Months since I created this blog and I have not written anything here.. But now it is time to believe that the time has come.
The transition from school life to college life is always an unforgettable experience in every individuals' life. Every moment we are in college, inevitable comparisons are carried out and the dearness of our school friends and teachers is reestablished.
The path to my college days began tragically, putting it in the dilutest of words that come to my mind. 12 May 2004 - All eyes were on me. My father is always a person who has consistently placed high regards on my abilities and backed them up with great support and encouragement. My mother, reticent in relative, has not been far behind though. This day the State Exam results were set to arrive and my father was a busy man praying at our Pooja room for me getting State First and also occasionally switching the TV for checking out if results had come.
I remember myself playing a simple game those days. I had a "cover" ball ( tennis ball) which I used to bounce from the wall and then bat it out with a meter scale! A meter scale inevitably added precision to my batting or so thought I then!! I never wanted State ranks - but just prayed in the midst of my "batting practice" to ensure that I don't miss out on the Medical seat, but those days I was so proficient in those daub State Board textbooks that there wasn't a soul
among my teachers, friends and parents who believed that I would miss out eventually.
And so the day passed slowly - the emotions were strongly rising in the process. A couple of walks to the Internet Centre proved futile - what with a long queue of students waiting for the same. Finally the moment of reckoning arrived with a phone call from my mother's younger sister. And the words I heard blackened out my vision for some moments. Lost out on a centum in Maths and ended up with paltry scores in language papers which I was really good at. Waves of injustice ran through my heart and I felt God had deliberately marked me out for an undeserving punishment. The cheer in my house vanished nowhere and a period of mourning started.
With that sort of parents I have and with the indomitable faith that they possess in me, a period
of obvious attempts at redeeming pride followed. Photocopies of answer sheets and revaluation processes made one thing crystal clear to me - there was just one college where I could possibly join; and finally that was where I landed up. So, when the journey to the College of Engineering, Guindy began in July 04, when it was increasingly becoming apparent that it was here that I would be heading to in X months of time, where X solely wrested in the hands of the Judiciary!
College life always begins with a lot of doubts in our minds - especially here in India, the doubts are primarily about ragging. Ragging had shown its ugliest face some twelve years ago culminating in the death of a professor's son, yet the escape of death sentence by the murderer did its thing to illuminate the loopholes in our law. Putting aside history, my mind was plagued by questions of how successful I would be at
college. My cheer was well destroyed by my impotency to quell my parents' desires and within my heart I longed for the court battles due to a scandal in our Entrance exams to prolong for Eternity.
Days passed by passing time - nothing notable I did in this period except watching movies, playing games and creating my E-mail ID: scintillatingstuffs - a name that was more a product of epiphany rather than thoughtful execution.
Finally on a August morning (6th, the Friday), I realised that it was finally time for me to face my fate - the counselling session for the Engg. seats was scheduled on the coming Tuesday - the 10th.
Like a lamb to the slaughter, I prepared myself for the day. I never chose to deliberate about the courses with people. Newspaper Information told me that ECE was the first choice followed by CS and EE, so my prerogative was to try for ECE and else go for EE. Given the hard luck I was having those days, I had made my mind up for becoming an Electrical Engineer at CEG.
But God had other ideas as always. Traditionally with a rank of mine, ECE at CEG was impossible, yet I suffered from another quirk of fate and ended up as an ECE student. I was required to join college 8 days later.
Cometh the hour, cometh the Bus. This has been the quote for me all through my UG days. With a distance of 20 km to and another 20 fro to travel day in and day out and coupling this with the appalling frequency of buses en route, reaching the college was the usual first ordeal that I faced. Aug18,2004 wasnt any different. I climbed onto my 47G and watched at the passing
scenes from my window seat. As the bus neared its destination, my heart came closer to my mouth. Finally an hour later, I found myself at the entrance of the Vivekananda Auditorium, something now popular as Vivekaudi.
Seniors looked at me up and down. When it was confirmed that I was a fresher, they simply frowned. The program had begun an hour earlier. And more prominent was
my apparel first day into college. A fluorescent green shirt that could assist people in picking you up from a crowd of a five-hundred. I never knew that it could itself be a target for seniors to pick on me.
Notwithstanding my temerity, seniors sent me into the auditorium and except for a lone event
where a sophomore "requested" me to be more formal in my dressing sense, I passed the day to a monotonous lecture on language skills. Another replica of a day passed
and I had succesfully evaded my ragging blues and had my first weekend of collegiate times to cherish.
Monday, the 23rd was my first day in the college classroom. Scenes of joking and laughter from the DAV days kept flashing through my mind. I felt I
had enough of all that and chose to lead a silent and "ascetic" life at college. I chose a quiet corner seat in the front bench of the room and was largely reticent. For the next month or so, I barely spoke with some tens of pupils in a class of 80 and used my free will to bunk as many classes as possible - not to enjoy some movie but just to go
home and sleep.
The jackal can jump into a blue paint but it wont take long for its true colours to reveal. A couple of guys brought my true self back and I wasn't strong-willed to go against. Following this, a period of infatuation began for me. The girl was, unlike me, taciturn by nature rather than will. Extremely sincere, academically focussed, "girlishly" talented, commodities that I would on anyday search in a girl. I absent-mindedly blurted out my feelings to my near, and the usual teasings ensued.
Academically I inculcated the collegiate tradition of studying for exams the previous day, something that would have been heinous at school. I coped well with it, as it did not burden me with portions which I felt I wasn't naturally talented in. Except for a physically demanding workshop, where once I burnt my eyes and spent a full sleepless night troubling my parents as well with my mumblings, I felt myself at ease with all the courses.
Semester 1 passed out somehow and I topped it with a grand CGPA. In the next semester, I had to be in a classroom full of ECE students, and my infant feelings of love broke. I wasn't isolated by any means, but somehow I felt bitter. I craved to see the face that I would see every morning. But reality got the better of me as time passed and my mental state was restored to normalcy.
The transition from school life to college life is always an unforgettable experience in every individuals' life. Every moment we are in college, inevitable comparisons are carried out and the dearness of our school friends and teachers is reestablished.
The path to my college days began tragically, putting it in the dilutest of words that come to my mind. 12 May 2004 - All eyes were on me. My father is always a person who has consistently placed high regards on my abilities and backed them up with great support and encouragement. My mother, reticent in relative, has not been far behind though. This day the State Exam results were set to arrive and my father was a busy man praying at our Pooja room for me getting State First and also occasionally switching the TV for checking out if results had come.
I remember myself playing a simple game those days. I had a "cover" ball ( tennis ball) which I used to bounce from the wall and then bat it out with a meter scale! A meter scale inevitably added precision to my batting or so thought I then!! I never wanted State ranks - but just prayed in the midst of my "batting practice" to ensure that I don't miss out on the Medical seat, but those days I was so proficient in those daub State Board textbooks that there wasn't a soul
among my teachers, friends and parents who believed that I would miss out eventually.
And so the day passed slowly - the emotions were strongly rising in the process. A couple of walks to the Internet Centre proved futile - what with a long queue of students waiting for the same. Finally the moment of reckoning arrived with a phone call from my mother's younger sister. And the words I heard blackened out my vision for some moments. Lost out on a centum in Maths and ended up with paltry scores in language papers which I was really good at. Waves of injustice ran through my heart and I felt God had deliberately marked me out for an undeserving punishment. The cheer in my house vanished nowhere and a period of mourning started.
With that sort of parents I have and with the indomitable faith that they possess in me, a period
of obvious attempts at redeeming pride followed. Photocopies of answer sheets and revaluation processes made one thing crystal clear to me - there was just one college where I could possibly join; and finally that was where I landed up. So, when the journey to the College of Engineering, Guindy began in July 04, when it was increasingly becoming apparent that it was here that I would be heading to in X months of time, where X solely wrested in the hands of the Judiciary!
College life always begins with a lot of doubts in our minds - especially here in India, the doubts are primarily about ragging. Ragging had shown its ugliest face some twelve years ago culminating in the death of a professor's son, yet the escape of death sentence by the murderer did its thing to illuminate the loopholes in our law. Putting aside history, my mind was plagued by questions of how successful I would be at
college. My cheer was well destroyed by my impotency to quell my parents' desires and within my heart I longed for the court battles due to a scandal in our Entrance exams to prolong for Eternity.
Days passed by passing time - nothing notable I did in this period except watching movies, playing games and creating my E-mail ID: scintillatingstuffs - a name that was more a product of epiphany rather than thoughtful execution.
Finally on a August morning (6th, the Friday), I realised that it was finally time for me to face my fate - the counselling session for the Engg. seats was scheduled on the coming Tuesday - the 10th.Like a lamb to the slaughter, I prepared myself for the day. I never chose to deliberate about the courses with people. Newspaper Information told me that ECE was the first choice followed by CS and EE, so my prerogative was to try for ECE and else go for EE. Given the hard luck I was having those days, I had made my mind up for becoming an Electrical Engineer at CEG.
But God had other ideas as always. Traditionally with a rank of mine, ECE at CEG was impossible, yet I suffered from another quirk of fate and ended up as an ECE student. I was required to join college 8 days later.
Cometh the hour, cometh the Bus. This has been the quote for me all through my UG days. With a distance of 20 km to and another 20 fro to travel day in and day out and coupling this with the appalling frequency of buses en route, reaching the college was the usual first ordeal that I faced. Aug18,2004 wasnt any different. I climbed onto my 47G and watched at the passing
scenes from my window seat. As the bus neared its destination, my heart came closer to my mouth. Finally an hour later, I found myself at the entrance of the Vivekananda Auditorium, something now popular as Vivekaudi.
Seniors looked at me up and down. When it was confirmed that I was a fresher, they simply frowned. The program had begun an hour earlier. And more prominent was
my apparel first day into college. A fluorescent green shirt that could assist people in picking you up from a crowd of a five-hundred. I never knew that it could itself be a target for seniors to pick on me.
Notwithstanding my temerity, seniors sent me into the auditorium and except for a lone event
where a sophomore "requested" me to be more formal in my dressing sense, I passed the day to a monotonous lecture on language skills. Another replica of a day passed
and I had succesfully evaded my ragging blues and had my first weekend of collegiate times to cherish.
Monday, the 23rd was my first day in the college classroom. Scenes of joking and laughter from the DAV days kept flashing through my mind. I felt I
had enough of all that and chose to lead a silent and "ascetic" life at college. I chose a quiet corner seat in the front bench of the room and was largely reticent. For the next month or so, I barely spoke with some tens of pupils in a class of 80 and used my free will to bunk as many classes as possible - not to enjoy some movie but just to go
home and sleep.
The jackal can jump into a blue paint but it wont take long for its true colours to reveal. A couple of guys brought my true self back and I wasn't strong-willed to go against. Following this, a period of infatuation began for me. The girl was, unlike me, taciturn by nature rather than will. Extremely sincere, academically focussed, "girlishly" talented, commodities that I would on anyday search in a girl. I absent-mindedly blurted out my feelings to my near, and the usual teasings ensued.
Academically I inculcated the collegiate tradition of studying for exams the previous day, something that would have been heinous at school. I coped well with it, as it did not burden me with portions which I felt I wasn't naturally talented in. Except for a physically demanding workshop, where once I burnt my eyes and spent a full sleepless night troubling my parents as well with my mumblings, I felt myself at ease with all the courses.
Semester 1 passed out somehow and I topped it with a grand CGPA. In the next semester, I had to be in a classroom full of ECE students, and my infant feelings of love broke. I wasn't isolated by any means, but somehow I felt bitter. I craved to see the face that I would see every morning. But reality got the better of me as time passed and my mental state was restored to normalcy.
