Psenti-semites are always expected to have things to say—advice, memoirs, more advice, rants about how these Gen-Z kids are ruining BITSian culture and the economy and the ecosystem and the ozone layer, and the like. That’s why this column exists in the first place. I am definitely not using this space to give advice. Perhaps it’s because, as ShanB Sir used to say in his lectures, it is wise to refrain from such devilish practices because people may actually listen. (I believe he was quoting some famous person, but the name eludes me.) Maybe I’m just bad at giving advice. You’ll never know. And I’m quite certain that rants about masala in the mess raita, or about how Fry and Laurie were the best comedy act of the Millenium won’t be of interest to anyone.

Be as it may, there are a few things I’ve come to realize over these past few weeks. One, I will miss Pilani dearly—more than I thought. Trust me, that’s a lot. This campus, the village surrounding it, the people here—I’ll miss all of it. Heck, I’ll even miss those pesky pigeons who poop on your hair right after you’ve conditioned it, and those dogs outside ANC who jump at you and try to grab your parceled tangdi. All of it. 

Two, the things I’ll miss most are not the fests or the nites or the pizzeria sessions or anything of that sort, but the most banal, everyday moments that I’ve taken for granted for most of my time here. I’ll miss going to Nutan early in the morning. I’ll miss playing with the puppies on campus. I’ll miss lying down on the grass in South Park and falling asleep before being woken up by the cold. I’ll miss the disapproving look of the IC guy as I get my fifth chai of the evening. I’ll miss trying to understand the ANC pasta guy’s Hindi as he makes me his special chicken pasta with fried onions and veggies and all (that man deserves an award). I’ll miss looking at the stars that embellish Pilani’s night sky, that hunter with his dog, that vain Greek queen, and all the other half-formed clusters I can’t quite make out. I’ll miss folding TFP issues at the Rotunda, going to ELAS quizzes as Kanni-Lingesh, and being absolutely useless at backstage work sessions. All of it.

I’ve seen quite a few of my seniors write psenti-rants about how life is meaningless and BITS is going to *expletive*. But, at the end of it all, I think this campus is marvelous. Sure, our research isn’t the best. Sure, some professors are not up to the mark. Sure, our ranking isn’t that great anymore. Sure, cutoffs are decreasing. But hey, I’ll be gone in a little while, and while this place has its faults, I can’t help but feel happy about deciding to come here. Maybe there were better options. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. I’m sad that it’s almost over.

So it goes.