First Week in S.J Hall....

Drawing and a sense of art was in my veins for long; my uncle used to say that when i was a kid. I used to get the vibes (am not sure who send them as the frequency was untraceable), to get into automobile designing. You know; fun with cars!! :) But more so the streamlined bodies and curves the intricate architectural detailing attracted me.....(made of METAL, just so you dont get wierd ideas). Knowledge being limited of such a field, and having some interest in architecture; mind as it always does diverted itself.
So it was no longer an element that could fit into a 5 by 3 m box. My first step into architecture hence forth; i have no idea why i chose Gujarat of all places - maybe because it was a 'dry state'. Fitting into it, having grown up in a dry climate (muscat) should be a piece of cake rt?..... Yes it was! One hitch though was language! Forget about Gujarati, i could barely construct a sentence in hindi without mixing masculine and feminine words. Sure enough i was trained to answer the questions asked in the pointless school examinations. As easy as swallowing a whole melon.... The end results where evident in my report cards - barely made a B in Hindi. They were also evident on my red skin....played a lot of hide and seek with my mother. Those were the days.....
Now, back to the present (which is past). So I have entered college with a few bags,and a gandhian specs on a frame thin as a rake. All around me were people from different villages and cities in gujarat and they were speaking in an 'alien like language'. I think i had heard the same in 'E.T'.

If i had to come out of this alive in 5 years, there were two priorities -

1. Learn Hindi and
2. Learn Gujarati
What about Architecture?? nah...that already runs in my veins....

The very first day was highly interesting. My dad had already left before i even enrolled myself into a hostel. I guess he was confident in my abilities to converse and settle in a 'familiar' world!! Well if it weren't for that, i would not have stayed on. I knew exactly how the goat placed in a tyrannosaurus cage in 'Jurassic Park' felt.
Having done with all the formailities (which amounted to NONE - welcome to India), I sat on a bench. I was told by the warden to wait for a senior! A second guy with a clean shaven face, about my age joined me. He had this habit of twirling his hair on the right side of his head and pulling it down. I wasn't sure what he was trying, but it wasnt normal. I figured it would be best to start a conversation.
So I smiled and said "hi. My name is Nitin". He replied "Hitarth". Now, let me tell you i had no idea that the students lacked ability to communicate in English!. I looked around for a bit, in an attempt to familiarise with a dark and creepy alley, and an even more creepier people walking around half naked with a bottle or bucket of water in hand. The feel was overwhelming.... I could picture myself settling in over the next few years.
Trying to ignore the environment, i continued on with the conversation. "I am coming from muscat, I belong to kerala though.....blah blah blah...." It wasn't until after ten minutes that i realized that i had entered a one way street. After a few minutes he asked..."hindi??" I wasn't going to admit I didnt know. Used up every bit of my memory power to create the first sentence. Thereafter the words poured like rain....I could see he was chuckling to himself and saying "aa shu bole che....khabar nathi padti" (meaning - i dont understand one word of what he is saying). I received a confirmation letter from the brain, an approval of my priorities (Learn Gujarati).

A few minutes later, we were approached by a scary looking globular structured person, and another pleasant and athletic guy besides him. Myself and Hitarth were taken up to their rooms and made to feel comfortable. (No!! No!!....we didn't get a massage but the message was on the walls). "ENTER if you DARE, Leave if you MUST". Talk of psychological warfare....heh?. From the walls hung a few posters of celebrities (I will leave it at that), and some Formula 1 cars....a few models (eh...architectural models). Elephant size Drawing Boards hung from the wall without a support beneath them (I learnt that rope trick in quick time)....
In all, the room summed up the mentality of the people who lived in it.... Our ghostly looking hosts said "welcome to the abode of architecture".... Personally i would have preferred staying on the Alcatraz.
I was sure to have a nervous breakdown. Hitarth didnt seem too perturbed; he still continued twirling his hair. I had half a mind to tell him "dude, that is not going to straighten!!!" but whats the point, he wouldnt understand my HINGLISH.

It wasn't too long until we were alloted our separate rooms. A rusty lock and a half broken handle on a wooden door which could be broken by a Bruce Lee kick. First impression: an only illumination came from a window with holes in the net (open invitation for mosquitoes to party), 3 steel cots (how comforting), a wooden desk and chair (seemed like the last person who stayed here liked to puncture holes in it - stress relief perhaps), and a steel cupboard with a few dents (overall it was a perfect set for a crime scene investigator). After a few enquiries in hinglish, i got the directions for the place to buy a mattress and a few other essentials.

Once unpacked I couldn't wait to get into comfortable pyjama's and snore into oblivion. Sleeping off the mental trauma was the appropriate option. I had no idea that a second room mate would be joining me the very next day morning. I said to myself, "tomorrow would be a better day, it will all sink in". Morning came, and i woke up with a few knocks on the door. Still Half asleep, wrenched it open and i was greeted by a dishevelled character right out of Stephen King's thriller/horror novel. I couldn't ask for a more memorable beginning to the next five years.

The mess was a mess....At 8pm, with a few hundred rushing into the hallway i felt like a convict; only was not dressed in one. A week later i met with Hitarth and his room mate Pankaj, only then I came to know that they had figured me to have come from some village in rural part of India, (unknown to them) named 'muscat'. It was an herculean effort to describe that the location was outside India - ultimately introduced them to the 'Globe'.

In the years to come, Pankaj and Hitarth were my mentors. My two priorities were taken care of by the end of 2nd year, while i made my sincere effort to introduce them to 'spoken english'. The juries in architecture were a delight to watch; comedy at its best.

Oh, btw did i mention the name of the hostel...? I guess not.... It was confusing as it is. There was a line of these concrete palaces... S.J, M.V, R.T....an abode for a few thousands. 130 sq ft of space shared with two others was my kingdom in S.J Hall for the next 3 years. Oh Heck! I figured I might as well enjoy the moments - once in a life time, and i will make sure it is.