In the campus of deer

Hmmm….. I don’t know where to start, I have sundry numerous thoughts apparating into my mind from various corners, when I particularly sit to write something that is some way concerned to me. Yet I strictly restricted myself to write the things that have taken birth after this very campus IITM begot me, restraining the urge within me which tells to write something of my school days which turned out to be the best of my life till now, which is nothing other than the life in a “JNV”. I am not sure whether all of you guys had encountered this name before, hope at least some of you had….

That day as I remember is Aug 1st, 2009, the day I’ve stepped in the college along with my parents, and the moment I entered my hostel a guy almost ran into me asking or rather confirming whether I belonged to room 370, my lips barely answered yes, the guy started pounding his questions and almost dragged me away from my parents to talk with me and had gone to length of using slang (yet friendly) words as if we know each other for ages.

I encountered my first shock, I was a guy who used to think that I know too many different types of personalities… Dumbstruck!! Had my first failure in the campus, “this guy” is bizarre.., his behavior was pretty peculiar, though I admit it lacked some novelty, turned out to be my roommate 370 A, myself being 370 B.

Huh!!! “I need to spend one year along with this guy?” ah! Felt a stone trough my throat. There are some more guys from my college, some of them whose luck managed to get them a single room,

I thought why these IIT administration guys lacked brains, why don’t they keep guys of the same college in same hostels! This was my first reaction, the worst thing hit me when I came to know that my room is capable of housing two people, which was made to be a triple sharing one this year.

For a while, the pictures of Hitler’s concentration camps from my 9th class CBSE textbooks stuck to me. A chilled sadness spun into my ecstatic mind. This of course didn’t survive long.

After getting into the room and taking a shower, I again set out, for some other formalities and some documentation in our hostel office.

The next thing is the one I was longing for, ‘my cycle’! After spending two academic years in a small crowded place where actually there were more number of books than men for a square meter, riding my favourite vehicle into the indefinite vastness made me feel the best.

I had ridden motorbikes by that time, but I thought it wasn’t just me when I was first time on my new bicycle. Dunno why, but cycle always had a special place in my heart.

It was for me an amusing experience riding my cycle with my mom on it, the point at which she felt gratified and spoke out “I didn’t know you had grown up so fast”, with her eyes full of mist. My heart answered instantly,“ I am always a kid to you, mom, who still wants to sleep amidst of his parents being protected by them”.

Breaking this sentimental scene came my loving dad giving his reports on his investigation of the different available prepaid cellular services, awaiting my reply to choose one among them. “A mobile entirely for myself!” I felt good. Though, till then I had used mobiles of my dad, mom and bro none of them I can claim my own.

The first two days went on with similar shopping of mundane objects accompanied by lectures or more appropriately talks by GCU(Guidance and Counselling Unit), which turned out to be funny yet resourceful.

End of the second day marked a difference my parents left for my hometown roughly 700 km apart from my location, felt my inner self urging somewhere in me, asking me to go with them…….. ( I have certainly been in a hostel before but that was different, the place was barely 5 km from my home and everyone wondered that my parents used to hang around our hostels more than our own beautiful house, which could be reached in less than 5 min on my dad’s bike)..…

But now I am in a province that is alien to me in its culture and language, the consolation came within from me saying “hey you share the same country with your parents, you aren’t on a distant planet, cool down man, chill out, hang around and see the beauty around you, the campus is awesome.” I thought “yeah, it’s true”.

The next moment my eyes started searching for beauty present around or rather at the beauties passing in front.

My mind instructed “Hey you, go and start making friends with them.” But my legs seemed stationary, being in the boys’ hostel for two years made me feel sick and coward to converse with new ones especially when they are of the opposite gender.

“Girls, not murderers, they don’t shout at you because you are talking with them, you idiot!!” my mind instructed again to converse with the girls, yet I felt that my limbs are no longer taking any orders from my mind, regarding this, the girls went off, allowing my mind go back into a sad situation……

After taking a sip of coffee, I met two seniors who inquired about me and asked or rather demanded my presence in roll calls that night in the common room.

“Roll what? And where do they exactly occur?” I enquired them, not knowing even a bit of what they were talking about.

Then one guy said “nothing dude, just make sure you come to that room by 8:30 sharp, along with your roommates and by that time you should know my name” my senior said pointing me a corner room in my hostel.

The time was 8:15, and I was still in mess carrying my empty plate for food, in a big queue, checking out my watch, I’ve started taking big gulps. The time was 8:35, and I was in our what is known as a common room.

A big crowd, some students whom I speculated to be my seniors were enjoying TV in too many different poses while some students sat at the back of the hall staying mum. I crossed past them and made myself comfortable along with my wing mates.

Then there came a guy who sat beside me, seemed to be an enthusiast, started the conversation “Hey, how do you do, I feel tensed what the name they are going to give me!”

“Pardon, come again”

“Names dude, they are gonna name us now?”

“Name us?”

“Holy shit, you don’t know what do they do now?”

“I thought we are here to introduce ourselves, to get to know our fellow beings as of told by a senior to me”

“Of course, that is when we are given names, our nicknames or call it the insti name” the guy answered to me, his interest seemed to shoot up like an exponential curve.

“Oh is it! My name is RAVI and my nick is PANDU, which is how my parents call me in my home, well yours?”

“By the nick I don’t mean the pet name with which your family members call you in your home, here you are given a different nick based upon your interaction and any incident with seniors, and please don’t pour any extra questions, I am tired of it and apparently you seem to know nothing.”

“Why the hell do I require a name here?” My reaction was obvious as for any freshie with limited information like me.

Then there came a bunch of seniors who introduced themselves as different secretaries to the hostel, and asked other seniors to help them in conducting roll calls peacefully.

There was a big scream, “f*** off.”

I was surprised, evidently knowing it was some vulgar word, but didn’t actually know what it was. (I never thought that this very word will soon become part of everyday language.)

And then seniors made a guy stand on the table and he started introducing himself……

“Abey saala jhor se bol” seniors screamed.

And I can’t believe what I heard following were none other than vulgar words, one after the other, apparently his name was also tagged with some vulgar funda! I felt uncomfortable, sensing this one senior took me out to have some fun and asked me some questions regarding porn and the vulgar language which I barely knew by then, the next reaction came out without any intimation as jet of tears from my eyes.

“Hey, you need not answer them if you are really uncomfortable”… There was a long pause and I was offered a 7up, which I naturally denied.

“Hey your name is ‘crying baby’ and your funda is that you started crying when a senior whose name you have to find on your own, asked you regarding porn”

I got my first name “crying baby” didn’t sound good yet I sensed it to be better than what the guy in the room got, a bit happier that my name has got nothing to do with vulgarity..

Even day 2 and day 3 marked a mysterious hatred feeling towards Roll Calls. But the day 4 I was actually curious what dirty name the next fellow is going to get!

I re-checked my opinion and thought whether I am becoming cruel, a voice inside me the result of three days stay on campus told “Dude, take lightly, it's in your age, nothing wrong and remember that you are going to be an adult in less than two months.”

One senior who happened to be our lit-sec announced “Hey, listen all of you, those who else are yet to meet their GCU student counselors must have to meet by today night before the Zero hour.”

“Zero hour, who the hell is this expecting us to be awake by the zero hour,” I thought and checked the watch which read 11:48 pm.

Suddenly, many people started rushing to their GCU student counselors.

I am sure I will no way meet him before tomorrow, and lost in thoughts I came to my bed which is inviting me onto it like a lover who left away ages ago.