Culinary Capers

This might sound unusual to an outsider but it is the kind of lingo that students here have gotten used to. Small wonder considering the fact that they work towards preparing their own lunches for everyone. These second year diploma and final year degree students,as part of their course,have to cook at the canteen,no small task as it involves preparing lunch for around 400 students and the staff of the college. The cacophony in the kitchen continues as Masala Bhath is being prepared on the adjacent table. These students however agree that cooking for everyone is fun.

The chefs discuss the World Cup and movies as they cut the chillies with utmost perfection.“He is a big fan of Dhoni,” Pranav says pointing atUtsav,who is busy cooking.

As the conversation moves on,the students start joking,refering to each other by their special nicknames. While Pranav gathers the sobriquet of the Wine Chef,his colleague Utsav is the Butter Chef. “Ye sabse zyada butter use karta hai (He uses butter the most)”,Pranav says explaining the reason behind it. Aditya Venkatraman,another student,who joins the gang a little later is called ‘the outstanding visiting student’. “He can study for five minutes and top the class,” laughs Devendra.

However,soon their conversation turns towards more serious topics . “Reservation should be income based,” Utsav says. Rahul Varil is saddened by the continuing state of politics in the country. “Jo acha hai,usko vote do (give your vote to the deserving candidate),” he adds stressing his point to bring about a positive change. With an agenda of social work,his future plans are directed to solve the growing food problem. As Varil spells out his plan of opening a chain of restaurants that offer good quality food at low prices for the the masses,he says,“As soon as the prices of something as basic as Vada Pav goes up,people have to rethink,wondering if they can afford it.”