A college canteen serves more functions than just providing food. Any college student must by now know that it is the most obvious place to laze around if a class is bunked. Students in the north and south campuses are luckier still as they have more options. But off-campus colleges, like DCAC, where you have to take an auto to reach a decent place to hang out, and canteens are life-cum-boredom saver.
Managed by Mrs. & Mr. Nagpal, the college canteen of DCAC is spacious, airy and well-lit. Adjacent to the ground, students prefer to ‘take-away’ eatable to an even more comfortable zone (read classrooms). Though it cannot compete with Campus colleges’ in terms of variety and price, it sure doesn’t disappoint. The affordable rates have actually helped source lunches for many students who live nearby. Famous throughout the campus for its graffiti, there are options galore whether you want a quick-bite, a proper meal or quench your thirst. Almost all brands of soft-drinks and chocolates are readily available over the counter and they always stay in demand. The Ever-smiling, Mrs. Nagpal (the ‘universal aunty’) calmly operates the billing and finances whereas ‘uncle’ ensures timely service. Aunty knows the name of almost every regular student and never fails to strike a conversation if time permits. Uncle is a bit sterner and you’ll never find him at rest for a moment. Even though the canteen can accommodate the thin rush in between the lectures, the situation spirals out of control in the recess. Those 20-25 minutes are the most stressful for the service staff as the orders keep piling up. Frequently, new items are added & their sales tested. Recently, Bread-pakoras and Thalis were given a shot, but have been missing in the new semester.
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However, the local 'Maggie-point' comes to the rescue by providing tea-coffee-samaosa-maggie-momos-sandwiches24*7. Keeping in mind the chilly winters, the Maggi-wala too updated his 'menu' & added items like chilly potato, spring rolls etc. Still the fact that one has to walk to it & stand in the open proves a dampener. Loyalists stick to the canteen.
Even though the canteen is probably the most frequently visited place in the whole college premises, a majority of students feel that there is a major room for development. Vaibhav, the president of Clicks, the photography society says that (relatively) the prices are higher than other colleges and the portions smaller. He adds that cleanliness and hygiene standards are not up to the mark & the utensils and cutlery are often not properly washed. A lot others believe that the long time taken to deliver the order and the chaos that follows can be avoided if the man-force is increased at the counter. A student of 1st year says that dogs and puppies cuddle and sit under the tables and are on a constant lookout for left-overs. Another point of discontentment was that the tables are fixed to the ground & are immovable unlike the chairs. Hence, re-arrangement of seats is not possible and the larger groups have to split up. Nonetheless, every student whenever free turns up to the canteen and if eat nothing, just chat away. In a nutshell, Mr. Prem Ji Nagpal does a great and efficient job but with a little more effort and management can change the face of DCAC canteen.
Even though the canteen is probably the most frequently visited place in the whole college premises, a majority of students feel that there is a major room for development. Vaibhav, the president of Clicks, the photography society says that (relatively) the prices are higher than other colleges and the portions smaller. He adds that cleanliness and hygiene standards are not up to the mark & the utensils and cutlery are often not properly washed. A lot others believe that the long time taken to deliver the order and the chaos that follows can be avoided if the man-force is increased at the counter. A student of 1st year says that dogs and puppies cuddle and sit under the tables and are on a constant lookout for left-overs. Another point of discontentment was that the tables are fixed to the ground & are immovable unlike the chairs. Hence, re-arrangement of seats is not possible and the larger groups have to split up. Nonetheless, every student whenever free turns up to the canteen and if eat nothing, just chat away. In a nutshell, Mr. Prem Ji Nagpal does a great and efficient job but with a little more effort and management can change the face of DCAC canteen.
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