Chandigarh, April 15 -- Imagine a cake flipped by accident, only for the decorator to realise it looks better upside down. Well, that's quite the origin story of Panjab University's iconic Student Centre. Standing tall as an inverted circular structure at the heart of the campus, the building's legendary silhouette was born not from a blueprint, but a serendipitous mistake. As the university celebrates the 100th birth anniversary of its architect, BP Mathur, his former colleague Joga Singh, now an octogenarian, revealed the secret behind the structure. Mathur had originally designed the building inspired by ziggurat architecture-a stepped, pyramid-like structure where layers decrease in size toward the top. However, during a planning session, the physical model of the building was accidentally flipped. Mathur noticed that the inverted form-wider at the top and narrower at the base-was far more striking. In a bold move for the era, he abandoned the traditional approach, creating the "inverted cake" that has served as the nerve centre for PU's political and cultural life since 1973. Deepika Gandhi, a former director of the Le Corbusier Centre, said that the building was originally designed with a minimalist, functionalist philosophy. "The ground floor was initially intended as an empty, open space," she said, adding that an internal staircase connects the levels to the summit. Over the decades, this space evolved to meet campus needs. Today, the ground floor houses the university employment information and guidance bureau, counsellor's office, and an ATM, with food outlets lining the exterior. The middle floors serve as the office for the Dean, Student Welfare, (DSW) and the PU Campus Student Council (PUCSC), while the top floor remains home to the legendary coffee house. Consistent with Le Corbusier's "beton brut (raw concrete)" aesthetic used throughout Chandigarh, the Student Centre was never painted. This choice was both aesthetic and practical, highlighting the honesty of the materials. For generations of students, Stu-C is more than just concrete; it is a symbol of empowerment. Malwinder Singh Kang, the Anandpur Sahib AAP MP and two-time PUCSC president, recalls the building as the stage for his political journey. "I remember giving speeches from the building ramp and organising student events from the council office during the early 2000s," Kang said, adding: "The building is the identity of the university." Students agree that Stu-C's geography is its strength. "It is an all-time hangout space," said Shubham Bharti, an LLM student at University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS). "Its location-surrounded by the library, arts blocks, and the law department-makes it the natural meeting point of the campus." Despite its architectural and political significance, the building's lustre is fading. Observers point to blackish stains on the concrete, along with visible signs of structural wear. The issue, it seems, is financial. A PU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that the university is not receiving the necessary funds to maintain its aging infrastructure. "Maintenance requires regular upkeep to sustain the original form without deterioration," the official said. When contacted, vice-chancellor Renu Vig said, "All buildings in the university, including the Student Centre, are in dire need of care. While the varsity receives a yearly budget for renovation, there is no separate allocation for maintenance. We are in the process of sending a comprehensive financial proposal, amounting to Rs.180 crore, to the Centre and Punjab government for the restoration of academic, residential and parking facilities on campus. In it, we will be seeking an annual grant of Rs.20 crore for the maintenance of buildings. As the university honours Mathur's centenary, the visible "broken parts" of his masterpiece serve as a silent plea for restoration....