Campus Story

Garima Prasher | TNN 

Bangalore: It’s the lifeline of every college, students’ favourite hangout. Welcome to the college canteen/cafeteria. Dileep Mallick of Christ University plucks his guitar here; Prashant Gutch of IIM-B loves screening the movie ‘3 Idiots’; Dheer Bhatnagar of NLSUI discusses mock cases; Madhavi Nair of Christ University takes pleasure in drawing faces of those sitting in the vicinity and Akshaya Prabhakaran of MCC chats and jokes with pals over a cuppa. 
    College canteens have been much more than eating places – where you chill out, gossip, debate, and also have some entertainment. These days they are not just chill zones for Gen-Y, the space is being used for something as 
novel as screening movies. 
    From conducting pot-pourri to quiz competitions, from screening F1 races to movies like ‘3 Idiots’ and from organising club meetings to jam sessions, it all happens at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore cafeterias. Andaaz Apna Apna, 3 Idiots and Rang De Basanti are only some of the films screened in the canteen space. “Cafeteria is a one-stop destination for the students at IIM-B. We use projectors to screen movies in open air. Students enjoy such sessions as they also get to munch while they enjoy the films,” says Prashant Gutch, a second year student at IIM-B. 
    And for the students of National Law School of Indian University (NLSIU), the space is used for discussing mock trials, while students act as attorneys. “We discuss our assignments, mock trials being one out of many. We also have our share of entertainment. We watch cricket matches in our canteen, have match analysis and also celebrate birthdays here. It is a one-stop destination for entertainment,” says Dheer Bhatnagar, a student of NLSUI. 
    Madhavi Nair, a third year student at Christ University, feels that a large well-ventilated open space encourages experimentation and let loose an artist’s creativity. “I love painting and sketching, while sitting in the cafeteria. Although most of the times, my sketches are for college projects, I also draw abstracts. I draw people sitting around and sipping hot tea or coffee,” says Madhavi. She says that sketching while chatting makes it far more interesting. “I love drawing while I am surrounded by my friends. Moreover, ours is a green campus and it adds to the wonderful experience,” she says. 
    While Madhavi loves to sketch, Dileep Mallick, her classmate, strums his guitar in the canteen. Whether playing Led Zeppelin, Pear Jam or Nirvaana, Dileep’s tunes create a different ambience in the canteen altogether “It is a part of my daily activity now. I love singing and playing guitar and drums in the canteen space. Apart from the fact that the cafeterias provide an open space, my music also helps me in loosening the social barrier. I get to know more people and I also get response to my music,” says Dileep. 
THEN & NOW 
    Call it a mess/canteen/cafeteria. Decades ago, college canteens used to have dull ambience with a few table and chairs and standard menu. Yet they used to be places for eating, fun and some delicious gossip. Today, they are cheerful places with exciting interiors and a mouth-watering menu. In some colleges today, you have kiosks which provide coffee, pizzas, burgers, chats, fruit juice, milk shake and ice creams.

CAMPUS ADDA: Whether it’s Led Zeppelin, Pear Jam or Nirvaana, third year student Dileep’s tunes create a different ambience in the Christ University canteen