||~Memoirs of the 4th Sem~||

There’s nothin worth writing home about this sem, and even as I say so ,it has sprung so many surprises that I knw its one sem that I will never be able to forget for the rest of my life….It seemed like most of the things that’ve happened since the beginning of this year have been straight outta a dream,or better put ,a nightmare(though yeah on some instances ,I’d stick to dreams),for the tears I’ve cried,if taken together ,would easily suffice one month’s water requirement for the complete hostel,if ,god forbid, anything happens to the water supply and ppl are left high and dry …Uhh,I know the thought’s not very appealing to any1 reading this space,but I couldn’t think of a better way to put it!!!

And as far as the smiles are concerned ,well….

Brace-less and in search of happy-ness

what an irony actually ,I used to be happy when I had the blood sucking braces on,and even as I tried hard to hide em ,I was continually given reasons to smile,and now that theyr’e off and I wanna show off dat broad grin, I realize it has been snatched away from me!!!
At first though,ppl hardly noticed my brace-less-ness,until I started pointing out…bt newaz it was a gr8 feelin to be back wid my original pair of teeth,though strangely the face I used to love had changed completely and strangely,my dentist liked it better…

CGPA dipping like temp. in January

Yeah,it was a shock to every1,including me,as my CGPA fell from a respectable 8.375 to 7.125,and that for reasons I still cannot fathom… Every1 kinda found an alibi in Counter Strike,but I had better planz than to blame a harmless computer game for my performance …after all ,I still aint mad for frags!!!

The Bakar-az

Hmm…strangely the bakar sessions this sem were unusually long ,and surprisingly quite "hatke" from our usual chitter-chatter… for the first time we began musing about our future prospects ,including the MBA prep,and damn, I was so influenced I went ahead to join Career Launcher(looking at the first series of packages makes me puke!!!)…then there were unusually long talk sessions about girls ,which left Bhutani so charged up everytime,that he proposed a new girl every fortnight!!!Phew!!! We still cant help but laugh at him,rather with him!!!
But I’d still cant forget one particular bakar session that I had with shubhi,standing in the middle of the road ,and how a group of girls passed us and greeted us ,and when they returned after 2 hrs ,they found us standing at the very same spot…they could hardly believe their eyes!!! It kinda always has to be one such session between us every sem,and I regret that its never more than one!!!I pity that guy though,had to bear me for 4 hrs with a fever on his head!!!

The Bus/Train-Travails

It seemed that the bus-rides kept getting bumpier as the sem progressed…Blaming the roads for the fiasco wont be correct ,coz most of the times twas my fault and the fact that the VOLVOs are hazardous to health made it all d more merry!!!
And by the end ,it seems it all got so intolerable that my "usual companion" realized I was no gud and gave up on me,and finally fought fr her rights!!!
Though I’d wanna blame the Delhi-U.P. fights which caused our dear shatabdis to desert ISBT ,and what it left behind was utter chaos!!
Ofcourse,the icing on the cake was the journey back frm Dehradun,where we had to sit on the bus floor!!

Srishti 07

Our annual hobbies club exhibition was a let down this time with no festivities and DJ around ,but it managed to earn me quite a reputation!! Not only did I,along with my 10 pointer frnd,win the first prize ,but I was elected the joint secy by a toss!! It didn’t end here ,coz now it seems I’ve bin promoted to the helm of the affairs –the post of Secy!!!
Though the last day of Srishti would alwaz be a part of my bad memories…
But it didn’t lemme down,and I gladly took the trophies to my partner’s room,who was caught by the cold,and was satisfied to share our success..

Ayush,who???

The 4th sem was also accompanied by the realization that I’m getting older…but hold on..arent u supposed to be forgetting things when ur’e graying…I guess goin by that ,ppl around me have gone older and I’m still young…How ,otherwise would I have remembered to wish my best pal on his b’day and still after listening to 5 mins .of my bakar ,he manages to ask-“Who’re you?” ,and even after being told who he’s supposedly talking to,he chips in with-“Who,ayush??”
How could he forget the voice that’s bin there with him through most part of his school life, the one which pleaded their cause to the snobbish principal and the one who laughed with him on the day of suspension…it takes a lifetime to create memories,but only a moment to forget it all….

Say-Na Say-Na

This goes out to the most popular word of the sem-“No”…
Be it an offer for chhole bhature(!!!),ice-cream(!!!),or an invite fr the auspicious B.D.,or just a talk,all I got was a “no”…
Be it a plead to increase a mark or two ,or a plead of innocence when I was accused of cheating,all I got was a “no”…
hey bhaggu,Kya zamaana aa gaya hai!!!

Bhawan days

This is a part of our lives which introduce some excitement into our otheriwse dull schedules ,and would continue to entice until the very last year of our stint at IITR...
It wasnt lyk the first year this tym around,when we(read me n rishabh) used to just go n squat in any bhawan day on its bhawan day and used to ask fr passes like beggars(just fr d gud food ofcourse,and I still remember how me,rishabh ,pulkit and twarit almost got killed in that stampede in azaad last tym)...we had no option at that tyme,but this time we had spread out in almost all the hostels and so i expected atleast a few,if not all invites...But much to my displeasure and agony,not a single invite came,and i was graciuosly brought bak to my first year days ...bt i dont mind begging fr passes ..as it is i'm one with ever-dipping levels of self esteem and self respect,and so it wasnt hard for me to start begging again...And given the fact that i know more than 75% of the people frm the 2005 batch,ranging across departments as diverse as electrical ,mechanical,civil,meta,etc etc and ofcourse the E&CE deptt,and even quite a lotta seniors,i managed to procure passes for 7 outta the 8 hostels(includin my own ofcourse,of which i had procured more than just a few copies!!)...
But in anycase,they left me “high and dry”...dunno when that shubh gharee is gonna arrive when i recv an invite!!

One nite@the main building



Hmmm...now stop stretchin ur imagination too far...coz what happened was completely harmless!!!
Was the ravindra bhawan day and after havin eaten until our stomachs ached and still managin 2-3 ice creams each,we endeavoured to stop by at the main building and the fact that we had to jump the fence and a guard was perfectly seated with a rifle in his hand didnt quite bother us!!We were armed too- with 3 guitars and a hunger for havin some clean fun...and so we put up our dharna and sat rite at the center of the main building,and started off wid our song and dance routines!! The guard's repeated warnings didnt dampen our spirits ...And then for 2 hours after that ,we made the IITR's center of admin seem like a caravan!!!
It isnt usual for us to have that much of fun at IITR,so that day i guess stands out!

Fervour -RJB bhawan day

Now this was one day when i tried to put everythin in place as it was last year...invited the same 4 ppl,and was lukin forward to it coz we all somehow knew its gonna be the best one among all the B.Ds…but again,I was given d cold shoulder!!!Only 2 of em came, and they were 2 busy wid themselves….bt newaz all I know is that we danced lyk hell and that stage we broke was one feat worth remembering!!!

The Drunkies club & the darker side of MEeeeeee

Although everybody knows what happened that night was just too much and too bad….dunno why bt I wanted to lash out at ppl in general….we had had an awesome bhawan day and so ppl kept wonderng why I felt so frustrated…I don’t know what came over me and I (or we) drank so much that the situation gt outta gear….dunno when I began to swing to and fro and we made our way to the busT…dunno what wud ‘ve happened if the 2 ppl who hadn’t drunk hadn’t joined us…. Dnt kno why I said all those things on the way ,and dnt know why I let the world kno everything that I had so well hidden from the world…I dug my own grave I guess…its kinda weird what alcohol can do to u….even when u know ur’e fallin in a pit,u dnt feel like getting out!!!
Though I had a terrible hangover d next day and missed all classes,bt still I for once felt gud that I had let out those feelings and the frustration that was welling inside me …
And that was the last time I ever drank!!!!Yucks!!!!!!!!

Convergence/Cognizance


Cognizance this time for me mostly meant convergence,which took away 4 days of hardwork with only abt 1 hr of sleep each day ,that too while working…bt I’m glad that it turned out well at last and all our efforts bore fruit….200 ppl fr the 1st round was awsum…
There were a few things missing frm cogni this time round-esp the kaun-banega-chocopati,even though we had planned it since long….bt we never really got the time,and fr once I didn’t feel like doin it again…
Still ,there were sum things I enjoyed –bandish nite ,the 3 choco fudges at nirula’s all to myself ,the laser-cum-dj nite,and the world cup match!!!
And how can I forget ,the matherina debacle…how we gave up our only rest day to create slides ,sacrificed our 3 hrs of sleep that we had been entitled to that nite,spoke an impromptu at the PPT, and won hands down in the end!!!Yeah, 3rd outta 3rd ..thats awsum!!!I feel so proud!!!Hardwork pays u see….
I really feel gud though coz convergence gave me new frnds-abhishek,deb,shanky,ritika,shubham version 2,dig(our own SRK),and karan

Prakash restaurant

Wanted to write this small token of thx to the rest. For I ate so many meals there(90% of em alone) ,and had a lotta chapos too….also nt to forget the chapo I gave to one person I just knew existed(coz I wanted company!!),and how we are gud fnds today…
and of course,how they got fed up of 2 ppl fitin over chhole bhature and cheeze tamatar..

Shortcut

Hmm...this is sumthin that's quite interesting-how i used to jump the wall of RJB and reach prakash in 5 mins flat!!!Ate a lotta icecreams when there wasnt nebody to give company ,and used the shortcut heartily-it was an adventure in itself!!!

Fare-well

This was also a sem where I bid goodbye to so many ppl …. The M.Sc. waale kind n generous ppl,the MBA students who I usually wished whenevr our paths crossed ,and a temporary one to Neeraj,Bagghi,Praggy,and a few others whor’e off to Singapore…
I hope they wont forget me though … coz even as they go to a new place and a new lyf,I’m still stuck here in dis sweet prison!!!

The blow-my-CGPA-deptt
This one deserves a pat on the back!!!My CG has become a kinda bumpy ride...from 8.675 to 7.125 in sem 3...it was a roller coster fall!!!I loved it though
But i'm glad to be back in d race with 8.03!!

Thank-you’s
Finally time fr thank –you’s

1)Prerna-fr being there at the worst of times and helping me sail thru wid dose sweet msgs….

2)Shubham-fr knowin me inside out and bein the guidin lite all thru...for helpin me in the toghest situation...

3)Surbhi-fr being the wisdom woman(;o))...for all those words of wisdom on frndhsip and love...i wish the world was so ideal as u see it,and i wish ur philosophy could be agreed upon by all..

4)Sagun-for sayin those inspirin things even though he's a man of few words..lolz...for tellin me-"aupsy tere ko kya ho gaya??Hume humaara aupsy waapis chahiye!!"when i wasnt myself,and then tellin me-"stop thinkin abt things u'll never understand...apni cg bacha le aupsy..this is ur last chance!!"..i did it ghisuu!!!!!!

5)Bagghi-for givin me a chance to become the Joint secy and then promoting it to Secy,and for that chapo at prakash!!

6)Deepika- for being the only 1 frm the school grp agreeing to a "get-together" everytime!!!lolz

7)Gautam-fr invitin me to his sis's wedding....i'm xtremely srry i cudnt make it

8)Bhutani-for keepin me away frm smokin on that unauspicious nite when i had lost my senses...and fr bein there on the most unauspicious day of my life!!

wanna thank a lot more ppl here....many fr being there,and quite a few for lettin me learn some cruel lessons in life,the hard way....
All in all ,the most unusual sem ever......

ThE DooNY-TunES!!

12th May-the day that spelled independence for all of us...and the day when we had long-planned to take that special trip to dehradun jst 2 celebrate the impending b'days of 5 ppl(though i was pushed into that list later on so that i could contribute some green bucks to the camaraderie,and in the fine mood that i was in,i heartily obliged)...though ,of course some ppl had other intensions which weren't safe and morally-sound!!!

We endeavoured to catch the 4 pm bus after shedding off the exam hangover from our shoulders (and face too with our evidently growing beards a clear tell-tale of our exam agonies) . We surprised the Uttarakhand transport guyz when we turned up in huge group of unmanagable 32 IITians ,and obviously we were the given the pleasure of an entire bus to ourselves….the journey was gud ,although since I was sleeping most of the time,what with signs of fever already hanging around my head,I have not much to recollect from it. All I know was that I kinda enjoyed that short hilly climb upto dehradun and the not-so-breathtaking views …

We landed at about 6 and made our way straight to the only place worth whiling away time in dd-Rajpur road…and outta utter desperation or to release our minds of the frustration that was welling up inside our opposite sex-deprived hearts, our heads began straying to infinite distances to catch a glimpse of that elusive hot bird walkin around with her equally hot friends firmly in tow. But as I had already warned ,much to the agony of the others,this was no delhi..and all we got was utter disappointment.

Feeling dejected or betrayed,in whatever way u’d like to put it,we strolled a bit along the happening hub of dehradun,which ,at that fateful time when almost 50 IITians were overburdening it with their unusual lingo,had been deserted by the “creamy “ layer of the society!! Maybe even the dehradun girls knew that IITR’s btech guyz are gonna have it done off with their end sems that very day,n so they ran off for cover !!!

As we reached our destination ,Yo!China,we figured out that we were only 20 ppl and the others had somehow gone astray… what happened???We supposed they prob ran after a gud-looking chick in the wilderness!!!Nah, it seemed they were makin their own planz fr d own evening…so v placed the order in advance and thought it worthwhile to hang out a li’l bit more until we were joined by the precarious missing part of our entourage…We had everythin frm ice-creams to puddings and then finally a reunion!!

Everybody ate their hearts out at Yo!China.Having ordered a sumptuous feast and having taken the most out of what the pockets of th 5 bakras cud give em ,they ate like apes gorging on food that has just been ordained frm the skies…And since I was one of the bakras,I restrained myself a bit and went along with what had already been ordered rather than adding my own part .From honey potatoes,veg schezwan sauce, lamb/rabbit/buffalo/chicken and a whole jungle of animals to the most exotic mocktails(read electric spark and blue ocean) everythin was ordered…The bill itself was enuf for us to digest the sumptuous meal that we had just eaten ..a whooping 5500 bucks…thankfully brought down to 5000…. Guess IITians are offered the 10% discount everywhere!!! We did eat a lot,but we shed a lot of weight too..our wallets felt lighter by 1000 bucks each (n this is fr d chapo givin bakras only) after a lotta bargaining and brain-smashin with the Yo!China guyz…

We snapped a few pics and then split up again…one grp proceedin with its planz to spend the nite in a Lounge and try out Tequilla just to get a feel of it(uh!!!!!!!!!!!),with 4 non-drinkers firmly in tow for post-Tequilla team management purposes ,and the other too worn out to even eat an ice-cream and dragging their legs to the ISBT(and that,ofcourse,included me!!) .Dnt really know what happened to the drinkers’ gang ,except that they did try out tequila and danced their hearts out,as was reported by those who were left lookin after them ,but enjoyed,nevertheless.But to our horror,no bus at the ISBT ,was ready to take passengers for roorkee,coz as it seemed ,there were ample passengers fr delhi,and even though we were 15 ppl and cu’ve given the bus-wallas a decent business ,and even as we were haplessly standin near 4 shatabdi’s standin in line ,we cudnt find a bus to ferry us bak to that sweet prison called IITR…Twas the case of “water water everywhere ,not a drop to drink”,and we shared Coolidge’s popular predicament.

Finally ,a bus conductor had mercy on us and even as it was filled to the brim ,and we weondered how we were supposed to fit in,we were offered a chance to hop in and undertake a unique standing journey all the way to rrkee!!!Even the passengers were left aghast at how 15 ppl (bechaare bachhe!!!) would go all d way standing to delhi(ofcourse they never knew we were a bunch of IITRians)…No option in sight,we shoved ourselves in and fr the nect 15 mins ,kept on our frail legs which were already giving way. We couldn’t take it any longer and decided its better that we sat down on the bus floor itself!!!It was kinda weird at first ,coz …I dunno it was just weird…and even as the ppl stared at our desperation ,they were equally helpless…thank gawd they closed all lights,we were saved the embarrassment fr the rest of the journey… I kept on wondering if a citizen of this country(leave aside the IIT tag) deserved such disrespect and even as I did so,a bag from the heaven above fell straight on my specs and they broke in two!!! Too tired to feel anything ,I just let it be and kept on staring at the stars which were visible from the vent opening on the roof of the bus, thinking once again of how as children we used to wonder-“we’ll be one of em one day when we die”…Well,if that’s the case I’d love to die….