Those were the days.....Chapter VI (persuasions and rejections..)

After 8 months I got a chance to write.. things haven't changed much in last 8 months...

Lets assume the 3 girls as Drew, Cameroon and Lucy...

work has been usual..though my sister is getting married next month.. and after a gap of almost 7 years i spoke to Drew... we caught up on happenings in our lives and laughed at how childish we were in college... met Lucy as well and it was the same thing with her.. laughing and making fun of what we all were upto...

The Proposal and persuasions..

Well lets get back to the story... after handing over the cards, I left the lab with loads of questions in my mind.. next few days passed waiting for a reply..but nothing came out.... lucy, anand bhaiya and rest were not making it easier for me... exams were around the corner and it was getting difficult.. with 3rd sem being one of the toughest in BIT, it was getting worse.. subjects like Thermal Engg, Mechanical Engg..all were getting tougher for me day by day... lost in my world.. staring at books is what all I was able to do..meanwhile Seemant told cameroon about his feelings and was in a similar situation... Mid-term came and went.. managed a decent score..

there were outings planned after this.. visit to sudeep's bua's place.. IEE technical trip to Power plant..movies with special balcony arrangements courtsey ruchika di and anand bhaiya...guys night out ruhail bhaiya's place...so on and on..

Anand bhaiya's birthday party at kaveri followed by temptation.. i still remember wearing that fluorescent yellow t-shirt which i wore just once and never touched it again... this was the time when kuchu planned his visit to mangalore during diwali vacations... (i hope you will notice that we are still waiting for a reply)... well the trip was planned.. me and kuchu to bangalore via kharagpur.. we dint have any reservations.. so we boarded with the entire gang.. those days train to Kolkata use to have min 100 people heading to kolkata in same train.. so u can adjust..


well why I am highlighting this trip is because....
I was in the same compartment as drew n with bose not around this was the right time to talk to her.. Me n Kuchu were occupying seats of our 2 seniors (Sinthaliya and Ravi) who have gone elsewhere for sometime... seeing the opportunity I called Drew n we were talking... suddenly the seniors returned and seeing me the started teasing me to get off the seat.. I gave them a wink n then both went on the Upper berth(the seats were side lower n upper).. the conversation continued and I could hear smirks from the upper birth with both of them bothering me once in a while asking for water/ eatables etc...the talk went well with me telling how I felt n all.... after an hour or so she left for seat..still NO ANSWER!!!!

The acceptance
Well on return from vacations it was again time for exams.. finals..with an average score in mid-term I came up with a focus towards studies and the unexpected happened..(reminded me of the English play in 10th.. "with women around, the unexpected always happen"..)...


The D-DAY (Cassi's whistle)
One fine afternoon, me, ayush, momo, seemant, bose, kuchu, sudeep were walking from inner canteen to hostel.. we saw Drew coming from opposite directions and all started teasing me... well i started walking slowly behind the crowd.. and the unexpected happened..she said a Hi and asked if I have few minutes..
I stopped and the gang went ahead.. we just started and Cassi whistled..(wat a bitch he was).. she got conscious and said will talk later.. I felt like chopping him into pieces (LSD style)... well I came back and went for a nap.. I was woken up by seemant banging at my door.. waking me up, "someone wants to meet u in OC at 5 pm in the evening"... my heart started beating.. with so many seniors knowing me and friends knowing me.. me going to OC to meet a girl would be talk of the hostel.. I called up momo n told him to meet me at OC..

I headed to OC with a book on pretext of meeting mohit.. after that we both started walking towards inner campus..on our way we met Drew n her friend.. we all 4 walking towards OC again.. on nearing OC, Drew asked her friend n momo to go and get the snacks and stationery etc leaving me and her behind... she turned and we started walking back towards IC disappointing anand bhaiya, seemant, ashutosh who have reached OC by that time...
Drew : "How are you?"
Me : "Doing good. you tell me? How are preps for exam?"
Drew : "Going on well. Why don't' you talk to me these days?"
Me : "Well not much of time and exams are around."
we went on talking for next 15 mins with Momo n friend following us.... Momo told me later (today) that both of them were nervous and dint know what to talk about...
well moral of the walk is I got my answer that day and I was on Cloud Nine...
Interest in studies came back and I was able to concentrate better..

The next day Cameroon, Lucy all started pulling my leg in lectures.. me n Drew use to catch up after classes.. go around for a while till Hostel in-time for girls(a strict rule of 6 pm in Girl's hostel) and there was an LOC beyond which guys were not allowed... but this happiness was not to last for long..

The Rejection....
after 15 days..one fine evening me n Drew were sitting at OC and...
Drew : "What if I said, whatever has happened in last 15 days, was just for fun and I was not serious"
I was shocked..heart skipped a beat or two.. I din't know what to say!!!!!! just then anand bhaiya n ruchika didi came by and we all went to OC for snacks..by the end of the evening I knew that it was to end..a rejection..a heart break 10 days before exams.... I was doomed...
Lost all my interest in exams and studies.. no words from my mouth for days...no food.. somehow anand bhaiya pushed me to studies.. sitting with him in his room... I gave all my exams... was scared that will flunk in Thermal..
After exams, went back to bangalore and one evening I was talking to dad about studies and exams..
Dad : "how were your exams this semester.. you don't seem to happy"
Me : "Exams went well. except for thermal Engg..I guess I will pass in all"
Dad : "Thermal Engg!!!!! that was one subject even I was scared of, such a fat book, such a vast syllabus.. but I managed to pass, don't you worry"
I took a sigh of relief and was disappointed that even after 30 years, the course, book of subjects in India still remain the same.. all bookish knowledge...

In 3rd sem, another interesting chapter was of Jai Sharma being my room-mate.. one hell of a guy he was..famous for his extempore in first semester and telling Khowala bhaiya that a certain book was not meant for his standards... but this guy shot to fame in Semester 5 with famous Baddy bhai.. much on that later....

By the way I did pass all subjects..even thermal with just 60 marks.. I guess it runs in the blood..

Those were the days.... Chapter V (New phase...)

The 3 girls in the story are Drew, Lucy and Cameroon..

After around 4 months of hibernation I am trying to write another post.. I don't know if you guys were waiting for the next chapter but a mail from a friend got me to penning the next chapter in "BIT Life"...

Work life has kept me busy and there is hardly time to pursue habits.. Assignments after assignments have been adding flab to me.. Only break I managed was a 15 days break when I was down with chicken-pox..

I am not complaining that work pressure has messed up my life or I have any regrets.. Its been a learning phase where the sector and process learning have been fun and have added to my growth. Team dynamics have been the best where I feel like part of a family where everyone is ready to help you when are facing problem at client place..

Now lets get back to the main topic as the blog is not about my work-life or EY Culture..

Post first semester we moved to outer hostels and we came to know what ragging is all about. The line which became famous during one of the sessions was when I answered a query by a senior on my location as, "I am coming from Bangalore" and rest is a history... The semester passed by where we interacted with seniors and sports came back to life as the complex was more accessible to us.. The good thing was I came to know Anand bhaiya who became an important part of my life... apart from him other batchmates of his whom i came to know of were Shashi, Vikas, Arijit, Om n others.. Arijit bhaiya was heading few of the societies... One incident i remember was of Arijit bhaiya getting kidnapped and his coming back after fighting with the goons.. also me pursuing shashi bhaiya to stop tobacco chewing was another instance...

Lets get to the third module where loads of things happened.. It started with a stream-wise division of the batch where sections were restructured as per the branches... The people I use to hang out were Kundan, Ayush and Bose.. Though Bose was now more involved with another set of batchmates where a larger set of people came on a common gang.. these included a set of 6-7 guys and 6-7 girls...this was the start of a filmy story....

My first interaction with this gang came over a cup of coffee in the canteen.. slowly even I became a part of the gang.. the group had sharad, kuchu,bose, sudeep, seemant, charlie's angels, sharoda, neha and few more people.... The gang use to hang out together while going out and during lectures..

Then came the freshers party where Comp Sc junies got a party from the seniors.. this is where stories were made.. the famous one was of our very own "Dehati"...

The story took a filmy turn where few people got more important and the others dint like the same.. this phase got the gang divided and people started hating each other.. During the same time I started liking one of the girls and coincidentally my dear roomie "bose" also had a crush on the same girl.. can you people beat that!!!!! Seemu too had a crush on one of the angels....

So you see how filmy the story can be...

When me and my roomie came to know of our common interest we decided to share whatever we did to pursue our interest...

This was the time when my interaction with Anand bhaiya and his gang became more frequent... By this time Charlie's angels came to know of my feelings and of others as well... I became a good friend with lucy and we use to talk loads..

This is when I came to know that bhai was a good friend of Arijit bhaiya but some misunderstandings got them apart... I decided to get them on a common table and I still remember the day when it actually happened.. Their entire batch was in cafeteria waiting for the moment and when it happened all of them applauded...

The next day I went with bhaiya to get some cards for Drew.. the cards were lying in my bags for 3 weeks now.. Ruhail bhaiya came to know of this. He and bhai took my case and said that if today these cards are not given to Drew,Ruhail bhaiya will go and tell JS that there is something lying for you in Abhinav's bag..

I decided to do the same now.. After the computer lab I decided to stay back.. To my surprise most of the batch left the lab.. the angels were in the lab too.. I went out and after some time called Lucys out.. I told her of my intentions and asked her.. She said go ahead and asked Drew to come out.. I still remember those seconds.. the longest in my life.. She came out and I said,

"These cards are for you and says what I feel for you.. I would wait for a reply..." ................

Those were the days......Chapter IV(153/180)

Well.. The much awaited holidays have arrived for us... All were ready to go back home for the first time and share their experience with their parents and siblings..
Now that they have landed on the first step towards a promising career.. moms were waiting to pamper their child... but again the ghost of ragging was haunting on us..and this time there was no college authority to save us.. but this was also the time to know your seniors in a better way.. Luckily or unluckily there was no senior on the route to Bangalore.. It was going to be a long journey of 40 hours all alone..

I boarded the train and waited for the day I will be meeting my parents after months...There was no direct train to Bangalore from Ranchi so there was going to be a gap of 2 hours at Chennai.. The journey was not eventful and I finally landed at Bangalore Cantt Station.

I was surprised not to find my parents and my sis at the station.. I waited for 10 mins and called home. Luckily my mom was at home and she picked up the call.. On asking I came to know that Dad n sis have gone to the Bangalore Central station... Such a big goof up!!!!! And I was going to miss those expressions on my Dad's face after seeing me...

Mom sent the other car to pick me up and informed Dad that I was at Cantt.. Finally I landed home.. the delight and happiness on the faces of he families were the true Kodak moments...

I was going to be there for a week and mom has already planned the week long menu.. Also I was to go shopping for my formals and necessities for college.. It was going to be an eventful week... The coming days were spent in shopping, meeting friends, partying and enjoying Bangalore...
Meeting with friends and families and seeing their positive response to BIT cleared my doubts about my decision to join BIT and gave me a fresh energy and enthusiasm. I was looking forward to college now...
Finally the day came and I was to leave for the college... I have hardly touched any books and there were mid-sems planned post dusshera.
I was shit scared but was confident as I was regular with my studies.Finally I boarded the train with a heavy heart....

This time I have landed with an emergency light which has a cassette player and radio as well.
This became a source of entertainment for the next 2 modules..Batchmates from Delhi shared their experiences of ragging which ranged from they singing in train.. selling tea... going and asking names of random girls...

After settling down we all were geared up for the mid-sems.. The format in BIT was a bit different.
The mid-term was suppose to be of 30 marks. There will be questions of 36 marks out of which 24 will be from assignments given by the profs. A student can attempt the paper of 36 marks and score max..At first the concept looked pretty neat and favouring students but after the first mid-sem we realised what it was.

I scored 153/180 in my first sem...Was very satisfying...

so far you all will be wondering why there is no masala in the story.. there is nothing happening before 3rd Sem...I'll try to start that semester in the next chapter...

Till then enjoy..

Those were the days... Chapter III (The semester of new friendships..)

Readers wanted masala in the Chapter 2 but I can't add any for the readers.Chapter 2 was more about how I made up my mind to land up in BIT.. I don't think there will be masala in this chapter either.. but there will be masala in chapters to come..

There I was standing in the mess...met Bose and we found another thing in common.. The Key Chain..both of us had the same key chain..well after the tea and hot pakoras, Bose introduced me to Gaurav, Mishra and Ayush.. so to say the Delhi gang.. spent some time in the evening with them..discussing branches, schools etc.. Of these only two of them stand-by me till now.. cassi and kundan ( he comes later in the story).. There also is Momo (met him after dusshera)...
Then it came to the dreaded topic of freshers in college...

"Ragging".. there were tales and stories which people had heard from others.."Seniors make you strip"...'No, They can't do that. they can't go physical".. "they make you kiss each other".. etc etc...though the College authorities had provided adequate security. Anyone from outside had to make an entry and no senior was allowed in the hostel. but we all knew it was inevitable. Me n Bose were scared the most as our room (6D) was the corner most room and anyone could enter anytime.

But there was an added advantage of the room. It was the room facing the insti and while sitting in the room you could see everyone going and leaving the main building. The whole gang use to sit there and wait for the girls to pass-by in the morning, afternoon and evening.. it had become the hub of activities

Then there were places like telephone booths where you couldn't avoid seniors. It really was a terrifying thought. We decided to hang out together, follow the instructions of wearing formals and lay low. We all use to go together to attend or make calls... It was really funny.. If we have to leave hostel anytime, we were supposed to wear full formals with shoes. We were not allowed to visit the canteen..Once Bose and Mishra tried after getting fed up with the food and landed up in the senior's hostel playing ping-pong with the balls....

The favourite pass-time was playing UNO at night and cricket in the evening. This was the time when I met the Cricket gang of Dhaka in the college.I was immediately recognised as the lefty fast bowler and was always given the first over. Those matches used to be real fun.
I vaguely remember an incident that scared the gang. We were sitting in my room playing UNO (Kundan has been introduced as Ayush's roomie and Ishan too has joined the college). Suddenly power failure.

Few of them had gone to get the candles and the door was open. Suddenly a guy with long hair and beard enters the room with 2 others.(later we realised that was true to LEO Clubs image) We were shit scared and terrified.. (Beta aaj tho gaye.. ragging tho hogi hi and seeing them you can't imagine what thoughts went in our heads)..

Senior1 : "You guys are playing card. Don' you know you aren't allowed"
Bose : "No bhaiya, we are not playing cards. Its UNO"
Senior2: "Bhaiya?? You don't know how to address your senior!! What UNO?? All are cardgames"
Us : "Sorry Sir. Won't repeat it again"
Senior2 : "What sorry!!...."
Senior1 (interrupting) : "Jaane de yaar. Now we are in final year. leave it for 2nd year. Givethem the poster"

They handed us the poster and asked us to put it in Hostel Mess.We were also asked to come for the party. We did attend the party (Senior1 turned out to be the President of Leo club) and it was real fun though the turnout in LEO party was very low as compared to Rotract.That was our first encounter to any club in the college...

All the guys went through the ragging.. Bose, Cassi, Kundan, Mishra.. Doing the chawani-aathani dance, playing TT, acting as couples on honeymoon, etc..somehow i managed to escape it in the first semester..

From there on we used to have different clubs coming to hostels and talk about what they do and why should we join them. Rotract and Leo had their rivalry going on. With Rotract known as the hep and delhi gang while Leo having the image of "Bhaiya club" and lower class. There were IEEEs, IEEs, UNESCO, ACM SPICMACAY.. none seemed to excite me in the first semester. Mishra had zeroed on IEEE and ACM. Ayush was impressed with Photo Soc.. Bose was into Fine Arts.. Kundan was another losser like me..

I was more busy with studies and crying over my decision to join BIT and also all of the clubs asked a certain membership fee which I couldn't afford as my this stay wasn't planned. I still remember the names given to me in the first sem..Daanu, Salim were the favourites and I carried a rough image.

Another incident which makes me laugh till now was Me and Majumdar catching Kyunki in the TV Room. Both of us used to watch that serial. The series had just started and we were kinda hooked on to Tulsi.No matter what we use to catch the series and both of us had gone famous for that.. batchmates use to never argue and leave the room.. I can't believe that I used to do that.

A famous story doing the round was that our hostel was built over a kabristan and that a student had committed suicide in the hostel and it was haunted. It had scared the shit out of us. Around the same time people had started seeing figures in their lobbies.. At nights me and bose use to go to the loo together or in a gang. There were many pranks played in the hostel with people seeing some random figures dressed in white.. It really had turned a haunted land..

Well Dusshera break had arrived and we were all going back home.. It was a time we all were waiting for... I was more than desperate because for last one month I had been wearing the same trouser....

Those were the days...Chapter II(Destiny Won!!!)

Time : 9:00 a.m.
Place : Front Lawn, BIT

An atmosphere full of tension where students and parents all are waiting for the results. The results are already an hour late. In small groups, the parents and students are discussing about the different branches,the future plan for their kid. I was talking to Shivas, a guy at my Interview panel.

Finally the result arrived. Everyone rushes to the board.

I started searching my name..
From Polymer to Civil..Mechanical...Electrical..ECE...Yippee my name was not there..
But!!!

There it was, my name 3rd from top in Computer Science..My throat choked as if I just missed a beat..

I wanted to shout, "This is unfair..You can't do this to me!!!". Was it a nightmare!!!

I rushed to the nearest telephone booth. I wanted to call mom and speak to her. But the telephone lines were down as the Telephone Dept across India has gone on a strike.

Why?? Why was it happening with me!!!

There I was, helpless, standing alone with my dad. I didn't know what to do. I knew Dad will be hurt if i missed this opportunity, though he would never mention it. Blood was rushing in my mind. Those were the seconds which never seemed to pass.. Each second was like a ages..Me and Dad were both silent while returning to the main building and this silence was killing me.

The secene had entirely changed. There were two separate lines.

I saw Shivas coming from the main entrance...

Shivas :"What branch did you get?"
Me : "Comp Sc, What about you?"
Shivas : "Great. Congrats. I got Mechanical."
Me : "What are the two lines for?"
Shivas : "One for submitting fee and the other for collecting back the certificates who haven't got
admission or don't want to take admission"
Me : "Ok"

Shivas left in a hurry towards the line to submit his fee..I guess somehow Dad has realised what was going in my mind.
He finally broke the silence.

Dad : "Manu. Lets go and get your certificates back or else we will miss the train"
Me : "No Dad, lets go and submit the fee"

I dunno what happened to me at that millisecond and why I said that. Even Dad was shocked to hear what I said.

He couldn't believe what I said but we moved to the line.
There Dad met an uncle. The uncle was even more surprised to see me there. I dunno why was he surprised!!!

Uncle : "Hi. How come you are here?"
Dad : "He has decided to take admission. I am still not sure when he'll change his mind"
Uncle : " Which branch?"
Dad : "Comp Sc"
Uncle : "Great. Even my son is in Comp Sc. We can take the same room for them"
Dad : "If my son sticks with his decision to take admission."

I was wondering to how many of them Dad has spoken about my reluctance to join BIT.

That is when I first met Bose..Arijit Bose. (A roomie for 2 years..over years he played an important role in my BIT life..but this would be discussed later)

After submitting fee, Dad left to get the reservations cancelled and get booking for the next day. I was to stay back as classes were starting in 2 days.

Finally we finished the admissions and got the room. Me and Bose shared the same room and even our roll numbers were 144 and 146...So much in common you think....

Well Destiny won and I knew that you should never try to outsmart Destiny. You can't change things to happen..

After that I left for the guest house with dad.. Next day was shopping the basics.. bulb, mattress, bedsheet, pillow, soaps..etc..

Considering that I dint even bring a single formal trouser, I have no other option but to take Dad's trouser..

With the complete shopping I landed in the hostel and arranged my room.. Bose was in the Mess.. I entered the mess and there I saw entire bunch of students enjoying their snacks.. Is this going to be my life for coming 4 years..

With the complete shopping I landed in the hostel and arranged my room.. Bose was in the Mess.. I entered the mess and there I saw entire bunch of students enjoying their snacks.. Is this going to be my life for coming 4 years..

Those were the days...Chapter I(Playing with Destiny)

I recently saw a blog where my friend has captured his Engineering College days.

Going through his blog brought back the memories of my AlmaMeter..The days when I was learning how to face the world.. the days when everyone transforms from a teenager into an adult and learns to shoulder responsibilities..The days which everyone cherishes and give you friends which become a part of your family..

The days when u would have fallen in love for the first time..when you would have had your first drink or the first fag("CAUTION : CIGARETTE SMOKING IS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH)..the night outs..the movies.. the days when we prepared just a week before exam..the days when there was no one to restrict you from doing anything...all in all the days when one learns to grow independent..

Well for me landing in BIT was not an experience I was waiting for.. I had already taken an admission in RVCE, Bangalore and was happy with the fact that I'll be able to stay at home and enjoy life.. but there was the day when BIT's Interview shortlist was out. I still remember the day.

I had gone to the Internet cafe to check the result. I had got a call but dint bother to inform parents as I was sure to join RVCE.. over breakfast, dad informed that the results are out and I casually said, "Yes. I have seen and have a shortlist." He was surprised and asked, "Why dint you inform. We need to get the reservations done".
I was shocked. Am I going to that dreaded state of Bihar and study!!! The state known across the world for all the wrong reasons.

Over the next few days parents, friends and even dad's colleagues tried to convince me how great BIT is and how it features in the league of Best Engineering colleges in the country.

Even with so many people trying to convince me, I was hell-bound that I want to study in RVCE.

Finally they persuaded me to at least go and give the interview. Only if I was to get a seat in Comp Sc & Engg, I can join. I calculated my odds. I vaguely remember that considering theSC/ST quotas, state quota and NRI n others, just 10 odd seats remained for General Candidates(and they say, we are the majority!!!!). So I knew it will be just destiny if I still landed in BIT.

Finally reached Ranchi. We were suppose to immediately join college if we got through. But I hadn't brought anything with me, not even formal trousers. Well I stayed in Ranchi Cantt.

That is the place where I saw a blue CBZee, it was love at first sight. I decided that my first vehicle from my salary will be a CBZ.

Well the day of interview arrived and there I was, wearing jeans and sports shoes and going to face those profs of BIT. I hadn't prepared anything for my interview. (I thought that could make my chances near to nil).

I was the second candidate to enter the panel. I entered the room. My first interview of life. 4 professors all ready to pounce on me like a hungry Mohit(a freak who is part of my extended family) on food.I was given a form to fill asking why Engineering and the stream?etc etc. I just remember one of the lines I wrote, "S/W industry is the sunshine sector of India and will bring the turnaround India has always been waiting for".

After that there were firing questions in all the areas of Maths(Trigno..my fav area), Physics(Gravity), Organic Chemistry(something about Methane..I answered this though it was my weakest area).. after facing all the doosaras and leg spins and googlies..I was waiting for the straight one where Ganguly goes down the pitch and clears the ropes.. there the question was.

Faculty : "You want to join NCC or Sports?"

Me : "Sports, Sir "

Faculty : "Why, NCC doesn't interest you?"

Me : "Not that sir. My father has worked with Army and I know the importance of discipline that NCC can bring in an individual. I was also part of Cubs in my school days. But in addition to that I was part of School's Cricket team and have also played Badminton at State Level and thus feel that I can be better in Sports."

I felt that was an answer which sealed it all...There could be nothing better and convincing answer..Though I still landed in NCC. I till date feel that NCC was a better option because it was much more relaxing (considering the sports faculty make you to go through all the drills) and you get better marks.

I dint realise that I could have messed up my interview..but till date I dunno why I dint do that.. MAY BE THATS WHAT WAS DESTINY!!!!

The results were to be declared the next day. We returned to the guest house and enjoyed the evening.. All were waiting for the results...I could not take a proper nap.....something was bothering me..

As if I was aware of what Destiny had decided for me!!