//This article is meant to act as a qualifier for the selections of Scholar's Avenue,the English fortnightly of the campus.
When I cleared JEE,I realized I had got it all wrong.I had neglected my fitness for the past two years and had turned a blind eye on my diet.As a result I had gained thirty kilos ,and the nickname golu.I promised myself I would take immediate and drastic steps to improve my fitness.What follows is the account of my year-old experience of trying to stay fit at KGP and the observations regarding the general state of affairs on matters involving health and fitness.
I was allotted the MMM Hall of Residence,which arguably serves the worst food in all of KGP.Being away from home for the first time and completely in shock at the Bengali culture,cuisine,habits(read laziness) and accent,it was an incredibly tough time and I used to stuff myself to make myself feel better.Then a fortnight later,our group discovered VS and its fried maggi and its masala coke.Within no-time it became the midnight hangout destination for our group.Not only us,it seemed the whole of KGP ,from frightened fachchas to gawdly seniors, would come there to have their fair share of maggi,which it seems no one could get enough of.
As a result,after two months I became among the highly selected group of people who have managed to increase their weight after coming to KGP.(For those of you trying to replicate me,sugary drinks and fried food have worked wonders for me.)I was devastated on watching the needle shoot up.While everyone else complained how they were losing weight fast,I looked on with a sore face and decided to join that club.After DP, I came well prepared with a strategy to lose weight as much as possible,as soon as possible.
Firstly,I stopped eating rice altogether.The Bengali rice is sticky as a gum and well known for its inflating effects on the stomach.I also tried to cut down on non-mess food and to manage at the mess.The curriculum has a compulsory EAA(Extra Academic Activity) subject and offers three breadths;NSS,NCC,NSO.I was alloted NSO(Health and Fitness) by a process that automatically allotted this choice to anyone above a threshold weight.I made up my mind to get up at 6 am in the morning,thrice a week and attend the classes.While my mind was all but made up, the body tried the best it could to resist.The mind-body conflict stayed on but somehow I managed.I also started playing badminton and learning swimming.Here,I would like to add that there is a great mismatch in the number of students and the facilities available for them to play.We had to go to the Gymkhana to play badminton as the MMM court was non-functional and had to wait almost always for an hour or two before we got the chance to play.
There was another problem I had not anticipated that loomed large.After DP,I got my own laptop and discovered the enormous virtual world that KGP boasts of.The virtual 'crib' had everyone hooked to it.Each wing has its god in DOTA,CS,The Age of Empires,Assasin's Creed and lots of other games.I too got addicted to virtual gaming and within no time started spending all my time on it.However,I had the good brains to pull myself out of this habit and stopped it altogether.I have often wondered ,if even a tiny percentage of those playing these games decide to call it quits and to go out and play,the enormous pressure it would have on the already choked up infrastructure.
In spite of everything,the average KGPian is still fit, probably getting all the exercise he needs from cycling(or walking) to the institute,surviving on the mess food and running after the much cherished notes of the maggus.Despite everything, I myself have lost 15 Kg since last year and I am aiming for that again this year.Hopefully I would be able to achieve the goal and when everyone back home asks in amazement 'How?',I can just shrug and say "It's got something to do with KGP"
When I cleared JEE,I realized I had got it all wrong.I had neglected my fitness for the past two years and had turned a blind eye on my diet.As a result I had gained thirty kilos ,and the nickname golu.I promised myself I would take immediate and drastic steps to improve my fitness.What follows is the account of my year-old experience of trying to stay fit at KGP and the observations regarding the general state of affairs on matters involving health and fitness.
I was allotted the MMM Hall of Residence,which arguably serves the worst food in all of KGP.Being away from home for the first time and completely in shock at the Bengali culture,cuisine,habits(read laziness) and accent,it was an incredibly tough time and I used to stuff myself to make myself feel better.Then a fortnight later,our group discovered VS and its fried maggi and its masala coke.Within no-time it became the midnight hangout destination for our group.Not only us,it seemed the whole of KGP ,from frightened fachchas to gawdly seniors, would come there to have their fair share of maggi,which it seems no one could get enough of.
As a result,after two months I became among the highly selected group of people who have managed to increase their weight after coming to KGP.(For those of you trying to replicate me,sugary drinks and fried food have worked wonders for me.)I was devastated on watching the needle shoot up.While everyone else complained how they were losing weight fast,I looked on with a sore face and decided to join that club.After DP, I came well prepared with a strategy to lose weight as much as possible,as soon as possible.
Firstly,I stopped eating rice altogether.The Bengali rice is sticky as a gum and well known for its inflating effects on the stomach.I also tried to cut down on non-mess food and to manage at the mess.The curriculum has a compulsory EAA(Extra Academic Activity) subject and offers three breadths;NSS,NCC,NSO.I was alloted NSO(Health and Fitness) by a process that automatically allotted this choice to anyone above a threshold weight.I made up my mind to get up at 6 am in the morning,thrice a week and attend the classes.While my mind was all but made up, the body tried the best it could to resist.The mind-body conflict stayed on but somehow I managed.I also started playing badminton and learning swimming.Here,I would like to add that there is a great mismatch in the number of students and the facilities available for them to play.We had to go to the Gymkhana to play badminton as the MMM court was non-functional and had to wait almost always for an hour or two before we got the chance to play.
There was another problem I had not anticipated that loomed large.After DP,I got my own laptop and discovered the enormous virtual world that KGP boasts of.The virtual 'crib' had everyone hooked to it.Each wing has its god in DOTA,CS,The Age of Empires,Assasin's Creed and lots of other games.I too got addicted to virtual gaming and within no time started spending all my time on it.However,I had the good brains to pull myself out of this habit and stopped it altogether.I have often wondered ,if even a tiny percentage of those playing these games decide to call it quits and to go out and play,the enormous pressure it would have on the already choked up infrastructure.
In spite of everything,the average KGPian is still fit, probably getting all the exercise he needs from cycling(or walking) to the institute,surviving on the mess food and running after the much cherished notes of the maggus.Despite everything, I myself have lost 15 Kg since last year and I am aiming for that again this year.Hopefully I would be able to achieve the goal and when everyone back home asks in amazement 'How?',I can just shrug and say "It's got something to do with KGP"
No comments:
Post a Comment