Chandigarh: Four decades may have passed and their careers may have taken them to the highest ranks of India’s financial sector, but a plate of PGI paranthas and the familiar fare at the Panjab University Students’ Centre (Stu-C) were enough to transport two distinguished alumni back to their student days.Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey and Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) chairman Sundeep Sikka returned to their alma mater on Monday for the launch of Project Jaagruk during World Investor Week 2026. Amid discussions on investor awareness and financial literacy, the conversation briefly turned to a much simpler chapter of their lives: their years as students in Chandigarh.For Pandey, the visit was especially nostalgic. Nearly 40 years after leaving the campus, he stood once again in the same university where he had pursued his master’s degree in economics and spent three memorable years at AC Joshi Hall.Looking back, it was not academic achievements or professional milestones that sprang to mind first, but the small joys of student life: friendships, late-night outings and food, Pandey said.“The taste of paranthas during nights at PGI and the food at Stu-C still lingers in my mouth,” Pandey said with a smile, recalling how he and his friends would often head to the two spots after dark.The memories seemed to transport him to a time when a late-night meal, long conversations and the company of friends were enough to make an evening unforgettable. He also fondly remembered the teachers who guided him and the friendships forged on campus.Sikka, too, spoke of an enduring bond with Chandigarh. Though his professional commitments now keep him away from the city, he said he still gravitates back whenever time permits.“Whenever I get time, I rush to the city and make sure I visit the PU Stu-C and have food,” Sikka said, recalling the countless hours spent there with friends.
