Fond Memories

I distinctly remember the day I entered JSSATE. It was a picture perfect background with lots of greenery and a pleasantly red building. I reported almost a month late (won't bore you with the details), by which time most of them had spoke to each other and the inevitable "groups" had started budding like mushrooms.

As I made my way to the first floor (read IT Dept.), there were a bunch of guys talking casually and lazing around. Very politely I asked one of them, "Where is the 1st IT class?". To my surprise, the answer was a kind of ensemble, as in everyone started directing me and posed questions as to why I was so late, blah blah. As we sat in the class awaiting it's commencement, we got a memo stating that one of the professors had expired and as a mark of respect, a holiday was declared. This is one strong reason why even my friends will never forget the day I entered this magnificent world called JSSATE.

Days passed and a majority of the guys became good friends, got to know each other better and the obvious movie outing took place too! It was like a dream come true, we all got along so well. It was as if nothing was going to stop us from having so much fun. However, the weeks to follow would turn out to be one of my most testing and challenging times. It was in no way linked to academics, but life; yes, very much. There were some misunderstandings and I ended up on the wrong side of the argument. After this, I was left with only a select few, who have been the most supportive and most annoying guys I've come across.

The beginning of second year is when you actually meet your department faculty. Until then, the courses are similar to all branches. Ya ya I see the questions coming..How was your department? How was the motivation? How exciting was it on the first day? Etc., Well the answer is it sucked! And big time. The positives were that the "few guys" I mentioned earlier had a huge influence in my life. I learnt from my mistakes and it was only a matter of time before others started noticing it. What did I learn? Well, I was damn short tempered, impulsive and to a certain extent highly straight forward. All this resulted in the "attitude" tag attached to me. To a certain extent, these labels were about to vanish and as they say "Time heals all wounds".

With my new found patience and composure, I dealt with what can be described as an uphill task of coping with the department politics and the occasional emotional turmoil.

It was sometime in third year that I came across one of those unforgettable moments. One of my classmates, well let's say, accused of being judgmental and sympathetic and that I should mend my ways. This came as a surprise to me. But later on, the person became a very good friend of mine and helped me out during the worst of times.

I must admit, the most demanding time in terms of academics was my final year. Trying to keep up with my CAT test and seventh sem was more than hectic. And if that was the worst I could expect, I was wrong. Final sem, and our family attended my bro's convocation in Lucknow. (For more details, refer "A trip to the North"!)

Deciding on project and seminar topics, preparing abstracts, reports, PPTs took a toll on us. I will explain my project in my next post. For now, let me tell you, we worked out a** off to complete it, even at the very last minute!

As the days in JSS came to an end, I got very emotional. I would never meet those guys the same way, we would not have stupid debates in idli angadi, we would not have time to surprise someone at midnight on their birthday. I can't just call up and say "Maga I want to talk, not feeling good. Let's bunk and go out somewhere". These thoughts hit me hard as we left our campus the last time. If you are wondering whether I had the obvious crush and liking towards someone, the answer is a definitive yes! Who? Well I can't tell you and I won't either.

As I struggle through this post, hiding my emotions and feelings (which is why it might seem distorted), I just want to thank all my friends for being the best. And as for the special one, well I guess they know it already.