You got admitted to EME
College NUST? Wow great achievement that. Must be feeling a little taller
already, no? But wait, did you say you wanna live in the hostels? Are you sure?
I mean dude think again, for hostel life in EME college is what is making me
write this article. Well... to the briefing then.
EME College has 5 hostels
for civilians namely Iqbal, Liaquat, Jinnah. Hired and Bank hostel. A brief
description of each is given below following which I will brood upon the
general hostel life.
Iqbal
Hostel:
One of the oldest hostels
of EME, Iqbal has the pride of giving the look of a low security prison. The
walls have the faded grey colour of a building not painted in the last 15
years. Building design is quite simple. Two storeys, 2 corridors to each
storey. One on the left and one on the
right. 14 rooms in each corridor. That boasts a grand total of 56 rooms housing
108 intelligent engineers. Washrooms are shared, 7 washrooms and 5 bathrooms to
each corridor. That concludes the building structure. Iqbal hostel currently
houses the whole final year batch with a smattering of junior degrees. All the
other hostels contain both DE-34 and DE-35 students with varying ratios. Iqbal
is the only hostel to have a huge lawn at the front, with decorative lights and
appropriately placed benches, a perfect place to be at night. The lawn looks
simply awesome at night!
Liaquat
Hostel:
Made in the recent past,
this is the last habitable building before the boundary wall of EME, (don’t
worry, it’s still a long way off :p). Separated by some 50 feet of grass same
building structure as Iqbal, Liaquat hostel boasts two extra rooms on the upper
floor lobby. It has a basketball court on a little paved area at the front which
students use to play cricket :D
Jinnah
Hostel:
Located in the far (and
wild) West of EME, this is the most notorious hostel in the college. A saying
goes that:
“jo
Jinnah me gya wo kharab hojata ha”
In English:
“whoever goes to Jinnah
goes bad”.
Jinnah hostel has 6 blocks
A,B,C,D,E,F of which the E block is occupied by Nustians. Jinnah enjoys the
close proximity of EME’s cheapest dhaba
where the whole variety of all other eateries combined is available. MI (Medical)
room, Main mosque and library are all located close by.
Hired
Hostel:
I know only two things
about Hired hostel; it is outside EME’s boundary wall. And it houses ICT
scholarship students. Regarding location as it is adjacent to the Main mosque
so all the perks of Jinnah hostel (though not the fame) are shared by Hired
hostel.
Bank
Hostel:
Bank hostel is the newest
addition to EME’s hostels. Built three years back adjacent to the boundary wall
and overlooking main GT road, Bank hostel boasts glistening walls, tiled floor
and brand new furniture. Though the payoff is 3 students per room as the rooms
are a bit large. As the name indicates a branch of National Bank of Pakistan is
located downstairs. Bank hostel is quite a distance away from anything
interesting. The departments and library are nearby though. Also the hot
favourite EME café aka Incantare café is also in front of it. And it is the
favourite hangout at night because it remains open till 2 am!
Now something about hostel
life.
Hostel life is fun, cool
and happening, Right?? Actually, no. You make a lot of friends, yes. You have a
social gathering, have those late night hangouts, walks on the circular road at
three in the morning and music blaring on loudspeakers in the corridor. You
have these cold baths on birthdays, parathas (hostelites will understand J )
and that guy in shorts without a top shouting at the top of his lungs:
“kis b******** ne meri chappal uthai ha??”
In English :
“which b****** has picked
my slippers??”. Yes believe it or not, you can have the room to yourself, wake
up at your own time but there is no guarantee you will see your belongings as
it is in your room. Someone is bound to pick up your slippers, USB, Mouse,
comb, register, book, your teacup etc. etc. only to return it some days after.
Or worse you chance upon your belongings in someone else’s room. That kind of
thing is normal in hostels. Shouting at the top of your lungs on your way to
the bathroom is also normal. You get all types in hostel, computer geeks,
football fans, drama lovers, political analysts, experts on fighter jets blah
blah blah. There a lot of advantages in living in a hostel. Broke your pc,
consult a dabba wala (Computer dept.
guys ), need help with programming, consult a tat..Mechatronics guy, need help
with studies consult the electrical nerds, need a date, consult a mechie….
You
get happy you get sad you get excited you encounter bouts of adrenaline and long
hours of depression you miss your home you miss your mom you miss your school
friends you feel no one is sincere to you, you feel life is giving you a very
tough time you will encounter this and much more!! Trust me. All will pass.
Time passes. I have had good times with friends. I have had times when I felt
so down that a random stranger’s greeting cheered me up. These feelings come
and go. You will also pass these four years in hostel. And they will pass like
a lightening flash and you will look back and remember those stupid times when
you wished for escape. These are temporary feelings. What is important is the
realization that we have been given a chance very few can hope of, we owe too
much to our family, our country to languish in despair. We should keep sight of
our goals. Because ultimately everyone will leave this hostel just as everyone
will leave this Life.
