MUSINGS OF A LOST SOUL--

STATUTORY WARNING:
Anyone who has spent his/her entire time mugging mindless stuff in a college is forewarned about reading the following material. It can really prove hazardous. And yes, I really mean it! And no blame should be attached to me for any unwanted results that may follow on account of your unwarranted indiscretion and pretension of false bravado.

A day in life of a jobless engg student:
For it is an observation of a guy who has almost completed his 4 years in an engineering college pondering over the question, “WHAT AM I DOING HERE?”, again and again and never has he been able to find any answer to the aforesaid question. His quest for even a little bit of info on his query has been relentless and at times have been provided with certain responses, which, to say the least , have been nothing short of being hysterical and some others that even casually tend to question his very existence. In fact, I should never have affixed jobless before engineering student because it is an accepted fact that most of us have nothing else to do in our life than to just go through the daily grind of being in a college because we were condemned to do so.
DAYBREAK:
Attendance is such a major issue here that even insomniacs, which, most of the guys here turn out to be in due course of time, pull up their socks and manage to turn up for their classes, despite the humongous adversities that they have to face here in course of their existence. Kudos to these brave souls! The daybreak, as people prefer to call here, of an ordinary student here happens at most half an hour before the actual class schedule, which, in some cases can happen even at the scheduled time. Then there is the perennial battle for reaching the classes in time, which, incidentally ends up in a losing cause more often than not, much to our joy and, unfortunately, to great consternation for the hapless prof. But, again, a word of caution. Yes he is hapless, but, only till he allows us to enter the class. But it only takes a shake of his head or, in some cases, a complete indifference to our repeated pleas and we never lose a moment to turn him into a villain. People turn back, heading to the canteen with curses in their minds and expletives on their lips, though muted in front of him but, quite loud and imaginative in nature when he is not in sight. Though it is altogether a different matter that some of them somehow even manage to be late for the next class as well!! But again, if he allows us to enter the class, which, often is the case then an altogether new struggle begins.

HOW TO SPEND TIME IN HIS CLASS?
If the prof is strict, then this task becomes all the more difficult. As always, there are numerous ways to solve this problem. The best is to study and seriously follow what he says. Sorry guys, don’t fret , I was just trying to be humorous ;)
Enjoying the outside scenery is one of the best options but, there is a catch. How often the blooming flowers appear is not in anybody’s control. One has to be on the constant lookout for even a trace and hope that luck is on your side. But, sooner or later, one gets bored and in the process finds new ways to spend time. SMSing, browsing net on one’s handsets and of course, gossiping are some of the other ways in vogue. Somehow, someway one always manages to find topics for gossip. Indulge in that and the period gets over in a jiffy.
But, above all, there is a time tested method that has the potential to come in handy for your entire life. Sleeping with your eyes split wide open, in my opinion, is the best way and coming from a man who has been a leading exponent of this art for so long, be rest assured, this will never fail you. Provided, that you are relentless in its practice. Your body is there, in its most attentive posture, in front of the speaker but to your great joy, your mind is free to wander wherever it wants. You can build castles in the air, fulfill all your ambitions and get to be a champ! Where else do you get to fulfill so many of your desires without even making a semblance of any physical effort? A truly enlightening and enchanting experience! The only prerequisite to experiencing such unhindered joy is to close your ears to those envious souls, who blinded by jealousy condemn this wonderful talent as heresy and love to slander it with titles such as ‘daydreaming’, ‘absentmindedness’ etc etc. One has to be really strong-hearted to prevent oneself from falling prey to the devious designs of such lunatics.

Of course, in between you have a periodic intervention called lunch which, over a period of time becomes more of a ritual than a time to unwind, just a routine part of the grind.


EVENING:
The best part the day is the very moment the classes get over. What a relief! Some head straight to the joint, have a quick fag while haggling over the day’s events amongst themselves. Then comes the most interesting part of the day. Except for a few dedicated souls rest always find time to loiter around in the campus till girls are around. I really need to make two points clear at this juncture. By dedicated I’m referring to guys who are dedicated to such so called frivolities of life as gaming, movies and the most common one, sleeping. Nothing else matters to these dedicated fellows once they have realized their sole purpose of existence here and their dedication is unmatched. Coming to the topic of girls, not every guy walks around the campus with them but a large number of them indulge in an ever-thriving form of art called ‘bird watching’. Requiring no previous practice, all one needs to be guided by any well acclaimed expert as to where one can find good species in large numbers. Add to that liberal doses of unabashed male bravado and suddenly you metamorphose into a self professed expert. But the bubble bursts soon enough and you somehow manage to drag yourselves back to the hostel. Pockets empty, and you are left with no other choice but to undergo the process of dining in hostel mess. Cribbing about everything, you somehow enter the mess but the sight of the same drab mess food leaves you with a sudden desire to run out of sight. More often than not you give in to your impulse and depending on the state of your finances and the time of the month you begin to examine various options. Besides, one has to keep in mind the weekend expenses and the days which turn into nightmares if you are idiotic enough to eat in the mess on those days.

THE DAY BEGINS:
Yes, the universal truth! When the whole world goes to sleep, the day begins for us. For, we are the creatures of the dark!! Its ok yaar, I’ll stop exaggerating. But it is an accepted fact that for engineering students of all species, nerds and also-rans alike, the day begins at the same time. Only their nature of work differs. But not every man can be a sage. Isn’t it? Gaming and watching movies, seasons and some other ‘stuff’ seem to be the most common activities during this time. But, of course there are some adventurous souls, who never miss an opportunity to get high and for them every night is a big party. There are periodic interventions in the name of exams, but more about it later on. For, the art of passing exams with just one night of preparation is an epic in itself!

PS: there’s more to life than just books. But what can you do when this ‘more’ becomes ‘too much’ and you fail to strike a balance between fun and getting education?
I’ve stopped thinking about it. My degree is almost over.