But thats not what i remember my hostel for. I learned a lot in hostel. What i learned even i cannot explain. it is a thing to be experienced. And of course there was the funda of new block. Also called the Gaon of the hostel. It was the only block where you could play cricket in the corridor. The reason why i like most, it is the block where i had learned to listen to metallica,Iron maiden, Guns N Roses at the maximum volume(People used to come begging at my door steps to lower the volume so as result the volume considerably reduced by the time i reached third year). Also i developed the habit of studying and sleeping while listening to rock. Crazy though it seems i once slept through 2 hours of GNR while the warden was banging at my door. Oh! How crazy it used to be. Of course there were birthdays along with the bumps. I was never a part of it though. I never liked the idea of your buttock being smashed to pulp on your own birthday. So i never participated and was not bumped.
Of course how could i forget my first year. Farid and me being ragged. Debankan Da asking me to imitate Hercules holding up the sky. Ridiculous though it seemed i was doing it by climbing the huge desert cooler in my room and placing my palm on the ceiling. There were other task too but i had better not talk about it here. Then there was my roomie Hridoy Da. We became rock buffs which was not a pleasant event for our neighbours. I remember being asked to play rock in the morning time so that he could get up from his slumber. You should see him sleeping. He could beat anyone in that.
Then of course there was my wallmate Kuldeep.
I will give a treat to anyone who can speak more than him. But of course he had the largest heart in the hostel. Fearless till the point of stupidity sometimes. Oh! the fights which he got into. There was the rule known as "Hostel juniors are college super seniors". So that meant that all hostellers went into the college without the fear of being ragged. Well in the hostel it was another story. KM Hostel was known for its ragging in yester years. So unless you were a north easterner you had better pray and come.
Then we had those long story telling sessions which started after 12:00 am at night. it can go until anytime which resulted in being bleary eyed the next day in class. There was always PJ's from Satyam Sir(president of jhel association of new block). Sam's guitar and samson singing. Then there was a craze of Debo's bong for sometime. Debo was incidentally the "mukhiya" of our Gaon.
Then during second year there was the illuminating discussions with Abhishek Jha(commonly known as Mota bhai or jha ji). It was mainly he who did the talking. It was worth listening.
Then there was of course Baba. Well his typical Bihari tone made him quite famous and he was the Baba of the hostel.To people who do not know his name is Vivek Singh. Baba i will always remember your lectures.
I miss them all. I want to be there again but i know i can't. Somethings are enjoyable only during a particular time of your life. you cannot enjoy before or after that. They say that new block is no longer how it used to be. They say there is no one like me or Sampurn or Kuldeep anymore. but i think they don't realise they have occupied our place. Now they define the new block. We are the past.
But no matter what when i left that place it created a huge hole in my heart. i miss the winters terribly. I miss the parties which we had practically every month. i miss the view of the KM football field. the unusual blend of language at the same place. the zeal to read a novel overnight and finish it. the desire I had to reach here(TIFR). the lectures on marxism by Baba. Debo's critical remarks. The gap has not filled. I don't know whether it will be ever be filled. it was where i learned and listened the most. I hope all the others feel about new block the same way. the Gaon of KMC hostel. New Block Jindabad.
