Me and my RAIT: 2009

(This is a modified article with bits and pieces taken from works of Tapan, Sushrut, Dham and Shivani. The beloved now-editors of our beloved 'The Wall', Sushrut and Sneha, gave the final touches)

College Name:
RAIT; Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology, located in Nerul in the DY PATIL Campus, yes the same place as that beautiful, awe inspiring structure the DYPSA Cricket Stadium (venue of the last IPL finals)
Previously was:
Ramrao Adik College of Engineering.

Specialty:
We have held Top spots in University. For all the frivolity guaranteed here, we sure don’t forget to shine over the Academic world too.
The 72-acre campus lends to the charm of RAIT. A vast expanse, bang in the middle of the city. Special, like everything else here.
It's known for Horizon - the inter-college fest (One of the Top Five in Mumbai!)

College Festival(s)

Apart from the intra-college festival thingies- We RAITians take massive pride in organizing 'Horizon'. Our identity, it enjoys complete (but only) moral support from the faculty. Students put their sweat and blood and pump everything to convert Horizon into 72 hours of Madness.
Ranked as one of Top 5 InterCollege Festivals in Mumbai (Source: JAM Mag)

First Horizon- Way back in 1989

Celebrities- Jal, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (repeatedly), Yana Gupta, Indian Ocean, Pritam with his Metro Band, Fazal Quereshi Gary Lawyer and many many more...

But then-
2009 saw all 15 colleges under the Dr. D. Y. Patil University's umbrella together organizing two mammoth (cultural and sports) festivals- 'Rhapsody '09' and 'Dynamic Youth Games '09'
A new beginning.
A New Dawn.
We are itching to make them bigger than they already were...

Crowd:
A masala mix of scholars, cyber junkies, football-freaks, die-hard head bangers, take-it-easy goers, flunkers, Martians, Gujjus etc. People here are into computers, rock music, rock music and computers.
Half of RAIT comprises of cyber-nuts and robot-freaks, some sleep on guitars, few are busy sweating playing their favorite sport, a dedicated group planning an oncoming festival and the rest peacefully attending lectures.

Streams in College:

Computers:
An easy lifestyle with a plum placement and job satisfaction to look forward to… Best known for that specific breed of students who won’t leave their classrooms for all eternity… They love their benches, yes! They think they are the best, we know they are not, and thus the college lives in perfect harmony.

IT:
Even better with really chilled out professors and an air conditioned state-of-the-art lab. ITians possess what can be called as Undying Loyalty to the Art of Mass Bunking. Empty classrooms are common place and young Profs just add to the thrill of it all.

Electronics:
Your life will more or less be tough. The toughest Profs, syllabus and examinations… This stream is proud to showcase the cutest girls and craziest brains. Their weirdness is ‘maaf’ though… never seen Math syllabus as tough as theirs. They take pride in being spread out in all college societies but then, which branch doesn’t?

Inside News from our very own Mayuresh Hedaoo:
• Barring a few Diploma folks, rest are a non-benign tumor
• Circuit is pronounced as “sarkut”
• The Profs make it a point to wait till their colleague arrives after class so no wanna-be Engineer (student) can make the dash to glory (Read- bunking)
• Lab assistants are self-proclaimed PhDs (and this is applicable everywhere)
• No proxies as honorable Profs hell bent on thwarting every miserable and well-thought-out attempt (ditto)
• No guarantee of satisfactory term work marks whatsoever

Poor mate. Let us all pity him. :P

EXTC:
Where you should be if you are interested in electronics and want to go abroad… A fine blend of what all branches study but the students are distinctly unaware what their syllabus has to do with the name of their stream. A specific batch known for their brains and quick submissions… its following batch known for their lazy posteriors and expressionless reactions to college events…

Instrumentation:
Four years of fun because of the Profs who go easy on you. The only catch is that this field is too vast with ‘thrilling’ Industrial Visits. Batches evolving each year with increasing skill in mastering the talent of raking in marks and freaking out the zaniest way. Goes easy on Mathematics syllabus and helps you to learn the technique of making sure that what goes in from one end of a machine doesn’t come out in the same form. The same reason why we don’t excrete KFC Hot Wings… Automation blooming in RAIT!

Inside news from our dear Sushrut Munje:

Mass Bunking / Lecture Canceling the Instru Way

1) A bloke comes in Div E (Instru) and yells 'Mass Bunk'
There's a rush and the classroom is empty within seconds.

2) We speak to a Prof about canceling a lecture.
She gives a wry smile, tells us to stay away from the classroom at the lecture time.
Conclusion: Successful mass bunk

3) Mass bunks by default in case of an effing cricket match.

4) Yell around like mad caps during a lecture
Prof leaves the class half way.

5) Smile in an angelic manner and give prominent hints about the boredom we're experiencing.
He/She leaves.

College Societies:

IEEE:
Takes pride in organizing the most awesome Industrial Visits (in their true form).
The recent one being in Bangalore (ISRO)
Organizes two technical festivals (Robotics, LAN Gaming, Paper presentations, tech quizzes…) by the name of ‘Whizion’ and ‘360 Degrees’. Whizion is all RAIT while the latter is created by pooling in the gray matter of 6 different colleges.
(RAIT, K J Somaiya, MHSS, SNDT, D J Sanghvi, VESIT)
Best known for their wacky marketing tactics and mass participation by students of all years… Students actually worship IEEE. Expect music playing at high volumes and robots whizzing at your feet when an IEEE fest is on.
Meant for people who drool over electrical circuits (Electronics and EXTC fellas) but again, people from all over just join and make it larger than life.

CSI:
Expect the same during CSI fests. Techknow and Techmate are two of their babies. Rivals IEEE’s claims of supremacy in the RAIT technical arena… Lots of volunteers and dedication bordering on lustful love… CSI Committee lives in their treasured underground dungeon er… Control Room.
Basically meant for computer geeks (Comps and IT folks) but people just get into their groove… like two Instrumentation chicks who have sold their souls to the Society at the mo…

ISA:
Last of the technical societies… emerged as a phoenix should in this very year! Dependent on lone 60 Instrumentation students, (half of whom are away working on other stuff and the remaining quarter not giving a damn) the last quarter makes this society almost as big as IEEE and CSI.
Organizes ‘Genesis’ and ‘Niyantran’ which enjoys mass participation from God-knows-where! People come and come in droves… volunteers are yelling themselves hoarse against the crowd that wants to play games on LAN no matter what!
Blah-ness, where is thy sting?

SUC
Arguably, the most powerful of all societies since it holds all the political reins. Student Union Council holds those revered post of the GS-RAIT, CS-RAIT and Treasurer-RAIT. Instrumental in organizing Horizon, it can be seen paying frequent visits to the FE classes in order to pull them out of their stupor and making them stop playing the Zombie-game. Controversy-friendly SUC has possession of a large underground vault which has been christened ‘SUC Room’ (Innovative, no?) and a baby room which masquerades by the name of ‘JAM Room’ (Much more innovative, no?) since that’s where our band plays its good music.
Room is full of graffiti which is a mixture of names, abuses, Pink Floyd lyrics, Death Metal lyrics and a notice- ‘Graffiti Is Banned’. (Duh)
SUC is what SUC does. It speaks out for the students and maintains an excellent rapport with all other societies, the faculty, students and zombies. That doesn’t stop the college magazine crew from spoofing the Core Committee members!

College Magazine ‘The Wall’:
A definitive voice of the college by its students…
Individuals at the helm right now: Sushrut and Sneha
Hatched in 2001, it has been an enjoyable ride for the ever-growing magazine. Ever-growing it its awesome-ness, retard ability, paper quality and awesome-ness. We miss our Writer-Seniors and so we invite their articles each time because we want to maintain our standard of rubbish-ness that is awesome-ness.
No kidding, The Wall prints the voice of the faculty and views of the students (not zombies). The Wall rips apart stupid beliefs and spoofs college societies. It conducts polls, prints pictures, and publishes random poetry (not all understandable) and a dedicated Marathi section.
The team spends sleepless nights and good food hours to produce this wad of papers and all it gets is smiles, pats and appreciation in return. No money, no.
The Wall is built once a year and the team lives it for the rest.

Kalaraag:
Our very own platform for theatre, photography, film-making and folk dances
Wide-spread contacts in the industry, organizes national-level competitions. Best known for their t-shirts, kind seniors and dedication (yes again) bordering on hopeless devotion. The committee likes RAIT canteen and can be found chomping on stuff. Has a couple of guys who crack the dirtiest of PJs but then… they can make you laugh.
Kalaraag is yet another society which always aims for the sky and achieves a leap almost close.

RAIT Alumni Association:
Alumni never forget RAIT because they are RAITians all their lives.
An association which got noticed when our dear old Mohsin aka ‘Wendol’, Soumendra aka 'The Dark Lord' laid the foundation and (also) dear old Animesh aka ‘Animation’ became the architect. They were assisted by Soumendra's Archy 'The Dark Cat' with all her purrs and scratches.
It has big plans to launch an Entrepreneurship-Cell and Mentor-Mentee Program. Aims to create a bond between the current students (including zombies) and the Alumni (who were and were not zombies) willing to help… will result in lots of career opportunities and awareness in the RAIT spawn. Corporate-Outreach Cell is hell-bent on building long-lasting contacts in the industries that matter and bring those god-like people to address seminars. If there is an ambition to climb the career ladder, RAA can provide with an experience in handling formal stuff, internships, recommendations and jobs (since it works with the Placement Cell)!

Placement Cell:
Brings us the best offers from the industry… the crew knows how to do its job.

Life in RAIT:
The ambience of this college is vibrant, alive and spiffing. Day starts at 9 AM and the building doesn’t seem to empty till the twilight hours. The hostelites can be seen roaming the campus till much later. Especially pulsating during the festivals, the energy around is addictive and there is only so much you can do before you give in and shake a leg.

Hangouts:

• The Basement is the site of all underground and nefarious activities; consisting of the SUC room and the canteen…
• The Lawns. There’s nothing more relaxing than sitting on lush green grass, headphones plugged in your ears. Or just lazing around, chatting up friends can be the perfect stress buster on the rather tight days. If you’re frustrated with the staring games between you and the blackboard, if your hand threatens to slap you out of fatigue and if you are in no condition to do 20 push-ups; a walk in the grounds is all you need!
• KG’s – This place (just opposite RAIT) is quite cozy and comfortable. Add in a stale odor of ‘Chinesh’ food. Also imagine a couple of rowdy waiters who are most pleased to scowl when you complain that the food hardly looks appetizing.
Pretty good for a short snack though. Be sure to gobble up the stuff before it gets cold. The products have that typical ‘Chinesh’ flavor which tingles the taste buds and leaves us satisfied.
Monosodium Glutamate anyone?
• Vashi Malls -The nearest and most popular. Wide assortment of clothes, books, gadgets, foodstuffs and ‘pictures’ available. ‘Pictures’ as in Movies. 'Movies' as in Cinema.
• Glass Doors - RAIT main entrance. The place promises a great view of the lawns, of the mountains yonder and the INTERNATIONAL STADIUM in the campus, which makes for a viewing coupled with neck-sprain. (One view isn’t done. You have to keep turning your head at least 5 times)
The origin of the name is obvious. Glass + Doors. Get it?
The place has seen smiles and tears alike. The staff prefers displaying the results here, you see.
It’s spacious, another good place to chat up with pals or complete assignments. Some blokes have their acting sessions here while sometimes there’s ‘ramp walking’. (Horizon: Fashion Show)
• Then there are the Canteens. Plural. More about them? Read on…

Canteen:
One place to sate them all, one place to serve them all. This multi functional room is the Mecca for most, a daily trip is almost mandatory to the tea-coffee addicts.
The hit-hit dishes are Samosa Sambar and double omlette; the Vada Pavs, you can give them a miss. Active people have large appetites, making it difficult for the canteen workers to catch a break in between college hours. There’s always someone to be fed or watered.
A conversation with the canteen manager Anna shows he is not complaining either. The canteen is also responsible for a lot of assignments getting over on time. Writing is definitely easier with a glass of Lassi by your side.
For people looking for a change in venue, there’s always the Medical Canteen. This place is more modern, feels peppy and it all reflects on the price too. Good enough if you are looking for variety. (Why do Medical and Dental girls seem so damn cute?!)
Then there is RRC or Red Rock Cafe which is temporarily under renovation. Possibly RAIT is the only college with an in-house Cafe…One of the most popular hang out spots in campus, the drinks here are nothing less than heavenly nectar on any hot day.

Official Rules:
Meant only for the notice boards…

Notice Boards:
They exist only to display the so-called outdated official notices and surprise holidays.
The latter, VERY important to the students!

Unofficial Rule:
Anything goes!

5 Things to do in RAIT:
1) Get ragged on the first day
2) Learn Marathi (your office-cruising will be much faster.)
3) Sit for lectures for a change.
4) Compete in Horizon.
5) Witness a fight in one of the canteens in the college.

5 Things you don't do in RAIT:
1) leave your programs unsaved
2) Try to butter up professors
3) Try to sweet talk babes
4) Use the lift on Fridays (invariably the electricity conks off)
5) Try to eat your Lunch alone. (Lukewarm friendships suddenly turn into lunch long ones during your meal time)

Why you should be at RAIT:
Life is never monotonous, so you'll never be bored. A healthy mix of both education and entertainment… So if you plan to be an engineer with a difference then- RAIT is the place to be in.

Famous college movies:
Well right now it has to be ‘Gulaal’; college politics like you ever witnessed before.
Can also include Dil, Dosti etc and Rang De Basanti…

College Controversies and Controversial personalities:

Controversies happen just once in RAIT, after the cultural festival. It is when we discuss, debate, propagate, fight, struggle and get involved in skirmishes, just to form the next Union Council.
Though the Mumbai University banned student elections a few years ago DEMOCRACY is always live and kicking in RAIT. This entertainment program is often dubbed as COMMITTEE-COMMITTEE. The name is simple and descriptive. It highlights the almost always MINOR!!!! Differences amongst two sets of individuals vying for the top spot only to realize that a year of hard work, academic backlogs and lack of appreciation await them…
No prizes for guessing the most controversial students, they are more or less the SUC. The reason why I don’t mention names is because we are right now in the midst of Election time in RAIT. Will keep you posted on the same very soon.

Sports in RAIT:
Not too much to brag about but it always has had a strong basketball and football team which tend to win many of the inter-college competitions. Cricket (ofcourse) is big. Ian Dev our resident cricketer plays for the J&K Ranji trophy team.

Creativity Personified:
Mukesh, no one knows his full name and no one really cares.
His calligraphy and artwork are by far the best in this part of town or the whole of Mumbai (Modesty is not an inherently active RAIT quality).

Writers:
Tapan and Mohsin are the best among the alumni while Dham and Sushrut are the rising stars.

Bloggers:
Mohsin Dingankar: chasetheshadows.blogspot.com
Sushrut Munje: sushrut-strumming-his-thoughts.blogspot.com
Tapan Hoseikiri: dirtscapes.blogspot.com
Dham: romanticalchemist.blogspot.com

RAITisms:
Now this deals with those typical words, why words, they can be rightly called as figures of speech, which only a RAITian can comprehend. They usually had an obscure and quiet beginning, but once they gained in momentum, nothing could stand in the way. Usage generally spread like amoebiasis contracted after stuffing yourself with the bhajjiya paav outside Vidyalankar, to other colleges.

"Scene"

Think about it. Brilliant word, I love the feel of it as u loll it around your tongue, and then expectorate. Extremely versatile, it had its origins somewhere amongst the Nerulites… Ekdum hit item hai boss.
Usage
• Journals ka kya scene hai yaar?
• Arre nahi mila, scene ho gaya yaar!
• Bahut f*** all scene hai…
• Dekhte hain kal scene kya hai
• Abbe sun, yeh scene hai…
And so on and so forth…

"Maaf"

The baap of all words… The Altaf Raja of all Rickshaw tapes… The ….well Maaf! This has been immortalized by dare I say, our batch? HELL YEAH! Just one word, but so many meanings…just the inflection of your voice can make it convey a wide range of interpretations. Reliable sources tell me that it has caught the fancy of the Americans too….what next?
Usage
• Nahi samjha, to maaf hai yaar!
• Maine do chapter chhoda, maaf!
• Kya maaf item hai boss! Full behenji!
• Woh book maaf hai re….
• Lecture maaf…
The best use of this word is when it is used solo. No embellishments. Just do this at home.
Say MAAF!
Do u feel it?!
DO U FEEL IT…?!
Care a Rat’s posterior about things, Go hang it all, I don’t care….all these and much, much more distilled into one four letter word…. and what’s more you can safely use this at home, right in front of your parents!

The Exams:
The half yearly pains in the otherwise pretty simple life of a RAITian
Lousy concept. The morbid fear of that proverbial ‘Ek Paper’, in which, ‘lag jaayega’. Every semester, without fail. There has to be a red herring which would give henna a run for its money (another lousy one….sorry). That dirty feeling u get when u r just about to receive the paper, where everything u have done dances like Mithun on Speed right in front of your eyes, dissolving into a psychedelic blur.
Ditto for the vivas. Only worse, you developed a case of trap jaw as well. Gheraoing every emerging guy… “Kya poocha? Kya Poocha? External kaisa hai?” Boy everyone sure did have their five seconds of fame on viva day!
The vivas were the most challenging parts for most of us, because they were about possibly the only thing that a RAITian isn’t God in (well, most of us anyways)….. FUNDAS! Swotting and sweating like mad before the vivas, and calling everyone except your grandparents and the examiners themselves for ‘questions’.
Once inside, it was pretty much pot-luck (matka!)

My Dear Journal:
The lesser said the better. Probably the most stressful time in a RAITian’s life… Reams and reams of paper filled up with writing by us, (‘the human Xerox machines’). Sitting up all night, and struggling over to college the next day, bleary eyed and disoriented, to be greeted by a fantastic scene.
Everyone was just about everywhere doing just one thing. Writing. We would win all the medals in the Olympics if they ever hold an event called ‘Synchronized Writing’.
‘‘Tera first page hua, to idhar laa…!”.
“Mera second page tere paas hai na?!”.
“Stapler hai kya?”
“Kitna pages hai total? (Number) Kya?! Maa kasam, chhapo!”
Scrapping like school kids over graph papers (especially the semi-log ones) and spare journal sheets. Running around to Xerox that eternally missing Index paper, you almost always never had one. Scales and pencils would do the Houdini on u, when you needed them the most. Then you would just have to wait in stony suffering silence till u could borrow them from someone. The feeling on submitting that last journal every semester was esoteric. Usually went home inebriated after that (from the joy that is).
The term work tests. Well I guess we progressed to higher levels of shamelessness as our seniority grew.
• FE: You really didn’t know what was happening. Bad dream.
• SE: Thoda aaju baaju dekhne ka.
• TE: Book kholna chaloo.
• BE: Book? Chhah!! Maaaaaaaaaf!

Submissions:

SCENE 1:
Morning without alarms…
When sun-rise is 10am…
No hustle-bustle…
When life is all about getting ready at your time, setting for college when you feel like…
Bunking rather missing on lectures because your watch never seems to match up the professors’… very much the usual story… roaming around the campus like a ‘lukkha’ with those phones plugged right in!
And proudly announcing- You “got nothing to do”…
That’s pretty much a RAITian’s Life!!
When the probability of finding or being found is incredibly high near the Glass Doors or Canteen or precisely anywhere but Classrooms!
College is all about gathering at the glass doors!
When you have all the time for activities than lectures/practicals…
U live on proxies…
This phase in RAITians’ life is called “Chilled Out Phase”
In our lingo- “No scene! Sab maaf!!” phase!!

Until one fine day

SCENE 2:

You overhear a birdie about upcoming submissions!
Whoa!!
Presto, the sleeping beauties/beasts/humans wakeup…
“This phase in a RAITian’s life is called “Submissions”…
The rush of the adrenaline … panicky…
It’s amusing.
Just days back the corridors, classrooms and all the workplaces… (Basically!!) Were devoid of souls except for those pigeons brooding over, proudly and stupidly, as their own territory!
The Change of scene, and it’s quite a task to reach out the other end of the corridor through the crowd that seems to conglomerate wherever the place be!

It’s when you suddenly stop dragging yourself like a roller…
And start skating all along the way!!!
Overlooking the fellow you bang into turning out to be nobody else but the professor himself/herself!!
(Poor soul… his/her lady luck seems irrevocably annoyed!!)
Presto, uttering apologies…
Muttering curses/slangs at those refusing to pass-over those unending assignments or for that matter those spare sheets!!
Skipping lunch… running around with that Vadapav in hand (courtesy canteen), which once seemed the “LAST RESORT” turns into the stomping ground for survival.

The RUN-&-CHASE for professors all around the place is superb substitute for cardios (no exaggeration!!) All I need, to vindicate is a weighing machine!

And finally!! Just when you feel its all over… and done… when a lot more than your sweat has sunk in… Those asinine quires decide to play hide-n-seek with you!!
Coiffing it all over may turn u a crack-brained dyslexic!!

In the end, whatever, the “scene” be… there has to be one!!
Bet…on D-day, Every tortoise transforms astoundingly and evolves into a dab hand showcasing the ‘engineer’s true metal’
With each journal down… acknowledging that ‘Sense of contentment’…
Every submission has an escapade… not denying it bestows upon those nerve-wracking moments… but, one can’t disagree… it sure is best-time of the semester!
Crawling along dementedly for anything and everything…
Buttering up the Profs (and what a task!!)
Rushing along for Xerox, pleading for sheets/assigns…
Beseeching the person around
To draw those nettlesome diagrams and finally hopping around for submissions
So many ‘jhols’ so many ‘jugaad’… but nobody complains in the end…
It’s when you’re all journals down… that you can’t help screaming out loud…
“NO SCENE… SAB MAAF!!”… Until the next comes around!!
:)

Diwali in college:

RAIT is probably the only place in the entire universe where Diwali is celebrated EVERY six months, with almost fanatical regularity. Come again…?! Simple… RESULT TIME!
Not that the average RAITian cared very much for results (most of us could very accurately predict the outcomes immediately after the exams), still as time dragged it’s leaden feet on, you began to feel the pinch. Restlessness would get the better of you until u wished that somebody would go and sell his soul to the Crackerwalla. Then stupid rumors would start floating around …..20 marks grace to start with, and then it would dwindle faster than the sales of the ‘Models’ album to around 5 marks by the end of the week. Next week, new rumor! Same time, same place.
Exasperation would reach a fever pitch, until some dudes would sneak in a couple of ‘Laxmi’ bombs and ‘rassi’ bombs. U somehow knew when there was an explosion in the making, people huddled around in sweaty little groups just outside the canteen, whispering and snide glances all around. You would just about wend your way upwards when BOOM! It happened. If u were lucky, there would be a couple more…almost immediately u heard a HUGE roar, reverberating throughout the whole building…followed by blood-curdling cries of “WEEEE WAAANT REEESULT!” The security guys would come rushing in, but by that time our homegrown Guy Fawkes’ would have made good their escape. Only in RAIT…

Rose Day in College:

If there’s no masala in ‘that’ college, it isn’t RAIT you were talking about.
And a lot of this is generated during The Rose Day.
Mostly this event starts days before it is scheduled to start.
People discussing to-whom, from-whom and what-to-wear left right and centre.
On the eve of the day, shyness, which isn’t an inherent quality to most, anyway, seems pretty much lost for good. Cards are being bought from volunteers, messages penned (after taking advice and inputs from everyone around) and reactions anticipated. People everywhere the eye goes, carry pretty red roses, some wear them proudly in their pockets, most others take pictures with them and sometimes with friends the roses are received from as well… It’s as good as a movie premier, the amount of camera work going around campus.
The lawns are full of people ‘posing’ casually, the guys with their Ties and the girls in pretty saris.
Picture perfect and visibly up-beat about the whole affair… After a lot of waiting around, the show begins and how! No holds barred, people are dragged on stage to profess every feeling from deep ‘love’ to admittedly fickle attractions, all in a light vein.
The ambience is young and frivolous, a lot of booing and encouragement showered from complete strangers and closest friends. Inside jokes, understood only by the person giving the rose and the intended receiver, are all welcomed by loud guffaws.
Mostly impulsive.
And majorly infectious.
Bones are DRAGGED out of closets sometimes, and doesn’t everyone love that part! Another event at RAIT every student waits year after year, and then misses for years after…

And only in RAIT will you be able to build robots, fly machines, help geeks create programs, act-sing-dance like mad; bang your head on Heavy Metal music, run around organizing fests and still get to maintain your marks as ever.

It is, indeed, a world within itself!

Like a true RAITian- "Jai RAIT! Jai RAIT! Jai RAIT!"
\m/