If only I knew . . .

Life is so cruel sometimes. It never gives you a chance to recover and regain things that you’ve lost.

Don’t worry! This time its not about love . . .

I was in NIT, Trichy for their cultural festival " FESTEMBER'10 " . Things were so grand and the preparations for the big event of ' pronite ' where Naresh Iyer was to sing along with Anuradha Sriram was in full swing.

That is something you don’t often get to see and something you don’t even dream about happening in your college if you hail from a college like mine . . . By this time you must have known how stupid and childish my college was if you had read my previous posts.

People often tell you " College is not something as you see in movies " but with NITs it was not so, they were even better.

I thought I could take a look around the college before the event. It took me nearly 2 hrs of walk across that 700 acre paradise and still I had not seen it all.

What do the NITs not have ??

I was in mixed emotions. I was awed at all those wonderful things I had seen and was also in sort of a grief as to what all my college lacked . . .

There was almost everything . . . from swimming pool to a cricket ground with training nets to music clubs to exclusive dance floors . . . Name it and it was there. And the most important thing I hadn’t seen any chudidars. Doesn’t mean there were not any girls but just that they were so fashionable and lively ( very much unlike my place ).

I tried not to bring that " comparison thing " in my mind. But on seeing these, I just couldn’t help cursing my college for what it was not. I came across a big computer centre with almost 5000 systems, all with internet and that was it !! . I had reached my saturation point and couldn’t take any of this " not my college thing ". Mine hardly had 5 systems with internet ( To dig in deep, they took an eternity to even load the GOOGLE home page ). . .

After slamming my college in my head and saying that F word atleast a 100 times, I walked really jealous to my friend’s room in the hostel to vent my anger and frustration a bit. I lay on his bed for a few minutes after which I heard a roar. I came outta the room and there was a street football match within the hostel.

Now to all of us who haven’t been in hostel, I tell you . . . Our life sucks ! Nothing like being a hosteller ( Not in my college, ofcourse ). There is nothing you can’t get in a hostel. Fun being the prime. I enjoyed night life to the core.

Inter-hostel LAN counterstrike tournaments, Street football, any time-whatever download, alternate day water supply, open terrace booze parties, mid night meet at Nescafe, hanging out with girls any time and everytime, North vs South cricket matches and common room EPL celebrations . . . Man ! Hostel life is so heavenly. What a loser I am !!

Now not only am I stuck in a school-like college, where people onnnnly study ( Even schools have extra-curriculars nowadays ) but to make it worse, I am a day-scholar ( Fuck ! I don’t deserve to be called a scholar even that way )

The best thing about any National Institute is the mixture of people you get to meet, a multi-cultural society. These colleges do serve as a window to the world ahead. Just imagine college life with a North-Eastern friend and a Punjabi kudi as a gf or from any other cultural background for that case. I miss every bit of a " Real " college life . . .

And the reason for all this being nobody but me. If only I had had a glimpse of my college in my 12^th, I would have not taken my entrance exams so lightly. And guess with what was I punished for my laziness? ? A college life which sucks !!!

But nothing is gonna change, as the saying goes " jo ho gaya, so ho gaya ". I consoled myself and entered the Barn to see Naresh Iyer rock the show. The crowd went gaga as Naresh Iyer sang Roo-bar-oo-oo-oo . . . Roshini . . . I along with the crowd joined him and that gave me some relief as I left NIT with a thought that I’ve also lived as an NITian ( Though not for long ).

Wise men learn from others’ experiences. I guess you are wise. Now am not gonna let another opportunity pass by and irritate you all once again saying " If only I knew . . . ".