Home away from home: A Potpourri of Memories #11

**An ode to my Alma mater, Amrita School of Business(ASB)...The time when every day was a celebration, our college days...Here is an attempt to revisit those fond memories...

Home away from home

          A day in the hostel starts thus: The alarm goes off at 6:00 am. After a lot of contemplation I finally wake up to the see the sun shining brightly through the misty ‘elephant mountains'. At Amrita, this is one of the things I fell in love with first.  

If my friend Jai comes around, we go for a morning walk. Else I sift through the day’s Times of India, sipping a steaming cup of tea. A bit more lazing around later and listening to the wonderful medley of songs that my balcony mate chimby puts together, I head for a shower where the bathroom singers in us come alive. Mostly it will be kutty, chimbi and myself.

After everything, if we have the luxury of time, we head to the mess hall to have some breakfast else we run to the ASB canteen to grab a cup of tea and then to the class.

After the morning session, our hostel, Gautama Bhavan beckons for an afternoon siesta. It’s 5 o clock and there is chatter in the corridor. The evening tea and snacks have arrived. We march towards the road side pavements with our precious little cup of tea. After the evening routine, we come back to the hostel for dinner. It is just an excuse for the night canteen coffee. We sit on the corridor in front of some unfortunate M.tech guy’s room and will go on chattering about nothing (mostly k7 holding court with Kris, Rb, Vikku n Me listening intently J ) that matters, yet great fun J J.

Then everyone goes to their own rooms but me. I head towards the C Block, my room being in E block. Then we spend a lot of time playing pranks on each other. My turph in C block being Suddu, Gilma  and GP’s room. It goes on till late night. It is then that we give suddu a mild heart attack from behind the doors  and do a bit of vaasthu arrangement in Gilma’s room, , the long ‘small talks’ with GP ,Surya ,Mill and yes, Guptaji and viswas’ fun antiques.

Aditya says he knows it’s exam time when he sees me there as that is when I go to viku’s room. I also find this compulsive urge to switch off the light (from outside) of Sharan’s room when he is not inside and at times, when he is inside too J . I must thank the C block a lot for many a hearty laughs.

Hostel life will be incomplete without the birthday celebrations(the cake that flies around, the hugs n the bashing up, the running around...), the Cola* parties, the stolen puff of a smoke, the smuggled in buffets, the list goes on and on... :)

The clock strikes 2 AM and I decide to call it a day. I move on to the first floor cooler for some hot water. I look out to the expanse of the elephant mountains from the first floor balcony and head to my beloved E112.

*Cola drinking is injurious to health ;)

# Hostel will remind me of Phani daaru. Whenever we meet, he tells me his room number indirectly reminding me of the promise I made to him about sweets from home. And I did get him those sweets although on the very last day of stay at hostel.

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The Courtyard Lawn : http://praisesnbrickbats.blogspot.in/2012/05/courtyard-lawn.html

                                                                                                                                   Arun Babu.