23 (Monday), 24 (Tuesday) & 25 (Wednesday) March 2026

 23 (Monday) March 2026

No scholars are present. I came to the department by noon with a blinding headache. The university fest 'Sargam' competitions are happening this week. The singing competition is happening in the auditorium right next to our room. My headache is worsening. I left by 3pm because my head was throbbing with pain. Shuba aunty came and asked if the other scholars were not coming today. 

No sign of the guide. All the lights in the cabin are switched off. 

I took a Dolo tablet and tried to sleep because the headache was unbearable.

 23 (Tuesday) March 2026

Came to college by 11 am. Neethu has come from home and was already here. Gulabi is still in Trivandrum. 

No sign of the guide.

Both of us have a building headache. The programme noises and heat are not helping. We tried to leave by 4 pm, but the guide came with her son and left by 4:30 pm, after which we also left. 

Went to sleep with a severe headache again. 

25 (Wednesday) March 2026

Woke up with a headache. Tried to take leave because the heat and noises from the competitions were making the headache worse. 

Neethu and Gulabi texted and called to see if I was coming that day, even though I told them I was not sure if I would be able to come. I called them back, and they said the guide scolded them, saying that we were taking leave. And that she is done with us, hopes we submit our thesis soon, and that the next batch of students will be good. She questioned whether we are the VC or registrar to come and go as we please. If only she could try to understand the pathetic conditions under which we were asked to do research. The heat inside our room rises from 28 degrees to 32 degrees by noon. Since we are sitting in the top floor, the heat becomes all the more unbearable with the hot air coming down on us from the ceiling fans. The wifi here is down most of the time. Our personal networks don't have any range when we try to connect to a hotspot on our devices. The library is not even updated with the books we want. There is no proper department librarian. There are no proper tables for us to work. We have arranged the tables we found in the faculty room to make our personal research space. The tensions and ego clashes between the guide and the office workers are a topic for another day. Our work moves forward only when we sit at home. So I try to do much work by morning before coming to the department because a headache is a guarantee here.