No place for me....

The counseling was scheduled at nine in the morning. We did not want to risk our moods by taking breakfast and directly went to the counseling hall after a cup of tea. Those of us who did not have the demand draft were asked to book their seats when their turn came and then get the draft – a welcome suggestion much to the relief of many. Seats had also been filled on the previous day by the candidates who enjoyed reservations and by an elite few, who had very high marks in the qualifying examination. Shekhar and I were basically interested in Engineering Design, though our scores were not deserving of the course. He was not ready to compromise and said that he would walk out of the hall if there was no seat in Design. But I was a little more flexible in the sense that I had more options in mind.
When I went into the hall, I saw seats in Metallurgy, Materials Science, Physics, Ocean Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Cryogenics, Reliability, etc. – all of these are good branches of study, but none of my interest. I would have settled there had I got a seat at least in Aerospace Engineering. But then, destiny had it’s say as usual and I came out without opting for anything.

Shekhar was waiting for me with a dejected look on his face. He was rather surprised when I approached him, smiling. We consoled each other and went to the same canteen that offered better food, for lunch. Again, a few vadas and dosa. We were not willing to risk anything. We went back to our rooms after lunch and I went to sleep, with mixed feelings. Shekhar was very upset and I did not want to talk to him and left him to his own company. When I woke up in the evening, he was alright and we walked to the football ground, before making preparations for our departure that night. Dinner was taken in the same place and exactly the same items were eaten in the same quantity. I had started thinking of dosas as abominable by then.