One fine morning I filled up the form for admission in COEP. This was the only college on earth where I wanted admission.
[Nah.. not because of its 100% placements and ranking.. it least bothered me then ( and even now !)]
So it was just one shot one form for only one college.
Then came the day of admission....
I still remember the "first feel of COEP's environment". Just same as Hogwarts !
Pretty astonished by the grandeur and magic, I was stunned. The "aww..." look on my face was very much visible.
Well finally my admission was confirmed and I started packing up for Pune !
Day one - THE orientation program !
Clad in so called "Pune style" and with tremendous zeal in heart we all roommates (with family :P) (like everyone else) went to attend the orientation by The Director Sir and HODs. We literally listened each and every word by them with total dedication. (And I am sure everyone had decided to get 10 pointer in coming years and blah blah.. :D :D) When Director sir said that "You cannot compare apples with oranges" there were exchanges of sights by EnTC guys and Metallurgy guys. :P ;)
Then came THE GREAT MAIN HALL (where we had high-tea).
What a masterpiece of Civil Engineering and Architecture it is ! It just stole my heart in a moment. We all the freshers were in the hurry to check our divisions and roll numbers, but none could ignore this beauty.
Well after that normal routine started with lectures, classroom bunks, journal completions, masti and most important "exams...."! The vicious cycle of T1, T2, mid sem and end sem lasted for four years.
But don't know how the another virtuous cycle of personality development started at the back of mind. Various extra curricular activities, clubs and most importantly, friends taught me “the life”. I started to understand Real meanings of adjustment, friendship, hard work, team work, fun and what not. We all were changing....the initial hatred for boat club's dirt and foul smell got converted to doubtless fondness credits to all the birthday celebrations and club meetings at boat club. The auditorium literally became second home (or hostel) during "Drama Practice" days in spite of its inconvenience and bed bugs.
What I found unhygienic in the start became best cafe house later only because all our group could enjoy in it. The quest for marks started finding pleasure in understanding Marx. Debates used to rock the room (especially while studying) and then followed by tasty night breakfast (usually unhealthy{?} Maggie ).
This all percolated deep within mind and made us "human" - A rare species. I hope we do not kill the human part within us in course of time. Today, when I saw the image of my Alma Mater celebrating 150 years, these all memories resurfaced ! I want to thank COEP for whatever gifts she has bestowed upon me.. ! Grateful for lifetime :)
