A nonpareil Tradition - DPs

Felicity is celebrated in different ways across the world. Some prefer to go to a temple to acknowledge the almighty; some eat loads of sweets and chocolates; some prefer to treat their friends at joints such as Domino’s, Pizza Hut and McDs. Delight is expressed in different forms by different individuals.  

IITians have a peculiar tradition for expressing joy and elation. It is called the “DP”, an abbreviation for Daaru Party ;).  Be it an end to the mid terms or a victory in the elections, the entire delectation boils down to this very custom. It is interesting to see how people sit in groups and plan for this splendid event. A common thing that an elderly would say if he/she sees the hard work that goes into planning a DP would be, “Agar itni mehnat padne mein lagate to aaj kahaan se kahaan hote?? “. The amount of time and brain that goes into planning the date, budget, brand and location is enormous and the seriousness with which the planning committee works is commendable.

                                                           

The saying “Girls express their feelings with tears, boys express with beers” holds hundred percent true for IIT guys.  After drinking a brook of emotions starts flowing. The ambience becomes friendly and cozy. It is rightly said that only two drunkards can become ‘true’ friends. People start sharing their personal lives with each other. Someone shows disconcert for his grades; someone shares his regret for falling n a relationship; someone takes advice on how to approach the girl he daily dreams to be with. Some even curse their decision which made them land in IIT (Heights of perturbation!!!). Some cry out of no reason. I would like to share an instance from a DP held back in my second year where a friend of mine started crying because his friend was blocked by a third person on FB (lols) and seeing him another one started crying stating the reason that he cannot tolerate tears in his ‘brother’s’ eyes (lmfao).

Drinking alcohol not only brings out emotions, it sometimes leads to an increase in maturity and philosophical instinct. This gives way to long discussions on “The Truth about life”, “Respect for elders” (as if they so concerned about the teachers :P), “Passion for Something”, “Bond of Friendship” and many other interesting topics. Some even start talking like professionals in the field of economics and discuss issues related to investments, share market, bonds, venture capital and lots more (I wonder if they show this much interest during economics lectures as well !!!)

The period spent during drinking, for some, is a time to introspect. Main yahaan kyun aaya?? Mera padai mein mann kyun nahi lagta?? Why am I so useless?? What would I do in life?? Are some of the question which people ask to themselves and think over for hours :D.. The best one I came across was “Main itna slow kyun hoon??”  .. haaaaa !!!

                                             

Whatever the occasion be, the DPs do play the major role in the celebrations. It is something which brings people close together and share lives with each other. When the “suroor” is at its peak people, dance to the tunes of English raps and Hindi classical… Life seems to be easy and cool ..

Long live the Tradition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

p.s- I didn't intend to promote drinking :P

Dilli Darshan (17th Dec 2011)

The “mandali” started from Roorkee in the non-AC coach of Janshatabdi Express. It comprised of a bald man (Akshay Gangrade), a Bun Butter Bonda (Prateek Agrawal), a confused ‘Ghoda’ (Anshuman Jha), a farzi soccer player (Prashant Nirpharake), rail ki bogie (Amit Jain) and a dilli ka niwasi (of course me ;)). It was a compulsion to travel in the non-AC coach because the members were from the ‘Makkhichoos Dynasty’.

Our first stop in Delhi was my Home Sweet Home. My adorable mom had prepared aloo paranthas and sandwiches for all of us before leaving for her workplace. They were as delicious and scrumptious as always. All the ‘bhangees’ had that sumptuous meal.

Then we made a 'Ferrari Ki Sawaari' to the ‘Bahai Temple’, better known as the’ Lotus Temple’. Ok, fyn, It wasn’t a Ferrari but FYKI, my Santro is no less than Ferrari. We fleeted past the traffic on Delhi roads. Wandering on roads in my own car with college friends was dream come true. This was what I had expected from my college life when I was in 11^th but the destiny had something else written for me and I landed up in not so happening Roorkee. In the midway I took a wrong turn for which I was not cursed because that turn took us straight to an off campus college of Delhi University. The main gate was crowded with girls, a sight you can rarely have in IIT Roorkee.  The flock of sheep lured the dogs and even the horse. They were desperate to grab the opportunity. I flew the car past the gate to prevent any attack on the flock :D. By the time we reached the temple, it was 3:30-4 in the evenng. The weather was pleasant. We worshipped the holy lord.

As we made our way out of temple, a lady of Bahai religion came to us and started preaching the Bahai religion. Though, no one was interested in knowing anything about the religion but the beauty of the preacher mesmerized the horse and then there was no backing out. The conversation lasted 15 minutes and the felicity was evident from his face ;).

The paranthas we had in the morning weren’t enough to help us survive till dinner. We had burgers at McDs at DLF Promenade and then headed towards JNU.

Jawaharlal Nehru University is ‘the’ place to hang out in Delhi. Carved out of a forest, it is a home to porcupines, neelgay, rabbits and other animals (and of course students ;)). We were allowed an entry into the university because my ‘madam’ studies there. She had to be called to the main entrance and fill up the entry register in order to allow us to enter the university’s premises. The horse was again in full form trying to hit on her in front of me (Brave guy he is, and optimistic too :P). Parthasarthy Rock is the main attraction of JNU. Once the sun sets college groups, love birds, darubaaz and many others come there to spend a nice time under the moonlight. We all sat there with a cool breeze flowing past our faces. It was a moment to live for.

 

Slowly we were moving close to the end of ‘the perfect day’. We had butter chicken at 24X7. It is the best joint in JNU to have non-veg. You can also try the Fruit Beer. You might even fall in love with the place after having a combination of the two.

After the meal it was the time for the dogs to return to their respective kennels. It was the kind of day a guy craves for in his college life.  Long live the FRIENDSHIP !!!!!

Gaddi chali Amritsar (First Year IITR)

The trip to Amritsar started with a long wait for the train at the Roorkee station. I wore my purple full sleeve t-shirt with off white trousers. We all were geared up and enthusiastic for our first ever trip together. The wait at the station included a photo session which would work as souvenirs in future, The train to the administrative headquarter of Amritsar district arrived and our journey began with the jaikara “Jo bole so Nihaal, Satsriyakaal”

                                                     

Our first encounter with the people of Amritsar was dramatic. We were denied accommodation in dharmashala on account that we all were single (Did they expect us to marry at 19). I thought of announcing ourselves as gays but feared of a round of GPL (Gaand Pe Laat) :D.

We took SNAAN in the open bathrooms of the dharmashala. Some were feeling shy but most of us were enjoying under the tap water. We booked 2 rooms in a hotel adjacent to the dharmashala and then took our way to the Golden Temple.

The temple is a massive structure. With a gold laden dome on top of a white washed base, the gurudwara took my heart away. I was spellbound by the immense beauty of the entire place. We bowed our heads in front of Guru Granth Sahib to pay tribute to the great gurus of Sikh community. The water body around the temple was home to beautiful fishes. The sooji ka halwa prepared in desi ghee is a prasada to die for J.

After the Darshan we headed to Bhrawan Da Dhaaba, a food joint suggested by my uncle. It was far away from the temple and we walked the entire distance. I faced angry expressions from many as they were getting tired of walking for so long. By god’s grace we reached there without me being chopped off in pieces. Amritsari Naan with Kabuli Chana made an awesome afternoon meal which we ate till our stomachs cried for respite.

The night spent at the hotel was an achievement in itself. 15 people slept in one room with me lying under the bed :D. The memory is still cherished.

The trip will also be remembered for our visit to the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre site. I could feel the massacre taking place in front of my eyes with General Dyer ordering his men to open fire at the unarmed protestors. The bullet marks on the walls were shouting for justice for the people who died because of a foolish decision.  The importance of an independent country was pretty much evident.
           
                                                           

The best part of the trip was our visit to the Wagah Border. Denied an entry on the first day due to Chidambaram’s visit, we went back to the border on the second day. Before taking our seats for the beating retreat we decided to roam around a little and in the process reached near the national border guarded by fences. As soon as we heard a shout from the BSF jawan, we ran back to save our lives from any cross border firing. (We did play with our luck and lives that very moment.. Samjhe !!). The patriotic feeling did arouse on seeing our jawans performing at the border. We kept the flag flying high to show respect to our mother nation and sang the national anthem with full zeal and respect.

The trip did help in strengthening the bonds between us. It was necessary to build friendship for the years to come. The memories from the trip would be cherished life long!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Chemicools Begin

The people of Chemical Engineering Department, IIT Roorkee cannot be termed as friends. They are in fact family to me.

 I still remember the first day in class (year 2009). It was scheduled at LH-02. Everyone was dressed up neat and clean. The moment aroused mixed feelings of happiness, fear, excitement and fluster as a small child feels when his mother dresses him up for first day at nursery school. The class was fully packed with guys eagerly waiting for the girls to arrive ('come on.. it is natural for a guy to do that :D'). But our dreams were shattered as the chemical girls could not mesmerize any one of. Some of them were interested but dared to go against the wind :D. 

The first year went past smoothly. My most cherished memory is the trip to Amritsar. The trip acted as a catalyst in strengthening the bonds of friendship. That ride with 19 people people packed in an auto was an icing on the cake ;) and undoubtedly the Amritsari Naan at 'Bhrawan da Dhaaba' is something for which you can visit the city over and over again.

The year is also remembered for the room of Bakhchods, "F-27, Rajendra Bhawan"... Yes the room is cherished for the card games, innumerable bets ( 'The best one was when Toota lost to me on the count of girls in our class and was forced to propose Priyanka as she was the girl which he was not able to recall while counting’ ), tutorial notebooks, solving for mathematics tut one night before the exam, panchayats and lots more

The best aspect of that year was the birthday parties. It is not about the party and the food but about the togetherness that prevailed. Everyone had love and respect for each other. What hurts me the most is that those feelings have somehow faded away over the past 2 years.

Thomso was the limelight of the year with herds of college students coming to party. That was the first time when I experienced the real college life, the way I dreamt of it. With “Jal” coming to perform on campus, the college was packed with people from various institutions. Bike stunts, Fashion Show, Face Paintings, Battle between Bands, Hasya Kavita, Youthanasia, Footloose, Mr n Ms Thomso and the evening time at Nescea(The Coffee Joint) turned IITR into heaven. THOMSO rocked !!!!!

I miss those days. Hope to relive the memories at some point in life.