As BITS Pilani is a fully residential institute, the on-campus housing facilities contribute significantly to the overall college experience. It is natural for first-year students to worry about leaving the comforts of home and living independently. Although this is a new experience for many, the college provides students with the right facilities to make this transition smooth, and in several cases, enjoyable.
There are thirteen bhawans for boys and one hostel complex for girls in the campus. All first-years are given double rooms which are furnished with beds, cupboards, shelves, tables, and fans. All hostels have common rooms, each with a cable TV and a table-tennis board. As of 2019, vending machines have been installed in every hostel. These contain snack items such as chips, soft drinks, and biscuits, and can all be purchased using an RFID card, which one can sign-up to obtain, on campus. Internet connectivity is provided in all hostel rooms, either through WiFi or LAN ports. Several RO water purifiers are located throughout each hostel for convenient access.
In 2012, BITS announced its campus modernization plan named “Project Parivartan”, under which Hostel renovation falls. Since then, a couple of bhawans are refurbished every year. The renovated rooms and bathrooms offer more comfort and convenience.
Boys’ Bhawans
The boys’ bhawans on campus include Shankar, Vyas, Gandhi, Krishna, Ram, Budh, Malviya-A, Malviya-B, Malviya-C, Malviya apartments, Vishwakarma, Bhagirath, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Ashok, Rana Pratap, and CV Raman. As of now, Ram, Budh, Gandhi, Krishna, Shankar, Malviya-A, and Vishwakarma have been renovated.
Nearly half of the freshers are allotted Srinivasa Ramanujan (SR) Bhawan, which is a prefabricated bhawan made exclusively for first years, and was constructed as a temporary housing facility under the Bhawan Renovation Project. SR Bhawan is well-planned, with spacious lawns in between its four blocks. Although its architecture is different from that of the other bhawans, its facilities are largely the same. The only significant differences are a central ventilation system and electric—rather than solar—geysers in bathrooms. Although it is located slightly far away from the other bhawans and most of the popular eateries on campus, it is in close proximity to the academic buildings, lecture halls, library, workshop, and institute canteen.
With the exception of CV Raman and the Malviya studio apartments, both of which are allocated exclusively to senior students, the rest of the bhawans on campus have similar architecture and offer similar facilities. Students are housed in sets of rooms called “wings”, usually in the same hallway, with two wings generally sharing a bathroom. As per the Chief Warden’s intimation, the remaining freshers will be allotted double rooms in Krishna, Gandhi, and Vishwakarma, all of which have been renovated, and offer comfortable accommodation. These three bhawans have two central lawns where students can engage in outdoor activities and sports such as volleyball, badminton, football, and cricket.
Meera Bhawan
The formidable girls’ hostel, Meera Bhawan stands in a cosy nook deep within the campus, surrounded by seemingly impenetrable walls. The hostel is located at a comfortable distance from the beautiful Birla Saraswati temple, C’not, Akshay (the BITS co-operative store), as well as the faculty housing blocks. However, the commute from Meera Bhawan to other important places on campus—the library, workshops, and lecture halls, for instance—can be cumbersome and, if one plans to avail the rickshaw services on a daily basis, rather expensive. As this is the case, residents of the hostel are encouraged to purchase their own bicycles.
Directly in front of the bhawan’s main gate is the mess which is bounded by ten blocks, each consisting of two or three floors. The first years are usually housed in double rooms within the ninth block. Each block has a common room, which has coolers to provide some respite from the harsh Pilani summers.
As there is only one hostel complex for girls, renovation in Meera Bhawan takes place in phases; two blocks are currently under renovation.
It is not uncommon to spot several unusual birds and creepy-crawlies within the walls of Meera Bhawan, given its lush green cover. Peacocks can be seen strutting around the grounds of Meera, showing off their plumage, entertaining onlookers.
Messes
Every bhawan (or in some cases, every couple of bhawans) has its own mess. The messes provide three square meals a day, and the fortnightly menu is circulated among the residents of each bhawan. Students can also sign up for non-vegetarian food, milk, and curd, each of which incurs additional charges. Omelettes and French toast are also available at live counters. In addition to this, each mess has a “Pit Stop”, a retail counter from which snacks and drinks can be purchased. Grubs, which are special meals organised by regional associations, are also served periodically.
Eateries
All eateries inside the campus, except those in C’not, remain closed during dinner hours of the mess. Purchases at some eateries can be made through ID cards, which work on a credit system. The amount is added to the mess bill, which is to be paid at the end of the semester. However, you can also pay in cash at all these outlets (except Pitstop). Most of these outlets accept PayTM credit, so be sure to create an account if you haven’t already. Purchases from the Vending Machines are made using an RFID card, which follows a pre-paid credit system. They have been rated on a scale of very cheap (₹) to expensive (₹₹₹₹).
(ID Card only) (₹₹) Pit Stop: Open only during mess hours, this small snack bar situated inside every mess provides a variety of packaged foods like chips, biscuits, ice creams, and soft drinks. This is also where one can buy mess extras like eggs, milk, and curd.
(RFID/Paytm)(₹) Vendiman: Vending machines can be found in the ground floor common room of every hostel, library and LTC. Snacks such as chips, biscuits, and soft drinks can be purchased from them.
(ID Card) (₹) Institute Canteen (IC): IC is open only during the institute’s working hours. This place is easy on the pocket and is known for its parathas, dosas, and shikanji, aside from the staple chai-samosa duo.
(PayTM) (₹) Redis: If you want to grab a quick plate of Maggi or a cup of piping hot chai, head straight to the nearest redi. These stalls can be found outside every hostel, and are very light on the wallet. Some of the more frequented redis are the VK redi and the CVR redi, known for their quality and variety respectively. Most redis stay open till around 7 PM, except SR redi which stays open till 12 AM.
(ID Card) (₹₹) All Night Canteen (ANC): ANC is where you can find a variety of food items, along with packaged snacks and drinks. Its reasonable rates and convenient location make it a favourite among BITSians. Open from 5 PM to 2 AM, with a break during the mess timings, ANC is a godsend when you’re pulling all-nighters during exams.
(ID Card) (₹₹₹) -301° F: Located within the FoodKing premises, this dessert parlour offers a wide range of ice-creams, sundaes, and pastries. Open from 5 PM to 2 AM, this place is the top pick of dessert lovers on the campus.
(ID Card) (₹₹₹) Looters: It offers a wide variety of food such as burgers, pizzas, and momos. This is the go-to place for all the fast food lovers and is open from 5 PM to 2 AM.
(PayTM/Cash)(₹₹) C’Not: A stretch of road at the edge of the campus, bordered on both sides by dainty restaurants and cafes, C’Not is the place to go when you’re bored with campus food, but too lazy to leave campus. I’m such a situation, you might find it worth your while to make the plug-ins walk to C’Not, and dine at Greenfields, Kamal’s, Blue Moon, Sharma’s, Nobles, AI CCD, among others. Be sure to try out the Midnight Beauties, ice-cream shakes available at Sharma’s, and the Hot Pot Rice, available at Nobles.
Restaurants outside campus: For those who will exhaust all the food haunts on campus pretty quickly, Pilani also offers the experience of “eating out” at Sarla Paradise, La Pizzeria, BBQ Street, (Naya) Forman Hotel, Da Cafe Crunch, Sandpiper Café, Da Mac ‘N Cheese, 12 Tables, NL Forman, and many more. All of these fall into roughly the same price range, and are rated a ₹₹₹₹ on our scale. Students can often be found at (₹) Nutan, a small tea stall near the bus stop, in the early hours of the morning. The (₹₹) Momo Stall is also another frequented location.