8-30 a.m….oh god!!!!!its already time 2 wake up…I get up n drag myself sleepily towards d bathroom…while brushing i remember i’ve already missed out on a part of “Hi kolkata” on radio mirchi…I simply luv 2 wake up 2 Mir’s voice every morning…but den again I m reminded of the fact that I m at home now…so no fm…I miss u Mir…Things are going 2 be different for the next 2 months…I kinda need need to change ma routine to wat i m used 2 since the last 3 years…oh!how I’ll miss evrythn…the shouts as everyone woke up,Ujjayinidi coming to my room sleepily every morning,Riki coming to me to ask wen will i be going for lunch as soon as she wakes up, and as the clock nears 10,ayin n mona pop in with a sweet smile-“Kire khete jabi toh?”,is da common question everyday…n all of us drag ourselves unwillingly(excpt Ayin n Prithadi perhaps) towards the dining hall….those few minutes over da lunch is kinda break 4m studies-discussing all nonsense,pnpc,pulling each other’s leg n most important of all,never forgetting to complain to ‘mashima’ bout the disgusting food…n while coming back from dining hall,pushing each other to bring the newspaper from the office room,n Riki snatching away the t2 from whosoever has the newspaper…if the schedule is busy,ayin wud leave for her rum saying “paper ta pora hoye gele rum e diye jas” else me,mona n ayin wud sit in my rum n shuffle the pages to kno of the happenings arnd us…n if der’s sumthn worth discussing we’ll be debating ovr it…in the meanwhile Riki has mugged up the whole of t2,n if der’s ne feast for the eyes she wud excitedly point it to us n we wud obviously comment over it…nw its tym again to go back to studies…wait !i missed on sum1….our li’l sweetheart…Tani…while we r busy with all these she is peacefully sleeping in her rum…arnd 11 she wud wake up n cum 2 mah rum n say in a groggy voice ”paper ta kothay?”....

After sumtym everybody is silent…immersed in der own world of studies…but once in a while Mona’s voice can be heard calling “Ayin?Ayiiiiin??????”…bt she’s so much immersed in her wrld she seldom answers…Mona wud feign a mock anger n wud call Tani now n both of them wud be calling her names….but again Ayin is completely oblivious….arnd 3pm every1’s gone 2 sleep…n arnd 4-30pm all of us wud be waking n discussing whether 2 go 4 having our tiffin or ordering sumthing frm outside….

Meanwhile I wnt miss out on the shows going on on the various fm channels..whatevr I may be studying…m always glued 2 the Fm..as if it keeps me going….wen I m down the little jokes n chat shows cheers me up…n wen I m happy it amplifies my happiness…The only times I m nt listening to it are wen I m sleeping or in the bathrum or if I m trying to learn a topic…

As the clock strikes 8 its tym 4 all of us to have dinner…oh god!another episode with the food…hw much I hate it…bt der’s no option…

Arnd 11,its tym 4 a break frm studies…mst of the ppl(Ayin excluded) wud gather in ma rum n wud be asking each oder”Ei tor kache ki khabar ache re?” n wud rush for the snacks if ne1 has nethn in her cupboard…most of the tyms our targets r Riki n Ayin….Ayin 4 her pickles n Riki 4 her “thekuas”…And dis is the tym wen Ujjayinidi enters with her signature voice calling ”Prrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeetha”…..nw she wud be complaining 2 us if nethn didn’t happen to her liking or wud be pulling Riki or Prithadi’s leg if der’s nuthn worthwhile 2 b discussed...as Rahulda calls she wud leave the rum with a sweet smile…slowly evry1 disperses n our ni8 “adda” sesssion cums 2 an end n evey1’s back in der own world…

Anoder day ends lyk dis….And yet anothr begins…same as the previous day…almost lyk a ritual…At tyms it seemed monotonous….But again these little things kept us going…We never got tired of each other n any 1 persn’s absence was strongly felt n if the person was Riki it was stronger evenmore…may be we had difference of opinions but at the end of the day it was “us”,not u or me…A little chapter of my life is over,a chapter on the life in a hostel….but all the ppl close 2 me hv left der impressions in der own little way…n 2day I miss dem all…few of us have a chance to be togeder for the nxt 2 years…but things wudnt be the same again…

Dedicated to all my close ppl in the hostel….