When I stepped out of the girls' hostel of my engineering college, never to return again, I just turned back and looked. I could clearly see all those four years I spent in that hostel, and I smiled, I was a changed person!
Given a chance, I would love to live back those four years of my life.
While I was going thru my old photograph album with the memories of the wonderful hostel life, I got pretty nostalgic! If I were to put it as a'review' on MouthShut, I would include the below without a thought!
Oh no.Ragging! *When you take the first step into a hostel, this one word gives you nightmares! Ragging in girls hostel is kind of fun. You are treated so badly that you cud hardly ever imagine! Gosh, it feels like a Nazi camp! Take every step carefully, even a tiny thing cud upset the'seniors' and then you've had it!
This is one place for girls where the'crocodile tears' don't work! I'll suggest keeping away from them for the more you cry the more you are made to cry!
Don'ts
Never make an eye contact with a senior
Never ask them a question. They'll kill you for this!
Never dress up nicely.
Do's
Do whatever you are asked to, forget that you have a mind that thinks!
Always keep your head down as if the seniors were gods!
Learn the art of ragging well. Next year, you'll be on the other side!
Save all your anger for the next year!
Ah yes?. Ragging!
Don't the freshers look like'murgaas' waiting to be slaughtered! It gives immense happiness to see those scared faces particularly when you give them that monster look of yours!(Grr?. I'll have you for dinner, baby!) I never felt so cruel in my life!
Whatever side you may be on, ragging ends up in a good rapport between seniors and juniors, if it's healthy! Enjoy it!
The chat sessions
Another thing that comes to mind when I think of my glorious hostel days are the never-ending gossip sessions.dunno from where we got all that energy to babble all night!(Was it the'not so good and healthy' mess food!)
From crushes to affairs, boys, movies, music, well, I can't think of anything under the sun(apart from our books!) that we didn't chatter about. Again, from warden to principal, and from some dumb seniors to some over smart juniors, there's no one we didn't bit*h about!
Such sessions are very informative; involve yourself a lot in these! They provide you with news hotter than any news channel!
Mess(y) food: Even though the food wasn't that enjoyable, I never had so much fun while eating as in that mess. When you enter the mess in the lunchtime after those long boring lectures, the food tastes heavenly.
So, if u guys are finicky about food, a hostel mess is a must for you! It'll teach you to eat anything and everything!
Trinn trinn:Waiting for a call? Well, enter the long queue! It's the busiest telephone line you could ever see! You'll die to hear your name in the phone call! Hostel life does teach you to be patient!(What other choice do you have?)
If you see a gal whispering and blushing on the telephone, be sure that even if you put all hearing power just to hear what she's blabbering, you wont hear a word! I always wondered where the words vanished! Probably you gotta have some special vocal chords, or some special skills, which I could never learn! Obviously, she's talking to the love of her life!(Whos HE?) Eeee.if only I could hear one word!
The quarrels:One cannot sleep with the light on, other cant study with the light off(obviously!). You can imagine what the room is going to turn into?. a battlefield! Me? I got used to sleep whatever the condition may be! I don't even care if you shout on the top of your voice; I would still sleep like a baby!
So you see guyz, you learn to fight for your'rights'!(right to sleep, right to study, etc) and also, you learn to keep away from them! To cut a long story short, hostel life actually teaches you what we call'adjustment'.
Caring and sharing:Remember when you were at home, and fell sick, mom would do anything to make to feel better. There's no mom in the hostel! But, you have friends for rescue. They really take care of you(Although, when you get well the fight on'light' continues!)
Sharing? Yeah, you'll learn to share your favorite perfume, makeup and dresses too! I know its kind of tough, but then you also get to use all those brands you always wanted to! So, give but don't forget to take!;-)
Do I look naughty?: Breaking rules and making your own! It does get you into trouble sometimes, but if done carefully and harmlessly, it's a pleasure a hostel life offers you! Explore the'naughty one' in you!
Breaking into the mess kitchen at night to grab(actually steal!) some potatoes and onions, locking up the warden in her room(for which I was a prime suspect, but it's a mystery who did it!), locking a fellow in the bathroom, bunk lectures and sleep in the room and ask your roommate to put a lock from outside(who wants to get caught if the warden decides to take a round!), I could go on listing such escapades without an end! Its good to be naughty sometimes.
Oh.exam time: The mere mention of it makes me feel sick! A very excruciating yet interesting period. Gals in the hostel go crazy during these days. You would find them sitting and cramming the books at all unimaginable places. Staircases, which lead to the locked terrace, a corner in the mess, in the middle of the ground, under a tree.gawd!
They carry a shabby, pathetic look as if all the good in their life has come to an end! Most of them skip their meals. Some(like me) find an opportunity here and have their share of the sweet dish!
Well well.Don't take exams so seriously!
Oh no?. Result time:Scary time! I can't ever forget the look on those faces(including mine!). How much I hate results!
The only time I really prayed to god.'Bhagwan is baar paas kara do, next year pakka padhai karoongi'!
Somehow this prayer always worked for me and I never studied like the way I promised I would!
It's a time of mixed emotions, sometimes you never really know how to react like when you pass and your roommate flunks!
You can't even shout of happiness while the other one is screaming and crying!
There are a number of such things about hostel life, which I find impossible to put in words here!
In a nutshell, hostel life is a wonderful experience. Living, laughing, crying, mischief, silly quarrels, caring, sharing.doing everything together teaches you a lot of co-ordination in life, gives you friends that stay with you forever and memories to cherish!
Cheers,
Senorita.
