Spriha in Solapur! -episode2

Two days before my college opened, my whole family came to Solapur. They had to leave the same night...leave the place...leave me...
To tell you frankly, I never thought how much am I going to miss my family before shifting. I was so involved thinking about how I am going to settle in this new place and more importantly, this new profession that it never occurred to me what it would be like living all on my own. Therefore, I never got the hostel blues until...
Well, we spent the whole day in the market shopping for me, actually, buying things of daily need. I don't call that shopping. We went to the zoo in the noon. Suddenly forgetting where I am and what had to come (or rather go) later that night, I re-found with my brother (then 13) my amazement of how magnificent the Bengal Tiger is! My God! They were scary huge! In the evening we went to the Siddheshwar temple. Its lord Shiva's temple and a very old one. Its kept very beautifully though. Its located in the middle of a lake. Coconut trees planted all around. There's a small island in the lake with a single coconut tree too! Wow! I remember so much of it. The breeze was intoxicatingly pure. I started liking my new place.
Finally, my mom, dad and my bro said goodbye to me. They left me at the hostel. those who know me know that I don't express my sentiments too eagerly and overly. So no one cried. My dad called from the station. He told me that my mom was crying. I didn't even talk to her. (Okay! I am what I am and I love my mom!)
Then the feeling started sinking in. Suddenly, I started feeling that I was choking. Someone had left and I couldn't even wait for them! I sat down and wrote some crap in my dear diary. Then I went outside my room and sat on the elevated border of the "aangan". My room-mate hadn't come yet.My neighbour from room no.1 came and sat next to me. She was Shweta Surana from Pune. She told me that she lived in a joint family and thats why she always wanted people around her. I thought, I didn't! (Yes, I am unsentimental and rude!) We talked for a while about our likes and other stuff. I slowly began enjoying the conversation.Then she started telling me the ragging-stories she had heard about this place. A rebel started stirring in me...
Our talk was interrupted suddenly by two seniors over-looking from the railing of first floor. I guess they were reading outside their rooms. One of them shouted aloud and said that juniors are not supposed to be out of their rooms! We went back into our rooms.
I realized that the heaviness I felt few minutes ago was gone. 'This girl's amazing!' I thought. Bloody seniors...!
I fell asleep soon and had a refreshing sleep that night. I guess I was actually tired.
Next morning, I started my first day there. Well, to put it concisely, there were three bathrooms. One didn't have light. Another had a choked drain. The third one was occupied forever. I went in the choked one. I filled up drinking water for me. Went to the mess and had my breakfast. I guess it was poha and tea. (I never eat poha at home.) Seniors ogled at us there also with hunger in their eyes and spoons in their mouths!
I met Shweta and few other people my mom had introduced me to the previous day. Strangely, I didn't classify them as urban or not urban then. I was really raw. ( Now I'm rotten!) I'll tell you more about my batch-mates later.
There was a bus meant for first yr students at VMMC. Seniors had two-wheelers. We all went and sat inside the bus. Then the boys of my batch came. Whoa! I'll describe subsequently. I spoke to another girl called Vidisha Mahajan, again from Pune. I had learnt from last night that one should talk to strangers in a strange place. Earlier that day I had been spoken to by Tanmayi Dhamankar from Pune. She was really sweet and all I could say to her was, "Are you satisfied by the hygiene standards of the toilets?"
These girls I'm mentioning went on to become my best friends later.
In the college, our dean Dr. Yemul addressed us for the first time. (What is it with deans and Y's?) He was young. He spoke well. He was funny. He wore denim.
We had many introductory lectures that day. The lecture halls were named after ancient Indian physicians- Dhanwantari, Sushrut, I can't remember more. Our bus brought us back to the hostel where we had lunch. I didn't like it. The food at my mess was too spicy and oily.
We went back to the college. We were taken to the dissection hall then. I didn't feel a bit uncomfortable looking at the cadavers lying 'naked' on a dozen tables. I looked at Shweta. She was 'staring' at one and her face showed utter disgust! She told me that she's a Jain, so its difficult for her. We were told the basic rules of the dissection hall. An introduction was given. I was really impressed by the professors out there on the first day.
When we returned to the hostel in the evening, we were quite tired. I thought I'll have something to eat and take some rest later. We never knew that we had been waiting for by our rulers...