Saturday, August 27, 2005

Once upon an IC class...

It was a normal beginning to a normal day. The IC class started, and so did Shilpa: sleeping!! Not even one minute had passed by, of the very first class, but Shilpa was already off to her dreamland. She beat Chhedi to it, who joined her in a matter of minutes. Kaka in any case has sworn never to stay awake in any IC class! No wonder Kaki and Kaka are made for each other. With her hand supporting her chin, she kept dozing off, but not as explicitly as Kaka.

Sam looked very dazed, with uncombed hair, eyebrows raised, eyes wide open, trying to stay up, but unable to keep them open for more than 5 seconds at a time! Kudos to Rohit. He started sleeping after a full 30 minutes!! Rahul was a sight to see. His head supported by his hand, propped up on his elbow, he kept nodding in agreement to everything the Prof was saying, but with his eyes closed.

Even Noni, our IC stud, was finding it difficult to keep her eyes open. Atul joined the group soon with Hermy and Fifo. Arijit, bored of the class cuz he always knows everything, in fact much more than what is being discussed, decided to use his precious time more effectively by catching up on his beauty sleep.

Another sight was Kushagra: sitting at one end of the row, with his glasses in place, he was staring at the screen, albeit with his eyes closed!! Diptesh actually put his head down and slept off. Bas! As if the whole class was waiting for this! As soon as the lights were switched off, many people stopped pretending and put their head down to sleep peacefully and comfortably, including Kainchee, Lifty, and Ludo. Pondy Singh is good with camouflages. One look and you think his head is bent down, reading the text profusely. Look carefully: he is actually enjoying his trip to fantasyland! One of the most serious sleepers of the class is Mishti, who sleeps as if she is meditating or in some trance, in spite of the comical antics of the Prof!

The best part of it all was when I was writing all of this and the Prof Cold called me to explain the solution to a little problem he had written, but I had no clue about! I was too busy writing, and pretending to understand everything. Thank god that IC is based on logic, and I was able to give some arbit answer, that too all thanks to Fugga, who murmured some weird things behind the Prof’s back!

Long live (doze?) the D Company sleepers! D Company rocks!


Monday, August 22, 2005

Without you...(I)

Another day.
Another day has ended.
Without seeing your divine face,
Without my heart skipping a beat,
Without losing myself in a trance, listening to your sweet voice,
Without feeling the warmth of your breath on my neck,
Without the comfort of your touch.
Another day.

Another night.
Another night has come and gone.
Another night of solitude.
Of an empty bed, of going to sleep in my own arms.
Here I am, ending my day on a lonely note,
Wondering about my fortune, had you been here.
Yearning for you, wishing you were here,
Right here, right now.
Missing you desperately.
Pray tell me why do I love you so??

Thursday, August 11, 2005

T(he) NITE!!!

Time: 4 am
Place: CR 10
Situation: Dozens of students, poring over their work, books etc; working hard, racing their minds…

Is this an extra class?? Heck no! It’s T-Nite time folks!!

Now what is this T-Nite?? Is it some dinner party?
Actually no. It has nothing to do with food. Nor is it a single night.
T-Nite is that week of the PGP1 calendar when all sections get ready to face each other in competition, where the talent of the batch and the unity and bonding of the class are judged.

T-Nite at WIMWI is synonymous with enthusiasm, energy, sleeping in class and loads of fun. It is that time when all classmates get to know each other, something that they did not get enough time to do before. This is evident from the fact that till now many of us did not know the names/dorm names of many of our classmates, or had spoken to them for the first time. But it is never too late. The foundation for the bond which we would share over the next two years is laid during this very eventful week.

Apart from bringing people together, T-Nite also acts as a platform for students to display their talents, be it dancing, singing, mimicry, sketching, acting or simply velagiri!! There is a lot of fun, masti, jokes and nautanki going on at all times.

Typically, after classes, the section gets together and prepares for the upcoming performances and events, often until the wee hours of the morning. So it is not unusual to find people eating, drinking, studying and even sleeping in the classroom. They stay here all day, leaving only for meals, trips to the loo, sleeping, and of course to talk to their GFs/BFs in private!! Loads of coffee, tea and cigarettes are consumed in an effort to stay up as long as possible.

In spite of being well aware of the fact that the T-Nite takes so much of our time and effort, the professors are relentless. We have to keep up with studies and be prepared for surprise quizzes. So how do the students manage to keep up, given the hectic schedule? Once again the dynamics and synergy of the class come together. For each lecture, some students study the case beforehand and take remedial sessions for the benefit of the whole class. So no matter how hard the professors try to cold call, most students are well prepared for the classes. However nothing can be done to avoid the sleepless nights and the sleepy faces, droopy eyes, stifled yawns and falling heads in class the next day. So the students resort to poking sleeping neighbours and diverting the prof’s attention away from them or passing time by asking lotsa pointless questions! :)

T-nite also brings with it physical and mental exertion, loss of sleep and appetite which cause illnesses, disrupting the mood of celebration. But the euphoria of the event is such that the illnesses disappear as quickly as they arrived!!

But T-Nite is a package deal, with its goods and bads. Since it is all about competition, and sometimes it can get ugly. In a bid to outdo the others, sometimes people get carried away and pass remarks, or indulge in actions which provoke or hurt the sentiments of others. But such incidents, by and large are rare, with some amount of bantering accepted by all, in the spirit of celebration.

T-Nite is one event the PGP1s will remember throughout their course, rather throughout their lives. The friendships, relationships forged during this period last a long long time, and for some, a life time. Given the academic pressure at WIMWI, such activities really boost up the morale, enthusiasm energy and performance of the students, in addition to creating a more jovial environment. Each batch enjoys it as much as, if not more than, their seniors. Hope WIMWI continues with this tradition for all years to come!!

3 Cheers for T-Nite!!