Heading towards Hotel 13

No, that’s not a typo!!! I mean that.

Being a Titan ( yeah, I can claim to be one with a fair amount of success) for the last one and a half year, it is really painful to see where our hostel is heading now. The empty grounds in the evening, the lull at sky-b, say it all. We’ve either lost the spirit of ‘The House of Titans’, or we never actually had it!

This article can move in two different directions from hereon.

1. The senti stuff, hostel sophies have no enthu, thirdie batch bekaar hai, fourthie batch no longer

values the hostel and stuff.

2. A flashback of all the wonderful memories binding us together for the last year or so.

I prefer the second one, the first one would come in my final year ( though the only ug batch left then will know pretty well that this is due). As usual, things change a lot, and I mean a lot, as you progress from your freshie to your sophie year. No insti authority would come to visit you throughout the year, you don’t have a separate wing with your friends and finally, you’re a freshie for 2 years running!

2007 PAf- Saare jahan se accha, is special for more than one reason to me. Not only did we manage to win the coveted trophy, I got a feel of how my seniors and hostel is going to be in the next 4 years. Cutting bamboos in the night, then the scramble for a odd bite of the paratha that was served to a hungry group of 40 odd people. One person stood out right from the beginning, to sophies, he won the roll of honour this year, Balveer Singh, and to us, he’ll remain Ballu.

It was amazing to see how much the guy cared for the hostel. Being their throughout the Paf, arranging freshies to shouting maa-behen gaalis every passing minute, he rightly epitomised what we all know as a ideal hostelite. Then, the wing selection intros took us into a different experience. Gone were the sweet words used aplenty during PAF. Here, all of us had a mock interview right in our first year, complete with a resume which, by that time, consisted of the odd PAF work, intra-hostel participation or things like, ‘I am in NSO footer’ or ‘I want to become a secy’! I particularly remember how I couldn’t bear it anymore at C4 after an hour of intro session, and stormed out.

That experience was invaluable, ‘cause it gave us a glimpse of the culture we’ll be entering in and the responsibilities in it. I’m sure any of the B2 or A7 junta will tell you how they’re pumped up to face the opponent wing ( I mean each other!). That aside, the secy elections and the poltu that ensued, made it clear that Hostel 13 is feared in the insti for a reason-‘People here wanna win at any cost’. Be it the H-13 Idol that followed soon after or the Frisbee tournament, saw a sea of hostelites coming out desperately to make their wing win valuable points in the intra-cult GC. All these were dispersed with fundaes from our seniors, on how important it is to carry on the wing legacy. The convo treats only re-enforced their point, and made us proud of our wing. The night-outs with seniors, preparing for the main GC or the regular sports practice, all made us feel special. I still remember the joy on everyone’s face on winning the Crossy GC in 2008 and the disappointment on losing PAF by a wide margin.

Cut to today, the hostel doesn’t feel the same anymore. All is definitely not well when 2 successful intra events have to be cancelled due to lack of participants and the La Liga is re-scheduled due to teams not coming out to play. And then, the secy elections also turned out to be a huge disappointment. No one for the SOC secy post and uncontested candidates in all but two categories re-affirmed that things will never be the same anymore. Last night, 8-11-08, the hostel IDOL saw a meagre participation from UGs. In fact, it was clear that no one bothers about the intra-cult GC anymore. C’mon, even 2 ‘Mess workers’ came and sang , while the audience consisted of 5-6 non-council junta.This sem is over, but next sem has an awful lot of activity for everyone to participate in. Please participate junta, the council is of no use if you don’t bother about the hostel and make it a point to attend the GBM just to make life hell for the Mess Co.

I personally had a great experience last year, came to a great wing C5, met seniors like Abhiroop, Rahul SK and Nikhil who had a name in the hostel and learnt a lot from people like Pavan, Ramu, Kiran and others. Seniors like Papa, Ballu, Kris, Malik, Robin would always be missed, but this is the time when the current batch can step-up and take their place.

Let’s remain a Titan till we’re in IIT!!!!

Cheers

Siddharth Shukla

C 513

What's really wrong with us???

Hey all!
Quite a lot of fireworks have been on display recently in our country. First the attacks on 2 of the Indian Economy hubs, then a long awaited Gold medal at the Olympics, and last but not the least, the ongoing Kashmiri unrest.
What really shocked me was a statement made today by a man who, despite being born and bred on our soil, claims he's a Pakistani!!! God save us, but is our government totally helpless in this testing scenario?? What a pity really, a political figure, who addresses a rally of over 10 thousand in the sensitive valley, proclaims he's bonded with Islam, and thereby Pakistan. And to add insult to the injury, the protesters marquee the occasion with chants of greatness of probably our biggest enemy in recent history.
With the situation worsening in the state everyday, a communal riot is all but on the charts. This sectoral divide of, what Indians consider their 'Crown Jewel', may initiate a round of regional unrest in our country. Already reeling under the constant threat of Naxalism, what could be worse is a similar demand from other sensitive states like Punjab, Assam and Sikkim. With incidents of Ceasefire violations coming up everyday, shouldn't the government take matters in its own hands now rather than rue a disaster later on. Many a times have communists supported their claim of an 'Iron Fist' being necessary to take a nation towards prosperity. Though i'm a strict supporter of freedom of citizens, it would be wrong to take an Anti-India statement as freedom of speech.Wihin a fortnight, we can expect the situation to worsen if millitancy gains breakthroughs through our fragile borders in this event of turmoil in the valley. Kashmiris have lived together as brothers and sisters peacefully for the last 61 years. 2 of India's biggets hindu shrines are located in the Muslim-dominated state, yet you'll find not one complain of religious hatred from the people of this heaven. But as a great philosopher said, 'Choose your leader wisely, for he may leave you with no choice later on'. Politics in our country is going to rags day-by-day. The petty appesement schemes of our leaders are only incultating a sense of being special among the beneficiaries, thereby decreasing the sense of unity.
As long as we are one, we're stronger than our mightiest enemy. If we fall apart, we're brittle and open to terrorism and civil anarchy from all frontiers. So here's an appeal to my fellow Indians, believe in the Almighty, for by his bliss, this sorrowful period will phase out like the spring phases out the austere winter.

Proud to be an Indian, and proud to be united!!!!!