11-11-09,11pm (looks good, right?)…the last hour for submitting article for magazine, as usual it is the time I (we) start (thinking about) doing things. I’m not going to give lecture on how not to procrastinate things to the last minute?! Or how to deal with stress in the last minute of exam?! Instead I would like to talk about the point, the time, where we are right now…d 11th hr. With 6 months left in our hands, perhaps less than that when you read this, I like to take a look back.
Of course every year there is a corner for an article, which does carry nostalgia of the passing out batch, and every time I read that, I felt why they repeatedly publish the same stuff? Our editorial team, keen and strict in keeping the standard of articles and hence of the Magazine, down the years, can never reject an article, even in future, from an internee portraying his college life.
To be precise I have only 5 months left, counting in smaller units, 130 working days, susceptible to changes made by management (excluding extension), even smaller units, it counts just 845 working hours(calculations approximated). Sigh!!...
So let me start from that part of the college life, which comes to mind even before we think about which college we have to join, Ragging, the most fearful, much awaited. As the juniors of today, who are privileged, considered, and they need to be, in their tough times, we were not mollycoddled. Seniors took frequent visits to our classes; ‘as if it was their class’(any drug??) and we were taken to their classes and rooms, occasionally. When regurgitating and tasting, it’s funny and makes us laugh our viscera out. Jumping the whole room like frog, riding a virtual bike (was Bullet for me), staging cookery show, measuring the wall with match stick…can’t enter everything here (statutory warning: don’t try with juniors). One could hardly forget all this even if he gets manifestations of Alzheimer’s. Remembering my seniors with gratitude, it was them who gave such good moments; no one could ever give us in our future, made us familiar to this environment. When our turn came, we visited our juniors, though not as frequent as our seniors did, ‘introduced’, became friendly, got treat for each festival, only to get caught red handed and fined with biochemics (coincident, we were 12 in number as biochemics!)
Multiplexes, 10rs tickets, 2nd shows….should I (we) thank its owners or they should thank us? After all what’s college life without movies? (Should be included in syllabus or what?). Can I again pursue my friend to watch an utter waste movie, telling him, that’s the best story line ever watched? Taking one who has assignment work or exams the next day, for a fresh release, only to wake up after he calls you to tell, show is over. “I forgot my purse!” And “pay mine too, I’ll give you tomorrow” are the most used phrases. And about room(s) and hostels we have been to? A totally different aspect which make us to adapt and get socialized, ourselves to any circumstances in life. Unpaid rent, scolding from owner, from neighbors, for sound pollution. I don’t remember a time when we paid EB bill without fine.
Next is one big leap in technology, mobile phones, that was a boom….a trend, latest phones….debates on which phone is best? Nokia or Sony Ericsson? W or N series? Remembering with thanks, all the service providers, for their booster packs, so that we were able to send forwards “free for Rs.29” (what an irony!). Thght of wrtin d whle artcle lik in a sms format. Our edtrl team, thgh strict, ws knd engh to allw me 2 add one sntce like dis n gve title in d same frmt! Friendship sms, quotes, love sms, sardar jokes, tintumon rocks….. often I find it difficult to delete my messages when my phone told me the inbox is full. How could I delete a sms like, “the toughest part of life is to sit near a person knowing he/she could never be yours”, one which I received most, or Few Relations in Earth Never Dies (F.R.I.E.N.D.S). Though in course of time may not forward sms, but as far as “Missed calls” are not charged and not attended by chance, we will be in contact.
How could I go without talking about Bluetooth (thanks to its inventors). AR Rahman may score Oscars again (may god bless him with!), but I don’t know if anywhere in my life, again, I can ask my friend sitting in the first row of the class to send me the track Jai ho….obviously I’m sitting in the last row.
It will be my negligence, if I don’t leave enough or more space for Salem, the steel city. Surrounded by small hills, it’s blessed with the best, by Mother Nature. Yaercaud, is the most beautiful spot I ever visited, honestly (yes, I never have been into Ooty or Kashmir). In my recent visit, I felt it’s the coolest place on Earth. Walking through fog, against wind, which freezes your blood, is definitely an unforgettable experience. Of course you may visit Kashmir or Switzer land in course of time, but can you compare it with, a night trip to Salem, the site of match box sized buildings, lights moving like ants, spotting somewhere and shouting “that’s our room!” as if it’s done accurately with Google Earth, putting a camp fire, sitting idle up to morning only to watch sunrise and then descend, that too with the Best ones in our life, generally termed as FRIENDS!
Now back into the class room, to my batch. FRIENDS….beyond words they are. How could I restrain myself from talking like this, when I was blessed with such good (superlative degree) people around me, Who whole heartedly gave me their mind for sharing myself, ideas when in trouble, care when depressed, food when hungry, money when atm didn’t hear my story[:P]…. We were blessed with a chance to visit Taj Mahal and lot more (thanks to our managementJ), as I told earlier, you may again visit all that spots, but can you remake the whole situation again? (if yes, please inform me).I don’t want to establish we had a smooth time down the years, it was turbulent, in fact for any batch, it is. But we were never at sea. We had love blossomed, untold, given without expectation and rejected applicants (better luck next time!). Rumors flashed every now and then, were never trusted and dismissed. Let me quote something famous, “one who rumor to you, will rumor about you”. We had conspiracies never worked, conflicts resolved before happening, fights never fought and assignments never submitted [:P]. What else makes us Homo sapiens, practicing Homoeopathy?
I have not included every happening of these whole years, for they told me it’s not an auto-biography getting into print! I should stop here. Pardon me, I have used repeatedly the words like remembering, cannot forget, again…because I am obsessed with memories, which cannot be forgotten and which may not happen again. And I have tried my best to make everything in past tense, but at times, I slipped to present, for somewhere I wished, ”if I could live in past.” (Of course my grammar is not that good). It goes without saying, though we have time to share now, it all will come to an end suddenly, one dayL. You will be alone struggling for your survival. I do want to masquerade myself being happy, but at times I fail to.
Thanks to social networks Orkut, Face book, Second life, twitter etc. Let scraps and tweets keep us in touch. We have communities for our college, for our batch. Let us keep threads growing in forums. Let us chat, rumor, quarrel, fight…. Virtual class room. One of my friend made a community in orkut named “wish if I could turn back time”, as of now I got the owner ship of the same. But once when she asked me to join it, I thought why I should? It was a time when she finished her UG, and now I know why and wishes if I could turn back…..start from 00:00 am! If ever God comes to you and ask for a wish, please do ask for a DVD(send me a soft copy) of the years gone, recorded only in one place, only to be recollected and reviewed at times, only to get deleted along with our life. We were named “ASPIRER’S”, by one of our Beloved staff. Here we pledge, we will perspire more, to reach our aspirations and never to use aspirin [:P]
Courtesy: orkut for smiley [: P], my friend who was kind and patient enough to read (my calligraphy) and gave necessary advices, not the least, my all friends who supported me….
