The Tech Nut at IIT-G : Chapter 6

Since we had arrived on the 4th, one day before the event began, we wanted to utilise our time the best, and wanted to go out and see the city. However, the girls and ma’am also wanted to move out of their dorm and into a room like ours.

So, we decided that the girls and ma’am would scout out the next location – the Married Scholars’ Hostel. As we were heading back, we met the 11thees as well. Apparently, Ayush and Ankit wanted to stay to watch the opening ceremony, as did Siddharth. So we parted ways. Meanwhile Aishwarya, Vishaka and Ritu ma’am went off to check out their room, and Karthick, Amit and me, went back to our hostel and came to the rendezvous point soon after.

There we had to wait for quite some time, and when the girls and ma’am eventually turned up, it was with bad news. They were being offered a room, slightly larger than ours, but the three of them would have to share it, along with 3 more! This wasn’t good news.

By this time, Ritu ma’am had ordered a taxi as well. He would charge around 600 bucks to go to G.S.Road and back. By the way, according to Ritu ma’am, the school was paying for all this. The taxi was supposed to come to Subhansiri hostel, so we started walking towards it. When we reached, ma’am had a stroke of genius and remembered that originally, Y. Nishant Babu, the organiser of Techniche, had offered them rooms in a hotel in the city. She tried calling him up, but he wasn’t responding, probably because of the opening ceremony.

Eventaully, ma’am did get through to Nishant, and while ma’am was talking, the driver for some reason, decided to drive out the hostel gates. Naturally, I got alarmed, and gave chase, hollered at the top of my voice, and he stopped outside the gates, and told me that he was just parking outside the hostel. I beg to differ.

By the way, all we missed in the opening ceremony was some martial arts performed by some professionals. Anyway, the girls also realised that they had to take out their luggage from Subhansiri, regardless of whether they were going to the Married Scholars’ Hostel or Hotel Presidency. Me, Karthick and Amit waited in the car, laughing our heads of at nothing in particular (actually only Karthick and I were laughing, Amit was just bemused by all this) However, the driver proved to be a problem. He wasn’t willing to take 1 teacher, 5 students and luggage. He was charging 150 bucks extra for all that.

Ma’am wasn’t willing to give in. That taxi eventually went off, without us. All of us, the girls with their luggage, were stranded outside the girls hostel. The dormitory was not a option they were willing to consider. So, we just fooled around for about an hour or so. Then ma’am realised that she could call Ankur Tyagi.

There were several reasons why we should’ve called him. Firsly, he’s an ex-Dipsite. Also, he was the regional co-ordinator of sorts in Delhi. Ma’am had been in regular touch with him, before we left. We called him, and he said that he’d be there as soon as possible.

Meanwhile the great IIT dharna began. All of us, sat down on the road in front of the hostel. Aishwarya had a tin of cookies, which we finished. I also realised that empty cookie tins from Cafe Coffee Day make good percussion instruments. We also played cricket with some empty drink cans and somet long sticks out of sthe bushes.

The best part was when the lights went off. When I say the lights went off, I mean that hostel room lights, streetlights, verandah lights, everything. It was pitch dark. Then, everyone went nuts. Karthick kept trying to scare Aishwarya out of her skin. Going up behind her, and screaming ‘cuckoo’ in her ears. Actually everyone’s ears. We took some pictures in the dark as well. Unfortunately, the darkness did not last as long as we’d have liked it to. But we had lots of fun.

Anyway, after some time, Ankur turned up. He was walking a bit uncertainly towards the girls hostel, cause he couldn’t see anyone waiting inside. Then another guy who had come with him, nudged him in the ribs and pointed towards us. Remember, we were on the road, sitting cross-legged. Ankur just shook his head and took out his cell and dialled Ritu ma’am’s number. When the cell in ma’am’s hand started ringing, realisation dawned upon him.

His confusion was understandable. Not too many people decide to have dharnas on the road like that, at least in IIT-G…

He said that he would’ve got them the rooms in the Married Scholars’ quite easily, if they’d called earlier. Not that he couldn’t get them now! He would get the 3 of them a separate room, like they wanted. Also, ma’am also mentioned if he could get them a taxi, and he helped us quite obligingly.

We decided to walk to the Married Scholar’s Hostel to keep their luggage. At the point where the routes to the Married Scholars’ and our hostel parted, me and Karthick decided to head to ours – I needed my medicine.