A Sunrise of Defiance

By Sukrut Joglekar, Ex-Usec (2014–2015), Z332

It was a sunrise of unwavering defiance — the beginning of a long lap with the beacon lights of mustered experience and feathered wings still raw for flight. I found myself in this dainty nest in second year; new faces turned towards me and slowly, I became one among the flock.

Unlike other colleges, our seniors were missing — no one to guide us into soaring. We took it upon ourselves to build the missing culture at Aayojan. Time flew, and soon we became the seniors we had once missed. The moment to build a new nest had arrived — to beak up art, capacity, and imagination, and sow new grain in NASA’s unexplored fields.

But catapults were already thrown — the first Council Meet at Jammu was just two weeks away! My permission was initially refused, and friends’ sarcastic remarks rang in my ears. At the eleventh hour, after convincing everyone, I was permitted. Informed at 9 a.m. that I had to catch the 4:30 train the same day, I raced — first on our canteen cook’s bike, then on buses — testing my own speed to make it.

That was the beginning of my quest — planting new saplings in fresh soil. The first was ANDC 2014. With its announcement, site hunting began. For the first time, 12 of us bunked college to hunt for a site. Wagholi was chosen. Funds were still not released, but enthusiasm bound us together. Sleepless nights began. NASA was no longer a hurdle — academics became the hurdle in NASA!

Soon, a new flock called “NASA wale” breathed to life. At the final stage of ANDC, after three sleepless nights, we scrambled to get the principal’s letter attached and submitted. Though we were scolded, we were supported — a lesson we never forgot.

Then came ZONASA. At first, only 14 “beaks” were ready to peck. One of us downloaded the teaser to explain, and the excitement spread so much that we had to limit participation as per host college rules. When our bus never arrived, we caught a state transport bus at 11 p.m., reaching by midnight.

It was our first true exposure to the NASA culture — workshops, seminars, evenings that echoed with dhol-tasha, and the dainty Aayojan flag fluttering proudly in the crowd. We bagged three on-the-spot trophies and started marching toward the compulsory ones.

When festival rush canceled our train tickets, we turned to road transport. We worked on the lawns beside the highway to complete the Landscape Trophy, embracing the new experiences that came our way. Though we did not win a trophy, the experience was our real prize — a priceless initiation into NASA’s world.

The trail of learning, once timid, now stretched wide — ready for the next year, ready to soar higher, ready to build a bigger nest for bigger dreams.