First day at college!!!

Every expression is too inanimate to describe the episodes of college days. Four long years, at the onset of teenage juxtaposed with the period when one is brimming with energy, are like generations of evolution where every year causes the metamorphosis from one stage to another.

My college days were no different but they came with a price tag. My fervour for computer science took me to a place in the hills of Himachal Pradesh, Hamirpur. My first reaction after knowing that I have been allotted a seat at National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur was to search about the place on the world map. This inane effort dawned on me some important facts about Hamirpur, such as distance from the sea-level and most importantly the nearest broad gauge railway station, Una.

My first day at the college campus, that also happens to be my registration day, was surely against the wishes of any fresher. Sights of broken windows, fans with twisted wings, looted offices greeted me as I went through with my registration. These anecdotes of shame were written all over the campus.

Reaching the college campus was not at all easy that day. After alighting the bus at the Hamirpur bus station, when I approached a cab driver carrying most of the heavy baggage which comprised mainly of books, which my father had discouraged me to carry all the way to hamirpur arguing that there is no point wasting another year for IIT, for hire. He resented to the offer stating concerns about the safety of his vehicle owing to the pandemonium spread at the “REC” (local people of Hamirpur were more comfortable calling the college REC than NIT) campus. Blunt denial from the cab driver forced my and Santosh’s father into a discussion, much like aristocrats pondering over an imbroglio. Quite appropriate for people of their age, who love to brood over the problem and discuss country politics at length all the day long. Santosh was another aspiring student of NITH who, like me, had to get himself registered on the same fate full day.

My father is a man who has quite a knack to convince others. His strong persuasive attribute proves very handy in situation like these or when dealing with a haughty clerk of a government organization. His efforts to inculcate in me the same qualities went futile as I always preferred to do business on a strict terms basis, though such an approach seldom proved to be propitious. Looking at me in disregard for failing to hire a cab, he went ahead and, as expected of him, convinced the cab driver to transport us to the second gate of the college campus.

The journey from the second gate, which was in those days more like a wall broken forcibly to create a passage, to the MMCA office of the Kailash Boys Hostel was even more difficult thanks to the misguidance offered to me by one of the passerby’s. On reaching the destination and figuring out that there was an alternative simpler way, ignominy was eyed at me by my peer’s father. I could sense him scorning at me, though not explicitly, “can’t even find out the way properly, reckless fellow!!!”.

Well, this case brings into light a pervasive attribute of Indians – always extend a helping hand caring little about its impact. More often than not, the gratuitous favour proves more destructive than constructive. I forgave that passerby and moved ahead to the MMCA office to book a guest room and got along with the registration process, which went quite smooth.