NEW DELHI: For hundreds of outstation students, Parvati’s mess was a sanctuary. It was where medical and engineering aspirants celebrated birthdays, debated test scores over chai, and were sure to find a comforting meal day or night.“Aunty never said no, however late we went to grab a bite,” a student recalled. On Saturday, when the building next door came crashing, the first question many asked was, “Aunty kahaan hain?”Students said the 50-year-old ran outside when cracks appeared in the structure moments before the collapse. But seeing people still eating in the mess, she reportedly rushed back to warn them and help them out.Seconds later, the building came down, trapping her and several others.Most grieving students didn’t even know her name. She was just “mess waali aunty” to all.She always greeted everyone with a smile, served dal, rice, vegetables, salad, paratha and omelette at prices students could afford,” said Mohammad Imam. “Sometimes we would come just when she was closing the shop, but she never turned us away. She always came back with parathas.”The mess itself was a simple, a tin-roofed structure with rows of tables and stools where students sat together in groups at all hours of the day. “Families from the neighbourhood too came here regularly just for her tea,” said Deepika, a local.Parvati, originally from Nepal, had been running the mess from the Saket location for one and a half years after shifting from a smaller canteen she had operated nearby for nearly four years. The former car detailing shop was converted into a canteen to be closer to the coaching centres and student hostels.Since then, batch after batch of students would recommend her food and tell others to come too; the change of address didn’t deter her clientele one bit.At the site, Parvathy’s daughter Neelam and son-in-law Aniket, they married barely a month ago and live nearby, waited to talk to rescuers as ambulances arrived and departed. “Until late at night, I could distinctly hear my mother’s screams,” Neelam told TOI.She scrolled through videos from happier days. One showed staff members celebrating the birthday of a cook at the mess. There was a cake, laughter and crowded tables filled with students.“Most of the students here are preparing for FMG and other medical examinations. Many come from Maharashtra, southern states and other parts of India. They spend the entire day studying, often from 8am till evening,” said Kapil, an MBBS student. “The rush at the mess would easily reach a hundred students a day. What brought everyone there was that homely feeling. She gave us food that reminded us of home.”