A final Dash...

Three months after college reopened...a month after we had gone out with friends on an outing...a week after the symposia got over.......

A week to the start of submission...a month to vivas...two months to the final exams.......

At this juncture, drained out of all the work we had done (most out of force and some out of sheer passion) it was time for a retreat...we all felt the need for it. A final dash before the rigorous drill for the exams start. We had to go out of the hustle bustle of mumbai, the frustrations of college and the monotony day to day work.

During the "free" hours of practicals, we all roped in people with a similar mindset, a similar need to give oneself a break, into the idea of going to some peaceful place outside mumbai for a day and have fun with friends. Two hours later there were six people sitting at the table in the canteen carelessly putting down the baggage that we carry to the college daily to 'plan' the trip.

We started by going through the various options, the funds that each of the possibilities will attract from each one of us, the convenience of travel and the willingness of the people involved. All the organising skills that we learnt through the four years of engineering and society work came of good use here. An hour and few calls later, a tentative paln was in place. We were to finalise after i spoke to vishy about a place that he calls 'a home away from home'.

As if this were the most important meeting of the year, 9 o clock sharp, all of us were online. Not one person was late. By then Sahil(one of the best organisers i have seen) had spoken to Mr. Kurde and finalised a package for us. Rs 200 per day for the accomodation and food all day. That wasnt bad...not bad at all. The word passed and in no time, we were all busy packing...hoping that it would be a good trip...something worth remembering....

Ah! but before that, there was another hurdle to pass. DCN test. I didnt bother to even browse through the book. I trust my friends a lot. I believe in them. With the same belief and confidence, i went to college next day BEFORE TIME. It is only on test days, that the whole class-all seventy of us remember the word 'punctuality'. Actually, it is more of giving yourself a best chance even after no preperation than punctuality. But how does it matter. For me with all the excitment about the trip, it was just another hurdle to cross.

The papers were in palce, lines drawn on them, the right partners sitting besides you, the correct palcement of sincere students in close proximity and the 'reference material' in place. Now the wait began. 8:40, 8:50, 9:00. I started to get impatient. Many did. Slowly it dawned on us that the test wasnt going to happen. How frustrating. All this hard work for NO TEST? I could have woken up later, i could have sung another song in the bathroom, i could have walked up to the bus stop instead of ricking it up. What a waste of invaluable time and money.

Any way, slowly the lectures dragged on as usual. Meanwhile, gautam dropped out of the plan because his grandfather was ill. We were now reduced to 6. Soon it was 1 pm . We got out of our labs and in groups of two dashed in different directions with some last minute work. We were all to meet at the gate way of india at 3. Sriram and dg went to dg's palce to get her luggage, nandu and sarurabh went to ashay's palce to get the all important camera and andy and I went down to the lab to demonstrate our project to our guide. The urge to get out of the lab and catch that train to VT was growing into impatience now. Finally we were releaved.

We met nandu and saurbah at the station and took a taxi to the gate way. Nothing was more important to us than getting those tickets for the catameron. Within no time, I had the tickets in in my bag. There was a wait of half an hour before we could board the catemeron. Nandu was busy exploring the differences between a catameron and a ferry. How beautifully has engineering groomed us. Where ever we go, whatever we find, we see characteristics, features and differences. Saurabh was busy looking for a 'shady' place to sit and ended up standing all the time in the sun. Ram and dg joined us soon and the we were busy getting the equipment up and running for the trip. It was time for testing. Two snaps and a short vedio later, we were ready.

The catemeron arrived sharp at 3:30. We hopped on to it, found ourselves good seats, settled down and with the blow of a horn, we were on the move. One of the best times of our lives had just begun...