My first day at BMSCE
My brother (Shashidhar) was all geared up to make his travel overseas for the first time. He was headed to Kalshrue University, Germany for a part of his masters’ degree program as a student of exchange from IIT Madras. It was September 3rd 2007. His flight was at 2:00 am and at 7:30 am the same day I had to take my first steps into an Engineering college. This was how my day began; my first day at BMS College of Engineering. With my CET Rank at around 7500, I was able to get a seat in the department of Industrial Engineering and Management at BMSCE. I was lucky that nobody had cared for this seat, as to get a seat in BMSCE; the CET ranking had to be good. Anyway I got it.
Hoping for a good four years ahead, I entered into the college at about 7:25 am after my father dropped me to the main gate. That day I slept only for 4 hours. After bidding good-bye’s to my brother it was 2:30am when we came back home. With my eyes red and feeling completely dizzy I entered the classroom (I am not able to remember which class that was though). And I was looking forward to meet Shashank Kumar J, the only person I knew then. I had met him during the orientation programme some two days back, for an hour or so. And as I entered the classroom, there he was, sitting in the fourth bench. I couldn’t absorb in the atmosphere of the classroom that day. I was pretty insecure I guess. With my head down I silently walked towards the fourth bench; greeting him I sat beside him.
With my excitement levels reaching the threshold, it became quite difficult for me to just sit in the class sometimes. I did my pre-university in Jnanodaya P U College. It was one strict affair. And the two years I spent there, absolutely had no pleasantries to offer. Coming from this background, this care-free attitude in the campus was a bit suffocating, nevertheless it was welcoming and I started to enjoy it as the days went by.
Anyway I couldn’t speak much with my other peers and we had our first class taken by Meena Menon ma’am from the department of Electrical Engineering. She seemed to be like one josh machine.
Meena ma’am : See you are now part of a professional course. You have to be brave. You will be the guys who will take over the world in the future. You have to live with your head held high.
OMG ! That was really too much advice to take in being at 18. But it helped me get strength. Little confidence started showing, after her delivery. I always had this feeling that I was part of the last group of students who have got admit to BMSCE and I strongly believed in the fact that there were too many brilliants out there. And who ever I saw around had an accent which I never understood. There was this problem of ‘SPEAKING IN ENGLISH’ to top it all. Phew !
For me speaking in kannada was never a level down in the status. I was damn proud of the fact that I was a kannadiga till then. But when you have so many people knowing kannada and still managing to hook up with English; I was not ready to be left out from the group. With my little confidence going with it, I too started my tryst with the ‘English way of life’. I cannot explain how bad I felt that day. I then decided, Balls to it! Back to my kannada. I am searching for words here to explain, how safe it felt to be a kannadiga. Ever since then there has been no looking back.
Anyway I was able to recognize one more classmate of mine. He used to come play cricket at the ‘donkola playground’ in vidhya peetha. So I approached him and then I came to know him. He was Gnana Skandan. Now it felt quite better. I knew two persons now, whom I could approach to the next day in college.
With the day filled with such emotions I was damn sure that this will be one heck of a journey. I was eagerly waiting for it as I reflected back at the day’s events as I headed back home alone, walking.
Hoping for a good four years ahead, I entered into the college at about 7:25 am after my father dropped me to the main gate. That day I slept only for 4 hours. After bidding good-bye’s to my brother it was 2:30am when we came back home. With my eyes red and feeling completely dizzy I entered the classroom (I am not able to remember which class that was though). And I was looking forward to meet Shashank Kumar J, the only person I knew then. I had met him during the orientation programme some two days back, for an hour or so. And as I entered the classroom, there he was, sitting in the fourth bench. I couldn’t absorb in the atmosphere of the classroom that day. I was pretty insecure I guess. With my head down I silently walked towards the fourth bench; greeting him I sat beside him.
With my excitement levels reaching the threshold, it became quite difficult for me to just sit in the class sometimes. I did my pre-university in Jnanodaya P U College. It was one strict affair. And the two years I spent there, absolutely had no pleasantries to offer. Coming from this background, this care-free attitude in the campus was a bit suffocating, nevertheless it was welcoming and I started to enjoy it as the days went by.
Anyway I couldn’t speak much with my other peers and we had our first class taken by Meena Menon ma’am from the department of Electrical Engineering. She seemed to be like one josh machine.
Meena ma’am : See you are now part of a professional course. You have to be brave. You will be the guys who will take over the world in the future. You have to live with your head held high.
OMG ! That was really too much advice to take in being at 18. But it helped me get strength. Little confidence started showing, after her delivery. I always had this feeling that I was part of the last group of students who have got admit to BMSCE and I strongly believed in the fact that there were too many brilliants out there. And who ever I saw around had an accent which I never understood. There was this problem of ‘SPEAKING IN ENGLISH’ to top it all. Phew !
For me speaking in kannada was never a level down in the status. I was damn proud of the fact that I was a kannadiga till then. But when you have so many people knowing kannada and still managing to hook up with English; I was not ready to be left out from the group. With my little confidence going with it, I too started my tryst with the ‘English way of life’. I cannot explain how bad I felt that day. I then decided, Balls to it! Back to my kannada. I am searching for words here to explain, how safe it felt to be a kannadiga. Ever since then there has been no looking back.
Anyway I was able to recognize one more classmate of mine. He used to come play cricket at the ‘donkola playground’ in vidhya peetha. So I approached him and then I came to know him. He was Gnana Skandan. Now it felt quite better. I knew two persons now, whom I could approach to the next day in college.
With the day filled with such emotions I was damn sure that this will be one heck of a journey. I was eagerly waiting for it as I reflected back at the day’s events as I headed back home alone, walking.
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