Maurya College, University of Delhi.

The shiny gold letters proclaimed on top of the main entrance.

"So this is it then," I thought to myself, "this is the place I will be actualizing my plan to live life to the fullest. This is where the old Meera will become a memory and the new Meera takes over the world."

I looked at the red-bricked buildings from afar and saw students milling about the grounds. It was picturesque indeed and I had built up my expectations up. This could not go wrong. For several weeks I had clung on to this idea of reimagining myself and realizing what it would constitute. 

I took a deep breath and entered the gates of my new college all the while continuing my inner monologue of positivity which was unceremoniously interrupted by a uniformed guard who stood a few feet ahead.

"ID card?" he demanded. 

"Huh? Oh, I don't have one. New student." I said.

"Then get your admission slip out. Can't you read the notice outside." he all but snapped at me. 

"Okay man, there's no need to get all worked up for that," I thought as I fumbled through my bag for the tiny piece of paper that was apparently vital for my entrance into this college that I had already been admitted to. 

"Here," I showed him the slip and he barely even glanced at it before barking "ID?" at another student coming in. I guess that was his permanent state, grumpy. Then again I would be grumpy too if I had to spend all morning looking at hundreds of ID cards. 

I finally walked forward and saw a huge poster 'Welcoming the Freshers' displayed front and centre. In front of the poster, some people were clumped together in groups talking amongst themselves already while others stood to the side immersed in their phones. I could make out the enthusiastic/nervous first years (being one myself) and the more confident, self-possessed seniors. There were actual butterflies in my stomach at the prospect of a new beginning.

The plan for new me had majorly included changing my wardrobe. Finding my style, venturing out of my comfort zone and wear something other than the sweatshirts and tees I usually did. I recalled how pleasantly surprised Sarah was when I suggested shopping for a new look last month. We had not ended up in the same college but given the circumstances, we wanted to do as much stuff to prepare for college together as possible. 

"If I knew your break-up would lead to you trying out a skirt at Forever 21 I would have done that years ago." Sarah had laughed when I came out of the trial room in a black skirt. 

I'd glared at her and she'd put her hands up in mock surrender, 

"Sorry, too soon?" 

"No. It's fine. The skirt does look great though." I'd said to change the subject. 

I was mostly over the dumping. It had taken great amounts of intense planning and self-help books for me to completely move on from my ignominy. I had tried several approaches and focusing on planning for my future and self-gratification is what worked best. 

As I had laid out my outfit last night I had been worried that maybe the denim overalls and the graphic tee were a tad overboard and I should stick to my jeans, tee and converse combo for my first day to play it safe. I had to read and re-read my self-affirmations to convince myself that I could not fall back into my old patterns. 

But right here, looking around me at the seniors I felt right at home. Almost everyone was dressed up and nothing looked out of place. I guess Delhi University was a melting pot of fashion. From the casual kurtas to the skirts, people really knew their personal style and pulled it off. 

I walked up to a group that seemed fascinated with their surroundings indicating that they were freshers like me. I introduced myself but none of them belonged to my course and we didn't get to talk for long since two seniors stood up on chairs and yelled the following to grab our attention. 

"Hello, freshers! Welcome to Delhi University and welcome to Maurya college! Are all of you excited?" the girl asked. 

The crowd gave a scattered response so she put up her hand to cup her ear,

"Couldn't quite catch that," 

Everyone hooted and I laughed joining in with the chorus. 

"Alright, that sounded great. I'm Virat, like the cricket player and this is Heena. We are part of the KGV party and as the election winners this year it is our duty to welcome you and make it a year to remember." the boy next to her said. 

"That's right Virat and the first stop of our day is going to be the auditorium for a banging orientation programme for all of you. The seniors are really excited to meet you. But before that a couple of announcements: This is a no ragging campus. We have zero tolerance for that sort of behaviour and if anyone gives you any trouble you can come straight to us and report them. We'll be giving out our numbers to you all and you can give us a call for any assistance you may require." Heena said.

"Okay then, follow us now to the Audi," Virat said jumping off the chair and leading the way inside. 

We filed along behind them chattering excitedly. The auditorium was pretty big and unlike school, we weren't expected to sit on the floor. There were actual chairs and once we were seated the lights were dimmed and the stage lit up. I was pumped to see what they had in store for us because up until now everything had been meeting my expectations. 

It began with an address from the principal who gave us the quintessential orientation speech. I turned to the girl next to me during particularly boring parts and introduced myself. Her name was Vahni and she seemed really nice, we hit it off instantly. 

The Principal's speech was followed by a street play put up by the resident drama society. The play was about LGBTQIA+ acceptance in the country and was actually pretty good by street play standards. Then there were great performances by the Indian and Western dance societies. The representatives of the rest of the college societies came up and introduced themselves and listed the stuff they had accomplished over the course of their stints. 

The only one that really interested me was 'Rhapsody' the music society. Singing was pretty much what I was known for at school and I planned to try my hand at college level competitions as well. They informed us that audition dates would be announced a week from today and I took a mental note to check in then.

Then the college president from the KGV party came up to address us. Her speech was along the lines of what Virat and Heena had previously told us and it ended with her pointing out the location of their office on campus.

I knew societies and political parties were a big deal at Delhi University but I wasn't actually expecting they would be calling the shots when it came to major events. 

Then she announced we would be getting a grand finale of the orientations and gave us a brief about the Maurya college band. Apparently, this band called Red Wagon was a big deal here and they were the showstopping act that would culminate the event. Most people lost their heads when she uttered the name of the band. The freshers pretty much went with the flow and cheered as they came in and set up their instruments. 

Red Wagon had four members, three of whom were on stage already. The drummer overseeing the setup of the drums seemed pretty cute from a distance. Then there was the bass guitarist who seemed too intensely in the character tuning his guitar and not raising his head to meet the audience's eye. The other guitarist was basking in the glow of adoration. When the setup was done the audience grew strangely quiet. The audience erupted in a huge cheer as a lone man ran onto the stage and did a lap before taking centre stage and raised his hands up high at the audience.

If I had thought the guitarist was cocky then this guy, who was presumably the lead singer, took the cake. He strutted about feeding off of the screams that were being directed at him. Some senior girls started chanting his name in unison but I couldn't quite make it out. I turned to Vahni and asked, 

"Who is that? Can you make his name out?" 

She seemed utterly transfixed. Without really turning to me she said,

"I don't know but I can't wait to find out." 

He did seem to have that effect on everybody in my vicinity. I strained my ears and finally made his name out. 

Angad Mehra. 

Angad tried looking nonchalant about the cheers and hollering but you could tell he thrived off of it. I rolled my eyes. 

I suppose he was pretty good looking in a generic brown fuck-boy sort of way. The spiky hair that was carefully tousled, the tall lean physique, the pretty eyes and full lips. His outfit, which was black ripped jeans and a navy shirt and boots, indicated he was fairly conscious of what he wore too.

"Hello and a warm welcome to all the freshers. I am Angad Mehra, lead singer of Red Wagon. We are up here to take you on a musical journey across the greatest hits by the greats," he yelled into the mic in his deep voice. When the cheers lessened he took on a more seductive tone and leaned in before saying,

"So ladies hold on to your hearts and hope you don't fall."  he looked up and winked. 

The girls lost their minds and the screams grew louder. You would think that this was an actual band like Led Zeppelin or The Beatles or someone and not just some college band. 

They began their set with, surprise, surprise, Hotel California. They went through a cliched song list but actually sounded good. Credit where credit is due. I liked their rendition of 'Summer of '69' and 'Viva la Vida'. 

Their performance ended and Angad came up and thanked the audience and introduced his bandmates. The cute drummer was called Yug, the others I forgot as soon as I heard their names. They exited and the KGV president came up to announce a last couple of things: Freshers were supposed to assemble in their respective department rooms at 12 pm and these rooms would be shown as a part of the campus tour which was to be lead by Virat and Heena who stood in the doorway beckoning us to follow them. 

Vahni and I talked and got to know each other a little better but otherwise, the tour was pretty uneventful. They showed us the offices, reception area, the photocopy shop, the library, the canteen, the rooms and what they were named/numbered, the principal's office etc. It was only when we reached the huge grounds at the back of the college that a frenzy overtook our group. I followed their gazes and spotted Red Wagon lounging on a raised stage area there.

Virat and Heena couldn't keep up with the crowd that all but mobbed the poor band. It was difficult to even see them after a few seconds amongst the crowd. 

The highlight was when right before they were engulfed by the crowd the bassist jumped from the raised platform down to the ground and ran to avoid them as his bandmates laughed and turned to the approaching swarm of freshers. 

He jumped from an elevation of almost five feet and started running without breaking a sweat which was funny but more impressive if I was being honest. I wanted to tell him exactly how cool I thought his parkour had looked but he was gone in a second. 

Talking to the remaining three members of Red Wagon did not seem as appealing to me and the handful of people left behind probably felt the same way. I approached the KGV union party members for a final time that day,

"Hey, so I am going to go check out the canteen. Thank you for the tour and orientation, it was great."

"You are most welcome," Heena said and smiled. 

"Yeah and be sure to report to your respective department room at 12 sharp. Also, try the samosa if you're going to the canteen. It's really good." Virat added. 

I nodded amusedly and turned towards the canteen. I was pretty sure I would find Vahni at the stage in a bit.

This was shaping up to be a fun day so far. Not entirely without its quirks but great altogether.