Why Falling In Love With Miranda House was Easy!

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
pass into nothingness”
-John Keats

Two years back I overlooked a couple of co-ed colleges for this place called Miranda House. A walk around the beautiful campus, a plate of honey chilly potato from the canteen, and a talk with a few staff members later, I realised that guys were the only thing Miranda didn’t have, and I couldn’t care less. I knew then that Miranda was the place for me and that was the beginning of my romance with the college.

There are so many unwarranted prejudices against Mirandians, their poor reputation, for one, and back stabbing being a norm since its a girls’ college. I can tell you that these are the products of obtuse vilifying of people who either can’t make it in or think of jealousy as the only constant feeling a woman could have for another of her sex. I’ve met some of the best people I know, here in Miranda, and I couldn’t be more grateful. I love that I study in a girls’ college. I’ve never felt as accepted as I do here. This is a place where one can stand out without fear of being a target. Lying down on the grass on warm winter afternoons unconscious of the appropriateness, or the lack thereof, of our positions or that of our clothes, is absolute bliss.

Miranda is a very happening place. Days before college elections see permitted interruptions of lectures and speeches by aspiring candidates. Unlike the DU campus, ours remains as clean as ever. Come February, Miranda, like other DU colleges, comes alive with the buzz of fests. I hadn’t been to a concert before I’d joined college and Neeti Mohan’s performance in my first year blew my mind. Miranda’s Tempest is a crowd puller every year. Department fests and other melas are a huge attraction too.

College is never dull, with all the wonderful society activities going on alongside regular lectures. I’ve seen my friends who used to crib about how much work societies demand now become part of the family.

Miranda has an amazing canteen. Mess food can be a disappointment. However, the Nescafe and PAM outlets ensure balance such that day scholars don’t have to go out looking for other food options.

The mini canteen at the science block, opened a year back, has got us that biryani swag as well.

Movies had me think that classes don’t happen in college, Miranda taught me otherwise. My teachers are amazing and I’m in absolute awe of them. I couldn’t have asked for a better faculty. The library is love. In addition to the well-stocked main library, we have a departmental library as well. I’ve spent hours browsing through shelves of green hard-bound books, many of which have become dear.

Miranda is a feminist college, atleast more so than some colleges. It’s true that most of the administration staff is male, as is the canteen and the housekeeping staff. No, it’s not perfect, but I have fallen in love with it nonetheless.

It is a very beautiful place. Somedays when literature seems to be a bit too disturbing for me, I miss a class and go sit in my favourite spot. Ears plugged to music and a great view to look up to when the neck tires from looking into a beloved book make things infinitely better.

Heading into my third year, it makes me heartsick to think there’s just one short year of association left. So I will not think about that.

Instead, I’ll make sure to live an eternity within the time I have. I will attend lectures by my brilliant professors, I’ll obsess over Nescafe’s ice tea in the summer and PAM’s soup in the winter, I’ll buy my last few pairs of earrings from the wonderful earring retailer who comes during the Diwali fest, I’ll love a few more books from the library and fill the fine when I forget to return them. I’ll play with Miranda’s cats some more and I’ll treasure the relationships I’ve made here, few of which would survive the break. Miranda has given me and shown me that being myself solves everything. And, goodness, what fun it is to be!

– Sukriti, Editorial