It's been more than a week here now, and it's the first time since the last eleven days that I'm taking a breathe of relief. Literally PHEWW!
(I'll explain this part later, promise)
It was Tuesday morning when I set my foot on the campus and trust me when I say about the number of times I had second thought about the institution.
On my way here, as the bus proceeded towards the institute through the creaky mountain streets with mostly dense forest all around and sharp turns, the place looked dilapidated with nothing but just a couple of temporary shops and houses whose distance were surely kilometers apart. The more the bus ascended towards the mountains and the more of it I saw, I was filled with a strange fear. This scenario didn't match with the expectation of the college area I had in my mind. It was gonna be five years after all.
Yes! Mountains and trees are sure a beautiful thing but when you're to spend five years in a place with a dilapidated road with a space to pass just one vehicle at a time, yes, you too will start to have second thoughts about the place.
There was no turning back now I had already registered for the online procedure and had paid the non-refundable college amount for the first year.
I diverted my mind from the thought of the college and started enjoying the view of the mountains instead. The condition of the road was pathetic but then again you can't expect a super highway in between the mountains.
Fortunately I didn't throw up more than once. I reached Hamirpur bus stand, Himachal Pradesh, supposedly the closest bus stand to my college at around 6 in the morning. No wonder it was a small bus stand with a couple of shops and a few small hotels to stay. There was so less people around.
There was a bus screaming NIT Hamirpur at a near distance. I with my brother and our little luggage hopped in. In less than 5 minutes we were near the campus gate. There was a small tea stall there, and on the opposite side of the road a shoulder height boundary wall with a small opening without any gate. That was the NIT Hamirpur, Gate No - 02. A small opening between the short boundary wall without any actual gate, guards, or check point. My heart beats grew faster. I was strangled in the middle of a nowhere. That's a NIT Campus. Really!
We crossed the road and stepped in. There was a couple of marbled stairs that descended downwards and when you set your foot on them the first thing that catch your eyes are the marble engraving boring the statement "In the loving memory of Ashok Mehta, Civil Engg. 2004-2006", second step, "Naman Pathak, CS, 2009-11, You'll Be Remembered.", third step, Shubham Behl, M.arch, 2013, You're Still With Us" and so on.
I stood there blank. I looked at my brother, he stared back at me. I didn't say anything, he didn't either.
Then I raised my gaze. In front was something that left both of us jaw dropped. A beautiful building with a green sloppy roof stood there. As we moved our eyes there were more of them. One two three four... You couldn't count them. The view was blocked by a couple of trees. There stood a whole fortress midst this mountain. A Nescafe Shop (the first coffee shop I had seen in the area). A fine restaurant. A bank. An ATM. Movie posters, A stationary shop, A confectionary shop. And classy cars and motor bikes moving around the campus. It was for the first time that day that I realized that I was inside a NIT Campus. It was a whole different world across the shoulder height wall. It was type of a small town in here with all basic necessities inside the campus itself. Why, yes, it was 320 Acres campus. Hard to imagine in between the mountains and place of such type.
The roads inside ran criss cross with lot of ups and downs, trees and buildings were in a such a fashion that the entire area looked planned unlike the mess outside the campus. The buildings had roofs shaped like inverted V placed in a line and painted green. The gardens around the blocks had colourful flowers that added to the aesthetic beauty of the place. I didn't have much trouble finding the admission department. After completing all the formalities I was handed the hostel keys. Kailash Boys Hostel, room number E-109. I headed for the hostel, yet another moment of surprise. It was magnanimous. They say they'd around 6-8 more of them for the other year students of different faculty. This one was exclusively meant for the first year students. It was triple sharing room, that's the only type of room they provide with. My room was dusty, the other two roomies hadn't come yet. I kept my belongings in the room and went out to get myself a blanket and pillows (Yes, that's available inside the campus itself). I helped myself to a few other things. I made myself comfortable to the room and settled properly in the next few hours. And had a looooooooooooong sleep. Real long.
(I'll explain this part later, promise)
It was Tuesday morning when I set my foot on the campus and trust me when I say about the number of times I had second thought about the institution.
On my way here, as the bus proceeded towards the institute through the creaky mountain streets with mostly dense forest all around and sharp turns, the place looked dilapidated with nothing but just a couple of temporary shops and houses whose distance were surely kilometers apart. The more the bus ascended towards the mountains and the more of it I saw, I was filled with a strange fear. This scenario didn't match with the expectation of the college area I had in my mind. It was gonna be five years after all.
Yes! Mountains and trees are sure a beautiful thing but when you're to spend five years in a place with a dilapidated road with a space to pass just one vehicle at a time, yes, you too will start to have second thoughts about the place.
There was no turning back now I had already registered for the online procedure and had paid the non-refundable college amount for the first year.
I diverted my mind from the thought of the college and started enjoying the view of the mountains instead. The condition of the road was pathetic but then again you can't expect a super highway in between the mountains.
Fortunately I didn't throw up more than once. I reached Hamirpur bus stand, Himachal Pradesh, supposedly the closest bus stand to my college at around 6 in the morning. No wonder it was a small bus stand with a couple of shops and a few small hotels to stay. There was so less people around.
There was a bus screaming NIT Hamirpur at a near distance. I with my brother and our little luggage hopped in. In less than 5 minutes we were near the campus gate. There was a small tea stall there, and on the opposite side of the road a shoulder height boundary wall with a small opening without any gate. That was the NIT Hamirpur, Gate No - 02. A small opening between the short boundary wall without any actual gate, guards, or check point. My heart beats grew faster. I was strangled in the middle of a nowhere. That's a NIT Campus. Really!
We crossed the road and stepped in. There was a couple of marbled stairs that descended downwards and when you set your foot on them the first thing that catch your eyes are the marble engraving boring the statement "In the loving memory of Ashok Mehta, Civil Engg. 2004-2006", second step, "Naman Pathak, CS, 2009-11, You'll Be Remembered.", third step, Shubham Behl, M.arch, 2013, You're Still With Us" and so on.
I stood there blank. I looked at my brother, he stared back at me. I didn't say anything, he didn't either.
Then I raised my gaze. In front was something that left both of us jaw dropped. A beautiful building with a green sloppy roof stood there. As we moved our eyes there were more of them. One two three four... You couldn't count them. The view was blocked by a couple of trees. There stood a whole fortress midst this mountain. A Nescafe Shop (the first coffee shop I had seen in the area). A fine restaurant. A bank. An ATM. Movie posters, A stationary shop, A confectionary shop. And classy cars and motor bikes moving around the campus. It was for the first time that day that I realized that I was inside a NIT Campus. It was a whole different world across the shoulder height wall. It was type of a small town in here with all basic necessities inside the campus itself. Why, yes, it was 320 Acres campus. Hard to imagine in between the mountains and place of such type.
The roads inside ran criss cross with lot of ups and downs, trees and buildings were in a such a fashion that the entire area looked planned unlike the mess outside the campus. The buildings had roofs shaped like inverted V placed in a line and painted green. The gardens around the blocks had colourful flowers that added to the aesthetic beauty of the place. I didn't have much trouble finding the admission department. After completing all the formalities I was handed the hostel keys. Kailash Boys Hostel, room number E-109. I headed for the hostel, yet another moment of surprise. It was magnanimous. They say they'd around 6-8 more of them for the other year students of different faculty. This one was exclusively meant for the first year students. It was triple sharing room, that's the only type of room they provide with. My room was dusty, the other two roomies hadn't come yet. I kept my belongings in the room and went out to get myself a blanket and pillows (Yes, that's available inside the campus itself). I helped myself to a few other things. I made myself comfortable to the room and settled properly in the next few hours. And had a looooooooooooong sleep. Real long.
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