Elephants in the room
Hostel life! Its going to be one hell of a ride. But there are some necessary evils which you will face. Yes,problems do exist, but where do they not dwell? So here are some problems which I faced during my stay at hostel and to help out, I am gonna add the plausible solutions also -
1) Water - Brace yourself for water shortage.There will be times where there will be no water in bathrooms.The water that is being supplied to us is supplied all the way from Nethravathi river by the Mangalore Municipality. This is to be distributed amongst the 5000 odd students in the campus. So shortage at times is inevitable. But generally, it will be rectified within a day at most. So whenever there is no water in your block, either go to the adjacent blocks (1st/2nd/7th) or come to seniors’ block ( 3rd/ 4th). Many of us did this when we faced water problem. If the problem persists for more than 3 days (which is on very rare occasions), lodge a complaint at the Resident Engineer’s office (Behind the Orange tower). It will then be rectified within an hour or two at the most! As far as drinking water is concerned, new coolers have been established, so nothing to worry. If there is any problem, contact the Hostel office (7th block). And if you want, you have the liberty to buy water bottles at Amul, NC.
2) Electrical components - Fans, tube lights and switches. Some fans turn slow cause the capacitors are a bit old and need replacement. Some of the tubes might flicker a lot, (starter problem) and some switches might be broken. All you need to do is lodge a complaint here, clearly stating what problem you are facing. You can also notify your hostel representatives. Electricians will be sent to your room within a span of 3 days and voila! Problem solved.
3) LAN - LAN ports are very very important. And luckily they work most of the times. But all hell is gonna unleash once your port stops working. This, as far as problems are concerned, supercedes all the other problems. Imagine the horror when your friends are enjoying an online FPS and you are just sitting cursing your LAN port. So whenever you face a problem, ask your LAN rep to lodge a complaint at the Central Computer Center (CCC 1st floor) and get it rectified ASAP.
4) Power cuts - There are gonna be power cuts (Duh!). Inevitable. There is a back up generator which supplies power for hostels under such circumstances, but don't just rely on that cause, it’s gonna be supplied in short intervals. The power cuts last for a span of 3-4 hours max.
So it’s better to bring your own rechargeable lamps and maybe table fans for the kind. Also these power cuts occur rarely on some occasions. So not really a big problem.
5) Pests - There are gonna be many insects, especially mosquitoes which are gonna torture you if you aren’t prepared. So a pest/ bug spray is compulsory along with a mosquito repellent. And I have no idea how to tackle those deadly flying cockroaches :P.
6) Mess food - IMHO it is not gonna be like your home. So buckle up to adjust and taste some bland/sweet-ish food. Not many spicy foods to be seen. This is a something which you have to adjust. There is no scope for much change also cause the mess has to cater for students from various regions. All you can do spice it up yourself with pickles/ chips along with the main course. And for those who are sweet toothed, its easier to adjust.
7) Block timings - For those owls and nyctophiles out there, don't stay outside the campus after 10:30. Please adhere to the campus timings. The maximum tolerance is half an hour late with a legit reason. Come after that, you are screwed. Girls have an additional block timing of 9pm in first year. Rest of the years have a block timing of 11 pm.
8) Politics - This is a NEUTRAL problem. There exists a party system in our college and you have the choice to indulge in the system or not to. But IMO it is better to indulge to a healthy level (By healthy I mean as long as it doesn’t affect your academics and co-curricular stuff :P). The parties are region based, and hence you get to meet a lot of people from your own region, and also not to mention very good seniors. This is going to help you a lot. But draw the line there. And please do not develop any kind of enemity with your friends (or with anyone for the case) just because you belong to different parties. I have witnessed many friendships breaking due to this (It’s really sad). Politics is NOT a problem actually, unless you make it one.
9) Ragging - There I said it. This had to be mentioned solely for the purpose of being practical. “ NITK is 100% ragging intolerant “. Yes. Most of us agree, but not all. 100%? Nah! More like 98%? Yep. There are rumours that very mild ragging exists and it all depends on multiple reasons. But, this is nothing to be worried about and you will realise this after you enter the college. But if at all you face any kind of disturbing problem (which I vouch you definitely will not), you can always contact the Dean of students’ welfare Prof. Udayakumar R.Y. He will surely help you out. (P.S.- You guys need not worry, your seniors are awesome :P). On a lighter note, try not to get ragged by your own batchmates :P.
I have tried my best to take a subtle approach on things like Politics and Ragging. It is just an opinion. One need not take it seriously or even consider it. Also it is not a problem unless one makes it. So please do not make it.
Yeah, this pretty much sums it up. Not much in the grand scheme of things. These are all just petty, small, inconsequential woes. These are all gonna be trivial things once you start enjoying the hostel life. Despite all these, I had one of the best times of my life at NITK. Still a lot to look forward to. All in all life at NITK is gonna rock!
Just keep calm and say “ East or west, NITK is the best”.
1) Water - Brace yourself for water shortage.There will be times where there will be no water in bathrooms.The water that is being supplied to us is supplied all the way from Nethravathi river by the Mangalore Municipality. This is to be distributed amongst the 5000 odd students in the campus. So shortage at times is inevitable. But generally, it will be rectified within a day at most. So whenever there is no water in your block, either go to the adjacent blocks (1st/2nd/7th) or come to seniors’ block ( 3rd/ 4th). Many of us did this when we faced water problem. If the problem persists for more than 3 days (which is on very rare occasions), lodge a complaint at the Resident Engineer’s office (Behind the Orange tower). It will then be rectified within an hour or two at the most! As far as drinking water is concerned, new coolers have been established, so nothing to worry. If there is any problem, contact the Hostel office (7th block). And if you want, you have the liberty to buy water bottles at Amul, NC.
2) Electrical components - Fans, tube lights and switches. Some fans turn slow cause the capacitors are a bit old and need replacement. Some of the tubes might flicker a lot, (starter problem) and some switches might be broken. All you need to do is lodge a complaint here, clearly stating what problem you are facing. You can also notify your hostel representatives. Electricians will be sent to your room within a span of 3 days and voila! Problem solved.
3) LAN - LAN ports are very very important. And luckily they work most of the times. But all hell is gonna unleash once your port stops working. This, as far as problems are concerned, supercedes all the other problems. Imagine the horror when your friends are enjoying an online FPS and you are just sitting cursing your LAN port. So whenever you face a problem, ask your LAN rep to lodge a complaint at the Central Computer Center (CCC 1st floor) and get it rectified ASAP.
4) Power cuts - There are gonna be power cuts (Duh!). Inevitable. There is a back up generator which supplies power for hostels under such circumstances, but don't just rely on that cause, it’s gonna be supplied in short intervals. The power cuts last for a span of 3-4 hours max.
So it’s better to bring your own rechargeable lamps and maybe table fans for the kind. Also these power cuts occur rarely on some occasions. So not really a big problem.
5) Pests - There are gonna be many insects, especially mosquitoes which are gonna torture you if you aren’t prepared. So a pest/ bug spray is compulsory along with a mosquito repellent. And I have no idea how to tackle those deadly flying cockroaches :P.
6) Mess food - IMHO it is not gonna be like your home. So buckle up to adjust and taste some bland/sweet-ish food. Not many spicy foods to be seen. This is a something which you have to adjust. There is no scope for much change also cause the mess has to cater for students from various regions. All you can do spice it up yourself with pickles/ chips along with the main course. And for those who are sweet toothed, its easier to adjust.
7) Block timings - For those owls and nyctophiles out there, don't stay outside the campus after 10:30. Please adhere to the campus timings. The maximum tolerance is half an hour late with a legit reason. Come after that, you are screwed. Girls have an additional block timing of 9pm in first year. Rest of the years have a block timing of 11 pm.
8) Politics - This is a NEUTRAL problem. There exists a party system in our college and you have the choice to indulge in the system or not to. But IMO it is better to indulge to a healthy level (By healthy I mean as long as it doesn’t affect your academics and co-curricular stuff :P). The parties are region based, and hence you get to meet a lot of people from your own region, and also not to mention very good seniors. This is going to help you a lot. But draw the line there. And please do not develop any kind of enemity with your friends (or with anyone for the case) just because you belong to different parties. I have witnessed many friendships breaking due to this (It’s really sad). Politics is NOT a problem actually, unless you make it one.
9) Ragging - There I said it. This had to be mentioned solely for the purpose of being practical. “ NITK is 100% ragging intolerant “. Yes. Most of us agree, but not all. 100%? Nah! More like 98%? Yep. There are rumours that very mild ragging exists and it all depends on multiple reasons. But, this is nothing to be worried about and you will realise this after you enter the college. But if at all you face any kind of disturbing problem (which I vouch you definitely will not), you can always contact the Dean of students’ welfare Prof. Udayakumar R.Y. He will surely help you out. (P.S.- You guys need not worry, your seniors are awesome :P). On a lighter note, try not to get ragged by your own batchmates :P.
I have tried my best to take a subtle approach on things like Politics and Ragging. It is just an opinion. One need not take it seriously or even consider it. Also it is not a problem unless one makes it. So please do not make it.
Yeah, this pretty much sums it up. Not much in the grand scheme of things. These are all just petty, small, inconsequential woes. These are all gonna be trivial things once you start enjoying the hostel life. Despite all these, I had one of the best times of my life at NITK. Still a lot to look forward to. All in all life at NITK is gonna rock!
Just keep calm and say “ East or west, NITK is the best”.