BATCH OF ’22: MISSED OUT ON OG DU LIFE, SAY STUDENTS
Our farewell didn’t feel real, because mentally, we are not ready to say goodbye yet. We have been able to experience campus life and be in class for only the last two months. SUKRITI AGGARWAL, Student, Hindu College
DU is all about campus life and my batch has missed almost all of it, especially meeting each other. Online mein kya hi exposure mil pata hai... Events in online mode didn’t give us that space to interact. KOMAL, Student, Miranda House
It was when college just began in 2019 that a new set of students took admission in Delhi University (DU), to feel and live what’s popularly called as college life. Now, as farewell parties take place in various colleges, most final-year students say, “We have barely got the real DU deal!”
“The last two months of being physically present in college have made me wonder how different my life would have been if there was no pandemic,” says Mihir Aggarwal, a BCom (Hons) student at Hindu College, recalling the time when he first entered the college premises. “At that time, it was about coming to terms with how different life will be from school days. But, the Covid spell pushed us to do everything online, from bunking classes to mingling with batchmates and even attending fests. Imagine, we are probably the only batch in the history of Hindu who has not attended our fest, Mecca!”
Aanchal Khera, a student of
BA (Prog) at Miranda House, feels happy that she at least got a chance to organise her college fest. “It was an experience unique to our batch; one with a happy beginning and a great ending. But whatever happened in between, we need to put it in the past now and not feel bothered by it. The first seven or eight months of our college life were great, but after that, everything changed. My batchmates and I have missed out on almost our entire college life — from chai breaks to playing with the cats on campus,” says Khera.
“It was difficult to get used to a virtual life. Transitioning back to a physical one now has also proved pretty hard for me,” says Rigzin D Nangso, a German language student at Gargi College, adding, “Knowing that I wasn’t facing all this alone made things bearable. We didn’t get the full three years to enjoy DU life, but thank God we got some time to make friends before the first lockdown. And now, after two years, we are meeting again. That’s how unpredictable and ironic our lives are!”