Perfect place to unwind, catch up on gossip

NEW DELHI: Eating or studying, bonding or fighting -- one place that is synonymous with all these memories of college life is the canteen -- or cafe for a select few. The informal ambience and the food serves as an excuse to unwind between classes, and to catch up on the latest gossip. The venue of ragging fachchas, away from the eagle eyes of teachers and paradise for those in search of love.
College is a time when every penny counts, when a meal of chowmein and samosa seem fit for a king.Generations have passed through their hallowed portals but canteens, at least most of them, have managed to retain their 'place' as the favourite hangout in colleges. Said Ravleen Kochhar, an alumnus of Jesus and Mary College (JMC): "Every time I was free for even five minutes, I rushed to the canteen. It's where I made friends with whom I laughed, shared and who now, are the most important part of my life."
Nothing, it seems, has changed over the years. Garima Grover, a JMC student, said: "The canteen is the central point for all meetings. Many of us get food from home, but always sit there and have lunch. College would not be the same without the canteen experience."
For those of you who would like to concentrate only on the food, here's how students, present and past, rate their respective canteens. LSR's cafe is extremely popular for its brownies, seekh rolls and chole kulche. Said Pallavi Paul, a third-year student: "The cafe is slightly expensive but the food is fabulous.
They also recently launched a continental platter for Rs 15." JMC has girls hankering after its bhel puri, kebab rolls and keema samosas. Hindu's chola bhatura is so well-known that it attracts crowds from St Stephen's College across the road.
Hunger-satiation is not the only purpose these canteens serve. In Hansraj, while students do not have much to say about food, seating area outside the canteen -- the notorious Lover's Point -- ensures that the canteen doesn't run out of business.
Stephanians did just as well to call their canteen the 'cafe' what with cane chairs and propah seating arrangement.