My Manipal diaries are memorable beyond words and here I have still tried to do justice in some way to share it with you in this Manipal blog.
#manipal is not just a dream. It’s a compilation of many dreams. The best part is I’m living it. Tapan, you were right Manipal is indeed life. Though Manipal started of as my mums dream since she stepped here for a vice chancellors meet seven years ago. It all happened so fast that one moment I was exactly where I wanted to be in SMIT chasing my goals and once those were checked I was busy trying to make my way through MIT. The first time I walked into Manipal I was amazed by every bit of it, however it just added to my contemplation of whether I wanted to be in SMIT or MIT. Sikkim was beautiful but MIT was better and so on. I went back to SMIT, took my time until the second year ended and made the best decision of my life. Therefore I am being able to make this Manipal blog.
I had figured out that I wanted to go to MIT and I had started packing however I wasn’t sure they would take me in. So I spent that summer doing the study tour and making my trip alone in Japan. #Goodtimes
A week after the third year had begun in SMIT (No I wasn’t there), I was taking my chances at the Manipal college life. I came here with my parents and bags and #hoot they took me in! My Manipal diaries had finally begun.
—-
They tell me I was to be a part of some Section B and voila, I walked into Ab5 318 and one to be classmate told me, this was mechanical. I replied that I knew that and then he said that it was a third year class. Once again, I replied that I knew that too and followed that up with that this was section B. I replied the same, that I knew that too and as they wondered, took my seat like I did for the rest of my course – on the left side, the second row, the middle isle. I remember asking DevD if there were any girls in this class and he didn’t have a clue. So i continue to wait for the class to begin, I saw boys taking up theirs and yet there was no sign of any girl. I realised when the professor walked in that I was living the life my mum lived too – of being in the only girl in her class.
On the second day, I remember Vinayak asking me if I were one of the girls who’d go crying to the HOD for changing the class and complain about them, I replied hell no.
My initial conversations, as people now say that the most boring ones ;) were about joining different clubs and doing well. Unlike SMIT, my new classmates here themselves told me about the extra curriculars here and having missed out on them for all these years, that’s all that was on my mind.
So Team Manipal Racing, Editorial Board, the swim team, Papertree eventually happened during the last two years without any interviews. Indore was exciting with TMR winning its first ‘prize’ and so was the Zeitgeist and Castores launches.
I started making friends with my classmates, shared lunches at food court with them. I even headed back to classes and labs at Shashank and Sushrut’s pace. #Achievement.
All this while I made two other important friends Arohi and Priyanka, they lived across my room, they’ve been with me through thick and thin and they were Manipal diaries family.
IAESTE internship at Montenegro through my only Manipal summer was exciting. I published my first paper in Serbian language in a Serbian conference.
—-
The last year of my Manipal journal came along, so did the last semester with Section B. We had become one big family by then.
Slowly everyone started getting placed and then there was this first placement treat – the class party. It was the epic thing in this Manipal journal. No pictures, no souvenirs, nothing in this world can bring that day back.
So was the photo shoot day. Those pictures are something I will cherish for a lifetime. Post photoshoot dancing was memorable too.
More and more great times came and went. Now they are just memories I wish I could live through once again.
Even with one more semester was remaining when section B ended, Manipal college life had pretty much ended.
—-
The Manipal Cyclists was another beautiful memory, it boosted my Manali Leh trip. We were another little family in Manipal looking for breathtaking places on these eco friendly wheels.
I joined Marena in the last two months mostly because I knew I was going to regret not experiencing it.
Playing different board games was the fun part in 8th semester.
One movie a week at the inox for all the times I’v never had a cinema nearby the university worked well.
The first time I walked into a video game parlour was burnout and yet I can never get over super mans moves in Injustice.
—-
I am always going to compare. Because SMIT was never MIT to me.
**When I speak of SMIT, i don’t only mean the institute, i mean everything down that valley, between the mountains and the river.
SMIT had only nature. MIT had a little bit of that and everything else possible.
SMIT forced me to respect people and use pre/suffixes to fake that and that respect came with age and not experience. MIT taught me the exact otherwise – the right thing.
SMIT taught me that everyone wasn’t good, well most weren’t. MIT taught me how nice and kind people can be.
SMIT taught me how someone could bring you down to put them to the top. MIT taught me to share and help everyone.
A few days at SMIT were beautiful, I’v written a post on each of those days. The entire MIT time has been beautiful and that’s why I’m writing a post after 2 years, today.
Id say Engineering has been bittersweet for me where SMIT was comparatively the bitter part whereas MIT was the sweeter one.
I don’t regret SMIT, but to gain some, you lose some and that’s probably the price I paid for the nature, travel, Sikkimese food, some of the most amazing friends, BMC et al.
It has no doubt been a learning experience all throughout these 4 years.
This post is not about SMIT, its about how beautiful MIT has been and how I’m thankful to everyone for being a part of this Manipal diaries.
Leave a Reply