4 Year Anniversary of NITK: Part 1

Can’t believe its 4 long years already! Why it seems just yesterday that I entered the hallowed halls of NITK as a student for the first time. In fact it was 4 years to the day that this happened, and I remember it: A most cherished set of memories…

I remember walking into ATB (Additional Teaching Block) class 0.2 at 7:40 am on August 1^st, 2005 with my dad. I remember taking a set of forms and notices from Mr Manohar Karanth, The Watch & Ward officer, and filling them diligently with my dad going through them 3 times atleast! I remember then going into the ATB seminar hall, and immediately getting intimated by the amount of people and all the “important officials” there. I remember handing over the forms along with original mark sheets of Class 10, 12 and AIEEE with a DD for the 1^st semester fees and deposits. I remember shaking hands with the then Registrar Dr Aloysius Henry Sequeira and taking the receipts for them all before meeting an old Zen gym acquaintance who turned out to be working at the Student Cooperative Society. I also remember…

I got lost on the way to SJA (Silver Jubilee Auditorium) and was directed there by a guard whom I know to this day. I met my mom and old school mates Darshan and Manoj who were also admitted into NITK. We waited patiently till 11 am when the inauguration of the academic year finally began and diligently listening to all the long speeches which at this time make me laugh at the very notion. Following this was an orientation trip of our assigned department which at the time for me was the Department of Civil engineering. And so it was that all 3 of us along with some 40 more trudged along grudgingly in the afternoon heat which saw every outsider pouring sweat but we were taking it as a nice break from the rain J

Mr Dwarakish gave a most brilliant trip of the Department of Civil engineering and it was here that I saw Arati chatting to NTR and a few other “bangys” as the term goes. Of course back then I was shy of looking at girls, let alone talk to them: My, how things have changed hehe… But I knew that I was surely getting a branch change soon and so faked a head-ache to get out of the procedure after 1.5 hours much to everyone’s jealousy (I was, and still am, a pretty good actor) and came back home at 4:30 pm to finish my first official day as an NITKian.