Kya khaaya, kya peeya...

Anything can be discussed over a cup of tea. We were no different. The tea stalls outside the campus and sometimes within the campus were our addas to get together and chill. Nandu's tea stall opposite 'B' Zone and beside the petrol pump used to be a hot destination. In the 'A' zone, a stroll down the road towards the railway station took us to a scenic spot which also happened to be a tea stall.

Tea was served mostly in transparent glasses which Nandu would serve on a war scale. I never really saw him relaxing. He also served some snacks like matthri, cream rolls, samosas, biscuits etc. The most interesting part was the calculation done at the end of the tea time. "हाँ नंदू, कितना हुआ??" one of us would ask. Nandu would do a quick calculation of how many tea glasses, how many matthris, how many biscuits etc. were served and come up with a verbal bill. Thereafter, would begin efforts to accumulate the amount and pay him. It took a while before the right amount was paid to Nandu. At times we would request someone to pay - "चेंज अभी नहीं है, तू दे दे, हॉस्टल जाके दे दूंगा। " we would say.

Talking about eating joints, there was one hot destination in the main shaharpura market - "Sher-e-Punjab". There used to be a middle aged sardarji uncle who owned it and it flourished because most often it was thronged by the BITians. Mughlai parathas were the most preferred items on the menu list. Around 1996, I remember another option cropping up near that Ambedkar Statue chauraha(opposite the Bank), a kilometer before the Shaharpura market. It used to serve soups and other chinese and fast food items. There wasn't really a decent option closer to the institute and we ended up at one of the above two joints.

There were dhabas surrounding the institute of course but they were lunch and dinner options. At times, our mess would close and there was no option left but to flock to these dhabas. Lakhan Dhaba used to be one of the favourite options. Lakhan wasn't the owner of this dhaba, he was rather a tall, handsome and well built youth with abundance of hair on his head who used to serve items with a great fervour and speed. He was the most visible face of the dhaba so we ended up christening that dhaba - Lakhan Dhaba. Here, on the menu list were - tandoori rotis, daal fry, sabji, fried rice, aaloo paratha, and chicken and fish curries for non vegeterians. I specially liked daal tadka and tandoori roti or a good piece of chicken and roti.

Despite not being allowed to keep any electric stoves and heaters in our rooms , many of us still managed to secretly own them. Most often, they would suffice for preparing tea or getting water boiled for some purpose or ocassionally a quick dish! During winters, they would also double up as room heaters.