It’s a well-known fact that Pune is the education hub of India drawing students not only from national but also international destinations. Within India the stretch is wide and students hail from all directions, from Kerala in the south, Darjeeling in the north, Gujarat in the west and even from the remote areas of north-eastern States.
The culture is cosmopolitan in nature. The city is also known for its SEZ and IT population but is proliferated by senior citizens, and students. Strangely the two are interdependent on the other.
Having lived in Pune for quite a while the observations in this article are personal views and not based on any research findings. However, any social scientist can take up this topic and come up with findings. Pune is a city with still a large number of single / bungalow type houses where senior citizens reside, some with off springs, majority having moved further west for greener pastures. They rent out their premises with furnished accommodation to students and make their extra buck from rent and ‘dabba’ (home cooked food). The women members take the assistance of servants in preparing the dabbas. This arrangement keeps everyone happy. The parents of students feel that there are guardians around and their children are getting a homely ambience, getting home-cooked food, monetary benefit and emotional support which goes both ways. Some bachelors working in corporate sector also avail of this facility. Students who are slightly better off are also renting flats for their own privacy.
Institutes don’t have to invest in infrastructure of hostels. Sans the ‘dabba’ system, Bhubaneswar has picked up the trend of Pune. Maybe we are not drawing students pan India, but we are getting students mostly from the eastern and north-eastern States and definitely few from other areas and abroad. It has been proved that quality education is being provided at a reasonable cost with placement facilities. It is a win-win situation for everyone as the students prefer their privacy and take rooms or houses on rent and the institutes don’t have to invest on hostel infrastructure, or keep it to the minimum. The institutes have grown very fast and the seats too because of which the hostels have not been able to keep up with the growing population.
Any area of Bhubaneswar that we notice, say Saheed Nagar, Sailashree Vihar, Patia, BJB Nagar, Khandagiri, Old Town, is spilling over with the student population. The single houses, like in Pune are inhabited by the elderly populace, with off springs having flown from the nest. They don’t prefer to rent out to families as they may create problems while leaving and in contrast the students are bound to leave when their course gets over. The new students usually occupy the places when the seniors have left. There is no need to look for tenants. The students pay per person or bed, which makes the landlords get ten times of the usual rent.
The only problem which students face is regarding food. Some of them have hired cooks but mostly eat at hotels which may not be the best option in terms of quality and hygiene. Some landlords have already started providing food, but it is a very small percentage. I had spoken to few landlords, rather their wives in various areas regarding this issue, and they could feel the profit in the initiative. However, they feel that they will be tied down and not be able to travel if they take up this work. Few voiced that the students hail from other parts of the country and may not like the menu. Food is a very cash rich business and the profit could be up till 50 per cent. It is better than going out of the house to do a full time job. The menu of a ‘dabba’ is usually standard comprising of chappatis, rice, dal, veg/non-veg curry, fried vegetables, salad and or a pickle. It suits everyone. The same thing may happen in Bhubaneswar. It is a question of demand and supply and the housewives have befun to realise the profitability of the venture. Bhubaneswar is already trailing Pune and it could be a matter of months or a year before the same facilities can be available here. SIKTA PATI
It’s a well-known fact that Pune is the education hub of India drawing students not only from national but also international destinations. Within India the stretch is wide and students hail from all directions, from Kerala in the south, Darjeeling in the north, Gujarat in the west and even from the remote areas of north-eastern States.
The culture is cosmopolitan in nature. The city is also known for its SEZ and IT population but is proliferated by senior citizens, and students. Strangely the two are interdependent on the other.
Having lived in Pune for quite a while the observations in this article are personal views and not based on any research findings. However, any social scientist can take up this topic and come up with findings. Pune is a city with still a large number of single / bungalow type houses where senior citizens reside, some with off springs, majority having moved further west for greener pastures. They rent out their premises with furnished accommodation to students and make their extra buck from rent and ‘dabba’ (home cooked food). The women members take the assistance of servants in preparing the dabbas. This arrangement keeps everyone happy. The parents of students feel that there are guardians around and their children are getting a homely ambience, getting home-cooked food, monetary benefit and emotional support which goes both ways. Some bachelors working in corporate sector also avail of this facility. Students who are slightly better off are also renting flats for their own privacy.
Institutes don’t have to invest in infrastructure of hostels. Sans the ‘dabba’ system, Bhubaneswar has picked up the trend of Pune. Maybe we are not drawing students pan India, but we are getting students mostly from the eastern and north-eastern States and definitely few from other areas and abroad. It has been proved that quality education is being provided at a reasonable cost with placement facilities. It is a win-win situation for everyone as the students prefer their privacy and take rooms or houses on rent and the institutes don’t have to invest on hostel infrastructure, or keep it to the minimum. The institutes have grown very fast and the seats too because of which the hostels have not been able to keep up with the growing population.
Any area of Bhubaneswar that we notice, say Saheed Nagar, Sailashree Vihar, Patia, BJB Nagar, Khandagiri, Old Town, is spilling over with the student population. The single houses, like in Pune are inhabited by the elderly populace, with off springs having flown from the nest. They don’t prefer to rent out to families as they may create problems while leaving and in contrast the students are bound to leave when their course gets over. The new students usually occupy the places when the seniors have left. There is no need to look for tenants. The students pay per person or bed, which makes the landlords get ten times of the usual rent.
The only problem which students face is regarding food. Some of them have hired cooks but mostly eat at hotels which may not be the best option in terms of quality and hygiene. Some landlords have already started providing food, but it is a very small percentage. I had spoken to few landlords, rather their wives in various areas regarding this issue, and they could feel the profit in the initiative. However, they feel that they will be tied down and not be able to travel if they take up this work. Few voiced that the students hail from other parts of the country and may not like the menu. Food is a very cash rich business and the profit could be up till 50 per cent. It is better than going out of the house to do a full time job. The menu of a ‘dabba’ is usually standard comprising of chappatis, rice, dal, veg/non-veg curry, fried vegetables, salad and or a pickle. It suits everyone. The same thing may happen in Bhubaneswar. It is a question of demand and supply and the housewives have befun to realise the profitability of the venture. Bhubaneswar is already trailing Pune and it could be a matter of months or a year before the same facilities can be available here.