Staying Away From Home

Tell me, what can be more thrilling and more exciting than the eventful times spent in the Hostel ?

Based on my own experiences, I can say with conviction that hostel life can make a "Man" out of you. You are no more chicken hearted and are fully prepared or geared to face the cruel world once you come out of the hostel.

Having said this I would like to list the following dozen truths or facts that you can identify with or relate to hostel life :

Hostel rules are strict and hence staying away from home in the initial period can be tough and lonely which needs to be overcome as soon as possible.

Sharing your whole time with total strangers (in the initial period) with whom you have had no prior contacts or links whatsoever can be one of the most toughest things to face or digest.

None of your personal stuff is yours anymore ; whatever is "truly yours" is now "truly theirs" ; Let me further exaggerate a bit - you do not even own yourself.

After having experienced the "divine" food at your hostel mess (canteen), you are inclined to forget totally what real daal looks like & tastes like, because you are now used to "daal less & water more" stuff.

Because of the "fishy food" available at the hostel mess, you have now ample excuses and reasons to visit fast food joints & small restaurants frequently.

I still remember an incident wherein I was entering the hostel mess after a long gap and the canteen manager asked me if I am an outsider.

It is a small wonder that your breakfast, lunch and dinner will mostly comprise of Pav bhaji, Chinese food and South Indian snacks respectively.

When you are in Hostel, you are bound to come up with "innovative" solutions to everyday problems like heating samosas with a hair-dryer and keeping your non-ironed clothes under a pillow or mattress in order to straighten them. After all, necessity is the Mother of invention.

Your room becomes a temporary or make-shift playground for playing cricket, football & hockey.

You get to see all sorts of unhygienic things and meet all sorts of weird people/hostel mates who can be either effeminate or gay or clumsy or sadist by nature. You have to be well prepared for the worst so as to protect your face and integrity.

Studying in a hostel room can be a tricky task because the moment you make up your mind and sit down with your books, someone or the other will interrupt you. In my case there have been countless study nights that were eventually turned into impromptu unwarranted sessions.

The biggest joke of living a hostel life is that your parents thought that you would be more disciplined and organised if you stayed in a hostel but the real fact is that you have broken more rules than ever.

The best part of hostel life (bonus) is that you are bound to receive extra or special attention and pampering at home when you return home from hostel during holidays and short vacation, as if you have returned from a war or a battlefield !

In a nutshell, living in a Hostel is like living in a war zone wherein you come across unknown enemies and unforseen situations and when you come out of it, you are totally a different person altogether.

Three Cheers to Hostel Life !!!