Full of appreciation and trepidation the freshies handed in their name tags at the entrance to the Mercator college office as they were ushered in by the enthusiastic members of the college team. It was the Mercator open house and time for all the new members of the Mercator Community to get to know each other and also make friends with the old hands. The festivities began at 8:30 and the freshies were told  that they would be given name tags at random and they were not only required to find the person whose name tag they had but were also required to ask him/her three interesting things about himself/herself and remember them as well. The fun began soon and the freshies soon began the search for their mates. Some were pretty quick and were quick enough to hunt out their “tag mates” , but then there were also some who took time to figure out whether they were looking for a boy or a girl. When all the freshies had figured out whose identity they were holding on to the real fun began. They were asked to introduce that person and also tell the three interesting things had they learned about them. We were introduced to some dancers, musicians, artists and a freshman who was game enough to stand on his head.

After the introductions had been made, the freshies were told that they would be drinking a “shot” and the contents of the shot depended on the block they were living. Tomato juice and coke might not sound like a very appetizing drink but hats off to our freshers who were bold enough to brave it.

After they had proved their worth by surviving the exotic drink that had been prepared for them, they were officially accepted as Mercatorians. Roy and Bassem, the new kings of England, knighted the new citizens. The new citizens were then painted blue as they became the new members of the “Communion of the Blue Knights”.
The official part of the festivities now over, the real fun began, There were snacks, champaigne, juices and cold drinks for the freshies and the “oldies” to enjoy as they got to know each other. The excitement of the freshies was visible on their faces and they seemed to be enjoying every minute of the party. Therefore, it was no surprise to see some of the freshers disappointed as the party finally ended at some time before midnight. They had had a great time and wanted to carry on as long as possible.

More images here.

(Text by Rahul Jain)