Tee Talk

Actions are supposed to speak louder than words. But sometimes words,especially if scribbled on T-shirts,can convey messages loud and clear. “From your college,department or the club you are a member of,a tee can tell all,” says Ankit Garg,a third year student of Mechanical Engineering. Tees are being customised for every college and department,adds Pradeep Sudeep,of the Department of Metallurgy. Together,the duo have designed a T-shirt (Rs 250) that gives a peek into the psyche of the students of Punjab Engineering College. Panjab University students,meanwhile,sport black tees that read ‘80 tusi teh lassi @ Stucee’ in Punjabi. “This one is a tribute to the Students’ Centre and among the most popular,” says Gagan Gupta,a second year student of Electrical and Electronics Engineering,adding that most of the tees are priced between Rs 150 to Rs 300.

With notice boards abuzz with pamphlets advertising the latest designs and phone numbers or website addresses where these can be bought,Jaskaran Singh Arora brings in his brand Madfish,specially for specific colleges and Panjab University departments. He has already designed for MCM College,DAV College and Government College for Girls,though the first one was a hoodie designed for University Business School. “Each design has been fashioned after much research and keeping in view what the college stands for,” he says. The colour scheme for the cotton tees too has been finalised with inputs from students of respective institutes. “Students go out of their way to flaunt the departments to which they belong. The idea is to build a uniform identity and display team power,” he adds. Orders,which have been rolling in,can be placed at madfish.me. Elsewhere at University Business School,you can also see youngsters adorning tees in grey that read ‘Ignited Brain of UBS’ that have been designed by a student of the department. “Everyone in the department has at least one of these. The ones of International Business too are gaining popularity,” says Amit Bhatia,a second year student of MBA (Marketing).

The tees flaunt wacky one liners too: the one sported by the mechanical engineering students read ‘Hell for you,fun for us’ while Yuvshalla Club members sport ‘Where you belong’. “The tee must introduce you as an intrinsic part of the organisation,” says Kshitij,a member of the latter. Karan Chabbra of AIESEC agrees,“It talks about the causes you are working for,” he says.

While some clubs keep standard tees through the years,Agaaz,the dramatics club of DAV,introduces a new one every year. “Last year it was beige and purple,” says Navdeep Kaur,a BCom third year student. Interestingly,the Agaaz tee also has the name of the skit they are going to perform in the present year.

Tees are also being used as part of election campaign at Panjab University this year. “We have already given order for 300 T-shirts,” says Harshvardhan Singh of Student Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU),whose tees in yellow read ‘Proud to be a member of SOPU’. “They reflect the students’ dedication to the parties. Besides,these tees will speak even when we are quiet,” he signs off.