1. The beginning
I completed my high school in a renowned institution in Madurai and was at home lounging upon the sofa all the time; hardly helping my mom in her house-hold chores, during my holidays. Gosh! Three months of holidays was too much and I was killing time to the maximum extent. My another favourite pass-time was to bully my sister. We would go screaming around the house for the television remote because she and I always wanted to watch what we like. Hers and my tastes were different. This made my parents go wild with anger.
"Why can't you do something useful?" was their favourite mantra that they kept reciting every day, every hour, every minute and every second. But, for me, completing my high school examination was like a great achievement and I never gave a heed to their words.
Days passed by and it was the worst day of my life. Yes, my high school examination results were to be announced. I couldn't sleep the whole night, the previous day, for I could only see, sin, cos, tan, cot, differentiation and integration, floating in all directions when I closed my eyes. That was worse than a night-mare!
Ok. Now, getting back to my results...I logged into the website that contained the list of marks of all the students, with hands shivering and my heart beating at a faster rate than normal. I entered my roll number in the respective column that said, "Type your HSE roll number here", with terrible fear. Once, I pressed the enter button on my keyboard, my heart throbbed even more faster and I am damn sure that my blood pressure would've gone beyond normal, that moment. I could hardly look at the monitor that said - "Please wait...Your result is being processed ". At the wink of an eye, my result was displayed on the screen. Thank goodness, I passed my high school examination with decent scores. My face brightened and my parents hugged me telling that, I've made them feel proud and happy. The very next moment, my parents engaged themselves in answering a series of phone calls that came from my kith and kin, who inquired about my results. The only sentence my parents told them was, "My daughter has passed the exam with good scores". And things were back to normal in a few hours.
Next, I had to take an important decision regarding my career. Considering my parents' advice and suggestions from my acquaintances, I determined to do engineering in one of the best engineering colleges in Tamilnadu. With the recommendation of my paternal uncle, who is a pre-eminent person in the police department, I managed to join Thiagarajar College of Engineering in Madurai. In a few days, my first day in college was about to commence. With big expectations , I was looking forward to my first day.
2. The first, worst day
25th July, 2010.
As per the schedule issued by the college, all the students of I year were asked to assemble along with their parents/guardian at 8.00 a.m for the orientation programme. My dad and I were at college in time. We read out the instructions that was put up on the notice board and walked to the open air auditorium where all the students were supposed to gather.
My eyes rolled to and fro to find someone whom I know. Fortunately, I found three other school mates of mine. My best friend was one among them. I ran to give her a bear-cuddling hug, not bothering about others' reaction.
At 8.00 a.m sharp, the programme began with the welcome address by the head of the Maths department. After a speech of about 10 minutes, he read out the names of students with their respective roll numbers. He also instructed us to note it down. Everyone obeyed him instantly and I could see one or two, putting their heads into their notebooks pretending to be over-sincere. I mused if that much priggishness was needed to write down a five digit roll number.
Later, the NSS volunteers and NCC cadets guided us through the whole campus with the assumption that we would get accustomed to the new environment in a single day. "This is the department of Computer Science and Engineering. It is one of the best departments of our college. There are about five laboratories to help the students understand the concepts better", said one of the volunteers.
Everyone listened to him in awe.
"Please let us know your doubts and grievances", said another.
There was a great discussion amongst everyone as if they were going to table a debate and there came a question from one of the parents : "Can you tell us about the teachers ?"
The volunteers and cadets looked at each others' face and they prepared themselves to come out with a convincing answer. "The teachers are very friendly and the teaching is also extremely good". The parents were contended with the answer.
****That was the end of the first session****
1.00 pm
It was time for lunch and everyone thronged the canteen. My dad and I glanced at the menu that was written on the blackboard.
I read out the menu loudly:
Curd rice
Lemon rice
Veg.fried riceVadai
Meals
We preferred curd rice and vadai. We got the tokens and waited in the queue at the food counter for a long time. The place was worse than a fish market and flies seemed to be permanent residents of the campus. Somehow, we collected our items and gulped them in a hurry not bothering about the tastes for we were completely exhausted and hungry.
The second session began around 2.15 pm
Now, it was time for the seniors to brainwash us, persuading us to join NSS, NCC or sports. I can call them "perfect brain washers", who induced us to give up our attitudes and accept their contrasting ideas.
The teachers in-charge of the respective teams introduced their leaders. First the NCC cadets introduced themselves and the staff in-charge explained about the responsibilities they hold. Secondly, it was the turn of NSS volunteers to introduce themselves. They also briefed about their active participation in various activities.
Finally, it was the sports team. The physical training master proudly presented his team leaders before us, saying that his team leaders outshine both in academics and in sports. He introduced his students one by one and when he introduced the Organizing Secretary of sports, my face brightened because, he seemed familiar to me. Yes, he studied in the same school where I studied and was a fantastic basketball player and athlete.
"This is Arya, of final year, the Organizing Secretary of sports. He is an amazing basketball player, a very bright student and a body-builder too. He is a typical example to show that, you all can do well in both studies and in extra-curricular activities", introduced the master.
My brain wavered not knowing in what to join. I finally decided to join NSS. The seniors circulated papers to write down our willingness. I wrote down my name in NSS and walked out.
(The names in this book are not real. They have been changed for personal reasons)
26th July, 2010.
I got up early from bed. To my parents' astonishment, I got ready to college hurriedly and they wondered if it was really me, because, I always woke up late when I went to school. I dressed in the best attire and was careful enough to make myself look good. I arranged my notebooks into a neat bundle and put them into my favourite copper sulphate blue coloured bag, while my mom engrossed herself in preparing breakfast and lunch. She prepared the most delicious chapathi and tomato curry because she always knows what I like. When the dish was ready, I filled my lunch-box with the wrapped chapathi-curry and I gobbled two pieces of it. I, then, quickly waved hands to my parents and rushed to the bus stop to board my bus. As I waited for the bus, I received a text message in my cell phone from my dad.
"Be safe dear. Wish you all the very best. "
"Thanks dad. Tell mom that I'm waiting for bus. Will text you, once, I reach college. Bye"
At 8.00 am, I could see my bus speeding towards my stop. All the students in the stop prepared themselves to get into the bus, first, for there were only limited number of seats. As soon as the bus halted, the students stampeded into the bus for seats. For heaven's sake, I somehow managed to get one.
I rang up to my parents as soon as I reached college. Everything around me fell very strange and everyone looked at me as if I were an alien from Mars. The atmosphere was different, completely different, unlike my school where there were only 700 students altogether. The swaying of trees to the tune of breeze, and the chirping of birds, seemed to laugh at me mockingly, because, I roamed here and there aimlessly in the vast campus, not knowing what to do.
In front of me, I saw a tallish man, walking with a slight stagger, and carrying a tattered brown coloured bag, slung over his shoulder. I pondered if he had boozed! Still, I mustered up my courage and walked forward fearlessly to ask him the way for my first year classroom. He sternly pointed out his index finger to the right side and he continued to walk with the same stagger. After he vanished out of my sight, I walked through the labyrinth of the small corridors to search for my class. At last, after so much of struggle, I found out the class and I sat in the most comfortable place in the first row. The others were unpacking their bags, until a girl entered. Everyone's attention turned towards her, not because she was pretty, but, because she was dressed in a clumsy style. She found her place right next to me and the others looked at me as if I had committed an offensive crime.
In another five minutes, the first hour had begun and the professor boldly walked into the class. I took out a notebook from my bag carefully and placed it on the table to write down the important points that he taught.
“I am Mr. Vasudevan, head of the department of Chemistry. As you all know, Chemistry is the science of atomic matter (that is made of chemical elements), its properties, structure, composition and its changes during interactions and chemical reactions. In this class, let us begin with the first lesson prescribed in your course plan".
He turned to the black board and wrote - LESSON-1: WATER.
There was pin drop silence in the class and I promised myself to listen attentively. In about ten minutes, I realized that sitting in the first row was the greatest mistake ever, because, I dozed off to the lullaby sung by the professor. I also understood that promises can never be kept. I toiled to sit glued to the seat in the rest of the classes and was impatiently waiting for the day to get over. The hour-hand and the minute-hand in my wrist watch moved very, very slowly. I thought if the battery in my watch had worn out.
I gave a sigh of relief, finally, when the last bell of the day rung. I ran to the bus immediately, to go home after the tire-some eight hours in college which was undoubtedly a hell.
