“Whatever you get in VNIT, just take it” is what every
person who has scored a rank exceeding 10 thousand in AIEEE hears. Same was my
case. I wouldn’t throw a blatant lie proclaiming “I wanted metallurgical
branch, it was of my interest” and so on. The reason for this does not lie in
some fault in the department/course. It lies in the mass-‘UN’awareness that
exists amongst people.
Like most people, I was admitted to Metallurgical and
Materials Engineering department in the spot round, and frankly speaking I had
my inhibitions about the department. Believe it or not, accept it or not, the importance
of a branch is weighed against the closing ranks of admission to that
department, which disillusions most, not excluding me.
Well, starting from the first day in college. Being admitted
in the spot round meant I was to be in the L section and what I faced the first
week was mere indifference. People seemed to be absorbed in themselves and
unresponsive to calls of help and it instantly made me loathe attending
college. What changed in the next week was like a roller coaster ride aiming to
touch its zenith.
As the auditions of freshers was announced , which also
reached my ears on the last minute because of being a day scholar or “dayski”
as we are called, life in VNIT took a huge U turn. From quite an eventful
audition where I was introduced to the “sir-mam” order of college to being
selected in compering and dance events, there was never a looking back. Compering,
as promised by Srijana mam, gave me friends who were to stay by my side all
through college. Spending endless hours writing scripts that could amuse the
audience, practicing with thumbs stuck to our nose to rehearse how to use the “not
so Bose level” mikes, compering helped me grow from a school girl to a mature
college person, apart from awarding me with the most caring seniors in college
and my first Tech- Family.
After freshers next eventful occasion was the Department
Gathering. Being anxious yet excited about meeting seniors, all of us
thoroughly enjoyed all the attention we got. The epic rose day and a star
studded DJ night, it was the first time I took part in paper dance. It still
amuses me how Shreyans Sir pleaded all of us “please participate in paper dance”
and how ruthlessly we shouted our hearts out in the funky rally. Meeting various
people and getting another Tech-Dad, Suyash Sir, was another event for me. We never
wanted that weekend to slip by but then the coming days had something more in
store for us, both good and bad.
With the arrival of the end semesters, the wish to change
branch and the illusion that our elders create was broken to pieces. Everybody tells
us, “study till you get into a good college, then you don’t need to work so
hard”. What a lie!! First of all coming a month late to college and giving a hurriedly
sandwiched sessional examination, the endsem grades dropped like the value of
rupee. Maybe it was only my experience and others scored well but then being a
9 pointer and socially offline was never my idea of college. So, post
participating in almost everything, I scored a 6.79 SGPA in the first semester.
Like most VNITians the second semester brought a New Year
resolution of getting a good pointer this time and I did succeed to some
extent. The semester started with the much heard of Institute Gathering because all we had heard of in the Department
Gathering was “wait for Institute Gathering and then you will know where MME
department stands in the college”. Seniors instructed me well in advance to
enquire about preferences of the first years and prepare a list of the same. As
another active meta-mate of mine, Mihir, would agree, deriving things out of
people wasn’t easy. Despite various personal messages, Facebook posts and
mails, I started receiving responses after 3 weeks. Then making a document of
the same and arranging the trials of each event, began the greatest hurdle of
inviting people to IG practice. Yes, INVITING. As orders, requests and
pleadings never work trust me. As many people would tell you, day scholars are
the most difficult people to get into the IG events. Well this year was no
exception barring me and Shruti. Repeatedly facing seniors’ agony for people
who refused to leave their homes and honor the sports ground with their visit,
the IG mania had begun and unknowingly I was roped into 6 events. We had heard
about the various slogans that departments made, the way they cheered, the
funky rally and the meta dance! As people await the weather forecasts, we
awaited the “theme of the day”. Though I never got the chance to dress up due
to various events of mine, it was a spectacle to see people dress up as Daya
from CID or ghosts in Halloween. As the IG was flagged off the adrenaline rush
began. Playing badminton in a court surrounded by pseudo hooligans and
department love driven maniacs made me giggle in times of tough games but what
stood strong all through the IG rush was our Department Representative Rupesh
sir. Never had I met a senior so supportive and caring. Every match of mine
began with an “all the best beta” and ended with “congratulations! Party!”, from
him. After winning every event that I participated in, except for tennis as I had
picked up the racquet a day before the match, IG gave me the very important
self-confidence and daring to try new things. Other than these materialistic
advantages, IG helped me meet seniors who now not only support me in every aspect
of life but also treat me like their very own kid. Poonam Mam, Priyank Sir, Aashish Sir, Akash
Sir, Tushar Sir and of course Rupesh Sir are the people I can turn to always in
the department. The real inferno that VNITians can create was symbolised by the
prize distribution ceremony in the IG. Dancing atop chairs and screaming till
you can talk no more, the last night was one I can never forget. The pride of
coming third had surpassed all pleasures of life. We were now Meta by heart and
soul.
Post the
fantastic IG was CONSORTIUM 2013, a fest I was waiting so long for. It fanned
my desire to be an entrepreneur and made me learn various things about that
sphere. Giving me the opportunity to write blogs for CONSORTIUM, Abhirup Sir
was a patient guide and imprinted in me the confidence to build my very own
business plan which moved on to win the 3rd place in Ascent, a B-Plan
competition in CONSORTIUM 2013, thanks to my team mates Abrar, Anmol and Jenil.
The events
in the even semester seemed never ending as AAROHI 2013 followed CONSORTIUM. As
most people would assume, being a dayski, I should have been a major part of
AAROHI. But the fear of another low SGPA semester made me quit my desire to
join in.
Succeeding AAROHI
came the Inter-NIT tournament in Nit Surat. Playing badminton in school was different
but wearing the college T-shirt gave me a different honour of being a VNITian. Being
insecure about the trip, the first hour in the train was uneventful and lonely,
but what followed was incessant fun and laughter. The volleyball team and
badminton team were like doting parents with Aditi Mam and Pooja Mam playing my
mother at times and friend at the other. Nobody of us wanted to return from
Surat, a life of pure fun, be it the 1am cheering on football ground, funny
motivating slogans or mall yatra at 10pm. Winning a badminton match is
inevitable when you have Aditi Mam playing by your side anyways and hence VNIT
secured the first position in Women’s Team Event.
If Surat wasn’t
satisfying enough, the Physical Education Department awarded me with the Best
Class Representative for the 1st year due to support of people who
did not let me quit in times of distress.
The final
year farewell brought in the sudden realisation that one day we would be
leaving VNIT and the emptiness that it would cause would be too hard to repair.
Yes, I will be making the most of these 3 years to last a lifetime, but one can
never have enough of VNIT, never have enough of its aura and never have enough
of its love.
With Surat
being the last milestone in the first year, this year brought too many things
in my life. Best of friends Aditi,
Maharshi, Niket, Rushika, Mukunda, Pratiksha and a group of 15 pseudo maniacs
along with loveliest of brothers Omkar, Ravi and Abhishek, most patient guides
Priyank Sir, Keshav Sir, Viplav Sir, Abhirup Sir the list goes on and on and I can
name people from everywhere.
VNIT in the first year itself has secured the
position of first love in my life and has contributed in ways nothing has ever.
I look back and laugh at the situation of my first week where I was lost in 216
acres of forested land and 1000 unknown faces transformed to my second home.
VNIT will always stay close even after 4 years. I would never want to leave
this place. Never.
