Redis are eateries located within the vicinity of the various bhawans on campus. These redis provide a variety of options anytime one wants a quick snack, a break, or a place to sit down and spend time with friends. They make up an unmissable part of the average BITSian’s day. 

The plethora of options available—both for redis and food items—have the potential to confuse a freshly inducted first-yearite trying to eat his or her way through campus. To make this process easier, the English Press Club has compiled a list of the different redis, a general overview, and a list of some campus favourites. 

1. Ashok Redi

Located near Shankar Bhawan due to the ongoing renovation work at Ashok Bhawan, Ashok Redi has a wide variety of delicious offerings like cheese chole kulche, lassi, momos, and a very generous fruit plate. They also serve a sweet malai sandwich and are one of the only redis to serve cool drinks in glass bottles. With an energetic owner and great food, Ashok Redi has yet to disappoint any hungry BITSian.

2. Bhagirath (Bhag) Redi

Bhag Redi boasts of a serene location, with greenery all around. The seating is quiet and perfect for enjoying a cup of chai and a plate of maggi. With the offerings as humble as the staff, Bhag Redi is the only redi on campus to serve sugarcane juice. Priced at only 20 Rs, this is often what the redi is most frequented for.

3. Budh Redi

Located in an area relatively secluded from academic blocks, Budh Redi is not the most frequented redis. The owner of this particular joint is known to have never-ending conversations with his customers, some of which are not always consensual. When one visits this redi, they are greeted with barely contained enthusiasm and treated like a long-lost friend of the owner. With some delicious varieties of maggi, including a “red” garlic maggi and a great cheese maggi, Budh Redi is known for whipping up some of the most filling and tasty offerings on campus. Well known for their kachoris, stuffed kulchas, paneer tikka sandwiches, and a redi owner that loves to talk, Budh Redi is a fantastic place to unwind.

4. CVR Redi

Associated with CV Raman Bhawan, this redi is frequented more so by senior batches than freshers. Every incoming batch, however, does hear about the CVR Redi at some point or another, and it eventually becomes a favourite hangout spot. Slightly far from most hostels and academic blocks, CVR Redi is not the most accessible, but is a crowd favourite for the variety of delicious options they offer.

These range from steamed and fried momos, the famed makhni maggi, and cheese garlic maggi, to peanut butter, chocolate and banana sandwiches, and various flavours of ice golas. These golas are known all through campus, with every student making plans to go to CVR Redi once the temperature starts rising only for their golas. They also are known for their Kota cheese patties and different kinds of kachoris.

Among beverages, CVR Redi is among the few redis that offer cool drinks like sodas and packaged juices in glass bottles.

5. Gandhi Redi

Best known for their variety of fruits and their peanut butter sandwiches, Gandhi Redi is one of the largest redis in terms of net area. Perhaps the good food and great coffee are why Gandhi Redi is frequented so often by professors, mostly those in the Departments of Physics and Computer Science and Information Systems. Gandhi Redi also serves a great samosa chaat and papdi chaat

6. Krishna Redi

Arguably one of the most popular hangout spots, specifically for the incoming first-year batches, due to its proximity to the academic blocks and some bhawans, Krishna Redi is jam-packed with familiar faces. It is supplemented by fast service and a wide range of options. The hospitality is also very well known, with the staff having a keen memory for regular faces. Some of its most well-known food offerings include the fried maggi, the vegetarian cheese sandwich, the vada pav, and the papdi chaat. Among beverages, Krishna Redi is known for good iced tea and cold coffee. They also have hand-pressed juices and fruit plates, which are excellent healthier food options.

7. Malviya (Mal) Redi

Located at the gate of the Malviya complex, next to Looters, Malviya Redi is most frequented by higher degree students. Serving one of the best fried maggis on campus, Malviya Redi boasts of an equally tasty peanut butter-chocolate sandwich, corn sandwich, and stuffed kulcha. In beverages, the aam panna at the Malviya Redi is a must-try.

8. Meera Redi

With the longest open hours of all redis (open till 1:30 AM during the summers and 12:30 AM during the winters), Meera Redi is a convenient option for the residents of Meera Bhawan, considering the distance from the Bhawan to other major eateries like ANC and Looters. Owing to different cooks operating at different shifts, the best items often change with the change in shifts. While the morning shift staff is known for their great aloo and paneer parathas, the night shift staff is known for their great tea, coffee, cold coffee, and the different varieties of maggi.

This redi also has the widest selection of packaged food, chocolates, and beverages. These range from packaged peanuts and mixtures to various ranges of Lays. It also sells packaged juices and soda bottles, along with packaged water in the summers.

9. Ram Redi

Ram Redi is more popular among the older batches than the younger ones. Very well known for their frankies and sandwiches, Ram Redi and Budh Redi are often compared between each other, due to their neighbouring locations and similar quality. Among beverages, the lemon soda is a common favourite.

10. RP Redi 

Similar to Ashok Bhawan, Rana Pratap Bhawan is also under renovation, due to which RP Redi is located right next to VK Bhawan. RP Redi also serves Sleepy Owl Cold Coffee, making it the only place to serve cold coffee not made with instant coffee mixes. Most well known for their cheese patties, RP Redi also serves a poha that made a member of the press squeal with joy. 

11. Shankar Redi

Located near ANC, Amul, and Ashok Redi, this might just be the junction with the best food on campus. Very well known for their homely yet delicious chole kulche, cheese maggi loaded with vegetables, mosambi juice, and lassi, Shankar Redi is one place where you are promised simple yet homely food. Another known hit among crowds is their samosa, which made a member of the press proclaim that they would never have another samosa on campus but this. 

12. SR Redi/Paradise Cafe

Past residents of Srinivasa Ramanujan Bhawan, a hostel exclusively for first-year male students, often dispute Paradise Cafe’s status as the designated SR “Redi”. One is not certain whether the cafe is best known for their multiple chaat options including a mean kadhi kachori, or the multiple typos on their boards

13. VK Redi/Nagarji ki Redi

Known for being one of the oldest redis on campus, VK Redi is definitely one of the most beloved. Owned by Nagarji, who is a popular figure in himself, it serves the popular samosa chaat, a variety of maggis, and a famous kela rabdi. The tea at VK Redi is a delight in the winters, while their mango shake is a must-have during the summers. The famed extra masala Maggi is also perfect for the cold Pilani winters. The conveniently placed location of VK Redi and the hospitality make it a very popular spot at all times.

14. Vyas Redi/Gulabji ki Redi

Most famous for their varieties of rabdi, Vyas Redi or Gulabji ki Redi is one of the most serene redis on campus. Another reason why people tend to frequent the redi is the owner, Gulabji himself. He ensures that all his visitors feel at home at the redi and creates a wholesome atmosphere within the redi.