The University Mag

The university of BITS Pilani has one of the most beautiful campuses in the country. Before I get on with the photodump, let’s get up, close and personal to one of the best unis in India.

BITS Pilani was established in 1964. It’s curriculum is mainly branches of engineering but it’s also got branches like Pharmacy, Economics etc. The university has been visited by many stalwarts from both India and abroad and the alumni have made a mark in fields of entrepreneurship, corporate industries, film and entertainment and even social activism. Besides academics, the university also has a huge inclination towards culture and sports which can be seen through the yearly fests and events that are conducted here.

And now, onto the campus….

The clock tower here is the symbol of BITS. It overlooks the entire academic block and is surrounded by mini lawns. The road leading to the clock tower is a snaking path which really enhances the look.

All those buildings have either classrooms or computer labs or even auditoriums. The whole area is so peaceful, especially at night. It’s a nice spot to hang out with friends and be mesmerised by the clock tower or simply breath in the air and melt away the college stress.

Up next, we have the temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, the Hindu Goddess of wisdom and learning. It’s the most beautiful area in the whole university campus, owing not only to its intricate architecture but also to the premises that are covered with lawns and flowering plants. There’s lots of birds, mainly pigeons that like to perch on the temple domes and whenever any slight activity makes a whole group of them fly, it’s always a good time for a picture.

Talking of birds, here’s a couple of the most popular birds on campus, aka the peacocks. The university has a Peafowl Conservation Initiative which is one of the main reasons for the huge numbers of the peacocks. I’ve seen a peacock every time I stepped out of my room for a stroll and most of them are so comfortable with humans that they’d literally brush past you without batting an eyelid. In fact, the ladies who ran the girls’ hostel canteen even fed the peacocks everyday. The peacock who came to the canteen liked bread and secretly, he wanted a taste of coffee so whenever any of us wanted coffee, we had to run the risk of being approached by a peacock who was way too inquisitive about mankind’s favourite caffeinated drink. Never give coffee to a peacock, no matter how adorable its puppy eyes get:)

Talking of puppies, here’s a pair of pups right outside the girls hostel. There was an entire family of dogs that had taken shelter at a shed outside and it was so nice to watch the puppies bond with each other:) Of course it wasn’t possible to pet them cause the mum was always watching but they were the highlight of the university:) Some of the cleaning staff would take charge of feeding the dogs and providing shelter when it rains so all in all the doggo family had a lovely growth, surrounded by a lot of love:)

This is the Sky Lawns, a watering hole for the students. One can come here to play or study in the outdoors or take a nap or hangout with friends or even to grab a snack as there is a small food-stall attached. The whole lawn is very beautifully arranged, complete with garden miniatures and plant arrangements and even a small waterfall lake.

The university has a science museum attached to the sky lawns. It’s currently closed due to the pandemic but one can easily get a glimpse of the lawn exhibits. I love the giant airplane in the first picture, it’s so badass:)

This is an eco park that is used by students to study nature as well as take a walk. I love the chess board arrangement, it’s so cute! Besides, it contrasts well with the I♥Pilani board and the Buddha statue. For some odd reason, first years aren’t allowed to visit this park. It’s probably temporary but why keep the freshers away? It’s not as if there’s a fresh-eating(No I did not mean flesh) monster in there, is it?

IS IT?

The BITS university is located in an area called Vidya Vihar. This loosely translates to ‘abode of knowledge’ and by knowledge, they don’t just mean academic knowledge, they also mean knowledge in the fields of sports, aviation, Cadet training etc. This horse was peeping out from the fence of the area’s riding club that imparts equestrian training. There’s also a flying club nearby that teaches aviation. Uni students are allowed to sign up for equestrian and aviation and I’ve known people who’ve actually joined the Air Force after passing out of uni.

Glimpses of the girls hostel. Now the weather in Pilani is freezing cold and mornings can get very foggy. It’s spooky as well as fun to step out into the fog the moment you wake up and head to the mess, trying not to run into a peacock:) The second picture is the hostel canteen, my daily coffee and sandwich spot:)

To give ye folks an idea of how foggy it gets, here’s the hidden clock tower, taken at the same spot from where I got the night time shot of the tower. One might think it’s magical, hehe.

And now, here’s the university graffiti. There’s some on every wall but I would have to do a whole series of blogs for that:)) The graffiti mainly covers some of the iconic landmarks and scenes from the state of Rajasthan or even some trendy and cute paintings. What I loved here was that each of the artists was given recognition as their names were printed above the respective paintings. It’s a lovely gesture and it really shows how the university and the educational trust appreciates artistic talent:)

The university has a dairy farm called Patalpuri Dairy Farms. Now the quality of milk and dairy products in Pilani is absolutely amazing. It’s so fresh and tasty that one can’t resist having a nice hot glass of milk every morning! Now, if you hear me praising milk, it means that the dairy quality is literally out of the world cause I am that kid that always threw a tantrum when it came to drinking milk. I’ve loathed having milk in the morning(or any other time) for all of my eighteen years on this planet but coming to campus really changed my attitude towards the beverage, turning it from personal enemy number one to a literal need of the hour:) And boy didn’t that thrill my mum:)

hehe….

Now, the name of the dairy farm, ‘Patalpuri’, literally means ‘underground’ so it was kind of funny as to why someone would name a dairy farm that way but then again, nomenclature is a funny process.

This is a place called Shiv Ganges. It’s a sort of a park but this fountain here is sort of an open temple to the Hindu God, Shiva. I love the pastel decor of the area and also the fact that it is so peaceful! This place overlooks the ‘food mall’ of the university. At night, the fountain is very well lit up and makes for some real aesthetic views.

Now, Imma take ya on a wee house tour.

hehe….

This is my room at the university. It was a cosy room and rather accessible to all the hostel amenities. The rooms for first year students are double-occupancy and most of the girls have roommates. I didn’t have one but that didn’t stop the room from being home:) I went at the peak of winter so one of my first tasks was to keep the room warm. I did achieve that by utilising hot water bags and letting in the sunshine and even adding more blankets and what I realised is that keeping warm is hugely psychological. I mean, looking at a bare room makes one feel colder but add in a few blankets and you’ve got yourself a cosy cave:)

Ok, talking of room arrangements makes me feel like such an adult:) Next thing you know, I’ll be talking about furnishing and wallpapers, hehe. But really, my room had a nice view….

The location of your home is so important. You need proper aesthetic, convenience and even a proper inlet for sunlight. Keep that in mind for your next house hunting mission. Hehe….

Honestly though, hostel life is tough. You have to fend for yourself and it all feels so overwhelming on the first day. Like seriously, you need to take care of laundry, dishes, room cleaning, and gazillion other things and all of them in your mum’s absence but let me tell you that there’s something very cheerful and uplifting about that hardship. Literally, in three days time, one gets used to it and you can feel yourself toughen up and that brings in a lot of confidence. Take it from a person who was a complete novice to chores before staying in a hostel. You can get by just fine:)))

Going away to university is daunting but that feeling of homesickness and beginners’ fear is taken care of by a good company. University friends are the real ones. They are literally the ones that make an alien environment home and are equals in all emotions. I was lucky to have made some amazing friends on getting to university. Here’s our photodump….Presenting some university madness, hehe….

This is a special one. Taken after a series of rather tough quizzes. The best part about uni friends is that we’re all in the same boat, right from leaving home to conquering exams to dealing with scoldings from your parents for not eating in the mess….hehe. It’s one hell of a ride!

This is taken from a post lunch stroll. Strolls after meals aid digestion and are not meant for running away from the backlog that awaits you. We’re health conscious and not at all ignorant of backlog.

hehe….