Articles from previous Sampada editions for 10th Anniversary issue – Article borrowed from Sampada-77, Chitra S Reddy
“Pa! I want to put BMSCE as my priority. Not UVCE! “ Well those were the words of the 19 year old version of me when sitting in front of the computer entering the choices for my engineering college selection, the very same year when CET first adopted online counseling. Yes! Being honest, I always prayed to God before the final counseling day that I get a seat in PESIT or BMSCE and not UVCE whilst my parents tried to make me understand why they made me put UVCE as one of the choices. But as luck had its way, the D-Day came and it was UVCE for me. With some disappointment in heart but some curiosity about the college my dad and many others spoke at length, I made my final choice to accept my seat in UVCE. 4 years down the lane, today, as I look back at this incident I am the most joyous person at the turn of events then cause UVCE was the best choice one could have!
On the first day of UVCE, Oh god! I was a lost puppy, after running around the college trying to find the Electronics Department, met a senior who pointed the place to me. As I followed the directions along with two of my PU college friends, Chaithanya and Shilsha, we were led to a classroom at the end of corridor that was swarming with students. Startled at the sight, we slowly walked in and found place in a bench at the end where a girl was sitting. As we introduced ourselves formally, I met Diya! After a lot of confusion and prank which for reasons cannot be discussed here, our seniors welcomed us warmly. That day still runs like a movie reel infront of my eyes, every detail intact. The journey started then. With 4 friends Diya, Chaithanya, Hamsa and Shilsha, I stepped to brace UVCE.
First year went in a jiffy! Most of the time in the starting went in introducing ourselves and remembering the names of all students in class. Slowly groups started forming and all of us turned busy bees to hunt for hangout spots around UVCE. I still remember our first outing to Sigma Mall, it was the first time I visited it. We explored the food joints (at a budget rate of course) and went inside to sit on the stairs as not many people were there and no other places to sit were found. We started chatting until we were shooed by the security. The interesting thing about first year of engineering is, we all are so serious about studying for internals and exams. It was so important for all of us to buy text books in the starting few weeks only and not miss a single xerox that others had. Today, while I am in my fourth year, the eight semester exams are fast approaching and we still don’t have the worry to buy text books and internals are only for meeting up with the entire class.
The best thing one would say about UVCE is the relationship the juniors and seniors have. From the first day of stepping into college to even now when we are n fourth year, our seniors have been a beacon of light. We hung out with them like friends and had the best of times whilst learning an amazing bunch of things. Syllabus? Xerox notes? Placement Help? Subject doubt at 2 am? Crisis in Life? Hang out? Treats? Well, for all these is one common answer, having a senior on the speed dial. Along with the batch mates they have been the best of friends we have made for the lifetime. I was a fortunate one to meet so many seniors that if I start naming each one who made a difference to me, it would take another 2 pages.
One important activity I was part of in my first year was theatre. My senior Abhishek Chakma was instrumental in pulling together a group of us, first years to put a play on stage for fiesta. It was a play about UVCE with students having different views about the plus and minus points. The play was well applauded but the most memorable part was the practices at open air theatre and the running around.
By the time we reached second year we were far from being amateurs to UVCE life. We slowly started taking the reigns in our hands. We started being more actively involved in college. Second year was when I joined the team of Sampada. I still remember how paranoid I was about how would manage it. But through the editions I have just loved working, learnt so much and interacted with so many people. The biggest challenge was sitting late nights on a fight with Microsoft Publisher editing all those layouts and proof-reading articles. A very huge part of my college experience was working for two organizations and that started in my second year. VisionUVCE and IEEE, two volunteer organizations that completely transformed me into who I am today and I am proud of it.
Third year was a fun one! Whilst enjoying the senior status, we still could have fun with final years being around to take the responsibilities. For me third year was a lot of interaction. Starting from internships to industry exposures, learning the technological world outside which is way more complex than what textbooks taught. Attending conferences, meeting new people – learning from experiences of the veterans and sharing stories with our peers from different backgrounds.
I remember this one incident of particular in third year. It was time for KAGADA 2014. All preparations were done and we had MR. Rodam Narasimha confirmed to be our chief guest. Our joy was endless. But it all got washed away with the rains that struck Bangalore two days before the D-Day. While praying that it wouldn’t rain on the day of the event we set to complete all our preparations. But nope! Our prayers were unheard. Cause the seminar hall started pouring water from the ceiling recreating the picture of Jog Falls! First we panicked racing up and down storming ideas, a jugaad hit our minds. Along with the seniors, Vidya and Prashanth, Chaithanya and I took to the terrace of our UVCE. Until then I never knew there was an outlet to the terrace, leave alone knowing where it was. In the hard rain, we took a whole lot of old flex banners and went to the place above seminar hall where the leak was and tried fixing it with flex banners and some physics we thought made sense. The leak did get controlled but very little. But that wasn’t the bad part, it was when the Chief Guest for whom we did a whole lot of prep cancelled due to emergency reasons. We were a little down as our efforts went down the drain but there was not time for it as the show had to go on! So we handled everything & KAGADA 2014 was a success. Well, its these kind of raw experiences & skills that UVCEians have developed which make us so different from students from other colleges.
Fourth Year! Ufff! This one got us juggling things big time. From conducting fests, guiding juniors to handling company interviews, from buried behind books for exams to racking the brains for project, we turned into superheroes! As fourth year came joy erupted that were the super seniors but nervousness wrecked us too with all the responsibilities. We shed our carefree attitude and put on our shoes to handle the activities in college. What wreck us more were placements! Which company? How much pay? What to prepare for? Oh god! The questions were never ending. The difficult part was to choose a company at first. For some the choice was based on pay, for some the job nature and many other restrictions. Facing the interviewers got us weak on our knees but we masked it with a smile. Waiting anxiously to know if we were in or we would get to hear “You are done for the day”. Well we dragged ourselves through the race and I am happy to see almost everyone in our batch happy with a job offer in hand. Whilst this was the drama on one side, the other side was paved with responsibilities for making decisions, conducting fests. Impetus 2016! I don’t remember the no. of times we skipped lunch whilst the preparation was on to get sponsors, employing ideas together, guiding the team and handling the other stuff. The fourth years had a one hell of a hard but fun time working behind the scenes. Towards the end of eighth semester, we started digesting the fact that we have only a few days in college. Ethnic day marked our feat to click pictures with everyone we knew cause another opportunity didn’t exist. Our adieu to UVCE officially began with graduation day, where men in suits & ladies in glimmering sarees took to the stage in graduation gowns to receive their momentoes from Principal. Following this start was all the farewells from juniors that got the seniors on a nostalgic path and finally the handling off of responsibilities to our juniors to handle the college for good!
Yes! I do not have any regret for being part of UVCE. One would say I am giving an ideal answer but inspite of those leaky roofs, gazillion powercuts, dusty classrooms, quadrangle filled with stray dogs, UVCE had a flavor of its own which had an experience to offer that I don’t think one would definitely find elsewhere. All the things about UVCE, good or bad are an integral part of my memories that I will carry forward for the rest of my life. I am grateful for the friends I made here, the people who passed their knowledge to me & made me whom I am! All this will stay with me forever!
Now staring at the pile of books as we prepare for our final semester exams, our last exams be-fore we have a degree in hand I feel like the protagonist in those Bollywood movies as their life reels in front of them when they are dying. What’s different here is I am definitely not dying but a journey as small as 4 years but weighing as much as a lifetime’s journey reels infront of me. And every time I visit UVCE in future, all those countless smiles, millions of mischiefs, gazillion moments of fun and laughter, the times we lent each other our shoulders to cry upon and held the other’s back when we faced problems, all will move past your eye and you will relive them. That’s the magic of UVCE!
– Chitra S Reddy, 8th sem ECE
