to that could have never been - 03
tomorrow would be a busy day. in the given context, a huge mattress all around me was not my idea of a good sleep, more so in a rattling train. as my dad and i stepped out of the compartment, a gaggle of porters and auto drivers swooped down upon us to start their daily business on a positive note. finally a resourceful driver managed to corner us with a fantastic bid.
leaning out of auto, i could catch a glimpse of what would be my home, college and all for the next four years. the sight was a bit disappointing what with the hostels resembling a row of disheveled flats. anyway i didn’t have to feel bed for too long. everything got back to normal once the gate came within sight. the receptionist at the enquiry and the office staff directed us to the hostels where i had to register first. i was anticipating allotment of a dormitory. instead, to a mixed feeling of pleasure (thanks to possible additional comfort) and a tinge of disappointment, i found myself in room number 221 of ‘a’ block, sharing a room with four other fellow students. i found the room satisfactory. three of them had ‘booked’ their beds whereas the fourth one was yet to make an appearance. a warm greeting later, i understood that two of them, dhinesh and madan were from salem. the third one too was from salem, and had dropped his stuff in the room. i took the bed nearest to the door (only two were remaining) as any logical human would.
the room had a bathroom (sorry for the reference to manac) which i considered both an asset and a liability. the vegetarian mess was the next stop for my father and i. my initial impressions of the food being served allayed most fears regarding the taste. the 20th of september 2000 was a wednesday (or so, i think!). we were served pongal and vadai for breakfast, with venkatesh doling out generous helpings of the food. he was the first mess hand that i knew. oh god! now i had not just students’ names to remember, i had a lot of faces to commit to memory. post-formality completion, we headed to the auditorium, anna auditorium, with a seating capacity of maybe thousand or even more. it was time for the chairman’s address. as the entire crowd assembled rose in unison to greet him, the college ‘prayer’ song was played. the irony is that it wasn’t a prayer song. it was a tamil song with weird words, so much that i could catch only two words – ‘tamizh arasu’ from the song. it would be played on all occasions.
we had purchased the bare essentials such as buckets and mugs. the chairman’ speech seemed straight out of a dialogue writer’s best works. very awe-inspiring indeed. i would have taken every aspect as absolute unqualified truth if not for a couple of statements making unbelievable comparisons to the iits and bits. the top few in each department were honored with scholarships for the first year of study. fortunately or unfortunately, i wasn’t in the roll call. i would later realize that the student with the highest cut-off in our institute would be my room-mate, the fifth one.
leaning out of auto, i could catch a glimpse of what would be my home, college and all for the next four years. the sight was a bit disappointing what with the hostels resembling a row of disheveled flats. anyway i didn’t have to feel bed for too long. everything got back to normal once the gate came within sight. the receptionist at the enquiry and the office staff directed us to the hostels where i had to register first. i was anticipating allotment of a dormitory. instead, to a mixed feeling of pleasure (thanks to possible additional comfort) and a tinge of disappointment, i found myself in room number 221 of ‘a’ block, sharing a room with four other fellow students. i found the room satisfactory. three of them had ‘booked’ their beds whereas the fourth one was yet to make an appearance. a warm greeting later, i understood that two of them, dhinesh and madan were from salem. the third one too was from salem, and had dropped his stuff in the room. i took the bed nearest to the door (only two were remaining) as any logical human would.
the room had a bathroom (sorry for the reference to manac) which i considered both an asset and a liability. the vegetarian mess was the next stop for my father and i. my initial impressions of the food being served allayed most fears regarding the taste. the 20th of september 2000 was a wednesday (or so, i think!). we were served pongal and vadai for breakfast, with venkatesh doling out generous helpings of the food. he was the first mess hand that i knew. oh god! now i had not just students’ names to remember, i had a lot of faces to commit to memory. post-formality completion, we headed to the auditorium, anna auditorium, with a seating capacity of maybe thousand or even more. it was time for the chairman’s address. as the entire crowd assembled rose in unison to greet him, the college ‘prayer’ song was played. the irony is that it wasn’t a prayer song. it was a tamil song with weird words, so much that i could catch only two words – ‘tamizh arasu’ from the song. it would be played on all occasions.
we had purchased the bare essentials such as buckets and mugs. the chairman’ speech seemed straight out of a dialogue writer’s best works. very awe-inspiring indeed. i would have taken every aspect as absolute unqualified truth if not for a couple of statements making unbelievable comparisons to the iits and bits. the top few in each department were honored with scholarships for the first year of study. fortunately or unfortunately, i wasn’t in the roll call. i would later realize that the student with the highest cut-off in our institute would be my room-mate, the fifth one.
posted by raama @ 4:35:00 PM
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