“M.I.T…I’ve made it!” Exclaims a student on entering the gates of the imposing buildings, which house the engineering disciplines. “My parents always wanted me to study in a residential college with a good academic infrastructure. And here I am,” the student went on.
On the first morning, as I walked out of my room I instantly felt the difference. It was so different from the usual humdrum of a city life. As I walked towards the university building, my senses felt everything different.
So used to hearing the honking of cars, it was sweet music to my ears when I heard a cuckoo singing in the trees. And as I lifted my head to look in the direction of the melodious song, I realized I was virtually under green cover. And why not ? The University campus is abundant with trees, flowers, and carpet green lawns. There were no morning blues there when I wake up to attend college, as each morning was so refreshing. It was a welcome change from the highly polluted city roads. As the gentle breeze blew across, it was heavenly. I’d never experienced the likes of it before. It was so refreshing. No air pollution, no noise pollution, every road spic and span, every lawn mowed neatly and great opportunities to explore all sports talent inside you as the university provides excellent sports facilities for almost all indoor or outdoor sports.
I am a foodie. So I visited all the eating joints. I feasted on the food served in the Boys Quarters canteen, loved the lavishness of the food court at the Manipal Institute of Technology and the food court just across the university building. Coconut water, sweet buns, Mangalorean Fish, Udupi Dosa and everything else you need to pamper your taste buds are available in this township of knowledge.
A walk through the campuses gave me the idea that the University has students not only from other parts of the India, but from other parts of the world as well. A great mix of diverse cultures and what a camaraderie. How did Manipal do it? How did it ensure that students from other countries got a better deal here than in their own country? How did it strike the fine balance between preserving its own culture while allowing other cultures to mingle and flourish? These thoughts pre-occupied my mind during most of the free time I had at Manipal University.
Come evening and it is a different scene altogether. Gone are the doctors gowns and the books. The students look so different, they are in a complete differently avatar. The sports-minded would head for different grounds in their sports gear. Those interested only in loosening their limbs are in their sports kit too and others are seen relaxing in groups around eating joints, parks, dance classes, movie, etc. Swimming pools, baskeball courts, jogging tracks, gymnasiums, badminton, table tennis, cricket, football, volleyball, tennis and others are all there. And it is not just the boys, one can spot large number of girls sporting. There is a healthy mix of guys and gals in sports. Evening walk to end point, a lovely green area with parks and playgrounds is like a painter’s dream. It’s just so beautiful and calm.
Late evening and nights, the campus grooves to a different tune. Most of the students of the healthcare field flock to the sixth floor Health Care Library, which is one of its kinds in Asia. Speaking of firsts, this place is soon going to have an air-conditioned indoor sports complex which is first of its kind in India. Sometimes you get a chance to dance to the tunes of the best DJs in India. With so much fun and activities in night, I get the feeling that in Manipal the nights are short. The students often say that the best part of Manipal is the rigorous academic schedule. Students rushing from one hostel to the other, either for an assignment or for an upcoming college event or to catch up with a professor for some discussion are common sights.
Life at Manipal, for many reasons, cannot be replicated anywhere else. One has to come and feel the experience. Its tough to narrate such an experience through article, video or songs. You need to be here to be a part of this wonderful experience.
A little bit of excitement , tinge of tension and a modest little fear , sum it up and what you get is the feeling that one can savor only during those days of engineering life. And then four splendid years fly past like a reverie. Not only we studied in our classrooms, but also our major learning was outside the class along with our friends in the picturesque campus of Manipal. The abuzz area of Sheela, the confluence of students from all campuses at the Tiger Circle, our favorite KMC Greens, the festive season of Utsav and Revels, the awesome places like Dollops, Saiba, Prax, Little Chef, Ozone, Blue waters and Down town, the long rides to Malpe and Kapu beach, the short trips to Gokarna, Goa, Kudremukh, Agumbe & Kudlu Falls and those cute subtle Manipal Dreams will always stay with us even after our short stay at Manipal.
Those reminiscences of the ever busy canteen with ‘unge lime juice’ murmurs, the ancient habit of bunking, the Romeo and Juliet game, the arduous club members of L&D, IEEE, IE, ISTE, Leo, Rotract buzzing in the campus for their respective events or conjointly for MIT’s Revels or TechTatva, the Dramanon’s splendid performances, and then the strumming of the guitar in some corner of the campus, will remain engraved in the hearts of all. My college has given me so much along with an engineering degree, Friends for lifetime and a life-changing mystifying experience.
Saswat Kumar Sahu
Batch of 2007
Electronics & Communication Engineering.