"800+ GNLU students move into ‘monumental’ 50 acre, Rs 150 crore campus in Gandhinagar", my friend read it out loud from his Blackberry between sips of chai.

"Bhai, Kasam se, it feels so good after reading this news", my friend said “Finally atleast the juniors will get to live in that sprawling campus. Do you remember….”

Year: 2006

Gujarat National Law University, GNLU. I finally made it to a Law School. It was a moment of happiness and relief. Happiness cos while all my friends had decided to become engineers, CAs or Doctors, I chose Law and now I'm going to study at one of the seven National Law Schools. Mom was happy cos I was not going too far from home. Dad was relieved that I got into some college at last. Relief cos I didn't had any Plan B. So Plan A has to work out. And it did.

I joined college and on the very day was the orientation day. In that, apart from usual blah-blah, we were told that "we will shift to the new campus within 1.5 yrs." by our then Director. This news woke up some of us sleeping out of boredom. This indeed had an impact. We were glad that we will be studying in an AWWWESOME campus by the time we are in third year. Our seniors, well, they never believed its gonna happen. They were right.

Year: 2007

"RK got hurt!!!" a heard a shout while I was busy watching Bourne Ultimatum in my hostel room. I went out and the scene was like J.P. Dutta's war movie. There was HUGH crowd in midst of a sand cloud, some angry guys chanting popular slangs, a guy carrying his injured friend in his arms, and of course, the fight. Later, I came to know the whole story: some of the guys were playing cricket in the "common ground", a gujju aunty got hit by the ball, somehow a fight started and RK (one of my batchmate) got a nasty hit on his head.

This should have been the end of the whole episode but it wasn't. By night, a special resolution to announce a stike got passed by the seniors and everyone gave consent to it. Demand- a new, safe campus. And after a series of meeting, discussions, revolts, letters etc., the Result- we were back to attending classes, the Director and Registrar resigned and RK was busy playing teen-patti, "its safe" he said.

Year: 2008

"It's a gimmick, we have been there, heard that. Now, cut the C**p and show us a dance on ‘Hips don't lie’ and shake your waistline, don't bounce on your baby flab...." we rebuked our juniors during a small "Intro" session when they informed us about the same 1.5 yrs commitment they got in their orientation program. "THERE ISN'T GOING TO BE ANY NEW CAMPUS. There might be one but by then you will be in your fifth year" WE were right this time.

PENTAGRAM. One good thing about February. It was our college fest, a week of sheer enjoyment. A delight to eyes and time to take out all the stress. But there used to be a one concern and a major on for oglers- When will it be a National fest and in a bigger campus? This one was "too" small to organize one and wouldn't it be great to check out chicks of other colleges!!

Year: 2009

Some good, some bad and some outright crazy things were happening. First batch of the University graduated, with decent placements despite the recession (Good); It was confirmed that we won't get to study in new campus cos it was still in construction (Bad); A senior got rejected in placement interview because they felt "GNLU was not upto the mark" in their eyes (Crazy) Its crazy because the same senior was amongst the top-5 of her batch, bagged 3-4 gold medals, an excellent mooter and is now working with the biggest and most sought-after law firm of India (Hint: its name starts with 'A').

People suggested may be the campus was a reason to it. Some recruiters might judge a college on the basis of its "Grand" structure not its students. It sounded crazy but not that crazy to be ignored especially when “ghosts of placements” is all you have in your mind. We felt like we are going to get doomed. A new Director was a ray of hope but the clouds of uncertainty were still there. GIMC was a hit but the comments on the infrastructure were still there. Things were accepted but shattered dreams were still there.

Year: 2010

14. Fourteen was the number of students who got placed in AMSS. Highest in India. The perks of being a member of Recruitment Committee is that you get to tell the good news to your fellow mates, you get to see their smiling faces and you feel proud of your efforts being paid of. I got all that. The end figure was 104, again the highest among all law schools.

As expected, some people even said that "It doesn't prove GNLU is good", "Its cos of CM support", "One firm cannot be criteria". But indeed it’s an evidence of our caliber. We were more than "upto the mark". And for once, we, the class of 2011, didn't care about the campus anymore.

Year: 2011

Human behavior is stupid. It’s unpredictable, it’s impossible to understand. For 5 years we criticized the college, the campus, the hostel rooms and the mess food. But at the end of it, many of us were crying while leaving our rooms or when it was the last class in the "small" campus and we were scared of the life ahead us.

It’s been more than 6 months now. Everyone is eagerly waiting for the Graduation Day while dealing with their share of agreements, petitions and long work hours. The things that used to bother when you were in college seems so little now yet for some the very association with it is something that changed their whole life (for example, the couples who eventually get married).

Year: 2012, Present Day

My friend is blabbering about something, some nice chic, a latest movie or perhaps about the new FDI Policy. I’m wondering that putting aside the fights about which law school is better or which one is world class, the moot question is- Do you feel proud about your institution ?

It’s not just about the campus, placements or the moot court victories. It’s about friends, memories and the best time of life which it gives you. That makes it a unique, indispensible - Alma Mater.