It is funny that I am writing about a library of all the places in this world. But its significance can only be understood by a person who has been to this amazing place. When I entered it for the first time, I was thrilled to see so many people studying together under the same roof consistently for hours. I had never seen anything like it before.
My initial absurd reason of entering in this library wasn’t STUDIES. It was an escape from my roommate in the hostel. Not because she wasn’t a nice one. Rather she is the best roommate I ever got SANS her HARMONIUM and daily RAYAZ!!! She was in Music Department!!! And she did RAYAZ daily for 2-3 hours, when it was time for me to sleep in the afternoon. After initial bickering with her I chose to make some PEACE by opting outa that dreaded “Kaal Kothri” when she used to do her Rayaz. And I entered LIBRARY!!!
But off course PU hostel room is a ‘Kaal Kothri’. A small compressed room sans any ventilation except for slits which don’t open most of the times!!! Thanks to the great architect of those rooms, who instead of putting a much needed window in the room put a wide glass pane which was fixed on the wall and couldn’t be opened. It worked for the inmates (hostelers) as a green house gas plant where all the heat could enter but none could escape!!! And you are the luckiest of all if you stay on the 6th floor. A blissful state indeed!!! And when in such a blessed ‘Kaal Kothri’ my roommate used to start her Rayaz, I used to get out of the room by the time her SUR reached Pa of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa( no offence to singers). One can imagine the added effect of ECHO in an airtight room!!!
Coming back to AC Joshi Library, slowly I started liking that place. Eventually I too started studying 4-5 hours/day and left my afternoon napping habit for the first time in my life!!! It was an honour studying with the students there, most of whom were preparing for civil services, MBAs, M.Tech, PHDs. The whole atmosphere gets you into study mode within 10-15 minutes. There are some unsaid rules in the Library like pin drop silence (although 100s of students studies together), adjusting with the loss of your seat once you go out, etc. I still remember the “Happy Reading slogan” someone put on its wall. It is open for 24hours and hence a big bonus for boys!!! Only few girls have the courage to go there at nights but it is allowed.
The only problem in library is constant STARING by boys!!! They stare at girls as though this is their very last opportunity to see a girl, which embarrasses many girls outright. No doubt it is a place with majority of boys. The only way for a girl to survive such stares is to become indifferent to everyone to which I almost succeeded (99%) Well there is a 1% chance always in such a scenario!!! :)
Anybody who knows A.C Joshi Library knows STU-C/ student centre too. This is the place where one hangs around with one’s friends for coffee,tea,lunch or just casual talk. It is one of the most happening places of the whole campus of the university. From FM radio RJs shows to election rallies, it is the most vibrant place of the University.
My Department is known to be one of the most rocking departments in University and rightly so. Although initially I had no intention of doing MA in English Literature, but now I realize its significance. 1st year mainly contains beautiful plays,novels and poetry and literary criticism . But the second year is the challenging one. When the bomb of Contemporary Literary Criticism falls on you, you get disillusioned for a few months. The fact of the matter is that it is totally incomprehensible. From incomprehensible Deconstruction to Modernism to Post modernism to Structuralism to Marxism to my favorite Feminism, it disorients the student for some time. Then you open Peter Barry’s Book and start getting a little clue of the whole situation. Here I would like to mention Rumina Mam, Rana Sir and Raina Sir who helped us to a large extent to make some sense of Literary Criticism!!! The intellectual arguments during lectures of Rumina Mam, Rana Sir are the most memorable ones...
I have many fond memories of my two years spent in the University for my MA degree. My shifting to the hostel in 2nd year was a turning point in my life. A place like university becomes a comfort zone for anyone. And moving ahead from such a vibrant place to a lonely cabinet of a boring serious office would be a big task for any student who experienced University life. It brings nostalgia to me every time I wander around PU....
I wish I could turn back the clock for once!!!
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