Food tastes best after freedom

After a long and tiring day at college, the students of Sri Chaitanya and Narayana Junior College attack the nearby Food Joints. There are many branches of Sri Chaitanya and Narayana Junior Colleges in and around Hyderabad. For them maybe, bunking is not an option but nothing can keep them from having fun! After scattering like mustard seeds from college, a few groups hang around at the well known food joints to fill their roaring stomachs of hunger.

Alwal area has grown into a popular center these days and there are many places which cater to food needs of students. There is Lake View Chat Bhandar just adjacent Sri Chaitanya, which has been the adda for all ages alive for more than 20 years and it has grown from a small wheel cart to a well equipped shop. ‘The pani puri here is the world best in all of Alwal’ jokes a student who gathered there with her friends.

There is a chain of bakeries and food courts from here starting with Ganesh Bakery which has been around for just the same amount of time and Ganesh food court which is an extension of Ganesh Bakery comprising a wide range of eateries from Pizzas to Burgers to French-fry to even Frankie. ‘But the best part about here is the combos they offer. You get French fries, a coke and a burger for Rs 49/- only’ says the manager of the store. They renovated their store recently to suit the needs of their young and steady customers. They also have a separate Chat Bhandar for themselves. The scattered mustard seeds are seen hanging around here mostly which is like the fixed venue for birthday parties and treats.

Then there is Ice Spice closer to Narayana College which has Chinese, Chat and all kinds of Ice Creams and Milkshakes. There are more a bajji bandi and a pani puri bandi. Last but not the least is Bhatia Bakery which has a bus stop named after it. These colleges themselves have a one-desk size canteen to give their students the break (fast) food. Prabhatha, a first year MPC student of Sri Chaitanya says “we have a canteen, almost a portable one but it definitely is an asset as we get really hungry before lunch itself. We have curry puff, samosa, chocolates and biscuits which hopefully are enough to get us through another study hour.”

These food joints are a boon for students of Sri Chaitanya and Narayana junior college.


Where: Ganesh Food Court, Venkatapuram, Alwal

Must try: meal combo

Pocket wise: Rs 49/- for veg Rs 59/- for non-veg

Food for Fun!

‘Under the tree!’ comes the quick response when you ask the students of  Wesley College, where they like to hang out most. They gather in its shade and munch on the tastiest samosa from the very famous samosa lady. For Rs 6/- these samosas sell like hot cakes. 300-400 samosas are being sold every day for the past 15 to 20 years. 

The lady and her daughter together come in the morning everyday and stay till they are sold out which happens very fast. Garnished with mirchi and onions ‘for free’ it tastes its very best. Apart from the samosa and the ‘wisdom tree’ what’s famous in Wesley College is the Anand Theatre bus stop right outside which is the hangout for all the degree students to just chill out. They come in bikes and go to the bus stop to socialize.  

Adjacent to it are Gyaneshwar Anna’s cigarette stall for the guys and Laxmi Chat Bhandar for the girls. ‘Most of the guys come for a smoke. They hang around and chitchat. I am good friends with a few of them too’ says Gyaneshwar. There is always a stall like this near every college and they make 
profits too. The chai stall is another adda. 

Begumpet being the center of the city is not scarce of places to eat. They have CCD’s in Begumpet and Sindhi Colony, Paradise restaurant and other eat out joints in and around Begumpet. ‘The college canteen is only for the faculty. We feed on the samosa’ joke MBA students John Druva, Tej Kumar and Ruben. ‘We share the CSIT College canteen which has sandwiches, puffs, fried rice and soft drinks. We come fasting in the morning and feed mostly on the canteen food.’  

And they add ‘We mostly spend our time playing cricket and also with the faculty being very friendly, they encourage friendly interactions with our juniors which makes college a great place to be.’ We just come to college to hang out with friends. Larger than life attitude of Wesley College students is what makes them apart from the normal crowd. This fun congregation always look forward to more fun!

Where: Samosa lady’s Jhola, near Wesley College Gate, Begumpet

Must try: Samosa


Pocket wise: Rs 6/-

Tis' the season of fests!

                     
                     The stage of Infocus film fest hosted annually by the mass communication 
                                               department of Loyola Academy at Old Alwal.


St Francis Degree College (Arthashastra), St Mary's Degree College (Prerna), Bhavan's Vivekananda College (Bhavanotsav), Villa Marie Degree and Junior College (Villa Festa), Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Technology (Nirvana), Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology (Carpediem) and JB Institute of Engineering and Technology (Inxs).

The fever of campus fests is catching up. more and more colleges want to be in the limelight with one or the other events. students are challenging other colleges to participate and see who's better. Recently off beat concerts are also being held in colleges. the recent examples being St. Fracis and Wesley College, Begumpet which not only encouraged students to participate but also gave away exciting prizes. 


Loyola College again is hosting a national level student film festival - In focus. The department of mass communication has been planning this events for months and wants to set it apart from the rest! ' we have been conducting this fest for 3 years now and hope to do in in future as well. this is an amzing opportunity as well as a challenge to give a platform to fame for students to show and say ' hum kisi se kum nahi'

A Foodies' Paradise

Students chilling with their lecturer at The Coffee Cup at Sainikpuri

Nostalgia hits you the moment you enter Bhavan’s Vivekananda College in Sainikpuri. Groups of students laughing and chatting, spread all over the college during their lunch hour. The open campus has a lot of places to hang out- the basket ball ground, stairs, MBA backstage and most importantly the canteen. The aroma of food fills the canteen as students enter in flocks to savour a low budget sumptuous meal on a wide range and variety of food from Chinese to North Indian to South Indian to even sandwiches and Frankie.
Priced at Rs 20/- the Frankie is the tastiest of all. Come here with growling stomach and you get paisa vasool food. Taking me through a tour of their food territories are Sophia, Neha, Vikram, Venkatesh,Jagdish, Sagar, Sanjay and Abhay. They tell me the USP of their college is good parking lots, spacious and green campus, basket ball ground and gym. The students are mostly foreigners, North Indians and people of other states. The group of friends gaily say – there’s food for all! There are many places to hang out around Bhavan’s. There is FAB which is a short form of Fifth Avenue Bakery, Daily bread another bakery destination, Baskin Robins Ice cream outlet and a row of bakeries and stores on the Sainikpuri road. There is a scoops ice cream outlet just outside Bhavan’s run by Ms.Shilpa who says ‘we have a wide variety of icecream options like Vanilla, Strawberry, Jamaican choco fudge, Honey, Anjeer, Badam, choco roco and others. Students mostly opt for Belgium Dark Chocolate. We have a seating arrangement where they can hang around, chat and have fun.’ Gokul grocery store is another one stop destination for all things food for Bhavanites. ‘Coffee cup near Sainikpuri X roads is my favourite place. It has excellent food, good music, a collection of books and a guitar to play! The best part is you can even go there alone, grab one of their yummy drinks and sit there for hour’s together.’ says Purnima. Sravan of Coffee cup says ‘ we have ample space to fit a battalion and this place is apt for college students as well as people all ages. During cricket matches, it is filled with people and we have an exclusive way of celebrating birthdays of our customers on demand.’


Where: Coffee cup, Sainikpuri, A S Rao Nagar, Behind BP Petrol Bunk, Above Canara Bank. Must try: pasta, sandwiches, hot and cold coffee, mohito and many more Pocket wise: Rs 60/- to 300/-