NEW DELHI: Over an hour past midnight at Jantar Mantar, bamboo fans can be seen changing hands, making the heavy, damp air breathable for the drowsy, as well as the sleepless.
Bruises left by police batons are tended to, and medicines and food are sorted under the streetlight.
The dull stillness typical of a balmy July night never quite takes hold of the iconic protest site in Delhi.
Jantar Mantar, which can accommodate around 2,000 people, drew a lot more than its capacity on Wednesday night -- several days into the ongoing students' agitation.
While some participants tried to catch a few hours of sleep on sheets spread across the ground, others remained awake, making sure food, water and medicines reached those who needed them.
The simple hath pankha or bena became the most reliable defence to ease the night vigil, with the humidity refusing to relent and the feels-like temperature hovering over 40 degrees Celsius.
Protesters took turns fanning one another so others could rest.
"When you enter the site, a pankha is given, and when you leave the protest site, one deposits it back so that it can be used by another person," a volunteer said.
Some volunteers moved quietly through the crowd carrying packets of food -- many sent by people from different parts of the country expressing their solidarity with the protesters -- while others checked on those nursing injuries sustained during the day's clashes with police. A few sat beside the injured, applying ointment and helping them change bandages.
Around 2.30 am, the mood briefly shifted.
A small crowd gathered around a young protester who began singing 'Sadda Haq' from Imtiaz Ali's 2011 hit film 'Rockstar'. As the familiar refrain filled the air, many others joined in, singing the lyrics together.
For several protesters, the song's call for asserting one's rights echoed their own demands, and the chorus was soon followed by loud slogans before the gathering slowly settled down again.
Through the night, the rhythm remained much the same. Songs gave way to chants, chants to silence, and silence to brief stretches of sleep. As one group rested, another took over the task of keeping the protest going.
Despite the growing signs of hundreds of people living at the site, protesters also made efforts to keep the area clean.
Volunteers could be seen collecting discarded plates, bottles and other waste after meals, trying to maintain the protest venue even as more people continued to arrive.
"Although garbage is being collected, an increased frequency is required in the area since so many people are staying for 24 hours on the protest site," a volunteer carrying a plastic bag to collect garbage said.
Around 3 am, another group reached the site carrying food packets and cartons of drinking water.
Several protesters formed a human chain of sorts, walking a few hundred metres to ferry supplies to the main gathering.
"We don't know who will need food next or when more people will arrive. Whatever comes, we distribute it," said Avni, one of the volunteers helping coordinate supplies.
For many, the night offered little rest.
Sarthak Singh said sleep came only in short spells before someone or the other would wake up to help with logistics, distribute water or respond to fresh slogans breaking out across the gathering.
By 4 am, the first signs of dawn had begun to appear. The sounds of early traffic slowly replaced the stillness of the night, mingling with birdsong.
Protesters folded blankets and bed rolls, washed up where they could and prepared for another day.
As daylight approached, fresh groups began arriving while those who had stayed awake through much of the night made room for them.
"The night ends, but the protest doesn't," said Nikhil, as the gathering readied itself for another day of demanding the resignation of the education minister.
For a few protesters, anxiety of a sudden crackdown remains as the protest site is surrounded by heavy police and paramilitary force deployment.
"On Monday, we were brutally beaten up. We hope things don't escalate in the same manner, and our voices are heard," a protester said.
The protest at Jantar Mantar began on June 6, led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) along with several student organisations.
The protesters have been demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and irregularities in the CBSE's on-screen marking process, besides seeking wider reforms in the conduct of public examinations.
The agitation gained wider attention after activist Sonam Wangchuk joined the protest with an indefinite hunger strike on June 28 and clashes between police and protesters on July 20.
(With inputs from PTI)