Host-Stellar

The time has come for good bye.. Good bye to my room that housed me and my junk for the past twenty four months, my spacious warddrobe that cheerfully accomadated the exploits of all my shopping ventures during the same time frame, the window and curtains that used to rattle in the monsoons and filter the blinding sunlight during my afternoon siestas, the mess where we occupied the central table and ate with great gusto- breakfasts pouring over newspapers, lunches discussing movies and dinner to denigrate the quality of food served and decide where to partake our nightly victuals for the day, the road outside the hostels where, whether you're coming in or going out you tend to bump into half a dozen individuals, listen to their stories and relate your own- this stretch took the maximum time ot navigate, the pond wherein many a midnight session of GD on any topic under the moon would take place with people randomly joining in or opting out, piping hot cups of tea taken from the hawker at the front gate, the sentry who knew each and every student on campus and the other ignoramus who ineviably stopped every vehicle to authenticate the occupants, the lush greenery that stored copious amounts of water during the rains- ready to spill on any unsuspecting character and the boon of summer where the soft shade would shelter hapless students from the scorching sun, the numerous crow clans who's daily routine remained incomplete if their droppings fell not on one of the newly laundered apparels, the stairs, all 96 of them that had to be climbed to reach the shrine of knowledge a.k.s the classroom, the rush for the lifts in order to avoid ascending on foot another four floors, the water cooler outside the classroom that quenched the thirst of those unfortunate enough to have taken the stairs all the way to the top, the terrace where bunkees would wait for the preceeding lecture's prof to clear out before entering for the next class, the parapet wall where many a philosophical discourse has been delivered and debated, the staff canteen perched atop that has served each batch with equal care and charged them equally (the price of tea never exceeded 2.5 rs in the past 11 years), the roads and lanes in the campus, lined with shrubs and herbs, manicured lawns that breathed greenery into the air, environs that astounded the senses and offered room for the soul to exhale, walls with posters and grafitti, repainted each year for the benefit of new comers, doors with hangers at the back thathave held each generations clothes through summer and winter, rooms that have held meetings and gossip sessions, intranet sockets that have faithfully connected computers year upon year, hostels that whispers secrets of older batches and offer freedom to the new ones that join, a battered xerox machine that has served its sentence xeroxing notes, assignments and other academic jottings around the campus, the computer lab situated atop the hill, air conditioned and free for use in the hot afternoons, the library a solace for late night studiers to cram the week before the exams, the reception counter with attendants handling booking of taxis for travel, holding mail and display of notices issued, the TV room- the cloister for all class meetinmgs and the nerve centre for the sports enthusiasts to share, a campus that lives and breathes through the vivacity and ethnicity of its students, unifying them in their pursuits and celebrating the differences- NITIE- the best place to pursue management, for an engineer....

Good bye, good luck and God Speed....