Soon as you enter St Anne’s College for Women, Miller’s Road, you can see different groups of girls sitting on pavements and benches across the campus discussing a range of topics.

The long pavements attached to the compound walls are their favourite hangouts where they like exhaust their tiffin boxes, brush their hair up, help each other apply mehendi and nail polish. “Whenever we get free time, we rush towards these pavements. Sometimes at lunch, we struggle to find a place. If we don’t get a place here, we select one of the stone benches beneath the trees. As these places are away from the classrooms, no one minds if we make noise,” says Shilpa, a second year commerce student. The college has a strict dress code as per which, students are not allowed to wear jeans, leggings or go out of the campus unnecessarily. Cell phone usage is also banned. But these things don’t bother them.

“When friends are around, we can convert any place into a lively one — be it an empty classroom, library, auditorium or chapel. Moreover, we feel more secure inside the campus,” adds Shilpa.

Even with the study holidays going on, one can still see a number of students in the college.

“Whenever we want to do some group study, we meet at the college so that if we have any doubts, we can clear them instantly with the lecturers. The college environment also freshens us up and gives us a break from the monotony of study holidays. Sharing some light moment with friends is a great stressbuster,” says Sunitha, another student.  As the college is located at a busy location in the City, the students have many happening places around their campus like malls, theatres and eat-outs. “We have all sorts of hangouts near our college from Sigma Mall, Safina Plaza to pizzas, chaats and chicken corners. The Nidhi’s Corner is one of our favourite places and we go there often. It offers awesome parathas and pav bhaji.  We also hang out at the busy Commercial Street,” reveals Veena.