The Indian School of Business & Finance (ISBF), one of the top five teaching institutions of The London School of Economics (LSE) in the world, recently celebrated their annual inter-college cultural festival, XENIA, amidst overwhelming participation from students of top colleges of the city.

This year’s gala, themed around Sustainability, was held on 21 February and saw students vying for top honours across competitions like Nukkad Natak, Battle of the Bands and Step-Up. More than 600 students from over 35 colleges including the likes of Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Hindu College, Jesus and Mary College, Shri. Venkateshwara College, Aurobindo College, Sri. Guru Govind Singh College, Gargi College, Hansraj College, Dyal Singh College, Deshbandhu College and Motilal Nehru College took part in the extra vaganze.

Commenting after the conclusion of the Festival, Dr. G.L.Tayal, Dean, ISBF, said, "As an Affiliate Centre of the University of London, ISBF has earned strong reputation for becoming an excellent place of learning based on its challenging

academic environment, innovative approaches to college life and diverse perspectives in skill-building that make a holistic impact on our students' personality. It is no surprise, therefore, that our students are capable of demonstrating an equal degree of excellence in academics as well as co-curricular. Selection of Xenia 2020 theme viz. Sustainability is a natural outcome of this excellence and our students' consciousness about the good of humanity at large. Belief in sustainability is the testimony of their commitment to operating in an economically, socially, environmentally and ecologically integrated setting so as to balance the interests of a diverse range of stakeholders."

Also sharing his thoughts was Satish Tripathi, Founder, Tamaasha Entertainment, and one of the judges of the Nukkad Natak contest, said, "It was nostalgic as I did Nukkad Natak in 2008-09. It was an amazing experience for me to watch the students perform. I urge students to continue doing theatre and putting up great plays."

Another pair of judges, Rohit and Sukant Sharma of the band Slaves of Rock, clearly impressed by the energy around the Battle of the Bands, commented, “The crowd and performances were great. The students have some great musical talent which was nice to watch.”

Among the winners of the competitions, Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology won the Nukkad Natak while SRCC was the runner-up. Shri Venkateswara College won the Battle of the Bands. Step-Up, the Western Dance competition, saw the Crunk Society of the Aurobindo College as champions while Misbah of Sri Guru Govind Singh College and Enliven of Gargi College were declared runners-up jointly.

In a noble initiative, students of ISBF also ran three fundraisers around the themes of environmental protection, women’s health and education during XENIA 2020. The first one was termed Tree for Breathe, while the second was named LAAL and the third Rang De Basti, resulting in the collection of close to INR 50,000.