Aug 05, 2007 06:21 PM
4777 Views
Lush greenery, Ganga kinara, loads of peace, never ending roads shaded by trees from both the side…..these are the first things which come to my mind when I think of Roorkee….
Statutory Warning:This is more of a personal experience than a review….I might not be delving into the details of the courses running here….but what the heck!!! You’ll find it on several website…what I am telling you is the experience of living in University of Roorkee/ IITR campus and Roorkee city.
I am one of those lucky few who have studied in both, when I joined it was UOR and when we left it was IITR, so we left donning the degree of IITR.
Having cleared for MBA from this institute my first thoughts were Wow now I’ll be a part of renowned institute. Having stayed in hostel for my graduation I was not scared of going out our staying in a hostel.
The campus turned out to be way beyond my imagination. The whole campus is just green (it’s lovely during rains). The campus is huge it has total of 8 hostels. However there is only one hostel for girls (Sarojni Bhavan) which says a lot about the female population. But its one of the most happening place, for Guys!!! (‘Pun intended’). (Basically its an engineering institute and therefore the female population is in minority, only in numbers though ;-)). BTW the place is very safe for females…
Once you start exploring the campus there is no dearth of places and that too beautiful places. The best part is the Main Building, it’s just beautiful. Main building Lawns (MBL) is again one of the most happening places. That is the place where you can find many of your batch mates just chatting and sometimes studying….
Getting a place in MBL on a winter afternoon used to be a feat….because that’s the place where we all (& others too) loved to spend time…. (As is said dhoop sekte the, though I never understand the term as sekte to hum khud ko the!!!!) and yes before I forget there was the customary Lovers lane just round the corner!!!!!
The place boasts of a plethora of extra curricular activities….we had several clubs like Alaknanda Club, Postgraduates CLUB and Undergraduates Club. These club houses all the indoor sports facilities including Billiards & Snooker Tables, Carrom, Chess & TT. In addition to these there is "Himalayan Explorers Club" which organises adventurous trekking, rafting and mountaineering expeditions. As far as sports is concerned there are a plethora of facilities for games like football, cricket, hockey, squash & swimming.
Then there are Hobby Clubs & Technical Societies…..you have a choice between Photography, Electronics, Fine Arts, Gardening, Star Gazing etc. The societies organise events like-quizzes, debates, seminars, guest lectures and many more
And then there were various groups like Dance Group, Singing groups, theater groups…and mind you getting through them was no easy feat….plus when you see their performances later…it was like Wow!!! These were in no terms amateur groups.
The campus has a great guest house too…its called Khosla International…
The place gives you ample opportunity to develop your hobbies…it rests purely on us how to utilize the facilities….There used to be two major events which made all the Thomsonians wait for them with excitement all year long. The two events were Bhawan’s Day & Thomso.
The first one i.e. Bhawan’s Day is (was, it has been discontinued once we became an IIT) a very unique event. This day was organized in each of the Bhawan’s (Hostels) and each resident was given a pass to invite somebody (if it was a guy he had to invite a girl & vice versa) for this event. And then there used be some social events, celebration & dinner. Girls were allowed to go to the guys rooms (can u believe it!!!!!). For the event which used to be organized in girls hostel, guys used to do all the antics to get a pass as girls
The other event Thomso was a week long event usually organized in February….it comprised of plays, dance function, fashion show (!!!!). Some other colleges also used to visit us during that time. It used to be the time for unlimited dhamal, masti and extended hours out of hostel. The function usually ended with a gala night, during my time Euphoria had visited and we had a blast.
When we move out of the campus the things which will leave an impression on you are, the snack point (serves damn good Cold Coffee), Roorkee Talkies ki Chaat, Shiv wale ki chaat, Patiala wale ki coffee (that’s a damn good place, its on the Ganga Kinara and serves fresh paneer which is delicious)…then there is Vicky ki Maggie (near the bus stand), Punjabi Dhaba….these are the places where we have spent numerous evenings, gorging out on delicious food and then burning it off by moving in the beautiful campus…the town might be small but that’s the beauty of it…it’s a small town with simple people
Inside the campus there was satkar café and in the girls hostel Mahesh bhaiya ki canteen (if the canteen was open we used to shout Maheshji khule hain) and then there was a Dhaba just outside the campus (I don’t remember its name but wahan Mukeshbhai hotel the) it used to serve delicious pakoda’s… still remember the taste!!!!
And then there is master piece of a bridge (again I have forgotten the name)…there is a road on it and water also flows on the top of the bridge….its damn beautiful….we have spent hours on the Ganga Kinara, though water was filthy but still it was a pleasure….
My years spent in Roorkee have been most memorable because of all the things described above….its a place which defines your career, gives it a name and all of it without really making you feel it….the journey there becomes memorable because of the beautiful environment provided there…though things might have changed now (since it has become an IIT) but still I don’t think anyplace can leave its soul….
PS This review has been written from my point of view…might have missed some important points…all fellow Roorkiet’s are welcome to add comments and share their share of memories….
