There are many fond memories of REC that come to mind. But probably not too many that can be associated to the first few months in 'A' hostel - thanks to the near-prison-like enviroment that was in the offing. There was only a single window to the outside world (barring the one facing 'B' hostel which some of the seniors used to subject us to ragging assignments) which was guarded by the "mashe"s as if their life depended on it. Any amount of cajoling would not make them budge and allow so much leeway as to even let us sit on the benches right outside the gate. So, most of our adventures were confined to the indoors.
This remained the norm till we discovered the third "window of oportunity" in the form of a ventilator in a certain room number 109, ground floor. Free spirits can be kept bounded only for so long. Subhash Chandra Bose's name comes to mind and the way he had fooled the British who kept him under house arrest to make good his escape. A certain gang of notorious NEXI youths thought in similar lines and creativity soon led their attention to the ventilator that had mere glass panes loosely fitted obliquely to let air pass in. What the designers of the premises must have carelessly omitted was the possibility of carefully removing those glass panes and providing with a sleek exit point for under-fed first year inmates.
This is what precisely happened at around 2 in the night of Saraswati pooja early in the year 1996. I shall refrain from disclosing the names of the participants of the heist for fear of late rebuke, but make a special note of the feeling of accomplishment they must have had when they made their re-entry after an ecstatic stroll in the Chattamangalam wilderness unrecognized by guards and seniors alike.
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