Smiles, optimism and anxiety as freshers begin a new life in DU
DAY ONE IN COLLEGE Seniors welcome juniors, known as ‘Fuchchas’, with a symbolic red tilak and friendship
it was day one in college for approximately 50,000 students who stepped into Delhi University for a new beginning -- a day of smiles, a little bit of anxiety and very few tears.
Admitted to the 60-odd colleges over the last month, the students optimistically made their way to experience their first day of college life on Thursday.
Though some colleges such as Daulat Ram, Kirori Mal and Sri Ram College of Commerce held their orientation programme on Wednesday and had classes scheduled for Thursday, many others such as Miranda, Lakshmibai, and Ramjas had their induction on Thursday.
Ragging can be a concern for many first-year students but the fears were laid to rest at colleges such as Miranda House and Ramjas where seniors welcomed freshers by a symbolic red tilak.
“They should not have to be scared of seniors. In fact, they should be able to approach us if they have any problem,” said Pragya (who goes by her first name), a final-year BA programme student at Miranda.
Miranda House plastered their campus with quirky anti-ragging caricatures and cartoons.
Finding that perfect peer circle may be the biggest fear of many. Though most students were both excited and nervous about their first day, many seemed to have been able to forge a bond with peers, chatting away like they had known each other for ages.
Anyone who might have caught a glimpse of first-year English (hons) students at Kirori Mal College — Ishita Mehta, Jivisha Sachdeva, Yashaswi Gupta, Prachi Sharma and Shubha Mittal --having animated conversations might not be able to guess that they met only a few days ago.
“This was much better than we expected. We were not expecting to make friends (sic) so quickly. It’s almost like we are all family,” said Gupta.
For students like Anushka Kaliyal, a BA programme student at Daulat Ram, the first day might have seemed lacklustre. The college had conducted its orientation programme earlier on Wednesday and had scheduled classes for Thursday but she found out about the mix-up only when she reached campus. “No prior message about the orientation was given,” she said.
But Daulat Ram College officials said the date of orientation had been clearly mentioned in the prospectus and students had been informed at the time admissions. Anybody who would have visited Ramjas on Thursday, would have surely seen a young boy sporting a baseball cap, a backpack and a white guide stick wandering around campus, looking almost thirsty to drink it all in.
“I have been here since early morning. I have just been walking around trying to familiarise myself with the surroundings,” said an excited Prajapati.
Prajapati, who has been visually impaired since birth, and is originally from Jharkhand, has