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Showing posts with label College. Show all posts
Showing posts with label College. Show all posts

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Because there was 08.08.08..


Because there was an 08.08.08, four years later, a farewell speech just had to be there.

To 13.07.2008, because an 08.08.08 was on its way.
To the college, because you gave me a recognition.
To the road(s) of MIT, because dreams were birthed and friendship bonds were made stronger.
To the administration, because you made me realize that it is not a fair world all the time.
To the department, because I can't imagine myself sitting in front of anything but a computer in the field of engineering.
To the numerous projects done, because we are now proven last minute workers.
To fyp (final year project, as they call it), because you gave me those Calvin moments.
To the exams, because my writing skills just kept getting better.
To group studies, because I owe you all my marks.
To CEG, because your question papers were easier to answer than ours.
To the grades, because you taught me not to really care.
To placements, because I have a pay check today.
To facebook and twitter, because we mastered the art of wasting time.
To the labs, because we love our Gravity Master and Type Racer.
To the lectures, because we improved our drawing skills and got crazy over Sudokus.
To the prayer cell, because you gave me a reason to come to college.
To mitra/quill/csmit for giving me an opportunity to do what I love doing- write!
To the cultural fests, because you gave me an extra holiday.
To the travel from home to college and back, because you taught me to survive the Chennai traffic.
To the share autos, because you are the best mode of travel. And to the local trains, for the morning running race. Hey Bengaluru, now beat that!
To the hostel, because you always provided rescue-on-demand.
To the college canteen, because you gave me food at prices we could never imagine. And your meals, I eternally fell in love with.
To lunch hours, because lunch boxes were never ours. And our lunch days, what variety!
To the co-ops and kiosk, because you were our favorite hang-out spots.
To birthdays, because surprises were always flops.
To the treats, because they were never given and were never got.
To the college bunds, because you patiently heard and withstood all our endless chit-chats.
To GJ Park, because observations and assignments were copied sitting on your benches bearing all the mosquito bites.
To the library, because you were the best hide-out spot upon being late to college.
To Industrial Visits (read as ‘tours’), because they simply were the best things to happen during these four years. 
To the sincere first row/hostel and other studious friends, because four years without an arrear wouldn't have been possible without your notes.
To the 14MP camera and Picasa, because we no longer spent money on getting the notes Xerox-ed. E-notes all the way!
To the security uncle, because all my lost belongings were found in no time.
To the senior-junior relationship, because it was unique to our college. Yay we!
To the Castle twiends, because Tuesdays and Wednesdays couldn't have been any better in the last sem.
To the classmates, because yes, we had a lot of fun and we know it.
To the best mates, because college would have sucked without you guys.
To the family, because you were working behind the scenes always.
To my Jesus, because all this was a reality.
To 2008-02-'40', because you were my roll number and I have 40 reasons to be grateful for in these four years!

“To the four years of magic, days of inspiration, making something out of nothing;
the need to express, to communicate;
To going against the grain, going insane;
To loving tension, no pension, to more than one dimension;
To starving for attention, hating convention, hating pretension;
To no absolutes, to absolutes;
To choice, to the village voice;
To any passing fad, and to being 'us' and going mad.”

Viva La Vie Bohem!


What a ride! I remember stepping into college on the first day at 7:45 am for an 8:30 lecture, doesn't seem that long ago. And here I am, four years later, no longer a college girl but a working woman.

Hard to believe, tough to accept, left with no choice, don’t know what to expect.

“From college life to the corporate world,
From friends to colleagues,
From IVs to team outings..
Indeed, a transition in progress!”

P.S.: If you're still wondering what exactly happened on 08.08.08, I would like to proclaim that it was my first day in college.
P.P.S.: Here's a post I wrote on Lessons I Stumbled Upon In College, in case you want to give it a read.


Monday, April 9, 2012

"WE": One final hurrah!


"To go. Not to go." After these two phrases went around in a loop for a while, we finally did manage to get the permission to go on a North India tour, or as my college calls it, the Industrial Visit (minus the industry). Shhh... 
Some of my friends had to be constantly reminded that it was just a 9 day tour and that we were not shifting to the North forever. All hail the shopping spree that they went on! 

[Day 1]: An early morning 6am train was the biggest hurdle in between the tour and us. Waking up that early on a Saturday morning was next to impossible considering the time we reach college for an 8.30 class! But none of us stumbled and all of us managed to sneak into the train well ahead of the scheduled time. Although most of them went to sleep immediately after a hurried breakfast, we gradually gathered momentum by noon. Thanks to the deck of cards, dumb charades and the "rockstar" band for triggering hoots and whistles which made the passengers sitting next to us decently walk out of their places.


[Day 2]: After spending an entire day in train, we finally got down but were not very sure if it was Agra. 
"Bhaiya, yeh Agra hai na?"
"Haan, haan." complemented the vendor's awkward look. 
And we turned in the opposite direction as if nothing had happened. The Agra-wale welcomed us with typical U.P. rowdy-ism just outside the station and we all went OMG! It was beauty and splendor and marvel after that. Taj Mahal. Everybody stood jaw-dropped. For a few of my friends, it is still the most unbelievable moment of the tour, they say. 

Agra Fort was next. The best view of the Taj is from here, I believe. Aurangzeb must have been very kind-hearted to imprison his dad here no? Ok, sorry! By the way, we did manage to get into a conversation with a few foreigners and what they think of us and our country really did make us feel proud.
<One of the Germans we spoke to at Agra Fort>

[Day 3]: Shimla. Long bus journey marking our first sleepless night. As we climbed up, my friends managed to teach me a situation song,"Naan pogiren mele mele, boologam en kaalin kile." The houses in these places reminded me of city blocks that I play on my phone. Colorful and uniform. The horse ride to the kufri top that evening was worth the wait. Having our hearts in our mouths when the horses took us to the edges, trying hard to pamper them so that they don't end up showing their acrobatic skills and being in awe of the dusk beauty in biting cold made our day.  

My horse was Sambha. Thank you, Sambha for the racy heart beats and the safe, yet thrilling ride.

[Day 4]: En route to Manali via Kullu. This day witnessed people taking turns to vomit. A song was composed in order to honor the frequent nauseating sensations that most of them experienced. The rest continued to sing and dance. Moments were captured and movements were recorded. The gushing water(at times, serene), the chill breeze, lush green trees, majestic mountains and bushy animals - I still don't believe I saw them all, all at once! 

The tea-break saw a poor dog become the victim to the love and affection showered by the dog-lovers of my class. The dog was named Jimmy, Bruno, Bruce, Balu and Barney(I don't remember the other names!). 
<Spot the dog. Advance apology!>

[Day 5]: Next stop, Manali. Snow. Snow. Snow. Personally, I enjoyed this day the most. Looking like astronauts, tripping down while climbing, throwing snow on each other, the failed attempt to make a snow man, skiing, falling, sliding down and the photo sessions. Enough said. After-effects included going numb, head aches, nauseating sensations and stomach swirls. According to our hotel receptionist, the best medicine was a glass of rum when I requested for a bucket of hot water. Err, no, thank you! 

That night witnessed some crazy singing and dance vibes around the camp fire. 


[Day 6]: Next halt, Kullu. Rafting in the ice-cold Beas river. Although the instructions on what to do if the raft overturns were slightly scary, exciting screams overpowered the otherwise silent scenery when the freezing water slapped us hard ensuring none of our body parts were left dry. 

The bus journey that followed witnessed the formation of the "set-state" gang. Crazy action dances, chinese whispers, songs compositions and interviews. The gang had an anthem which went like this:
Chan chala chal, chan chala chal, chan chala chal, chal. 
<Part of the set-state gang involved in some crazy actions>

We even have a mascot, you know. What a night!

[Day 7]: Destination Delhi. Sambhar, rasam and rice. We all grinned wide. Metro rail, random road side shopping, and pani puris. Seeing your friends bargain in broken Hindi is always fun. Karol Bagh to Rajiv Chowk and back. A big shout out to Pallika Bazaar and Bikaner sweets. 

[Day 8]: The next day unfurled with a bit of drama which was fun. India gate, Qutub Minar and the lotus temple. Lotus temple was a personal favorite for its architecture and tranquility. A sudden lull dawned over everybody the moment we took the bus to the station as the tour was coming to an end.


[Day 9]: Well, that was it. All this followed by the journey back home filled with the unveiling of many "secret" stories marked the end of a memorable trip with some really cool mates I made friends with in the last four years. Just as we approached Chennai, the traditional "Oh podu" gathered momentum and all the songs composed during the 9 days were revised. 

A big shout out to our organiser for giving us this memorable trip. He did take many a fall while planning and organising it. Here's a proof of it.
<Sorry for the damage. No revenge, ok organiser?>

To all the passengers on the train who bore with us, especially that 'Anna', Thank You. 
To all my friends to whom Hindi meant starting a sentence with 'Bhaiya' and ending it with 'hai', thank you for all the just-for-laugh moments. 
To all the people involved in some sort of drama, thank you for the entertainment. 
To the cameras that patiently bore all our photographic skills(as we would like to call it) and for capturing all the will-never-come-back-again moments, thank you. 
To the body aches and the sun tans, thank you for now I know that I really did enjoy. 
To my country for giving me an opportunity to admire your diversity, thank you. 
To my classmates for giving me an opportunity to know you more and miss you even more in another month, THANK YOU! 


In our language, 
"Yeh was a memorable trip hai. Nandri hai!"