SIMC UG 2012

It was a new world. After leaving the apparent cocooned life back home, most of us were ready to leap out. For different reasons. Just like our own HoD, Anupam Siddhartha pointed out. Of course, we disagreed. Unity in diversity? Not really. Not on the first day in college. Rather it was a defense mechanism. But we gladly took life in SIMC up. With a smile here and a frown there(sometimes bigger than necessary), SIMC UG 2012 came together.

From the antics of a rather boisterous bunch of (some) lunatics, to the first and the last proxy we would ever witness, to a clean up drive for which near about the whole batch did turn up("unexpectedly" as a lean body had us believe); there were many things that put us together, as one, as students of SIMC UG. The batch of 2012 as we say it.

The journey however started way back; on the 19th of July. Not many people recognize each other from those days. 120 students out of the 300 that turned up then; not the best chances of knowing each other, now, is it? But now that we see ourselves together, we are hardly ever separated. Plus, most of us don't know many other people in Pune. However, the days started. The 9.30 classes took away our sleep. The small 5 minute meeting at the end of the day infuriated us. But we bore it all. For the simple reason, we were here. For near about 3 years. And for the simple reason that we had to have each other's back. Who else would?

As the days, and the months moved on; how fast is not really the question we need to answer; we moved on. The group dynamics shifted. We weren't cluttered little groups who held grudges against some other human walking the lanes of the 5th or the 6th floor of the SIMC building. No, not even when they were not around. Something that someone mentioned out in Panchgani, we have to survive together in the Media world. Together. Even after these 3 years.

The real bonding of course was a result of a study tour, organized by our very own, AS, in Asia Plateau; but for some random reason it was right before those horrid things - the end-sem exams. That didn't deter us. Just like the mention of exams never did. The trip was a life changing experience. It was one of those experiences that you wouldn't dare forget. The kind you need just to understand there is more to this world than cemented buildings and wants; for there is beauty in the small brushes of greenery painting the earth, in the majestic eagles, and of course there is beauty in each other. It made us realize that. It made us understand that there is more than what you presume in every human, even if you say a hey to them every singe day. After those few days, it was back to the place we belonged. Yes, the cemented place we called college and our new homes away from home. We came in. With a new rejuvenated spirit, with promises to keep and with that spirit we hope never does diminish.

With a better understanding, of our inner self, of each other and of course of the many things that we have seen, the semester came to an end.

There lie many memories in these 5 odd months. Some talk about the 17000 runs, some talk about their skull caps, while some refer to the happiness that reflects in someone else. While some sit and play truth and dare while others watch on. Some prefer DOTA, some outdo each other in CS, while some just sit and study. And here we are, all of us, experiencing it. Through photography, through sketching, through making and watching films, through writing and through being human.

The batch of 2012. Together, we are.

- Akanksha Arya.