Rajasthan
- 12th to 19th of September
- New Delhi - Rewari - Narnaul - Chirawa - Pilani - Jhunjhunu - Fatehpur - Bikaner - Phalodi - Pokhran - Dechu - Jodhpur - Beawar - Ajmer - Jaipur - New Delhi
- 1503km
On the twelfth, we packed off Ranga and Chaithra’s bikes, and they were all set to fly back. My flight was with Adrian, Sam and Arun, on the 19th. Plenty of time yet. I hit the road again, late in the afternoon, and headed straight towards Rajasthan. First halt, at the alma mater, BITS Pilani.
Most uncharacteristically, it started pouring soon as I got closer to Rajasthan. By the time I reached Pilani, it was about 8PM, and my battery was flat by using the fog lamp. I checked into the Alumni Guest house. The first time I have ever utilised its services as an alumnus.
The next morning, the sun gave some brief and watery light before being drowned in all the rain. Here are a few shots I took around campus, things which have changed, and things that have not. Please excuse, while I delve into an orgy of quaint BITSian slang from way back.
The Coop! That dingy shed behind the MC (medical center/makeup center) is long gone, and replaced by this grand building. Change: Better
Inside The Coop is a a regular supermarket. "Potato Chips on aisle 3". "Checkout counter 5 items or less only". And regular full-time loki employees, not EWYLP scheming idiots. Change: Better
The Vyas jail. They’ve sealed up the whole ground floor corridors on all sides. Look at the grill and stuff. The only way to enter is through the central archway. I lived 2 years of my life in this hostel, in rooms 234 and 282, and now it looks like a maximum security wing in Central Jail. Change: Definitely Worse
Gandhi, without his usual dosage of Crow’s revenge. It must be the rains. He looks clean only twice a year. October 2nd and on the day it rains. _Change: None, really _