Best Of Both Worlds

Pursuing MA in Arts College, Osmania University(OU) is a dream come TRUE! It’s been a year and a half stint with MA; another 8 months away to finish PG.

Amongst other colleges of OU, Arts college building is the most BEAUTIFUL! This GIGANTIC building is certainly a piece de resistance and an intriguing piece of Art that links to a fascinating past. It’s a two storey building: Ground floor is modelled on British/ English Architecture; 1 st floor on Hindu and 2nd floor on Muslim/Nizam Architecture. OU is a legacy left by the last Nizam of Hyderabad: Mir Osman Ali Khan, who was noted for possessing the largest Wardrobe in the World, in his times. There are many other interesting facts about him. This one memory of him that stands apart from the rest is a ramification of my current obsession with clothes, at this phase of my life.
OU is one of the few places in Hyderabad that swears by greenery. The lush green lawns morph as perfect lounging zones for students, friends, lovers and sundry.

Library is a perfect haven for book-worms and voracious readers like me. It’s HUGE and one can actually get lost in it! But since I have to rush to Work after College, I don’t find ample time to indulge the reader in me . That’s SAD and a Concern for me but to gain something, you have to let go of some things. However Life always replaces what we lose! It asks you to put down something as it prepares you to pick up something greater! A striking aspect of our college is the Classrooms where Benches are structured and built in steps. This only augments our feel-good factor of belonging to this college of a glorious past. Arts college per se is a MAZE. When I went to give my entrance exam for the first time, the pursuit of ferreting out my classroom was like a Treasure Hunt! Now it’s apparently not a herculean task to find my class.

The USP of our college is our PROFESSORS; they are each an Institution per se. I’m privileged to be a part of a college that boasts of the best faculty in India. I was bored to death by lectures, when in St Francis, while pursuing graduation. What brings me to Arts College, apart from its pomp and splendour? It’s the lectures dished out by well read, bred, qualified, learned, wise, prudent, smart and scholarly Professors.

My Classmates are a RIOT. We are a class of 55: 40% comprise the masses from villages and towns; 5% are Firangs from Moscow, Iraq, Riyadh, Dubai and I belong to the 10% from the City. Men from the masses can be mistaken for Thugs. They prefer to walk in amidst on-going classes sans excusing themselves and also wish to walk out vice versa. Does this unruly behaviour emerge out of leniency of pursuing PG? Or because they are from a rustic background? The rest of us don’t do that! We take permission and excuse ourselves before walking in or out. Firangs who make up 5% of our class are a good company. They tell us places in Hyderabad and India we have never been to and therefore know better than us! This holds true to any of us who travel to different Places. My friend Komal (the only confidant at college) and I are the youngest in the class. 10% are girls out of which 3% to 4% are already married. Since we Indians are heterogeneous people, living in a Pluralistic Country; we adapt, adopt, modify and change. Despite our drastic differences, we all have a ball!

Life is a roller coaster ride for me as I shuttle between College and Work. I just love this phase of my life as I’m fortunate to relish the best of both Worlds that leaves me enriched each day, with renewed vigor, energy and enthusiasm.