India, Sept. 4 -- On August 29, the chief minister (CM) of Delhi created a buzz among university students by launching a fleet DTC buses as Delhi University Students specials. If it made students look forward to a more relaxed and affordable means of getting to their colleges, I am also sure it made many old timers like me look back with nostalgia to time when the public utility had become more than a mere means of cheap transport.

As far back as the sixties, when I went to college in Delhi University, the University Specials were, well, something special! Affectionately known as U-Specials no account of university days of the sixties would be complete without a mention of those buses, meant exclusively for college students.

Though very...