Seniors :
First sight of a group of seniors and I begin to panic. ‘Dude, don’t worry, the Brochure that the college gave you has a list of phone numbers you can call on in case they rag you. Or wait, just pretend you’re a SE.’
Wait, did he just give me a ‘Welcome to SIES newbie, we don’t rag Juniors’ look? This first bolt from the blue came as I walked through the Corridor for the 1st time. Our seniors were different, very different. (That was the last time I saw any senior in the campus. They all went into hibernation till the Feb festive season. Or wait, maybe we were too serious as it was the lethal 1st Semester! Either way, I didn’t interact with any senior in the 1st semester).
People around :
I expected a Massive bunch of nerds as I was walking towards my classroom, and it looked like that at first when I entered. I was a little late as usual, and sat on the last bench (Now before you think, “aisa kaise ho sakta hai? Late aayega toh last bench kaise milega?!” this is to remind you that it was the 1st day of College, the last benches don’t fill on the 1st day). As I sat and was settling down, I had a fleeting look at the opposite gender at the other end of the classroom. There were quite a few attractive faces around. Surprise number two Mr. Abhishek.
TEACHERS :
Not long after that came our first teacher for the day, Ms. Sampada Mutha, who greeted us with a Huge smile and her trademark, “Good Morning Class. :D”. Wow! Not what I expected. The other teachers through the day were really kind too. “Yahan ke teachers amazing hain.” Sach mein! I’m not being cynical here, the teachers are indeed awesome.
Friends :
I never really liked South Indians all that much(In spite of being one). So except for the very few people whom I already knew, I wasn't expecting to make friends with many fellow SIESites in FE itself. This time, I was subjected to 2 big surprises: There weren't too many south Indians like I assumed. And I was wrong about not liking them. Shortest semester down the line, I made friends better than I ever did till now.
Canteen :
“No Mumma, I’m in Graduate College now, it’ll be too embarrassing if I take tiffin to college,” was what I told my Mom before leaving for college.
The canteen was like a typical college canteen. You like it at first, but as time proceeds, ‘Maa ke haath ka khaana’ is what you prefer. And its healthier too!
Meanwhile, Filter Kaapi (Coffee) helped me stay awake through the 2nd half lecture sessions.
Adios 1st day :
As the day ended, and as I walked towards the college gate, the well known saying kept humming in my head, “In Engineering, always expect the unexpected, ALWAYS!”
PS : Our Canteen’s Filter Kaapi rules!
- Abhishek Easwaran.
