Notoriety of Third Semester

Here comes a post written way back in the fall vacation of 2006.


Admist a relaxing environment in the moderate climate of my hometown far from the freezing chill of Delhi winters, time is perfectly set for me to ponder upon the eventful 3rd semester with awe.

The transition from a much innocent first year student to a notorious second year senior was surely very rough. The much exhausted zeal after second semester was suitably rejuvenated during the long two and half month summer vacation and the conditions were absolutely set to go through yet another gruelling semester. But the unprecedented changes we were about to witness put us completely on a dubious track if not jeopardizing our academic stint at IIT. Unsettled by the new room environment and the solitude within would quickly remind us of the joyful moments that we shared so often with our roommates. Getting acquainted with the not so familiar faces in neighbouring rooms taxed much of the free time.And the innocuous
young faces of the freshers, completely perplexed about their immediate future in the hostel, in short the agony beckoning them made me reverberate with tingle. A nostalgic sensation erupted .......ah! time has passed so quickly!

Soon the definition of seniority was to be made clear to the new entrants. It was then that the infamous regime of second year began. While no fresher was spared from undergoing the 'introduction'- a social dogma at hostels , these activities just refused to die out. Quickly weeks passed by and the approaching minor I put a break on our indulgence in ODC and hostel activities. As usual minor came and went by only to leave a bunch of regrets. However nothing could dampen the spirit of the second year. The transition could be clearly seen in effect. Activities, T.V. series(for me it was the 'friends'), movies, games, useless discussions and every other forms of enjoyment gripped our minds. While many of us were keen in exploring the mysteries of late dark in the night the rest made the most of the precious little available time for hanging out, strolling through connoaught place, trying out cuisines at Green Park et cetera......life just seemed to cruise by. In the meantime the Reps became adept in compelling the freshers to get involved in inter hostel activities but the rest of us were not far behind in getting skilled in CS, NFS, AOE and all others. What was strikingly different from the first year was the sense of enjoyment that in general prevailed among us. Those scary tales of mal 124 and csl 201(for comp guys) indeed were buried in the sands of time. The semester courses were the last things on our minds. No academic hurdles, poor performances in quizzes, pressure of assignments could stifle this new found spirit and seniority. It was not long before Rendezvous fuelled this enthusiasm and saw us shoulder more responsibilities. Those three-four days saw us gasping for breath as we hardly had the time to attend the numerous events and satisfy our taste buds by the delectable food at the stalls. Not far away was the 'meteor' that was about to strike.

History repeated itself.....minor II came and passed......leaving behind trails of disasters. Our performance indeed validates the argument 'We learn from history that we never learn from history !'. The Diwali break surely came as a respite providing a much needed break from the absorbing life at IIT and spend some time with our family. A good time to contemplate our academic performances(blunders) and redraw future strategies for majors albeit nothing materialized. So Life was normal again. Not to last for long that the majors were approaching us at a much faster pace. Scrambling for clearing doubts, completing lab records, finishing assignments, queueing at photostat shop often marked these days. Finally the long majors were done with. Results yet to be awaited. While some people fled to homes the rest stayed for few days to re-ignite the died out fun. And of course the studious 'maggus' waited eagerly for their grades and earmarked a winter project for themselves. Well the end of the semester dawned upon us.The once lively wings on the floor wore a deserted look.........a golden silence......in preparation for life next semester.

G.K.Chaitanya
2nd Year