Trek or die.

I just realized that I've never ever written anything about my college. Well, it's FCRIT - don't bother with the expanded version, just keep the words Agnel Vashi in mind. Most people outside Maharashtra would not have heard of it (some south Delhiites might be forced to recall a school bearing the same name) and you're not the ones to be blamed - even I wouldn't have, hadn't it been for that damn brochure. The brochure which helped prospective students like me to pick and choose from a pool of private engineering colleges across Maharashtra in the hope of getting admission on the basis of really pathetic AIEEE scores. To cut a long story short, A grade + boy's hostel + no minority status sealed it. I chose it, it chose me - and the rest, as they say (and those who say ought to be lynched) is history.

Now I know that I have a tendency of rambling, so I'll just force myself to pause here and instead focus on what I set out to write (yes, I was reminded by the title). A change in guard has resulted in some changes - can't decidedly say whether for better or for worse. One addition is the compulsory trek - actually, using the word 'compulsory' is unwarranted, given that everything in the confines of ATEC (another acronym you'll be better off not knowing the full form of) is compulsory (needless to say, what goes on inside stays inside, and by violating this code, I'm risking my life). What happens if you don't do something which is compulsory, you ask? Well, here again, I'll ask you to refer to the title. Yes, you die. Well, not literally (although you never know, especially since ATEC is on the verge of officially achieving the status of an autonomous republic which depends on India only for protection against external aggression).

No, it is assumed that if you cannot make it for the scheduled trip, you should be able to make it for one of the trips with the other batches. If you can't even do that much, well, it is assumed that you are sick, implying you are not fit enough to attend college for the minimum duration. Thus, you are told to drop a year, but no, you cannot just sit at home and recuperate. No. Instead, you are supposed to come to college every Sunday (presumably to mark the progress of your health), so that you are in the pink of your health by the time it is time for next year's trek. If not, well, leave college. This is what final year students were told.

Just for the record, the trek was to this place called Haji Malang Dargah, somewhere in Kalyan. It was a damn easy trek, but that's besides the point - the place was filthy to the core, especially at the base and near the top. During the trip, the students are supposed to adhere to their idea of discipline, which includes speaking in English (one guy got slapped across the face for speaking in - oh my God! - Hindi. Yes, in these parts, it's a crime to utter anything in the national language.), not mingling with the opposite sex (the demarcation made it seem as if 2 non-co-ed schools just happened to be picnicking at the same place on the same day), eating samosas with dirty hands (I guess it makes you resistant to deadlier diseases) and dance randomly to non-sense remixes (this uncivilized act is, for some unknown reason, known in these parts as a 'jam session').

Yes, venting felt awesome - I'll be back. With more awesomeness. Till then, peace be with you.