It was my third day at the University of Karachi. I had made friends with some boys by then and was sitting with them idly because there was no class. One of my friend said suddenly, “Let’s go to the Prem Gali (lovers’ street).” I didn’t get him. “What,” I exclaimed. “Don’t you know what it is. Come on. Let me show you what it is.”
We started from our department and after a five-minute walk reached a place where there were a large number of food shops and a huge number of students were eating and chattering (where there are students, particularly girls, there is chattering). There my friend who had led us pointed towards a narrow lane and said, “That is the Prem Gali.”
It was quite a wonderful place. Students were sitting on bricks and stones and were enjoying a variety of foods. This is the food street of the Karachi University. This must be one of the largest food streets of the country because it is visited by around 25,000 students a day.
It is quite apart from the rest of the food streets of the country. No table, no chair, no waiters. You have to get your food from the shopkeeper by shouting at him repeatedly. You have to manage to walk to the place where your friends are waiting for food. There is every chance of a careless one falling headlong because the floor there is quite uneven. (And poor girls also have to keep their bags on their shoulders and avoid boys while walking with so much food in their hands.)
This is the place which is equally popular among boys and girls. (Classes are popular places among girls mostly.)
The cafeteria, which is at a distance from this food street, is quite spacious and has separate halls for boys and girls, but it is frequented by much less number of students. Perhaps our students like to sit on bricks and stones and hard benches more. Or maybe the food served there is not as tasty.
Although the shops in the food street serve only fast food (biryani is an exception), many a students eat to fill here. And why not? Every item sold here is quite delicious and one cannot stop eating.
Those who serve students are well known people here. Almost celebrities. Students want to befriend them so that they are served first. But they usually avoid recognizing students. Nazeer, Yousuf, Abdullah Bhai and Qasim are all familiar faces.
“In my view there is nothing better than the tea served here to freshen up after classes that drain all your energy,” said Fareeha, a student of MSc.
“I will always remember my days spent at the university, particularly because of the time spent here in the food street,” said Maimoona, a girl who was being constantly taunted at by her friends for eating too much and being too fat.
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