Hostel Life-3

I had begun to enjoy my hostel life, made several friends, it was fun. Of course missed my folks now and then, but I had learnt to cope. Once in a month, we were allowed to go home, and Id go to my grand parents home. Wed leave college in a group, and then separate at the station/ bus stand.

Wed go shopping in a group from the hostel once in a while. After ransacking shops on busy streets which were so narrow that we had to go in rows, and still we wud try to stretch along the entire width, unaware of the blazing sun, amused stares. We wud then bustle into some restaurant, have icecream, faluda/juice talking nineteen to the dozen. Finally, when we reached the hostel, we wud be exhausted but merry.

We wud be taken to the movies once a month.we were given a choice of 2 movies, and the whole lot wud decide and divide ourselves into 2 batches. There wud be this huge gaggle of giggling girls, huddled into a bus, with a sister escort. The entire week wud be spent in anticipation of the weekend trip, deciding what to wear, some of us wud plan to drape ourselves in saris for the excursion. Wearing saris meant getting onto the job much earlier , and that too help had to be solicited in the draping. Gang mates who were experts in the art of sari draping wud help with the pleats, tucking in, pinning up of safety pins at strategic points, and finally, the person in question wud emerge from the center, exhausted, looking like a trussed up chicken, but feeling all very grown up. I remember the actual movie was not an important issue. Interestingly, the first years always seized the occasion to wear a sari, but by the time one reached the final year, one preferred something less cumbersome and more comfortable. The bus trip to and from the movies was fun, we were a sight to behold, and ours being a womens college ( and that too located away from the main town), this trip meant much more than just watching a movie!!
We were allotted timings for bathing in 2 sessions, morning and evening. My slot was the earliest -the unearthly hour of 5 am- which to me might as well have been equivalent to mid nite. I do not remember ever having bathed during my slot, except on days, when we made a trip to a distant temple. On such days, we got up very early, had our bath in ice cold water, then wearing, pavada/ long skirt blouse, or half saris, we wud trudge along a scenic path to the temple. For us it was nothing short of a piligrimage. By the time we reached the hostel, we wud be famished.

Amidst all this, there were times when I wud remember that I was here for an entirely different purpose- study, this brain wave usually occurred when I got a letter from my parents/ on the eve of the exams. Then I wud diligently try to study, and friends always rallied around to help one another. We wud stay awake into the nite, doing combined study, sometimes when one felt too sleepy, one wud have a doze for 15 minutes, after which a friend wud wake us up to continue. I remember, how tempting the beds looked at those owl hours.