“Hey Les go 4 brekfst,it’s already too late, els tom ll screw us”…I was just coming out of my sweet morning dreams when I saw this SMS. Without understanding the message, I saw the details. Sender: Nithin, sent at 08:55:36. Suddenly I called him up and made him to realize that we are not JCE students anymore! He was stunned by my call as I woke him up because he was messaging in sleep only and was thinking that we are in Mysore still!! After having a longer conversation about this and that, my mind went back to those primary steps of engineering life which cannot be forgotten.
Those were the days when we opted our choice of course and came down with high hopes to the city of palaces. First and last thing I hated in Mysore was the food. The mess people were preparing colorful breakfast everyday like oil rich pooris, dosas like an iron sheet etc. After some days it was the best food we could get around. The daily expenses had an regular entry for “tablets for stomach upset” :-D.
It will be my biggest mistake if I don’t mention about our first home in Mysore. Instead of calling it as home, it will be fine if I call that as godown. The floor was always hard with dust and many many ants were my regular guests. The surroundings were full of autos with lot of noise as it was in the main road side. Every morning when I wake up and open the window, I could see the same thing in the same place. Don’t think that it’s a temple with god. It was the meat shop with hanging many dead animals. The owner was a young old man with always telling “Devru Olledu Maadli”. Later we came to know that it was the part of his business too as he was running a cloth shop. I bet I can show you the same set in the same place in his shop even today. Such a good business was there !!
The classes were interesting in the beginning until we came to know the real meaning of engineering. But making so much of friends from many places, visiting all the canteens inside the campus, bird watching, hanging around in Mysore paying money for not switching off the cell inside the palace, fighting with the owner, late night conversations, seniors’ advise(?), silly fights, thrown out of the internals cannot be forgotten forever.
The first year was like a new era. We could not realize how fast it got past. Also I could finish it without getting ragged. Within a blink we entered our respective branches with different classrooms, different classmates. There was a kind of groupism in the beginning but later we were together as a class. The bond between the classmates grew stronger thanks to the class trip to wayanad. Then came the exams, results as usual. I lost all the hopes when I could not succeed in the first lab of the first yr in ECE. But later everything went in my way luckily.
Then came the 4th semester when the class was full of fun, comments from last bench, dreaming in the class, messaging inside about lecturers, first bench students, daily gossips, linkups, misunderstandings, chit chats was our everyday routine. At the end it was one more footstep towards destiny. Somewhere, somewhat we were enjoying in our own world.
As we stepped into the new year, we stepped into the new “house” too. But the owner was very strict and can’t forget getting caught while dancing on the terrace for birthday celebration and jumping from one house to the other.
The next year was really the ultimate part of my engg life. Madhu got an idea to do a mini project for future help(?). With full interest in the beginning all of us involved ourselves in it. Our guide was so good that we were doing soldering work in his antic lab and most part of the time was spent in the supermarket nearby. The thing which could be completed within 2 months is still under progress with more expense for eating than for the equipments. The classes were really boring like anything and we could hardly take 10 minutes to sleep. Except that, we enjoyed a lot going for so many roadtrips, window shopping in the city, evening beats all over Mysore, couple of movies. keeping nicknames as usual. This was the year where the mangaloreans in the class formed a group ignoring lots of comments from many. Can’t forget discussion on cricinfo with prajwal and our 10 day spirit for playing shuttle. The ece fest decibel was really amazing with going for rehersal everyday ending up talking something rubbish.
At the end we were getting a small taste of placements, not in a very serious note though.With no preparation I could enter into the final round of the first company visited to the college. But luck did not favour me or I did not perform well till the end. After that still waiting for a similar opportunity but couldn’t reach till there still. There are so many moments where I really hated my subject to the core, couple of times I had an affection towards that like anything.
It'd be really unfair if i don't mention about the classic bet between Nithin+Me and Roshan. After getting a week of big gap for last two exams, we went on a ride to city in the chilly evening. After purchasing something,in the cold we were passing by kukkarahalli lake when nithin just told me to join him to go to the lake the next day, i told "OK, we will go at 5.30"!! For being much smarter without keeping quite, Roshan offered to give us treat if we do so. Within a blink we agreed and a long discussion went on in the room late night. after writing an agreement and taking its snaps, we set a bet of taking 60 bucks from him and giving 30 if we fail. Next morning a series of alarms woke us up and we were out of the gate at exactly 5.28. even after giving a series of missed calls to him, he did not come out giving reason of headache(Its common,everyone will get headache if he looses money in the early morning).After all this drama he gaye us half of the money he had assured (Roshan, R u listening?? :-))
In between all these, I collected a bagfull of friends couple of them are too close, couple of them are trustworthy, some more who just show off, but besides all these these 4 years are like the golden moments. When I was going in the wrong path they have dragged me out of hell. When I succeeded they have enjoyed a lot too. Though we depart in less than 6 months, somewhere around the mind, Kupla’s hwapva, pai’s bleach, Gauthe’s sleep walk, Deepe’s filmy talks, Angadi’s stomach, Gaja’s Jingchak life, Balgi’s Levi’s, Raju’s rules, Ajja’s chickens, Pijja's daani,birthday bumps, hunting around on fresher’s day, trying to look like a senior etc will be running forever for the lifetime. ;-)
