Triskaidekaphobia – Haunting the 13th Person to Join NITW!??

Triskaidekaphobia, or terdekaphobia, as many of you might be aware of, is an irrational fear of the number 13. It dates back to centuries of superstitions. I’ve never believed in superstitions, or rather I believe only in lucky superstitions and not those predicting misfortune. And the number 13 never played a significant role in my life, not until I entered college at least…..

So I joined NIT Warangal in 2007. And my roll number happened to be A07013 – A denoting the section, 07 denoting the year and 013 denoting my roll number. In other words, I was the 13th person to enroll at NIT Warangal that year (A was the first section and H, the last). Of course, I never realized this at that time. But over the past two years, I’ve always wondered – did it rain misfortune upon me???

And this, incidentally, is my 13th post on my blog – dedicated to A07013!!!

Was it Destiny???
I’ve always wondered why I got the roll number 13. 12 had already registered by July 10, 2007. And I was among the first to reach on July 11. Ash and I were there at the same time – and in fact, he preceded me for everything except the ultimate step in the process of registration. So I always believed my roll number would be after his. Not to be – I got 13 and he got 14. And it was a solace – we were the only non-Andhrites in the first 33. If either of us hadn’t been there, the other would’ve been left to the mercy of the localities!!!

First Shock - The Crappy Messes!!!
Well, the boys were allotted two hostels – one 2-seater and one 2-seater. I got in the 2-seater. So the beginning was quite lucky. But how long did it last!?

The mess was perhaps one of the greatest misfortunes to befall me. Being used to good home-cooked food, the mess food seemed just eatable – and this feeling lasted only for a month or so. The quality started to take a nosedive. And after a few months, I was willing to skip lunch rather than eat there. I myself can’t believe I managed to survive eating that horrid food. But the food was good in the last month – and I still wonder why that happened! So this misfortune didn’t last that long.

Second Shock – “Where’s the Water???”
The worst thing that ever happens in NITW. The taps go dry once in a while – I managed to avoid getting stuck due to this reason by getting up early and taking bath before the water ceases to come. Hostellers can be seen running from one hostel to another with buckets in their hands every time this happens. I, for one, never had the misfortune of doing that. So this wasn’t a misfortune either.

Third Shock – C Grade in C!!!
The one blotch in my academic record I can’t ever erase – and if this wasn’t a tornado of misfortune, I don’t know what is. Mind, I wasn’t that bad in C language to deserve a C grade – I was rather better than most in the class. But my marks in the paper – always way below expected. And I never stay back to check my end semester papers – so I’ve no idea how the correction was. But this started a string of ill-luck factors interfering in my academics.

Fourth Shock – Chicken Pox during Mid-sems! Two More C Grades!!!
The worst medical catastrophe in my life. I contracted chicken pox the week before my mid semester exams in the 4th semester. Of course, I came home, hoping against hope that I’d get well in time for the exams. But fate had something else in store for us. I ended up being bedridden for 10 days and by the time, I came back the exams were over. I expected the exams to be re-conducted as I had a valid medical reason. But due to “certain” reasons, I was unable to write a couple of the exams. That resulted in C grades in both of them. My academic record keeps going down the drain….


Nevertheless, I’ve enjoyed my stay at NITW in spite of all these debacles. There have been new friends to make, new memories to cherish! And I still have to be there for 2 more years till my graduation. And I look forward to how lucky – or unlucky – these two years will be!!!