| National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab, India |
| Copyright Upasana Taku 2004 |
| College memories for me are tons of anecdotes and incidents full of pranks, loads of fun, dance, canteen teas, first day first show movies, bunking classes, ragging etc. And yes, I do have quite some memories of exam times. And well was the food of Punjab good or not!!! The Dal Makhani at Bidhipur Dhabas and Butter Chicken at Alpana or Chick Chick..... Delicious man.... Lemme give you a brief on my undergrad institution. Original Name: Regional Engineering College, Jalandhar, Punjab, India (aka RECJ) New Name: National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab, India The college is one of the youngest and most upcoming RECs. It is less than 15 years old and has still succeeded in meeting the requirements of a deemed university. The college is well ranked amongst engineering schools in India and students and alumni of the college continue to flourish in the job and future education market. Initially, when I had joined RECJ back in the Fall of 1997 I was very apprehensive and my hatred for the college superseded all my efforts to develop a likeability for the place. Later when I graduated, I realized that I loved not only the college but also the small town/city Jalandhar. Much of my initial resentment was due to the fact Punjab like any other place in Northern India had a conservative social outlook and this made the life of women difficult. Born and brought up in Western India, I was accustomed to the very opposite, a free and independent society with late night travel being safe for the women folk. You might not believe this but I had regular tuition classes from 7-10 pm in the evenings and I used to get home by 10:30 pm most nights while I stayed in Surat. My parents never had to worry much for my safety while I was in Gujarat. Punjab however, is another ball game... The good and memorable things about RECJ if you were to ask any past or current student are: 1> The cool semester system and 4 years of peaceful life in terms of amount of study required to get good grades 2> The cool DS area which had all the requisites: a bookstore, a bank, eating joints and a departmental store (DS) 3> The Canteen, which depending on the administration, the number of violent groups in the college and the level of fights was at various times opened and closed for the student junta (hindi for groups)..Its strategic location close to all the departments and lecture halls however made it a key destination during the day... 4> Bidhipur :: C'mmon who can forget that small village on the main Highway, about 1 km from our college. This was a major halt station for truck drivers and was lined with tons of 'dhabas' and 'sharaab de thekas'..These dhabas were too good and offered the best of the Punjabi recipes at the cheapest cost you must have ever heard of. Sitting on the typical 'manjis' you could enjoy paranthas, shahi paneer, dal makhani and what not....plus the great 'chai'..As can be imagined most of the boys hostels were empty in the evenings and dinner at Bidhipur was more popular than in the hostel....It was a sad story for girls as we had strict hostel timings that changed as per the season..we could be out till 9 pm in summers and during winters it could be just 6:30 pm depending on how dark or foggy it was.... 5> Jalandhar city :: Model Town, Jyoti Chowk :: Jalandhar city was like 35 minutes away from our college and come weekend, one could see half of the non Punjabi students loading into autorickshaws headed to the city to enjoy lavish meals in a restaurant, to do some shopping or just to watch a new movie..Major destinations in the city were either Jyoti Chowk- the hub of the city with 3 movie theatres and a lot of shops or Model Town- the new and flashier road strip lined with fast food joints and the like..Guess what this street was famous for...But obvious gaeddiis..What is that ? Well basically people who have vehicles roaming the street again and again on their vehicles and people who are on foot just walking up and down the road for the heck of it.... 6> Hostel Life was a Blast! :: I wouldn't want to miss that for anything in life. I seriously believe that apart from the fun element, living in a dorm/hostel on your own is a good learning exercise for all 17 year olds in terms of gaining independence and personal responsibility. The life at hostel was fun with a 16 hours running mess where you could have anything made at your whim. But it was fun! Tea sessions or chat sessions outside the hostel mess on the lawns was where a lot of time was spent..Besides ragging which I enjoyed a lot when I was ragged in my 1st semester in college.....to be continued |
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