Like i told u earlier, i had to bail out of my admission into Raffles Design Institute, Mumbai, because no Indian Banks were giving a loan for it and the ones that did, expected me to repay the loan @ 50000 a month for 36 months after passing out of college. IN YOUR DREAMS!
The news had almost broken my heart. Everything was planned and final for my college life in bombay, except this loan and it killed it! I thought my world had come to an end and all options blurred in front of my eyes. I had missed two interviews that i had cleared the entrance tests for and I had only seen the score of the Symbiosis institute of design entrance test with no idea of getting selected for the Studio test. Little did i know that my name WAS on the list. I got to know only after my mom called SID and they told us to check the website. This was on Thursday. My Studio test was scheduled for Monday! I had 2 days to come up with a portfolio, collect all my certificates and pack my bags and head to Maharashtra. And thanks to my parents and a few friends of mine who helped me sort out stuff for my portfolio, i managed to do all that by Saturday night and was ready to depart from the airport early on Sunday morning.
A magnificent flight aboard the Kingfisher Airlines took us to Mumbai while I watched Friends, listened to some good music and watched the spectacular scenario outside my window wishing i had my camera handy. We were welcomed into the city by streets that had been cleaned by the rain gods and it being a Sunday, streets that remained clear thanks to the sleeping Mumbai-kars. Once we got to my masi's house in Andheri, we freshened up, ate quick lunch and headed to the railway station and another one after it to get onto a train to my mama's house in Lonavala, while we got our first rains in Bombay. I was going to put up at my Mama's house and travel to Pune by a local to give my studio test next morning. And through all the rain and chaos, we reached Lonavala and settled down by nightfall and after filling up on some vada-pav, retired to bed.
After waking up the next morning, i quickly got ready, took my portfolio and headed to the station to catch the next train to Pune. My studio test was scheduled at 2.30 but we wanted to get to Pune before hand so that the rain would mess things up. But for a minute, they did. The next train to Pune was delayed by an hour and twenty minutes. Waiting for that, at the risk of a further delay, was out of the question as it would become last minute and so, we boarded a bus and reached Pune well in time. We ate lunch at a restaurant near the Bus Depot and rushed to the campus. I was startled to see it too. It was almost as if i entered a Mall and this was where i would have to study for 4 years if i got in. My last chance at college this year seemed like a blessing. It left me awestruck at first site and i was now determined to get in. The test that awaited me, however, was another chapter. Out of the four topics i had to choose from, i chose to depict the feeling of MISERY through a 3-D model using the materials provided (ice-cream sticks, matchsticks, glue, ribbon, thread, needles, wire, etc etc..). I chose the topic cause i was sure not many would and that mine would be different. But contrary to the simplicity of my sketch of an ice-cream stick with matchstick hands was commiting suicide by stabbing himself with a board pin, was a lot harder than i could ever have thought it would be. Halfway into it, i almost gave up all hope but SOMEHOW, and i don't know HOW, but i completed it. I FELT MISERABLE once i was through and walked out of the hall with my head hanging low and all hopes almost shattered after i saw the great stuff people in just my room had made! But my mom and mama urged me to not lose hope and were confident that i'd get through. A couple of hours later when the results did come out, i DID! I was ecstatic and had a huge smile accross my face and felt lighter in the heart. And after all the tension, we headed back home by a train which eventually stalled a km or two from our destination station and we had to walk back to the car. Anyhow, i had to get some good sleep that night, since my interview the next day was scheduled for 7.20pm... i had plenty of time in my hand and my portfolio was all ready, so i didn't have to worry about anything. And the next day i went for my interview, this time minus the hassles in getting there. All interviews were, however, running late by an hour and i was told mine would be only after 8.30.. I wiled away time waiting for this one last chance i had to come. My roll no. was announced. 880760, please head to the second floor. And so i did. After seeing the files and folders of the people in my room, i felt a little under-prepared but this time, i didn't lose my confidence. I knew my work was worthy of a selection and i had thought of the questions and answers the panel would throw at me, and though i was a little worried they wouldn't give me much time, but they gave me sufficient. This time, i ran down the stairs with a smile on my face, a lot more confident than the day before. Tired, but relieved. I ran and told my mom, "lets get the pizzas you were talking about". We ate dinner, and climbed aboard a train that would take us home, and even that didn't screw up this night. After a good nights sleep, i woke up to an early wake up call and got ready to board a volvo back to mumbai and overslept in it while dosing on my stock of music. It hasn't really stopped raining here, all these days, it only seems to increase day in and day out. But still, life is moving on. I went to my sister's rented apartment, put bags there, went shopping with mom and headed to andheri to spend the night with my cousins. I'm writing this in a hurry and now, wrapping it up cause i need to rush back to my sisters apartment for the next two nights. Wish me luck for my result which comes out this saturday and take care.
Till next time,
\m/rock.in.peace\m/
