Spent 2 years in Cotton College from 2002-2004. Did my H.S. in Arts from there. Stayed at MNDP Hostel, popularly known as DS (Double Storey). Cotton College experience is almost inexplicable. It’s a league of its own. If you’re a cottonian, you know this. But here I list some things that I miss about my stay at Cotton.
- Getting military-style hair cuts and wearing full sleeves shirts without tucking for a month as a part of ‘freshers orientation’ into hostel
- Getting and giving ‘Festival’ (something we dreaded as juniors, if you’re a Cottonian you would know what it means)
- Enjoying that little extra leverage from ragging, as you played sports and the hostel seniors wanted you.
- Singing random songs for seniors, as they suddenly felt like listening to me sing.
- Collecting and memorizing the home addresses of every senior in the hostel. I mean it did not make any sense, but we had to. We had separate notebooks just to write those down
- Asking the names of ‘pretty girls’ in your class because some random hostel seniors liked them
- Sitting on college stairs (when you are freshers, you are not allowed to sit on them, or else ‘Festival Khaba’)
- Having the best of the times with the seniors who actually gave you the hardest times
- Freshers parties at cotton college. (Umm they are super fun)
- Getting up super early and going to Judges field and blocking the pitch for cricket match against other hostel residents
- Staying up till late night and blocking part of the roads near the college for election campaigns. (We painted on the roads ‘Vote for …..candidates name…..’)
- Going to the dining hall early on Saturdays to get extra puris
- Doing Hostel Mess Shopping in Paltan Bazar
- Going to the PCO after dinner to make calls to family (Strictly Family……:P, if you know what I am saying)
- Playing cricket at the Hostel lawns
- Shouting and Singing like crazy in the Bathrooms
- Saraswati Puja celebrations. It allowed us to visit the girls’ hostel
- Handique Girls College. Oh, we cottonians love Handique College
- College Elections
- Moving from hostel to hostel campaigning, singing songs and dancing.
- Preparing for March past competition
- Requesting the armed forces Bhaiyas at the Transit Camp, Guwahati for their black army shoes, as we did not have enough to compete in the March Past competition
- Making fun of the ‘Kaala Panis’ (You would know what it means if you are a Cottonian)
- Winning the competition for 3 years continuously. Crying out of happiness in Latasil Field
- Irritating the Warden by making more noise when he was on the rounds
- Dancing like crazy in the hostel verandah to ‘Bheege Honth Tere’. we overdid it as the road next to the hostel were used by girls to go to their classes
- Breaking lights of trucks who disobeyed the order of ‘no entry’ to the cotton roads, especially during exams. (we were studying and the noises of the trucks disturbed us..:P )
- Our Hostel warden shouting at the police personnel and asking them to get out of our hostel premises. we were proud of this that night 🙂
- Watching all kinds of movies (you know, if you know) in those mini size TVs in our hostel rooms.
- Studying hard for exams (Yes, unlike popular belief, we also studied. Well at least, sometimes)
- Late night tea at Railway Station
- Movies at Apsara Cinema Hall. We used the Hostel letter pads to break the line and get tickets. Sometimes at Rupashree too. (if you are a cottonian, you will know 😛 )
- Sometimes it did not work and we had to get into some fights in the tickets line !!!
- Bunking classes and spending lazy times at the canteen
- Getting into unnecessary conflicts with the local students. (Local vs Hostel disputes were rampant in cotton college)
- Defeating the ‘Local cricket team’ in sports week
- ‘Fitting’ for classmates and seniors during exams (If you’re Cottonianan, you would know)
- Having parties in the evenings, if the ‘Fitting’ went right !!!
- Rajabala and Ranibala (Yes they were girls hostel)
- Opening my first Orkut Account at the internet cafe near our Hostel (yes, that’s all we did at the cafe 😛 )
- Communal bathing near the MNDP hostel water tanker, generally after cricket matches
- Exchanging shirts with friends (People did not know which shirt was whose 🙂 )
- Collecting 40 rs to buy pork fry from AT Road to not eat the hostel ka sabzi
- Stationary shopping at MC Trading (The shop is still there)
- Basketball games at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Guwahati
- Dighalipukhuri
- Hitting on the first girl crush and getting rejected 😛
- Hostel Picnics- Umm they were fun
- Asking your friends and seniors write parting memories in your notebook
- Crying like crazy when you had to leave college after 2 years of ‘best times’
Not an exhaustive list…You can never list down all your memories of cotton college.
If you are a Cottonian, you would know !!!
(The featured image shows me and my friend Jitu pegu, visiting and posing at our hostel gate)