My Dorm

I wrote about my dorm (where I am spending my 2 years of graduation) as part of something, a while back. Posting here what I wrote ... a bit edited though.

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Dorm is THE best thing which could have happened to me here. Initially, it felt that the dorm thing is may be over-hyped. But as time passed, the truth was before my eyes. It may sound as if I am not being rational here (or stupid, immature), but I am ready to sacrifice anything within my capacity at IIMA for staying in the dorm.

... I was so looking forward to spending next year with my dorm mates – old and new. With the heavy academic load, I hadn’t had enough time to interact with them (or so I feel).

It was only now that we had started playing cricket. Only now that we had started eating Maggi in the night. Only now that we watched cricket matches together. Only now that we joked around. Only now … only now. My dorm mates always took care of me. They woke me up, otherwise I would have missed so many classes and sometimes quizzes. We went to the classes in the morning together. We always went together for breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner to the mess. We went for dinner outside together. My dorm mates always took me along. I know if they would have not asked, I would have missed meals so many times, for going alone for meals is pathetic.

So, if you want to make the dorm culture responsible for my good health, for me attending classes, for me having regular meals, for me enjoying my stay at this place and want to punish me for this ...

I will tell you what I did not like about this culture. The fact that people shared my joys and sorrows. The fact that I could depend on them. The fact that I could ask for help (in acads or whatever). The fact that when I felt alone, I was able to go to someone in my dorm and talk to him and get away with all the depressing feelings I had. The aspect that it felt as family. Come on, who requires all this. People are right when they think that this can be done away with.

The PGP-2s (tuchchas) were so helpful, so caring; just cannot describe. Be it acads or any other stuff, they guided us like no one else would do. The best part was that we do not have anything to offer them. And they know that. Still they went out of their way to do things for us. Many a times they thought about us more than we did about ourselves. I will like to mention one event here. Those who went on exchange among the PGP2s called every single of us, PGP1s to say all the best from wherever in the world they were. What was the need for them to do this? What were we offering them that they had to do this?

Whenever seniors from previous batches come to Ahmedabad, they come to their dorms and take every current dorm resident for a meal at some good place. These seniors are meeting all the residents for the first time and probably for the last time in their lives. Why would anyone take spend time, energy, money on such people? They still identify with the residents. What makes them do so?

All my arguments may look as if coming from an emotional state of mind. Partly it is correct. But I sincerely believe that I have never been so rational before as I am now, while writing this. I have kept this anonymous, but I guess it would be pretty revealing (sorry, could not help it).