College or “cool age”.. whatever you call it

It was a rainy day in August 2007 when I first entered my class. Already late, I didn’t want to mess up anymore in front of the teacher, so I took a seat on the first bench, middle row. I was not used to being late. A new college, a new teacher, and the fact that I did not know a single person did nothing to ease my discomfort.

Fast forward 4 years. It was farewell night in college and I was stuck in Hyderabad. My flight had been delayed by more than 2 hrs. With nothing to do, my mind flitted back to wonderful memories of my college life.

I vividly remember my first year, when I did not know many people. That was when I started opening up to people and discovering people with similar interests, making new friends in the process. They became part of my world; my extended family. College became my home away from home.

It has stayed pretty much the same. Going to college became an activity I looked forward to everyday. However much I welcomed holidays, it was the working days I loved the most; the days when I was surrounded by my friends. Completing assignments and journals together, playing cricket, eating the lunch of everyone except your own, studying together and of course, “Counter Strike” became a habit. Hanging out, treks, and visits to ‘Vangaon’ became an every semester activity.

But the icing on the cake has been the final year. With placements round the corner, it was heartening to see people sitting in the lab, studying and helping each other. And when anyone got placed, it was wonderful to see everyone celebrate like a family. And all those ‘Pizza treats’… how can I ever forget them? End of placements and plans were afoot for a B.E. trip. The trip itself was awesome!! 😀 The 3 idiots of our class (Anna, Bhangale, Tanush) began a wonderful task of capturing our college life in a video, and very aptly named it “Love Story 07-11.. –It’s all about loving your class”. None of us had seen the video, it was supposed to be screened tonight. And here I was, stuck at Hyderabad airport …

End of flashback. We board the plane. After some more delay, we take-off and then reach Mumbai at 8:30 pm. We rush to the college and celebrate the farewell with the rest of the class. It will forever remain one of my most memorable nights. It made me realize how much I would miss this class, these people in my future. I missed the screening of Love Story 07-11, but nostalgia hit me when I went through it later. To S.P.I.T. Comps 2007-11, I’ll only say, “Thanks for the memorable time. One of the days I would look back and smile thinking of my college life. Thank you one and all for the awesome 4 years.”

Finally after vivas and theory papers, one day we realize that it’s over. I have memories of each to cherish, and I have a memento in the form of a wonderful, awesome yearbook. But I still find it hard to accept that this must’ve been the last time I saw them for some years. I’m still wondering about what I’ll do without all these friends of mine. All we can say is, “Thus engineering has been completed successfully” 🙂 . As they say, all good things must come to an end. 😦

To quote the shaayar of our class, Misbah Nomani..

“waqt ki ret pe kadmo k nishan reh jaenge,
lehre chahe jitni bhi aae
ye lamhe, yahi tham jaenge”

I’ll miss you, S.P.I.T. Comps…