It was 11:30 in the night on the Wednesday of June 12, 2013;
exactly 597.997 (restricted to three decimals to honour the non-mathematical
purpose of the article) years after Henry, the Prince of Portugal embarked on
an expedition to Africa that I embarked on a little less noteworthy but an
equally adventurous journey to NITIE (YES. Living in a campus frequently
visited by leopards and crocodiles is adventurous). The following two years
were to define and change who I am but more of how I will be perceived by the
world. And I was ready for that!
I reached the campus at 6:30 in the morning, welcomed by the
chirping and tweeting of the birds; unusual; given that in Mumbai there are so
many people one hardly gets a hi-fi, and I knew something interesting is
awaiting. And wasn't I correct? At one of the most odd hostel check – in times
I got one of the best rooms in the campus. The sleep that followed my check-in
was an expression of relief.
The course was to start from 17th, but in the
meantime we were flooded by case studies and group tasks from our seniors to
give us a flair of how the life is going to be for the next two years. Or wait
it could also be a sweet revenge of the strict denial, of any acts that can be
defined as ragging, by the college authorities. To remove any element of doubt
the tasks were voluntary. SWEET!!!
In the very same days I also found some friends, roommate,
new roommate who were to stay with me, laugh and study with me, party with me
from then on. I was a day scholar in my graduation years and the vicariously
experienced hostel life through tonnes of stories had always excited me. Now I
was living them. And for the record, “I was loving it”.
Then the classes started and the fun actually began. Two
hour lectures was the first of its kind as was sleeping for an hour in the two
hour class. Making notes, pen portraits, chatting during the class, proxies,
exams, group studies and kicking the life out of the birthday boy was all a part of life again.
To add to the fun was the ultra-green campus, the weather, the location and
Mumbai. Days and nights merged into each other, bathing was now voluntary, no
more ties and formals every day, you were your own boss and your friends were
your managers.
But then came the time to start preparing for Committees and
Summer Placements. I started studying with the purpose of gaining knowledge and
yes it is helping. I am a little busy today to track the changes in me with the
change in my life, but not too busy to live it. This is just the beginning and
with 670 more days to go I am sure that I will be able to share more such
experiences and emotions with you.
With the hope that forever is not a myth and I carry every
single memory of NITIE with me to eternity, let me take your leave to prepare
myself for more such experiences.
No comments:
Post a Comment