“Kabhi kabhi aditi zindagi mein yuhi koi apna lagta hai” (Only a few times in life, someone feels like your own). Kabhi Kabhi Aditi by Rashid Ali is the song that I associate with Ashoka. From the first week itself, I felt at home here, “apna lagta hai” type of feeling. While I would say that this feeling comes with the entirety of Ashoka, I won’t lie when I say that there are a few special spots that hit you like a ray of sunshine. They make you feel warm and fuzzy from the inside, that you make you never want to leave.
- Mess lawns (in the morning sun): Let me start off by saying that I can’t describe how much I love the mess lawns, especially in the winter. I love seeing half of the student body just sitting in the lawns either chattering away, reading a book or eating with their friends. The bonus is that there will always be that one person with immaculate music taste who will be playing soft indie songs. I am guilty of looking at my schedule each day and trying to find time to sit on the mess lawns (when the sun is still out). My classes are continuous throughout the day, so the one hour I get I stop the urge to nap and instead go to mess lawns, even if it is just for 10 minutes. I meditate, put on my earphones and just read my book, which refreshes me more than a nap ever will. On weekends I get to spend more time there. My favorite memory of it is during The Great Ashokan Weekend when there were mats on the lawns. My friends and I sat there for hours and, like a picnic, got our food and just enjoyed each other’s company. Even though there were lots of people around it felt like our perfect little spot at that moment. When the lawns are empty, it feels rather dull. While it still holds significance, the laughter and the people sitting there make it come to life.
- Library cafe: It’s 10:30 am on a Sunday morning and I am sitting in the library cafe with a small cup of hot chocolate. I am not going to paint a perfect picture of the cafe, because you would think a place that is completely dependent on technology for everything would have more charging points. But here I am after spending the last half an hour trying to find a plug point. Long story short, I couldn’t and now I am sitting out in the sun squinting my eyes to see the laptop screen as I could only find a plug point outside. Nevertheless, trust me the library cafe is one of the best places to not only study in Ashoka. Another major “hiccup” however is that every time I come to this place, I feel like eating something (blame fuel zone for its comparatively low-priced good food). My personal favorite spot in the cafe are the booths, they’re not only comfortable seating but also have plug points (a rarity in the cafe), and are super close to Fuelzone and bathrooms. While this is just a place to study, something about it just feels so….warm. Maybe it’s the fact that I get overly motivated to study when I see other people studying, or maybe it’s the fact that with my earphones on I space out and only focus on my laptop screen, perhaps its because I can also just chill here or hey its possible that I am overanalyzing this and it’s simply the hot chocolate.
Dhaba: This entire area, the Dhaba, Rasananda chairs, and the alley beside food street is one of my personal favorites. Anytime I need to find any of my friends at night be it 11 pm or 3 am, I know where exactly to go. They will either be sitting near the Dhaba eating Thali no 4, or Chilli Maggi from Rasanada. I especially love the chatter and vibe here on Thursday nights. Everyone is dressed up, tired from the week, but still laughing. I also see some people carrying their speakers and playing either Hindi party bangers or some cis het male rap (guilty of doing that in my freshman year). My friends and I also come here on Thursday nights to destress. We order a bunch of food to gorge on. One, however, remains constant – the honey chili potato from the Dhaba, trust me its gone within 30 seconds of ordering it. Every week we assign one person to order the food since the dhaba lines are so goddamn long. I am short, so I don’t even reach the counter until I am on my tiptoes which means I have to make an extra effort just to order food. The best part about this however is the conversations that I end up (over) hearing in the lines. Ashokans always end up bringing in some or the other political discourse even while talking about the most random stuff. I also hear people cribbing about the lines, which makes me feel like we’re in the same boat.
“Nahi to bass thoda thoda thoda thoda thoda thoda muskura” (Otherwise just smile a little). If you can’t smile, just go to the spots I told you about<3.