I was in my room with my family packing things for NITIE.
I wanted to turn on some music, but I knew I shouldn’t. I could feel my MOM and Sister looking at me, waiting to get a reaction from me. I sensed my mother's tears and I knew right away that I am going to miss her, my sister, my dad and all others in my family. I had been waiting for this M.B.A moment for 2 years and all of a sudden I just dint feel like leaving. Today I wasn’t going out to buy Ice-Cream for my sister or grocery for home, I was leaving to follow my dreams.
(Read the previous story in the
NITIE Student's Diary series here)
"Isn't your college starting on 15th of June, Vipul ?" Mom asked.
I mulled it over for a moment, careful not to look at her." Uh, Yes," I said .
“Well, why then. Why can’t you leave on the 14
th and why do you have to go to Delhi first. Why can’t you book a ticket from here itself? There are still 3 days are left.” she said despondently.
It was 12
th of June 2014 and this was not the first time she had posed this question since I booked ticket in Tatkal.
“God, Don’t leave today,” my sister said suddenly.
There was no doubt that whenever I am at home sooner or later my sister and I would indulge in a fight but she is someone who has always been there by my side no matter what. She was the one who helped me hide the cigarette butt's when I tried smoking in Class 9
th .Not to forget the money I borrowed from her to buy Chocolates for my girlfriends over the period of time. The money that I haven't returned so far.
Unable to control my emotions I stepped through the minefield of clothes and hugged her.I was done with the packing and and as always my Dad drove me to the station. It was 9:15 p.m. and train was about to leave in 15 minute.
“Don’t do anything stupid.” My dad said
“OK.”
“No Smoking. No Drinking. Be a good boy like you have been so far”
“OK.”
“Call once you reach Delhi”, my mom said.
I hugged them again-Mom, then Dad- and it was over. Out of 'The Window Seat', I watched them disappearing as the train started to pick pace.
At this point of time I wanted to cry, but this was not the first time I was leaving home.
I still vividly remember the first day I met with the people (Shobhit,Vikas,Vaibhav,Udit
and Harsh- my would be roommate) whom I never knew. The people who would be my classmates for the two upcoming years. We met in Delhi and I didn't know how I should behave just to fit in. I vaguely hoped that they will come up and talk to me. They did and I boarded the train along with them and left for the City of Dreams - Mumbai.
Like any other student, the idea of being a part of b-school fascinated me a lot and for someone who is accustomed to the extremely hot and freaking cold winters of North, stepping down in a moderate climate at the Borivali station with Ambassador Taxi Wala’s to welcome you ,I felt I am in a completely different world.
After the long journey from the Station, and witnessing almost all the skyscrapers of the city of dreams, the NITIE gates welcomed me.
The unending sea of greenery, the 96 steps, the stagnant pond, and the lush green campus had left no doubt in my mind as how the institute got its name –god’s own campus. Indeed the pictures of Mother Nature on the official page of NITIE were not a Photoshop gimmick was the first thought that came to my mind.
The breathtaking view, the green hills, the first rays of sun that touches the campus, It was a photographers delight and an inspiration for a poet, but alas I was none of them.
There were various preconceived notions I had about the B-schools, which were proved false over the period of time I have spent over here. The sleepless nights, the business casuals, the sacrosanct deadlines which read 11:59:59 ,the assignments ,the redefined weekends-everything seemed so chilled out (Sarkari) over here.
I was happy that my pursuit of finding who I am as a person and what I want in life was turning realistic. NITIE STARTED TO TEACH ME TO TAKE PLEASURES IN THE SMALL LUXURIES THAT LIFE STREWS ON YOUR PATH.
And now here I am into the last month of my college looking at the pictures or the moments I have created in these two years.
Having worked for 7 months plus 2 months of Internship experience , the realization dawns that the world out there is very evil and that college life is a pure bliss.
The two years of loathing that has magically turned into a bitter-sweet feeling as the end is approaching.
What’s ironic though is the fact that through the course of two years, I have hated every bit of my NITIE life. The occasional news of a cancelled class has made me jump up and down in my room. The Swine-Flu holidays last March came as pure unadulterated joy to spend my days off with the guilty pleasure of knowing that while I am celebrating my time off with cheap cinema, the rest of the city is in chaos.
I still remember an incident from the first year when I complained to a senior about the excessive workload during these committee selections, forum selections and then off course the Summer Internship Process.
He said, with a smile“
When you are done with it, you will miss working all night long with your friends, these group studies, these deadlines, these preparation for Summers.”
Then there was that lascivious human being (
You will eventually know whom I am referring to) who just won’t stop hitting on anything that resembles a girl. He would crack tacky jokes at your expense just to impress “his girl” who is, well, only slightly younger than his granddaughter maybe.
Then there was this professor who made his way of giving assignments, kind of like the one that will make me a CEO in 3 months. It was the shittiest, most frustrating class ever and everybody hated it, but now when I look back, I'll say I am going to miss his assignments.
Throughout these 2 years everyone would have complained or at least bitched about how shitty the system of our college was, to which the management kept on baselessly defending . We were all perplexed as to why they kept blindly shielding such a system, until today when I realized I am so in love and part of this system.
And it doesn’t end in the classroom either. Every time I went to my Project Guide to explain the current status of my Term Project , the professor stared at me in a nonchalant fashion and declare in an annoyingly innocuous tone that others are already half way through their respective projects.
I wonder who these ‘others’ are because the ‘others’ I know have not even started their Projects. I have at least come up with the Project Proposal.
Despite all of this stuff that I apparently dislike about NITIE, somewhere in the last module, the cognizance of my College life coming to an end has hit me squarely in the face
I should also mention that I feel like staying for few extra months in NITIE to complete all those classes which I missed as I couldn’t wake up or no one woke me up or someone gave a proxy attendance for me.
Suddenly the annoying professor who made life impossible in NITIE through constant surprise assignments and quizzes doesn’t seem that annoying after all.
All of a Sudden the fear of the arguments I had with my roommate, the pranks I pulled on my friends or the classes I bunked is haunting me. And of course, who can forget the ostensible study group(
Common Interest), the birthday celebration and the misplaced crushes (Shayna and many others)? All these small things, when put together, makes the whole enterprise unforgettable.
Well, I know 40 years down the line I am not going to remember the CGPA I got or the trivial fights I had when I was here. The things that are going to stay with me are the little incidents and bursts of laughter that seemed inconsequential at that time and those are the incidents that will bring a smile to my wrinkled face.
And in Regards to my Friends:
There comes a time when your friend circle decreases in size, but increases in Value and on 30
th of this month when I will be leaving- I am not going to look back, I am not going to think that what’s in front of me is better than what I have left because it's not. Certainly NOT in the very least.The holidays might be over, but memories of my life @ NITIE will stay with pupils for years to come.
The End
(Read the previous story in the
NITIE Student's Diary series here)