A different view.

I am seated at the amphi. The hot sun scorching in the sky above. I am angry at the injustice that has been meted out to us. It is all so unfair. All the places which are sheltered from the sun have already been taken! Can life get worse? I am game for protest. But why can't we do it in the evening or the night? It has been observed that the numbers have always been better at night and more people speak up at night. Something about the darkness, maybe.

Someone is talking about the brand dilution. Yes, I scream, only in my mind though, thankfully. Yes, I say - why did we have such a huge intake for our program, why is there such an average faculty, why are we not getting the worth of what we have paid? Suddenly I come back to my senses and realise its not about this. All this has already been accepted in the smooth flowing system now. It is something more catastrophic now. Something, which I assume, must be the tipping point, the final blow, to get us so mad.

They should not use our brand, another says. This really triggers the mob. People start coming up with all possible options where the brand can be used. Someone says "They are not going to use it when they approach girls. They are not going to say they are from XYZ college. They should say they are from XYZ and ABC college." This is followed by a lot of clapping everywhere. The clap inspires a few more. "They should not be given the same food as us in mess". "They should be flogged in the basketball court!"

And then suddenly, we see a few of them walking towards their classes. We are protesting against them? These people who have finally added some much needed beauty to the campus. These people who would loiter around in the BBC making us hang out there all night, so that we can come up with ways to catch their attention. Should we not, instead, be protesting about sending them for a year to a different country? We have spent huge money getting to Ghaziabad and we deserve them for the next two looong years. And I sense the same thoughts in most of my friends. They are all looking at the enemy. The enmity just vanished! Half of my friends have mentally changed their stance on the protest already. The other half is enjoying in the hostels, and their stance does not really make a difference to the protest.

My thoughts are brought back to the scene by violent voices. People are arguing about the next step. What should the next step be? Everyone comes up with suggestions about everything, but the next step. I know whats going on here - everyone knows there is no next step. Its just about prolonging the inevitability of the situation. We have started enjoying this. We get to sleep, hang around in the amphitheatre and finally hang around in the acad block. That last part was the most fun. We caught up on cards, dumb charades, read that book we always wanted and even slept! So all in all, it was great to have a say and impact the system in a positive way.

Oh yeah, this piece cannot end without the following narration :
Near the mess, one guy is running around, cajoling, forcing, shouting at people to go on and sit in the amphitheatre.
"Come on people, everyone is waiting there. Please move to the amphitheater. Fast! It will start any second."
We run to the amphi. After the usual 15 min of annoucements and declarations, we move back to the mess. And what do we see?
The guy is still running around and shouting the above words. If thats not funny enough, he catches us and screams "Come on guys, you are still here. I told you before, move to the amphi!"

Disclaimer:- If you think everything is a joke to the writer, let me stop laughing and tell you - I am as much a part of it all as anyone. I only choose the humourous view over any other view.