Prolixity is alien for the Indians. I would continue this legacy and will try to keep this short and crisp.
Well this is my story and experiences at my current place. At this place, we all fellow mates gathered because we chose hope over fear. Hope –hope of generating breakthrough ideas, hope of becoming successful CEOs some day. But looking at the present scenario, it looks that we will not be getting even a meagre amount out of this pie of hopes. We are now subjected to a greater fear, fear of not getting jobs, fear of a lifeless degree and this fear is haunting me. I joined this place to think like Ambani – “karlo duniya mutthi mein” and to do business like Tata – “Nano- the common man’s car”. But just like Nano, everything that I think I have to do is procrastinated due to one reason or the other.
The future greatly depends on what we do every day. Have a glance on that!!!
A day here begins generally at 9:30 AM and that too after snoozing the alarm for 3 to 4 times after which it becomes a compulsion to get up and get ready for the torture to follow (otherwise you will miss the breakfast which will force your mind to leave everything and focus on the fact that you missed it). The schedule begins at 10:15 AM and continues till 1:30 PM after which we all jump to take the food which even the animals refuse to eat (god forbids...no disregards for food...). During all these hours, we all give our fruitless efforts to control our sleeps. It’s again time to reach the psychic prison from which we get the freedom for the day at 5:30 PM after which the stomach says “Oh my dear!!! Please give me something edible and delicious to fulfil my hunger.” So we pay our daily visits to the canteen (I must admit, I have visited the canteen more than I ever visited a temple).
Back at our rooms now and time to start our ritual of playing cards....this is one thing we rarely miss. After lots of fights, cheatings, defeats and victories, it’s time for dinner and my stomach again says “Noooooooo” not again. But after analyzing the cash inventory and the balance sheet, my pocket says “Dude!!! Where else you can go??? Any smallest restaurant or better to say a “dhaba” empties your pocket to the tune of three times than what a good reputed restaurant of your home place can.” So no options for this poor soul but to have refreshment in the mess...So it is a hostile takeover of mental atrocities and physical ones...
“PrOmiSes” – some broken and rest unfulfilled
On the way from mess to my room, I try to strategise and plan what I have to do for the next day....some pre-reads, assignments, presentations, etc and try to manage time. This planning exercise is just like Edison’s 1000 failed experiments, all futile (though I hereby promise that I will not learn anything from my mistakes). I reach my room take the book in my hand and then again a dilemma....whether to sit on my chair or chose the easy route....bed. No prize money to be given in answering what I chose. I have just read 3 or 4 pages and guess what??? I find myself laying down completely on my bed in “shavasan” and then after I woke up after an hour and half, I regret that I should have chosen the thorny path.....the chair. It’s always about trade-offs. But then I try to console myself.....its still time and you can do it.
Then I start again and suddenly someone calls me and asks “Do you want to play cricket???” Now this is a lucrative offer....how can I refuse?? (Any resemblance with the Godfather dialogue is unintentional). So I promise myself that no matter what, I will just play for an hour and will come back by midnight. (God, I need to take the course on negotiation skills in the 2nd year). Trying to make a strategic alliance between cricket and studies. And this never happens. I play till 1:30 AM and then go to the tea shop thinking this will evade the clouds of sleep and dreams at once and then I can study longer. But that tea costs me another 30 minutes looking at who’s coming with whom and talking about useless issues. I then decide to return back to my room above all forces and then again make a promise that I will not sleep before completing the next day’s readings or assignments....I know this is a grandiose plan and will never be fulfilled but still this consoles my heart to some extent. And finally I sleep by 2:30 AM again making a promise that I will study in the morning. Impossible!!!!
I manage to reach the prison in time and again a surprise is waiting for me - A surprise quizzz!!!! Ohh man....had I studied the previous day, I would have done well in the quizzz....and again a promise that I will study from next day onwards!!! But in vain....next day is a new day...new schedule....new ways to pass time.....new sports either cricket of football or tennis.....”ki farak penda hai”...but same old promises and same old results.....and same resolutions at the end of the day. This is a vicious circle of promises and will never end.
