Places to visit in Aurangabad

Aurangabad is a historic city which is famous for its vast stretch of caves dating back to the time between the 6^th and 8^th century, the beautiful monument of Bibi Ka Maqbara and its close proximity to the Lonar lake, among other things. If you love history and have an eye for detail, Aurangabad is a must visit for you! We had travelled from Pune and took an overnight bus to reach Aurangabad. There are multiple trains and buses available starting from Mumbai and Pune to Aurangabad. Here is a detailed itinerary for a short three day trip to this city and a list of places to visit in Aurangabad.
Day 1 : Ajanta Caves

Kindly note that Ajanta caves are shut on Mondays, thus plan your trip likewise.

We decided to visit the Ajanta caves on the first day. We booked a local cab in advance for intercity travel. We had booked our stay at the Lotus Resort at Daulatabad which was close to Ajanta and the Daulatabad Fort.

After freshening up we left for Ajanta which took us around a 2 and half hours’ drive to reach from Daulatabad.

There are in all 26 caves to explore and it consumes an entire day to see them all.

In order to truly enjoy the ancient charm of these caves, I would suggest hiring either a local guide or one of the professional guides available at the place. The stories behind every painting and carving will make you feel like you’ve gone back in time! Please carry enough water as they don’t sell bottles of water after the entry gate. The climate is usually quite dry and will keep you thirsty for water.

After exploring the caves, do ask your guide or the locals the path to reach the waterfall. Trust me; you wouldn’t want to miss this beautiful waterfall which is formed by the unison of seven small waterfalls together. Here is a link of what the waterfall looked like in October. Ajanta Waterfall

The MTDC restaurant inside the premises serves good food and I would definitely recommend it for lunch and snacks.

My favorite statue was the 24 feet long statue of the sleeping Buddha in cave 26! Ajanta caves are a must visit place in Aurangabad. An entire day will be passed by the time you cover entire Ajanta!
Day 2 (First half): Daulatabad Fort

Daulatabad fort is another must visit place in Aurangabad. I would suggest starting your day early morning such that you reach Daulatabad fort by 9 am. Start the trek and reach the topmost point for a breathtaking view of the city. Here again, carry lots of water and snacks. I would also suggest taking a guide who will tell you amazing stories of how many armies tried to capture the fort and none ever did! He will also help you navigate through the maze (guffan) which is dark and needs flash light to see even during day light.
Day 2 (Second half): Lonar Lake

After the trek freshen up, have lunch and start your drive for Lonar. I would suggest doing a take away for lunch as it takes minimum 3 hours 15 mins (leave latest by 12:30-1 pm) to reach Lonar before 6 pm because the entry shuts by then. If you leave by 1 pm you should be there by 5 pm, which gives you exactly an hour to enjoy.

Lonar Crater Lake was created millions of years ago when a meteor struck the earth. This lake is beautiful and forms the shape of a crater. Adjoining the lake there is temple that describes the mythical story of how the lake was formed, as narrated by the locals. Explore the temple and the lake area and reach the lake after taking 100 steps downward from the temple.

For sunset view come back on top and go to the watch tower which is 500m from the entrance of the lake garden. You can ask the locals for directions or use Google maps to reach the place. The view from the watch tower is amazing. Call it a day after Lonar and have a safe trip back to city.

The uniqueness of the formation of the lake and how beautiful it looks makes it one of the places to visit in Aurangabad.
Day 3 (First half): Ellora Caves

At one of the Buddhist caves in Ellora

After breakfast leave for Ellora caves. Since you’ve already visited Ajanta, the Buddhist caves in Ellora might not seem that exciting. Many Buddhist caves were not completed and had been left abandoned. However, if you love waterfalls there is a small waterfall near the Buddhist caves that you can visit.

The main attraction of the Ellora caves is the cave 16 also called the Kailasa temple. It’s usually very crowded. There are multiple points there to check within that one cave, especially for photography enthusiasts. This cave will take the longest to explore. It is very astounding how the sculptors carved the entire temple with one monolith rock!

After visiting the Kailasa temple, head straight to the cave number 29. This cave has a lake and a beautiful waterfall. You will have to ask the ST bus to stop there when is takes the route to Jain Mandir.

After the cave 29, go to the Jain Mandir which is the last stop in that route. Unlike Ajanta, Ellora will be quite crowded and time consuming as it has a lot more caves than Ajanta.
Day 3 (Second half): Aurangabad city tour

After lunch make your way to Bibi Ka Maqbara and on the way to it, stop by at Pan Chakki. It was a mill that ran on hydropower. You can even feed the fishes in the water. We didn’t spend a lot of time here and rushed to Bibi Ka Maqbara. The miniature Taj Mahal reference of the monument is amazing. Again, this being a popular tourist spot, it is very crowded. After enjoying the sunset you can have light snacks at the stalls near the monument.

If you like visiting zoos then leave early from Bibi ka Maqbara and go to Sidharth garden. This shuts by 6 pm so manage your time accordingly. (We skipped this place though)

With this comes the end of three busy days in exploring Aurangabad. In case you don’t wish to hire a guide; do buy the tour guide book available at most of the places for minimum bucks. This book gives you all the information you need about most of the places to visit in Aurangabad and even covers few of the historical stories behind them.

I Hope this article helps you plan your trip to Aurangabad. This sums up all the places to visit in Aurangabad if your stay is short. If you plan on staying longer there are some more nearby places that you can visit. Do let me know in comments whether this was helpful and if you have any queries, feel free to ask!

Here are few photos from my trip:

Sleeping Buddha at cave 26

Buddha statues at cave 29 of Ajanta

Kailasa temple entrance

Gomukh temple at Lonar

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Explore Gokarna in 24 hours!

Gokarna is a small town situated in the western coast of India in the state of Karnataka. Well known as a spiritual hub, Gokarna also boasts of beautiful serene beaches. I was lucky to have been able to make a short trip to this beautiful town. Before we start with the itinerary, let me brief you on how to get there.

Travel – How to get there:

Gokarna is accessible by Bus and train. The travel time is same for both the bus and train from Pune/Mumbai. Nearest airport is Dabolim, Goa. I had traveled by bus to Gokarna and returned by train.

You could book private busses from popular bus booking sites which have a halt at either ‘Gokarna Cross’ or ‘Madangeri’. We were traveling from Pune and the bus fare for Air conditioned sleeper bus till Gokarna Cross came upto INR 3000.

Another way of travelling would be taking the train which is much cheaper in comparison to a bus or flight. You will have to take a train to Margao, Goa and from there take another train ride to Gokarna which takes about an hour from Goa. Together the train travel would cost around INR 450 for Non AC.

Travel Plan:

Gokarna Main Beach:

At the break of Dawn from Gokarna Main Beach.

We started our bus journey at 7 pm from Pune and reached Gokarna Cross next day at 5:15 am. We took a local auto rickshaw that costs INR 350 for entire vehicle to the main Gokarna beach. It sits three people at a time. It was a 20 minutes ride. The public bath and washrooms had opened at the beach around 5:45 am. We freshened up and waited at the shore to experience the break of dawn at the beach. What a beautiful site ‘twas to watch the sky lit the entire shoreline. The beach isn’t lonely at this hour and there are plenty of locals and tourists who are already relaxing on the beach.

Mahabaleshwar Temple:

After spending an hour at the beach we visited the famous century’s old Mahabaleshwar temple which is situated right in front of the beach and is at walk-able distance. Most temples here don’t allow you entry if you’re not a Hindu. We admired its beauty from the outside and watched the priests and locals worshiping in good faith.

Kudle Beach:

Kudle beach front view

You could take a local ride to Kudle beach. We wanted to explore the streets so we decided to cover it on foot. The walk to Kudle beach from Gokarna beach is about 25 minutes and can be easily navigated using Google Maps. Kudle beach had multiple shacks and though we were keen to reach there for breakfast at the famous Shiva café we had breakfast at Om shanti Shack right next to it as Shiva Café was shut for the season. The food was good and there are both local cuisines and continental food available here at affordable prices.

Om Beach:

Om Beach view point

If you check the maps, it will navigate you to a route that takes about an hour to reach Om beach by foot. However there is a pathway that has been built from Kudle that connects to Om beach directly in around 25 minutes by foot. You could ask the locals and they will direct you to a route that starts at the end of the Kudle beach shoreline that leads to the Gokarna cliff. From there downhill is a path to Om beach. If you’re not up for the walk then you could easily avail a local transport directly to Om beach.

We reached Om beach by foot and dropped our luggage at Namaste Café as we were to stay there the night. There was still some time left for our check-in at the hotel, so we decided to check the ferry time for Nirvana beach from the ferry point. We missed Nirvana as no boats were available that day to Nirvana. You could try your luck to get there by boat ride costing INR 350 per head. We relaxed for a few hours at Om beach until our rooms were ready.

Namaste Café:

Namaste Cafe Room

Namaste Café is a popular lunch place and might have a little waiting. The food is amazing and the stay is really cheap and comfortable too! The café opens right at the front of Om beach. Must try the sea food delicacies here.

Om beach-Half moon beach-Small Hell Beach-Paradise Beach trek

• Om Beach View Point:

  Post lunch time we decided to relax and start our trek to the famous Paradise beach. We started the trek around 4:30 pm. The trek from Om beach to the Om beach view point is easy and can be trekked with slippers on. The view of the entire Om beach from the view point is breath taking.

• Half-Moon Beach:

  It is a 15 minute trek to Half Moon beach if you get the trail right else it might take about 20-30 minutes depending on how good you are at navigating. To finish the trek faster it would be best to have a word with the locals so you avoid reaching dead ends. The half-moon beach is not very big and has very few tourists. There are ferry service available here to take you to paradise beach directly or even to take you back to Om beach by boat.

• Small Hell Beach:

  Small hell beach is a little difficult to reach by slippers and I would suggest to carry shoes as you have to do a little bit of rock climbing to reach this beach. It is the tiniest of the beaches in Gokarna and is quite secluded.

• Paradise Beach:

  One has to cross the Hell’s cliff from Small hell beach to reach here. It is a bit of a task if you’re not wearing the right shoes. Once you cross over the cliff, paradise beach is just 2 mins walk from there. You will see tourists camping at Paradise beach. We took a ride back by boat to Om beach after reaching Paradise beach. The trek was tiring as we had already covered half of Gokarna on foot. The last ferry is at 6 pm so we didn’t want to miss it out!

The boat ride was serene and peaceful as we watched the sunset. If you do not wish to trek you could instead take boat rides that are available at Om beach ferry point that take you to all the nearby beaches priced at INR 250-350 per head. Depending on the rush they may or may not stop at the beaches for pictures. There are also boats that start from Gokarna main beach as well.

view from boat ride

In all we covered all the main beaches in the entire Gokarna coast in 24 Hours! There is a famous cave, ‘Yana caves’ that can be visited in Gokarna as well. It is a 45 minute drive from Om beach and takes about a day to cover. This could be covered the next day.

Gokarna Road Station

I would say you could plan a stay of 3 nights if you want to take it slow and relax. You could cover a few more temples and Yana caves. Alcohol is not served here, however you can carry your own liquor. My favorite beach was Kudle beach.

Gokarna is a very peaceful place with very few commercial areas and indeed gives a break from the hustle and bustle of city life!

Naked

Amidst all the hustle and bustle of the city, she stood still as time froze around her. She had her eyes fixated onto one entity afar that she forgot she was surrounded by plenty. Her mind was in a state of limbo and was floating with the flow of her thoughts.

Unguarded, she started to strip in the middle of the crowded street. Everyone who passed by would stop to watch her while they passed by her. Some even stopped their conversations and looked straight at her. A few others took their smart devices out to capture what they were witnessing. Another group called out to more people and brought their attention to her. Whispers, scribbling papers, flashes of light, nothing diverted her eyes from what it was focused on.

Naked in front of the world, she was lost and her eyes didn’t feel ashamed looking at people staring at her, neither did her ears get numb with the sound of the chattering crowd. Astonished as they were, the crowd started to disperse after enjoying the short span of free entertainment. The chattering sounds stopped, the lights stopped flashing, scribbling of papers died and the eyes stopped rolling while she made no movement. She was forgotten in a few hours and the world had moved on.

Hours later she smiled as tears started pouring from her eyes. She felt light-hearted, happiness filled her mind which now was at peace. She was clean of her guilt, suffering, embarrassment, sorrow and misery. It took her years to come in terms with the wild heart she kept caged inside of her. She now learnt that it was easier to be her real self and set herself loose than be trapped in a cage for a world that never saw anything beyond her flaws.

Movie Review: Logan (2017) *spoiler alert*

The world’s been buzzing about the movie Logan ever since it was speculated that this would be the last movie Hugh Jackman would be playing the X-Men favorite clawed mutant – Wolverine. The movie released in India on the 3^rd of March 2017 and a mutant fanatic like me couldn’t wait to watch it.

The movie is a must watch for every Mutant lover and watching Hugh Jackman play Wolverine can never stop amusing you. He’ll take you back to your teenage years where you’ll be clasping your hands together, biting your nails and murmuring to yourself as he destroys every ‘bad guy’ on his way. It breaks your heart knowing that you will not be seeing him on the big screen playing the iconic mutant again. Also you will be taken aback by an outstanding performance by the kiddo – child artist Dafne Keen and of course Sir Patrick Stewart, the professor and headmaster we wish we had in real life –Charles Xavier aka Professor X. For parental advice the movie has a lot of violence and gore. If you were here just for the review, I’d say stop scrolling further to avoid any spoilers!

The movie starts with a bunch of goons trying to rob what looks like some machine parts (tire maybe) of a luxury limousine. We see a drunk/sleepy head Logan getting off the car and warning the gentlemen to go back and no harm would be caused. But as predicted the buttheads shoot him and continue what they were doing anyway. Struggling to stand up Logan manages to get up and walk towards them and requests them to stop. Things take a different turn and we see wolverine alive killing everyone leaving their corpses lying limbless and headless.

It is here we realize that Logan is a taxi driver in New Mexico and looks rather old, grumpy and is struggling to heal back.

The corpses attract a cyborg – Donald Pierce to track Logan who warns him that someone may come looking for him and it would be kind if he would report to him whenever that happens.

We get introduced to Caliban – a mutant tracker and a mutant himself talking about another mutant going out of control, trying to make contact. We see Logan carry medicines and injection to a deserted hiding wherein an old man supposedly suffering from Alzheimer’s disease was talking to himself. This is none other than our Professor Charles Xavier. With a brain that dangerous and a disease of the mind making him rather volatile and more dangerous than ever. He would get seizures often that would affect everyone around him, making it difficult to move. Charles keeps talking about communicating to some mutants and Logan only shuts him up saying that the world has changed and our kind are very few.

A Mexican nurse Gabriella with a kid tracks Logan and requests him for help. Realizing that he’s a taxi driver, she even manages to book his cab. Logan agrees after she offers him $ 50k which he needs to take care of Charles and himself. The next day he finds the woman dead in her apartment and the child missing. He takes her phone and goes back to their hiding. Caliban insists that there is someone or something that Logan has got back in his car. They find a bag pack and a ball in the trunk leading their eyes to the kid from that night – Laura. Pierce tracks Logan to the hideout and they put up a fight to find Laura and Professor X. The professor insists Logan that he should save the kid and she is special. During the fight we see that Laura had been genetically created using Logan’s gene and is the ‘daughter’ of wolverine. Pierce manages to take Caliban as prisoner while the trio escape him. In Gabriella’s phone they learn more about Laura and other kids like her. She had wanted him to take Laura to a place called Eden from where all the children that escaped from the company run by Dr. Rice where they were genetically created using X-Men and other mutants’ genes, will be crossing the border.

Along their journey to a safe house, they encounter a family whose horses run off the highway. Professor X helps them with his mind control and the family offers them to stay the night for dinner. Post dinner the water supply was shut, so Logan and the man go to the fields to fix the water supply. Meanwhile Pierce sends out his men to capture the girl. They track them by torturing Caliban and send a genetically engineered mutant to kill them. This mutant does not have a conscious of his own and is controlled by the Doctor. He attacks Charles and destroys the entire family. This mutant is an exact replica of Logan himself! While Laura is been carried by him, Logan and the man manage to reach the house. It’s an awe to watch two wolverines fight each other. Though he manages to save the kid, Charles lost his life and Caliban sets himself on fire by bursting the entire truck in flames in an attempt to save Laura.

Wolverine is dying and he is not healing. The kid manages to take him to a doctor after they bury Charles in the woods near a lake. Adamant Logan only keeps yelling at Laura till he sleeps off due to tiredness. Laura drives the vehicle to Eden where she meets all the escaped children. They treat Logan and tell him about their plan of crossing the border. During the night Logan and Laura have a conversation where he explains to her about adamantium in their bodies that is killing him and which eventually after years would kill her too. He shows her a bullet made of adamantium that he holds to remind himself of his weakness. At Dawn when the kids make an escape, Logan wakes up to the sound of militant vehicles. Knowing the kids are in danger he makes his way out to the woods to help the children. He takes an injection that temporarily cures him and makes his way to the woods. After putting a tough fight, he instructs Laura to free the kids and escape while he distracts the enemy.

Logan kills Dr. Rice, this angers the wolverine lookalike mutant against him and they have a tough fight. Meanwhile Laura frees the kids, killing most of the militants and the children manage to kill Pierce. Logan gets defeated by his lookalike, yells at Laura to take the children and escape. Angered by the lookalike Wolverine, Laura uses the adamantium bullet and shoots his head off, killing him. Teary eyed Laura holds Logan as he says his last words and calls him daddy. The children bury him, as a tearful Laura gives a eulogy and make an escape.

Logan: Nature made me a freak. Man made me a weapon. And God made it last too long.

The movie was heart wrenching and the only thing I did not like in the movie was the death of my two favorite X-Men.  It would have been easier to see Logan dying had they shown him dying gradually though last few movies than suddenly killing him off. Hope you enjoy the movie like I did!

Girl in the Train

The rays didn’t hurt and she was lost in thoughts as her mind unfolded flashes of past with every passing mile.

Feed

The nature of all living things is to depend on each other. We’re all interdependent on each other forming a circle, a Chakra, like a wheel and we will keep moving forward only together as one.

When you’re out of place and want something, someone, don’t shy away from approaching because life lives on not when you’re starving but only when you feed. Fight for your survival. Be selfish. Survive.

Go on and feed on each other.

Caged

 

That funny feeling lingered on for days, as if it had been just hours since she last met him. Her mind was occupied only with his reflection. His dark eyes, messy hair and the grip of his strong arms around her. She felt safe. He made her feel safe.

Her heart that was caged behind a prison wall, would not stop trying to break out from it. But the prison walls were so tall and strong, that her heart only grew weary of trying. She was scared to give it all that she had. They told her that prison walls can be climbed over or broken down, if one was determined. But the fear of taking a huge leap and falling hard, only to be crushed into pieces again, kept her from trying harder.

Her soul was lost and wanted to be found. It wished that it be found only by his alone. Her heart could not make a choice between taking the risk and giving it all or carrying more regrets without trying. Day and night her heart and soul would fight. Although both knew deep down that the solution was him, neither of them had much faith in how strong her mind was before she lost her sanity for eternity.

The Optimist vs. The Pessimist

​”Look up”, he said “We will grow for eternity, intertwined together forever.” She wanted to believe him. But all she saw, was the dark edges that shadowed them. Underneath the green cover, it obstructed the light from entering in.

He said “Together we will be safe from the harsh heat and won’t get burned down”. She thought to herself, the shade only took away the light and the warmth. It dimmed the lights and darkened the skies. She was scared that her soul would freeze to death thanks to the cold that surrounded her.

He promised that it would get easier with time. But time was very expensive. One that she couldn’t afford. 

The Link

She blocked him out so that she could fight all her bondage by herself. She made a promise that she will be back soon and he waited patiently awaiting her return. Isolation from the world brought her inner peace. When her soul returned victoriously dancing to the sound of freedom, he was gone. He was away fighting a war against the same demons that she shut him out for.  It was now, her turn to sit cautiously and hope that her soldier returns unharmed.

When the day of his arrival came, she bathed herself in exotic bath, dressed herself in silk clothing and prepared the finest meal. She set the table with clean linen sheet, porcelain crockery, scented candles and a delicate vase with a bunch of red roses. It was time.

At the table, the two sat facing each other and the room was dimly lit by candlelight. Their faces gleamed through the light but as they looked closer into each other their sight blurred further. They were both aware that wars always took a toll on the living. This time, it destroyed their common ground. Their souls were lost and were on a path very different from the other. There was no mutuality and their journey together had reached a diversion.

What of all the mortal longings if one does not need their consort to support through all the good times and the BAD?

Light

Just a matter of Time..

His dark eyes stayed fixated on the road as he drove along the countryside. The rustling sound of the leaves, hooting owls and the whispering dark shadows he passed by went mute as he reached the end. When he stopped and stepped out, the atmosphere felt to him like in a state of vacuum. He heard no sound, he felt no air and he saw no light as the suffocation just grew deeper. His head felt pressured as if it would burst into pieces like shattered glass.

No matter how numb his thoughts had become, he had to be quick and do the right thing. He had made sure his wallet had enough cash and an identity card in case he was found to be unconscious somewhere. He had been planning this since long and made no mistake to avoid any questions unanswered. He always was a step ahead and performed every act undoubtedly accurate. Even after making all the right moves, he found himself surrounded in chaos and everything around him always went awry. He knew he cannot blame himself for everything that went down but he could not quite see the light.

He was dying. He wandered too far in search of a cure only to get worse in time. No cure could bring him back to life. He knew how to hide his flaws and use them for his advantage. Yet, he stood there alone all by himself in pain unable to get a grip, breaking every part of his soul. He knew not what was coming for him but knew what he was doing to keep it coming.

He was surviving each night minute by minute, but tonight was different. He lay on the ground on his back and stared at the sky. He saw the light. He slowly understood what it was that led him so far and felt the numbness fading away. His head did not hurt and his heart had stopped pounding. His tightly gripped hands released the empty bottle, rolling it down the slope.

The owls hooted and the trees danced to the wind. The dark shadows came closer and swallowed him to oblivion. He was gone and finally found the peace he had been longing for all his life. The light never dimmed.

It is clear that no man would know what his purpose is or will ever find what he had been searching all his life. Death lead him to the treasury where time held all the secrets and answers to the entire struggle he put up through his life journey. Only he will know if it was it worth all the answers.

Did he do the right thing or did he only surround himself in mayhem?

Daydream

Each step that she took felt to her as if she was walking on thin air. The Ground was so light that her feet almost gave away. She feared falling hard on her face yet managed to keep her head up, taking every step cautiously.

They say a man shows true courage when he faces his worst fears and breaks it. She envied such admiration. She wanted to be like a brave warrior who bursts through the clutches of his enemies after defeating them and is applauded for it.

Her enemies were worldly fixations created by humans. They bred inside of her and put up a strong struggle crushing her every attempt. It was her own existence that she feared the most. Having grown up under the shadows of deceivers, she feared that she had turned into a monster like them.

She believed that she was journeying through Life in Pursuit of Redemption.

In her heinous world full of envy, hatred, vanity, lust, greed and selfishness it was difficult to yield a kind heard. She knew she would be trampled upon with dirt if she came clean. Her heart was pure in her world of pretense. Blinded by the agony of facing her fears, she believed she was pellucid and closed her mind to the reality.

She continued taking each step only wishing for the best. She hoped what she was walking towards was the path to redemption. She knew that she had failed to think for her and see beyond crude lines. Yet she did not mind living in her daydream. A fantasy she was happy that existed to alleviate her blind, deaf and mute frame.

Sayonara

‘Dream. And your Dreams will Come True…’

Everybody has reveries: dreams about the distant future, near future and a thousand other things. The disappointing results of my senior year and the still unnerving mark of JEE shattered many a dream of mine. Yet the hopes of getting admission in my “dream college” were far from getting extinguished. While attending the selection process for minority students, my dream was getting soured with each candidate choosing their college of choice. XIE was a disappointing distant choice as I never wanted to get admission through any quota.

I remember walking out with my parents after my admission to the Xavier Institute of Engineering through minority quota, when reverend Fr. John Rose called out to us and told me not to be disappointed and that I should work hard and make my parents proud for they have sweated out their hard earned money for my education. It has almost been four years since that day but I can’t recall any occasion when my parents showed any disappointment in me.

I had only heard about XIE when a few school friends spoke about some far off engineering college that existed next to St. Michael’s Church in Mahim. Today I spend an average of almost four hours daily, travelling to and fro from college, sometimes physically hurting but always energetic. As tiring as it may be, I’d still say XIE has been one of the best experiences of my life.

Meeting plenty of like-minded individuals and being nurtured by a hardworking and kind staff, I’ve grown from being a first year floundering Junior to being a final year exemplary Senior. Building relationships – be it with students (juniors or seniors), professors or with non-teaching staff – played a huge role in XIE as much as being engrossed in books did. It isn’t important how many of the relationships lasted or got lost but what mattered was how it shaped us to become what we are.

What many colleges fail to understand is the importance of nurturing the growth of students from their own comfort zones without burdening them with excessive stress by pressurizing them to fit pre-fixed moulds. At the same time it is necessary to ensure that students don’t take the Institute for granted. XIE created such an atmosphere for me that I could manage to keep calm and focused on my goals in tune with my abilities without letting lethargy overtake me, thereby bringing the best out of me.

Those long lasting moments of friendship, attending routine lectures to bunking a few, holding serious as well as funny conversations in the canteen, cheering and playing games at the ground, the never ending submissions and viva phase, loud and bright festive events and activities, fun filled picnics, post exam stress to nail biting result days are memories that I will cherish for life.

True, my dream wasn’t fulfilled in terms of getting admission in the college of my choice, but all my dreams came true exponentially in terms of what I wanted to achieve during my college life.