Page 113 - Final Magazine 2019-2020.cdr

A Page out of My Diary

Shambhvi Lokre (FYBFM)

As a fresh HSC pass out in the month of July 2020, I had to make an important decision. Which college
should I apply for? And even more importantly, which course?

I was keen on opting for the B.Com (Financial Markets) degree which is only provided by the University
of Mumbai. As a Punekar this would be tough. My old teachers warned me that there was no point in
relocating to a different city just to pursue an unheard-of specialization of B.Com. Especially Mumbai
with its notoriously higher standard of living. Moreover, my father who is actually a Mumbaikar himself
warned me to avoid leaving Pune. When I asked him 'Why?' He replied, 'Mumbai is too hectic for you.
The heat, the trafc and the overcrowding will wear you down till you won't have any life left”. I couldn't
argue with him. Besides, this was in the middle of the Covid-19 lockdown so I had never even seen the
college, or as matter of fact even travelled anywhere south of Mumbai. Yet in spite of it all, I lled the
forms of University of Mumbai. All thanks to Dr. Saira Banoo Shaikh, my Course Coordinator who
helped me clear my mind and make a decision in just a ve minute Google Meet call. I don't know how
she did it. Perhaps I just needed one person to tell me that I wasn't being irrational.
And what a wonderful decision it was! K P B Hinduja College of Commerce is the best educational
institute I've attended thus far in terms of the sheer number of Clubs, Cells, Committees and
Departments. The number of choices for a student is almost overwhelming. I wish to give a shoutout to
each of them, but I'm afraid MS Word will run out of pages. I probably attended more seminars in just
the previous ten months than I did in my entire life. I also participated in numerous competitions and
college festivals and have been gearing up to take part in a Model United Nations and Youth
Parliament. Much credit is much due to the faculty and students who stay interactive and create a
college campus vibe even a limited indoor area.
Online teaching too has been a unique experience and although I am eager to meet my peers and
teachers ofine, I never feel like something is missing. This sense of fulllment reminds me of a quote –
'The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing
apart'” (Elisabeth Foley)

What more can one ask for?
First Night away from Home

Juilee Bhale (SYBMS)

Dedicated to all outstation students...

The view from the window I've never peeked out of, I don't know this street well.
Maybe I can only hope to see it with my eyes closed, The million memories my eyes tell.

I don't know which switch to press, I just turned the fan on by mistake.
I sweep aside my treacherous thoughts, But there still lingers a dull ache.

I fumble with the switches again as dusk comes knocking. A night in a home that isn't my own.
My mother calls and I comfort her, “Yes, I'm ne mother, just see how fast I've grown”.

“Over thinking is the art of thinking about problems
that don't exist.” (Shiv Khera) 102
2019-20