Blue Waters

Know how medical students aren’t supposed to have fun?

Well, if you believe it you’ve definitely been misinformed. True, most of our life revolves around tests, exams and textbooks that any teenage guy would be thrilled to use as weights. Still, there’s always room for fun if you’re in the mood. For a small town, Manipal’s definitely got a broad outlook on life. In celebration of the crazy people who call themselves the student fraternity of Manipal, some alumnus erected a pub/disco called Blue Waters.

The thing is, in Manipal, over-the-top is considered normal. So a night on the town means the works. People get dressed to the nines when they go clubbing. The concept is simple; bling is in. And our batch was eager to contribute its share.

Saturday night. The first time we went to Blue Waters. The guys, being as chivalrous as they are, offered to go and find autos for all of us. Being sixteen people in total meant at least 5 autos. The next fifteen minutes were spent arguing about who should go with whom and in which auto. I’m telling you, guys, for all their passion for simple logic, have this insane tendency to complicate things. To add to all the confusion, it started pouring while we stood there waiting. (Note to self – waterproof makeup is definitely the way to go in Manipal, and if you’re that stunningly beautiful, just skip the makeup. There’s no uglier face than a mascara stained one with patches of running foundation, trust me).

Finally on our way. The lights in Manipal aren’t really that great at night, which means the hills simply look like a big mass of black lumps… it doesn’t really make for easy navigating. Yet the auto drivers do it with ease, although the bumpy roads mean that your insides are flung about against your ribs until they’re beating to a primitive rhythm of their own.

Blue Waters is brightly lit at night, most of all the signboard bearing its name; the sign, predictably, is in fluorescent blue. Good thing is it’s hard to get lost on your way. It’s a straight road and you simply follow the fluorescent light all the way, quite like moths being attracted to a light bulb.

Around 10 p.m. on Saturdays Blues is- there’s no other word for it- crazy. There’s barely space to breathe, and there are so many people waiting outside the gates you wonder how Manipal could possibly accommodate all of them. Almost everyone in Manipal comes out on Saturday night so you’re bound to see most of your batch there. Some people went there for the booze, others to pick up a potential date or simply for an uninterrupted round of ‘bird-watching’. We went there every time to let loose for a while and just dance...