First Days

The red building with its bold white letters always brought to mind so many questions.. What was it like to be a student of the IIT-D of the humanities world? What was it like to walk those corridors, to be instructed by the best faculty?

Cut to Admission Day-1. After wandering in colleges submitting forms, confused and frustrated(yes yes, the Orientation Day spoof was pretty accurate) my admission process required very little effort on my part. It was the product of joint endeavor of at least 6 seniors. A yellow printed-paper finally declared that I belonged. Admit one, for my parents were no longer allowed in to watch their child’s progress. And so, I flew away.

Orientation Day changed my life. MG ma'am’s inspirational speech, made me feel as though I had just travelled to Antarctica barefoot! The department orientation was just as awe-inspiring.

LSR’s best feature? It’s a ‘No boys Zone’!! I was a part of a completely matrilineal society (and the women here are as mighty as the Amazonians).After 14 years in a sexist school(no names mentioned) this was heaven! No dominance, just inter-dependence and co-operation. The college was clean, attention was paid to every small detail-the ID card was so pretty!!(have you seen NSIT’S? It’s a piece of green cardboard with their names on it). Chic! It was ‘ok’ to come to college in pajamas, the gym was always empty and parents trusted us again!

So I see so many changes in me! A staunch dog person, I befriended the café (i finally got it right) cats. I went one a trip and did not fight with a single person and actually made female friends. Always a first time eh?

Academic life began. Searching for empty classrooms and late teachers became the morning routine. Every bit of writing had to be looked at with the feminist-lens. New phrases entered my ears and the dictionary was rendered useless by the lack of detailed explanations. Teachers were called by initials and the only way to differentiate between a student and a teacher was the telltale register(use bhi chod dete) !I began attending seminars and talks organized by other departments (yeah, they made sense to me) and enrolled for Russian classes.

The thought of joining college societies was intimidating and after hesitating long enough, I joined a fair few. Work is strenuous and just as rewarding.

Department Freshers’ and the Trip made me forge new bonds and I came to the conclusion that the biggest contributor to making my “fachcha” experience so wonderful was a band of merry (wo)men- The seniors! You came up with fantastic themes for the Freshers’ and the Interaction and continue to help us in so many ways. Can’t imagine LSR without you (sob sob).

The biggest advantage of being an ELSA? At the Hansraj College's Freshers, bouncers were employed to keep gatecrashers like me out. IDs were being checked and all people could do was rattle the gate. No, I didn’t try to sneak in. I just pulled out my ID card and held it up. One look at it and I was ushered in, no questions asked!