happiness and food

When Aseem tagged me on his post about his college days, I realized that it’s been good 4+ years since my last college days. Talking about the colleges and institutions I have studied from and hostels I have lived in, I am proud to say that the learnings from those days have been immense. When I look back, I realize I have so many stories to share, so many experiences to reflect upon, some great friends that I made and of course the confidence and belief in my own self just came along.

I was a 17 year old when I first stepped out of my comfort zone; my home. I had my share of disappointments at that time when I missed home cooked food, or the food at hostel was too spicy to eat, my inability to wash my clothes and the biggest of all was missing parents. I used to grow home sick every now and then. Those were the days there was no mobile phones and I remember standing in a line to grab a hold of the phone at the STD booth with cash in hand. The charges used to be exorbitant and it meant parting with the pocket money. But I survived!

From Varanasi to Noida to Nagpur, I realized  that my parents did the best thing by letting me explore the world on my own. Over a period of time, the crying stopped and the hostel food did not taste that bad. Friends became family and I started making my own decisions. I was responsible for my own self. I had the power in my hand to change my future. A better grade means a better opportunity and I tried my best to not disappoint either myself and my parents. The days in Noida were different. Weekend trips to Atta market for shopping or the newly opened Center Stage mall used to be the common thing among hostelers. A trip to Delhi meant visiting my relatives or a movie at the Pragati Maidan cos it came cheaper than the show at PVR. Noida was the place I started relishing paneer, dal makhni and rajma. With a strong influence of Punjab, the food at Noida was way different than the food at my home in UP. It used to be rich and spicy. Engineering days taught me how to survive on maggi and how much a heater helps to cook. It also taught me that it was okay to bunk some classes and to die to attend some. It was okay to study at the 11th hour yet stay calm. The 12am birthday parties and the preparatory leaves spent sleeping were also a part of those days.

Then I landed at  a college after 2.5 years of work experience. Compared to the rest of the batch, I felt out of place and older yet a group of lovely friends made the journey worthwhile. This college and hostel life was way different than the other. The case studies, finance jargons, late night number crunching on product pricing and what not stole the show. When I joined college after working, I used to go to the mess with money in hand. My friends used to remind me that college fee takes care of the food so I need not pay. I had troubles sorting out my wardrobe cos every morning I would dress up in formals to attend classes. I later realized that this was college. I was free to wear jeans even on weekdays. This college life had even fancier parties, sport events and inter college fests. When I fell sick, these friends who I thought were too young to understand things, cared for me more than any one else could. At a point in time, I knew they were my family.

Holi became a lot more colorful and birthdays used to be the best days ever. Late night visits to the canteen and a walk was super safe. I was away from family and VT, yet there was never a lonely moment. Smiles and happiness were all around and there was a hope for a future. We fought the heat of Nagpur with buckets filled with water in the room and the cold meant sleeping even more. So many memories and so many lessons learnt for the life ahead. Looking back today, I know that if I hadn’t stepped out of my home, I would never have this tale to tell and make you smile.

Those were my college days.

This post is my entry for ‘My College Diary’ contest held by travel blog My Yatra Diary in collaboration with Collegedunia.com. Since today is the last day of the contest, I am not tagging any of my blogger friends. 

It’s December and this is Post #6. I am feeling great after taking up NaBloPoMo (read all November posts here) last month and I look forward to challenging myself further. Your comments, feedback, likes and share make me feel you want to read more. Thank you readers!