Away from home...

It was probably the longest summer night I'd ever seen. Beside me was a stranger, fast asleep. Little did I know him, little did I know the place. It was 11:00 at night and I felt the urge to use the washroom. As I walked out of my tiny room, the stranger in my room acknowledged. At the corner of the floor was a small compound washroom complex consisting of several labeled doors and washbasins.

Earlier this day, I had seen the college campus as a whole with my parents. We had been through the classrooms and sports facilities without any students. The place seemed to be dull and lifeless. Several questions haunted my mind, " Am I here because I didn't study enough to clear any of the entrance exams? ", "Did I make the right choice?".

 Soon enough with all these thoughts in mind, it was morning. I formally wished my roommate good morning, and walked through the same passage where I had ventured last night, but this time with my roommate. As we finished brushing, I decided to strike a conversation with him.

My roomie was from a rustic but humble background. Initially, my mind was fully prepared and wanting to find out the procedure to change rooms.

I called my parents, told them. Worries passed onto them. They contacted the warden, wrote a mail to him, requesting a change of room.

Meanwhile, I started talking to my roomie, since I had no escape, but to get to know the person living in the same room as me. His father was a truck driver and he was the only boy in his family accompanied by four sisters. He had taken a drop year to study for JEE in Kota. I gained respect for him and felt the luxurious life I had been living so far. 

Soon enough it became clear that exchanging of rooms was not happening anytime soon and I too was mentally prepared to be with it.

And then, it was 'unboxing time'. We set up the room's curtains and made sure both of us had a key to the room. The classes were yet to begin and I had to find a way to keep myself occupied for the next 3-4 days.

And then, it was time for my first visit to the mess. My roommate and a guy next door accompanied me. Honestly, I was quite impressed by the variety and quality of food available. Roomie-man wasn't really taking any of the experiences by surprise, he had already spent a year in a hostel while studying for JEE.

Every normal action at home was now a question. "Should I unpack and use my laptop?" "or will it appear like me showing off an expensive laptop?", "Should I lock my cupboard?", "Or would it make bring about a feeling of distrust between me and the roommate?". 

Throughout the thought process was my father's assurance on phone-"It'll take some time initially, and you find your own ways..."

Finally, the evening seemed to call out people from their rooms to the sports complex. To my surprise, I found a hell-lot of people in the gym, all equally enthusiastic. Lots of people were out to explore what all facilities the college had. Eventually, this excitement calmed down, and people were back in their rooms, video-calling their family members.

Things started to fall in place for most of the people, while I was still in a dilemma, whether to stay in this college or change to another college, where I had been offered admission. 

......And it was the first academic day. A WhatsApp group of nearly 300 students was created and messages started to roll. Among the messages, one image shared was the timetable. One glance was enough to tell how tiring and interesting the day could be.

The hostel rooms seemed to have sprung into life that particular day. At 7:00 in the morning, there was a queue for each bathroom door. 

Right after a heavy breakfast, I settled into the lecture hall, after scanning the room for a seat next to the person I would like to get acquainted with. Three amazing lectures were followed by three tutorial classes that had only 30 students per batch. By the end of all this, it was 5:30, just the time when snacks are served in the mess. Having absorbed a lot of information, I decided to hit the gym (trying to follow 'The ideal schedule' that should've also included some time for study).....and it was time to sleep.

Days began to blur into one. New friends, new places, new experiences. Every day had something special to offer, to teach, to enrich. 

Eventually, I and my roommate separated tracks, we just happened to sleep in the same room and have transactional conversations. Did I mention, I'm a resident of room no. 421! I started spending maximum time in others' rooms. In 419, lives a guitarist-gamer-sportsman paired with a nerd south Indie. He has been kind enough to allow me to use his guitar in my room whenever I felt like playing it.

449 became my favorite room on the floor. Inhabited by one fellow from Shimla, and one from Gwalior. The sweetest green apples come from Shimla!

While all of us are away from home, we try to eat healthy food, whenever possible. Fruits come at the top priority. Whenever any of us leaves college for any reason, as a rule we must enter with a box full of fruits.

Feeling homesick was now a natural feeling. Around my birthday, this feeling was at its climax. I couldn't resist  telling  one of my friends that tomorrow was my birthday. 

I was inside my cozy blanket, swiping through family pictures on my phone, remembering parents and friends....and BAM.

Really nice of them to plan a tiny celebration. When you're away from home, such tiny moments of happiness count.

Since then, I've started to live the real juice of my hostel life. Every time I walk into my room, I find my roommate and others in the same boat. Watching movies, studying, celebrating, bunking classes, playing pranks, everything happens together. It is more like a 30 BHK house. Every room has different people, different stories, and different energies. 

There are times when I find something missing in my room, and I just know which room I would find it in! It's like the day I bought an electric kettle, there was a telepathic announcement on the floor -"The fourth floor now has an electric kettle".

Among us, there were a few who did break the bro-code and were no longer single :P With the introduction of a 'girlfriend' in one's life, there's an exponential decay in time spent with friends. At a given time, you can either have a girlfriend or have real friends. Unfortunately, I happened to be among those who broke the bro code (short-lived code-break🙃). But hey! that is for another time :)

Everyone I meet these days, says, that I changed quite a bit since we last met.

Let's hope the 4 years ahead remain as fruitful as life has been so far.

Let the music play!