What’s to love: It is said that girls will be girls and they can never resist the temptation to talk about their friends, family, teachers or other loved ones. The canteen, in a shady spot in the Lady Willingdon Cottage overlooking the basketball court, is the favourite spot for such exchanges. As the lunch hour draws closer, all the stray benches, chairs and eating tables around the area quickly begin to fill with laughing, screaming girls.
“The canteen is always cool because of the multitude of trees. Whether we want to study, make notes, eat something or just sit and talk, we always come here,” says a third year B.Sc Home Science student. The canteen offers eatables at modest prices. One can buy a dosa for Rs.12 or fried rice with Manchurian for 20. A cafeteria has also been opened in the vicinity that serves tea, coffee, sandwiches and patties. However, the girls’ favourite is ‘Babaji’ – the ice cream bhaiyya who sells a variety of ice creams, toffees and chips.
What’s not to be: The students may love the grounds around the canteen but the canteen, in itself, does not often live up to expectations. The food here is not a big hit and the girls admit that they have it only when there is no other option. So most girls bring food from home.
“The area around the canteen may be great but the food in the canteen is horrible. It is extremely unhygienic and we cannot have this food every day,” is the unanimous opinion.
Alternatives: A very popular hangout with lot many batches of girls was the “tile-wala” tree – which is an ancient neem tree which has a tiled platform around it. The students of Lady Irwin are spoilt for choice with Bengali Market and Connaught Place being just a stone’s throw away from the campus. Lots of girls also throng the SRC canteen nearby that serves “awesome” Chinese food.
