December 03, 2007

Rewind – stop – play

Pune. Call it a seductress – that’s what it is. Three years of bitter-sweet experiences in this city have made me the person I am today. And here is an attempt to relive those moments that are etched in my memory. Funny, sad, nonsensical, enlightening – documenting some of these moments is my way of falling in love with the city all over again. So let’s start where my life took a 360 degree turn – the University of Pune.

June 2004

Our not-so-beloved professor is teaching us the basics of Mass-Com. Most of the students are yawning, others are daydreaming. It’s just the first month and many have already mastered the art of sleeping with their eyes wide open! I’m the unfortunate one – sitting in the first row, obediently listening to each and every word and taking down extensive notes. The voice of an over- enthusiastic professor in the next classroom cuts across the fake sound-proof walls and makes the already boring lecture absolutely incomprehensible. And it’s not just the voice; a foul smell too enters the classroom. The dead souls in the class start making some movement. Twitched noses and disgusted looks finally bring us all to a common ground. Everyone exchanges quick looks, suspecting that the one sitting next to him has farted. Not that such an incident had never taken place in school or college but studying at a Master’s level in this esteemed University made me believe that students no longer open-fire in stuffed classrooms. After 15 minutes of torture, the lecture gets over and we catch hold of the culprit – it’s the unclean loo, strategically constructed a few steps away from our class. Eeewww…

Welcome to a whole new world of academic experience. We call it DCS – The Department of Communication Studies. Tucked away in a not-so-nice-looking corner of the oh-so-beautiful Pune University, this is the place where I shall be unlearning the old ways of learning for the coming two years.

10 comments:

mitali said...

A wave of nostalgia totally swept me Bhumi..n i m still trying hard to control my laughter for fear that people in my office would think I m insane. And by the way I I din know that out-of-world smell came from the loo. But i remember, one day it was so bad that Ajay offered me a bottle of Vicks and I must say that was a temporary respite...ha ha

bhumika said...

oh my god! i didn't know abt this :) and now i can't stop laughing...god, how we hated that department and how badly we miss those days today!

Sonali said...

What are u saying?? It was the loo? nd all this while I thought it was someone else :P

bhumika said...

Since the smell was so deadly, it’s very much possible that it was the loo + that person :P

mitali said...

I was always under the impression, it was sumone..but wat u say bhumi is also quite possible :) the bottomline though is with all its flaws and smells, DCS rocked!

mitali said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
~ ॐ ~ said...

:) super...

i am inspired to write about my life at college too.. but let me hold on to my horses and read some :)

i could picture myself sitting in the class again.. what a feeling it was.. thanks Bhumi...

bhumika said...

@mitali

i can't blv we are actually discussing the person/place behind the foul smell of June 2004! I feel left out since both sonu and u seem to be blaming some classmate. who was it? (kindly mail) with subject line 'The real culprit' ;)

n yes, DCS rocked!!

@om

the pleasure is all mine...looking forward to read ur college experiences too :)

Unknown said...

Well, even i dint know that it was the loo...i thot...ahem!! Forget it! But i do remember Rohit Syal and Nicky Ahuja spraying Nike deosprays, sitting right behind the classroom.lol:)

bhumika said...

well, sonu revealed 'the real culprit' yest (though not in public) and i realized that i was kept in the dark till date...God bless Nicky, Rohit and Ajay for their timely help :P

u know what comes to my mind - Phoebe's "Smelly catt, smelly cat..." ;)