Looking Back. . .

After the birth of this blog, which happened in a hasty manner, it has taken me a whooping 568 days to visit it again! Personally, I am happy this happened at least now.

But now, not as earlier, there is a lot more to share. There are a lot of thoughts which I intend to put down here, but I am thoroughly biased towards a group of those, the ones which bring me, a profound sense of joy and tranquility, a recollection of those cherished memories of my college life. This post, I think is an easy way to relive those treasured moments.

Back in 2007, after my good scores in 12^th, and a long debate about the colleges and the courses I made up my mind to choose CSE @ CEG.

Rankings proclaimed CEG as one of the top ten colleges in the nation, back home my parents felt relieved, my neighbors patted my shoulders and said “Boy, you are gifted, you must have worked hard to get there”, My relatives were concerned if I could accommodate in a new city all by myself, My teachers advised “Its just the beginning, you have to work very hard to cope up there”, I had school, district and even state toppers in my counselling session. Entering college couldn’t have been more daunting for me. I wondered if I had made the right choice. I asked myself “Could I have chosen an easier option? “. Now that I had lived through it and emerged successfully, I must say there couldn’t have been a better option for me.

It had been a wonderful transition indeed. This institution has offered me a learning of a life time, chances to experiment myself, a stage for my skills, and of course, friendships for eternity. It has molded every one of us to face the world and has helped us secure a good career. Contrary to the claim, there was never any sort of pressure throughout my college life! In fact, this setting has made me perform better in many occasions.

8 semesters, innumerable assessments and labs, two IVs, fun filled Techofes, Agni, Abacus days, vibrant Kurukshetras, lively birthday treats, never ending movie outings, just for the sake CAT classes, tensed placement interviews. . . The list is unending. But among all these, I must admit, the best thing that ever happened to me at college was the hostel experience. Chuck out the bad food, no water, dingy rooms or mosquito troubles. It was just the perfect thing any student could have ever asked for. Friendship, Freedom and Fun: all of them in abundance. The late night to dawn “vetti kathais”, the chitchats at the news paper table, HPL at the backyard, TT and Carom to cheer us up, Night canteen and Tea anna for our refreshments, High voltage, hot and sweaty TV room, last minute “Pumping” and the subsequent “Rolling”, Movies, Music, Novels and above all the way we complemented each other. I fall short of words to explain my thoughts. . .It was a blessing indeed.

Taking refuge in college ATMs to escape Chennai’s scorching heat, Celebrating India’s world cup victory, after running mad on Kotturpuram road with A.V, Sethu, Sharan, Kathir and Arp…. shaking hands with total strangers on speeding cars, Ravi and me Flashing the college ID as the first response whenever stopped by a traffic sergeant, Fighting with a friend just because he didn’t support CSK!(Sorry da Vikash!), Ignoring the astounded look of the person in the canteen queue, when just 3 of us (Ajay, Kannan and me !) gave 14 tokens, 15 of us stuffing ourselves inside a share auto, Desperate tooth paste hunts in the wing, Hugging Arignar Anna for a photo, and a lot more them . . I wonder if I’d ever be able to live a life like this, wherein what I really cared for was, Nothing!

Now that I am in the beginning of an another long journey, I look forward to it with confidence and strength, which this institution has bestowed me with. These moments of joy which I have treasured here, are mine to keep. Some time in future when I take a walk down the memory lane, these memories will still remain ever green and joyful. Then apart from the commitments I have to keep and the deadlines I have to meet, a momentary pleasure of reliving this golden period will keep me going.