The Fire
Our college is located inside the Exhibition Grounds. This huge piece of land was donated by Sarojini Naidu to the government for educational institutions. On the grounds, there’s a school, a degree college, and a polytechnic college. There are no hostels for the school, but both colleges have their own hostels. I studied in one of them. By the time we were in our final year, hostel rules required us to stay on the topmost floor, which is the fourth floor. Our room was right in the center, with a view of the entire exhibition ground. My friend Manoja and I had even argued with the warden and HOD to get that room, because during exhibition season (just 45 days a year), we could see everything from our window. On Wednesday, January 30, 2019, it was a normal exhibition day. People were coming in, shopping, and leaving as usual. After dinner, we were sitting by our window, pleasantly watching the stalls and the crowd. Suddenly, we noticed a small fire break out in the middle of the exhib...