First Year in VNIT

“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 3^rd 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 1^st 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.