Bumping into love at the Student Centre, writes Disney Brar

Spread the news

Chandigarh, August 11

The first stab of love is like a sunset, a blaze of colour-oranges, pearly pinks, vibrant purples-Anna Godbersen.

Love’s young dream, those stolen kisses behind the gnarled trunks of old trees, witnesses  to blooming romances in its nascent stages to the ones mature like the old wines in the wooden casks waiting to be savoured on love-kissed date nights. Those stirrings in the heart when eyes first meet, walking hand-in-hand through tree-lined lanes and lush green pathways of our very own Panjab  University, strewn with swaying palm trees lining  both sides of the road, embellished with pockets of bountiful seasonal flowers and lined with cobbled stone walls leading up to the heart of PU-the Student Centre, fondly called the Stu-C, in Sector 14, Chandigarh. A place which has nestled many beautiful love stories, endearing  friendships and memories, the kinds which come back to haunt on an overcast day, in its bosom, since its inception back in 1975.

A must visit for everyone visiting the beautiful city just to soak in the vibrant pulse of the place buzzing around with students and people of all age groups and walks of life besides the alumni of the university. Stu-C is a primary social, cultural and administrative focal point for the students of the university. Its open courtyard covered with a green canopy of the thick mango grove  embraces the students like a mother nursing her child. It is in the premises of the Stu-C that many heartwarming love stories have taken birth, in fact the seeds of love sown on the soil of PU continues throughout life, weathering the storms which life often throws our way as we move in this world, acting as the perfect refuge to take shelter in and heal.

Bumping into one such mushy couple, we at The North News got talking to them about their love story which took off from here, Girish Kapoor, an architect  who runs his firm, Building Abodes in Sector 21, says, “my wife and I visit the Stu-C once every month and spend some time here to relive the bygone era, when we accidentally bumped into each other one day right here, when I was with my friends and she came along with her friends back in the 1990’s. Both of us were students here.”

Ditto for Shanaya Singh and her long time partner Sahil Juneja, both working with a Mohali-based IT firm in industrial area, Phase 8B, “Sahil and I met at the Stu-C around a decade back and we have been together since. The time that we met here is so beautifully etched in our minds. Those balmy evenings, sipping chai and digging into spicy samosas was the best part of it all. We keep revisiting the Stu-C once in a while, grabbing time from our busy schedules to relive those moments of love and laughter,” quips Shanaya.

Sharing another heart-warming story is septuagenarian couple, Sudesh Sharma and his graceful wife Meenakshi, both retired government officers,, “It was back in the 1980’s that both of us met for the first time here at the Stu-C when our parents fixed our match. That was our first date after which we decided to marry each other.Ever since we have been coming to the Stu-C regularly sometimes to have our breakfast of chole bhature while other times to relish the yummy rajma chawal available here,” says Sharma.

Built between 1968-75 by the then university architect B. P Mathur,  in the spirit of Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret’s architectural aesthetic using  raw beton brut with no exterior paint, the Stu-C houses an open-air spiralling ramp, which wraps itself around a three-storey circular core of the centre leading up to the Coffee House sitting pretty at the top of the building like an icing on the cake. The Basic architectural design of Stu-C includes the vertical louvers which are deeply recessed louvered windows which cut into the cylindrical facade to control the sunlight entering it. The building houses the offices of the Students’ Council, Dean of the Students’ Welfare, stationary shops and eateries offering everything under the sun, but mostly famous for its piping hot rajma chawal served with a dash of pungent green chilli and mint chutney, chole bhature, chaats, paranthas, sandwitches, momos besides juices and shakes.

Step into the Stu-C during the scorching months of summer for a glass of ice-chilled lemonade, a refreshing cooler or during the monsoons when the green canopy covering the ample open sitting space, seems to be splashed with a neon green paint , a sight which soothes tired eyes and aching hearts. Or even during the lazy winter months to sit out under the sun, munching on some crisp groundnuts  with some gur walli chai available at the small eateries in the courtyard of the Stu-C or simply gorging on the yummy gajar ka halwa available here amidst the incessant chirping of the mynas waiting to peck into your leftover samosas and spilled tea, a sight which is common here.

So when are you visiting here?