Life-A Short Story#10

Enjoying those good old days

They say college is where you find yourself. College life is known as one of the most memorable years of one’s life. It is entirely different from school life. College life exposes us to new experiences and things that we were not familiar with earlier. For some people, college life means enjoying life to the fullest and partying hard.

One of the best things about college life is that you get a new experience every day. In my college life, along with studying, I and my friends enjoyed a lot of other things. We had new experiences and learned many new things.

I can’t forget those days when we all bunked our classes in college and went to watch movies in nearby movie halls. ’Sapna’ and ‘Paras’ were two movie halls near our college and we just walked there. Now the problem was, we were not allowed to reach home beyond 4 pm. Otherwise, my father got very angry and scolded me with long lectures. 

Morning classes in college were sometimes compulsory to attend and thrice a week we had our NCC parade in the morning hours also. Watching the movie was also a must so we thought of a trick.

One day we watched half movie on the morning show and the other day we watched the remaining half the movie on the noon show. We had to spend double the amount for that ticket but we were saved from that scolding at home. Even today when I tell my children about this trick they laugh. I have a different image now as a strict mother but those were my college days and I enjoyed them a lot without thinking much.

We had a south Indian professor Mr. Jagannathan. I still remember his face. He paid extra attention to me. Which was soon noticed by my friend’s gang. They started teasing me about it and said,” look he is here to teach all of us but he only looks at you and teaches you.” They laughed about it and I also enjoyed their gags. If I was absent from college for some reason, he would ask my friends’ gang, ”where is your gang leader today” or “why is your gang without your leader today.” It was just a fun topic for us. 

Some of the most fun memories of college are from “college canteen”. The canteen is supposed to be where most of the students satisfy their hunger and hang out with their friends.

The college canteen is one of the most happening places on campus. Of course, it is known for its savory food, but it is also the place where you make some of the best memories of your college life.

Let me share with you what happens in the college canteen.

Bhaiya aj kya bnaya hai:

The very first thing you ask your canteen wale bhaiya upon entering the canteen is the typical question: ‘what all is available today for eating?’. Carefully scrutinizing the food menu is the top priority of the students.

Contribute the amount to all:

When we found out that there was a lot of yummy stuff ready in the canteen, we ordered a few items and divided the bill among all of us. We were 10 girls and we could order whatever we liked.

You go and find the seat and we will order:

A few of us went to find the seats and remaining qued up to order the food because the queue was always long, so it took time and we had to attend our next lecture also. Time was limited and so much to buy and eat it also.

Smearing the cake on the face:

When we celebrated birthdays in the canteen, the birthday girl was smothered by the delicious cake in front of everyone and then we all got scolded by the cleaner of the canteen to make a mess on the canteen floor.

The other college canteen is better than us:

We were never satisfied with the food our canteen served us. We always tried to tell the canteen guy that his food sucks and the food of other college canteens is much better than his canteen.

Thus the college canteen had a special place in our hearts. Those gossip, some of the best random talks, and many more things just happened there only. Akhir vahi sab to yaad reh gaya na.( After all, that’s what we always remember)

After the canteen, it’s the “annual fest” of the colleges. college fest is an annual cultural event at a college or university organized by the student community, involving participants from other colleges as well.

Professional performing artists are also typically invited, and a number of competitions are held for students. Fests always filled the student’s life with excitement and buzz. It gave new opportunities to explore, compare, compete and provide a platform to showcase their talent. It became a place where students take lots of pictures and record their experiences.

During the college fest, where we explore the new sides of ourselves and make new friends from other faculties, get to know each other, and relax from long lectures. The college fest is usually three to four days with several events by the students themselves.

Last but not the least, it’s the college trips. One of the best things in college life is field trips where they can go out and have quality time with their friends and teacher and learning experience. Field trips or just any other college trips are filled with stories and dramas. Every student has their own story to tell about their college trips.

There were many cultural events organized in our college like drama, dance, skits, and debate. I always took part in these extracurricular activities in school and worked on radio stations also, so I was on the top list of everything that was happening in my college. Till today music and dance are my passions and I enjoy singing old Hindi songs. 

In college functions, I was the first one to be called for participating in debates as my voice was clear and I spoke in a way that influenced everyone. Taking part in everything made me popular in college and I enjoyed it when I got so much attention from everyone and everywhere.

College life is the golden period of life because it makes one stronger, more serious, and independent. At school one is bound to live and decide according to their parents or teachers but at college, one makes his or her own decisions and starts fighting his own battle.

Most of the students reaching college feel free and enjoy the freedom of choice. Even if the teacher-student relationship becomes informal, teachers treat students friendly and let students enjoy free will and decide better for their future.

We should enjoy our college days as they cannot be brought back just like our school days. 

We were there for a good time, not a long time. All of us knew that.

College was the best time of my life because it gave me enough freedom as an adult without all the responsibilities of an adult.

Those college days are unforgettable for me. I still laugh with my family talking about those little things. I was very happy with my life until a kundali dosha turned my life upside down.

My parents decided to get me married because of that kundali dosha.