This has become an annual affair for me. An otherwise productive human being thrust into an utterly jobless vacation where the most ‘happening’ thing is Mia’s nail cutting ceremony…..here is the best of what happened last year

Memories of Third Year

We experienced a major change in the way we lived (ref. to earlier reports on the pitiful life of prisoners in Jail no. 9) with the LAN and internet around. DC++ brought about end to ‘real’ social interaction in an otherwise united girls’ hostel. Telecom providers suffered heavy losses b’cuz Net Meeting took care of all the koocheekoo. My sleep pattern altered as the best time to download anything from an otherwise excruciatingly slow internet is 2 AM. Our projects and presentations improved drastically b’cuz of all the information around as did our game-playing and movie watching. We were now ‘connected’

More about the individual now…..

So your academic life also goes ‘hi-tech’ as they now accept CAD submissions. The Sarkar-Sandy duo makes Design something to look forward to each week. The big drafting board sits dejectedly in the lobby while the laptop becomes your new pet. Sletchup and itz brethren now occupy your time.

As for the ‘kya parha aur kya dekha’ section--- this was the year dedicated to meaningful movies. Dharma, Khuda ke liye, the Daniel Pearl story, Pother Panchali,Namesake, Kite Runner etc. Books were galore too… Shantaram, Clockwork Orange, Mud…….

Then one fine day you watch ‘the inconvenient truth’. That green seed, lying dormant after that ‘say no to crackers’ campaign’ in class 11, begins to wiggle again till all you can see or do is GREEN. No more drinking coffee in a plastic mug or eating anything packed or processed. Switching off every light and turning off every tap and delving deeper and deeper into this ‘ECO FRIENDLY’ pit!!

You were your ghanchakkar self again this year. Rajasthan and Ahmedabad with 2K5 & 2K6 was the best ‘academic’ holiday you had. IIT-Kgp is a must on the unwritten B.IT itinerary and you had to go there. From living in the dingiest lodge to extreme loose motions….all happened in a span of 2 days. The all-girl Kolkatta trip was magical. From Ms. Das’s Shosher Maach to College Street…..made you an even more ardent supporter of the ‘ I love bengalis’ club.

The 14 new people from MGR were a very pleasant change in the class of 21 who had by now drawn swords and wanted to taste blood at the drop of a hat!

BITOTSAV was the high point and the win unforgettable. You even got to see and feel the OBSA events up-close b’cuz of wearing the Khancheez hat. The quiz was a beginning and Reflections a great initiative but the bickering and enemy-like attitudes of class mates was two steps back when we had just taken one forward.

It was also the semester of realizing that change was afoot. Your fellow earthworm eater, the lazy evening walker, Mini animal planet, pleasing like a cool breeze and more addictive than a daily dose of nicotine was to pack his back and go. A beti shaped hole in your life!?!

So what palns now? Decluttering it shall be this sem……removing the essential from the chaff……in words…..thoughts…..and actions……

Allaha hafiz