FRESHER(ANURAG OMER)

The joy of joining a prestigious college(hard to digest the fact ) ; the sorrow of leaving home, family and friends; the thrill of going to a new place; the uncertainty about hostel life and the fear and excitement of what's to come, those were some of the countless emotions that kept swirling in my head, like any other fellow freshie, on the day I joined MIT!!!!!
THE only thing i heard about manipal before coming here were hot chicks(no offence intended) and the immense fee structure,though i was intersted more in the former part.Seeing the brochures and the website one of my friends commented "bhai,tu to ab five star hotel main rahega",felt good to hear but deep inside i knew the setback my dad's bank balance went through for all this.All said and done the first day started with the Orientation lecture by the Director (dont even remember the name,who cares) and many other management guys.After the orientation the only thing i could remember was "MIGHTY MIGHTY YUMIT"(in south india 'm' is 'yum' and once again no offence intended).
As the evening sun faded it was time to bid adieu to my dad!!with numb eyes i accompanied my dad to k.c and soon in the darkness of the dusk was lost the assuring figure of my dad.You never no with tears they may pop out anytime.Deserted and alone i turned my back to see the glowing F.C.Everything seemed philosphical that day. 


I returned to my hostel (16th block,which according to my friends if MIT was India,is built in PAkistan). With expectations soaring high and inspired by the events of the day, I planned a daily schedule to work towards my goals! The schedule included things like getting up early, taking a bath regularly, studying for minimum 4 hours, etc.Little did I know that in the days to come, the entire exercise would be rendered futile, not to mention ridiculous!
Soon bonding with room mates and others started.I was quiet in the initial days(home-sickness).My roomate used to tell  his friends"saala mera roomie to dulhan ki tarah hai,shant sharif and all" (Though in a month to his utter shock i showed him my true colours).The best place to bond with new people was F.C and the best way was to curse the quality of food there(maa ke haath ke khaane ka asli importance pata chala).Soon there were groups made and dinner was the time to come up with your class stories (hot chicks,boring professors,sleepy lectures).Studies took a back seat(though they never were at the front seat).Soon, things caught pace. Visits to the Central Workshop in a ridiculous Workshop Uniform became a pain. Considering the vastness of the campus, attending classes looked like an arduous task in itself. After just two days of following the timetable, I had made, I gave up and it remained a theoretical concept, henceforth!!! front seat pe the "rummie or poker ke lambe rounds" or "late night chit chat with your new made groups"or "the brand new interests in t.v series".Perm time was limited so didnt get much time to go out .Soon "saiba","C.C.D"and "dominoes" became the new hangout points(daaru ke adde to baad main pata chale).Sundays were reserved for malpe beach ,turtle bay,MANgalore visits and all.Sessionals aye aur gaye.kuch ki phati,kuch ki bahut jyada phati  lekin kuch*****acha kar gaye.Depression main aa kar socha"ab to padhenge" aur papers ki"***-*****"ek kar denge.Do din ka josh, then back to our normalself and since then ye kahaani har semester ki ho gayi.EXamS ki raat padhte and somehow saved our asses from the most dreadful word of college life"back".Attendance was alwyas at stake.8 bje ki class ke liye 1 bje uthana was the new fashion.Students with more than 80%attendance had to face a lot of abuses(they deserve it though,saalon ko neend nai aati kya).


Then one day something happened that changed my college life completely.one of my friend(i dont remember who he was) came to my room and said"chal be aaj DEETEE chalte hai",didnt know what it was.ek woh din tha aur aaj ek din hai.Deetee became my temple. To this day Venugopal temple doesnt even have 1/3 of my visits to "DEETEE".visits to places like T-spirits,BigBoss,China Valley,opium became frequent.Nights passed in semi-conscious states and frequent passouts.Still remember the "legend (wait-for-it) daaarrryyy" night when i performed "Sheila ki jawani"with a pole outside DeeTee(drunk as a skunk).Standing on the floor of my room telling my frnds"saala mera room kho gaya".those moments were fun(for my friends).i wiil drop in some knowledge here,it is easier to make friends over a beer ora cigarette(true story).


Soon lan gaming became a new addiction.counter strike,fifa ,AOE were the new words.The entire floor could listen the game being played.Mothers and Sisters were mentioned in intervals of few seconds(but in this case offence used to be intended from their side).Second sessionals came,the story was same but no more hard-work promises made.The day the sessionals end marks a revolution named"DeeTEE bharo andolan".


Sharing and inheritance are amazing characteristics of hostel life.dusre ke room main sone ka mazaa hi alag hai.Gone were the days when clothes,shoes,perfumes and deos were a private property.The motto was"aaj jo uska hai,kal woh mera hoga, parson kisi aur ka hoga and jiska tha uska to ab kabhi nahi hoga".


Being a first year and not being ragged ,highly improbable.The ragging procedure was very monotonuos ,lack of innovation(yeah ,i was cool about ragging).basically included your intro in hindi,saying few lines about something with an addition of a slaang at the end,singing songs and dances.Ragged few times,i kind of remember the one which i went through in "MANGLA EXPRESS",coming back after the winter break when i bumped into an entire compartment full of seniors with exception of but one.I was made to sing and dance simultaneously on"munni badnam hui".That was quite humiliating but i guess i nailed it.That night taught me that unless you are friends with a senior:
Rule 1: A senior is always right. 
Rule 2: A Freshie can never be right. 
Rule 3: If you are confused, refer to Rule 1.


The Publicity Team,how can i forget,which gave my college life a new dimension around which my life at manipal revolves,something which brought me to the most amazing and caring seniors,gave me friends to cherish for the lifetime.......all the fun n stupidity that anyone  can imagine,the  all-night perms, road paintings, banners(climbing n clinging on to the most peculiar locations,here also sisters and mothers were thoroughly remembered ), entry into MIT girls hostels(something which people were ready to pay me if they can go on my behalf), late night dinners at opium,tasty bites and all,and above all the most happening parties, the boat party was amazing.Never in my wildest dreams i could have imagined drinking a vodka in the middle of the sea.In the words of Bryan Adams.....THOSE WERE THE BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE.(this is a stolen line via surya bedi).


Time really flies past us fast.The first and the most beautiful year of college life thus passed away.