolkata college, founded in 1860 by Jesuit priests, still does not have a place for girls in the commerce department. It has come under fire on this count but the authorities maintain that they do not want to take a chance with safety and discipline during the early morning sessions. Here, tight discipline, strict rules about attendance and penalty for latecomers and class-duckers keep the students on their toes.

Following in the footsteps of Kolkata's St Xavier's is its counterpart in Mumbai, which has moved up from the 5th position it obtained last year. The disappointment was Presidency College, Chennai, which slid to the 9th position from the No. 3 slot last year. A new addition to the "Big Ten" is the Hyderabad-based Indian Institute of Management of Commerce, which has made a quick advance to the 10th position from last year's 28th.