Some of you might think this blog as dark or negative or boastful or arrogant , but this was how i felt during that time & I wanted to express it, as it was. This was created in a single day ,on having old college days memories by seeing some of the posts by our friends. It just poured out without any planning.
During school days itself most of you would have dreamt about college & what you will be doing there. I also had those fantasies but it was dashed on seeing our college at Salem.Joining at Salem itself was an unpleasant feeling since all my classmates . ..6 of them were posted in Tanjore medical college ( Manthaiyilurunthu oru aadu thaniyaga pirinthu sendrathae !!) . For most of you hailing from Salem & in and around it, it may not mean much, because your first choice would have been Salem mostly. But coming from more than 250 km away & not among our choices when Madurai & Tanjore medical college were nearby, it was a big sore deal. At that time there was no uniform system of allocation of college, based on merit or counselling, like today . We were asked to give 3 college choices while filling up the application form & i was given none out of them, even though I could have got them if chosen on merit. This was the reason for my disappointment. After attempting to get transferred to Tanjore (Actually I took all my things from home & shifted them to a house taken by my friends at Tanjore ), with great reluctance, I came to Salem as they said, the transfer would take some time & advised me to join first at Salem .My first impression on seeing our old college building at Ponni Super market was shocking to say the least . After seeing the majestic Engineering college building at our place in Karaikudi where my Elder brother & my 2 elder sisters studied, it was a great blow to my imagination..
Steeped in History
My initial stories about college & college life was from my father who was the first graduate from our native village, who used to narrate about the PG life at Roorkee university U.P , while doing his Msc in chemistry . Then my brother joined Engineering when I was just in 2nd std and I grew up in an atmosphere where there used to be a flurry of visits from my brother's & sisters friends to our house, since it was very near to the college & it used to be their meeting point. Being a kid I was in awe of them.They were like heroes & demigods to me. They used to take this mini drawer, scientific calculator , put on those khaki dress during lab classes , And used to read big bound voluminous books like Fluids & Thermodynamics , Engineering maths etc...The scientific calculator was an amazing thing for me as a 7 yr old... but it had to be handled with care ..given under supervision. During this period I had the opportunity to listen to a number of their anecdotal events in college & witnessed personally many college functions & events . This had created a big expectation of college life throughout my childhood.So please view my disappointment in this backdrop .
I made a big fuss that I didn't want to study in this college, which doesn't even look like a college! ..Running from a makeshift building. I threatened to join Anna university.
My parents pleaded with me ...there were already 3 Engineers in the family, you are the one with an opportunity to do medicine. .so please join & we will get a transfer to Tanjore for you. On this condition I agreed to join at Salem. Looking back. ..I see what a fussy spoilt brat I had been. ..& thank my father to have put up with all these adolescent adamencies with great patience.
So on 8 August 1991...I joined with great reluctance. There was no sense of achievement that I got a medicine seat. Rather bitterness in being alloted this unknown entity of a college .But at least my parents were happy. There was a great dilemma as where to stay till the transfer comes. Hostel fees will be a waste if transfer comes soon & there was also the issue of ragging. But without knowing when the transfer will come, I had no other option other than to join hostel.
That was another shock. Hostel was functioning from a place called "Chatram"...meaning travellers rest house.I hated the location... with ditches running outside.. in a busy , noisy & dusty ....low end kind of market place area of the city with heavy lorry traffic. It was a great let down. Inside ..the seniors were a strange lot. At 17 & Away from home, in a hostel for the first time in my life ,with no friends & strange seniors I felt so lonely. This was not the hostel or college I had seen & imagined.This was not what I wanted.This was a nightmare & i had a lump occupying my throat as I reasoned I had to be a part of it .In addition to that most of the seniors treated us as their slaves ,asking us to do all the petty things like getting them food , making hot water & carrying it to their room & so many other things that it will take a separate blog to write all of them. U name anything ...They told it & we did it.That's the end. Once a fellow slapped me for spilling a small amount of hotwater while carrying it upstairs. Never ever been beaten by anyone, not even by my parents or by teachers ,it felt so demeaning. Also as the last child & being pampered at home, doing no work , serving the seniors was a rude jolt. Since most of our class mates were from nearby places they escaped during weekends and our ( a few of us who were from far away) problems & work would double during that time . Later on , I learned some tips , from some of our classmates ,who had the experience of staying in hostel during school days as to how to escape from all these ragging. Lock your room & stay indoors or go out to some park or mall or movie. But I didn't have that luxury as I joined hostel late ( expecting transfer) & i had to put up & share the room with the seniors. Ok enough of this aluvachi kaviyam & whining . Grow up..Be a man ..face it boldly & tackle it.
Our New College Building
GMKMC
As time passed,slowly everything reduced & some of them (seniors & classmates) became good friends .New classmates & friendships blossomed which was a balm for all these raw wounds & soon all those incidents were relegated to the back of our minds.Presence of Venkatesh & Rajaram from my place was a big boon, as it was good company while travelling 7 hrs to Karaikudi.
Better this happened at that time in my life (not too soon nor too late) , to teach me a lesson on the stark realities of life & how the world functions. How different people behave & react at different times.How to differentiate between the good & selfish people &how to manage & get along with them. And how money, casteism & groupism play a part in every aspect of life.Having been brought up in a protected environment with doting parents & with no knowledge of this harsh external world, it was a real eye opener & learning experience for me. What ever coping mechanisms & management methods I developed later in my life were only because of this early hostel life experiences. You get to see and know so many different characters & learn so many things on life.. both positive & negative.I think it must be the great Indian policy of forgive & forget or the attitude of accepting everything as it is without questioning that helped me in overcoming all this. Thinking back it may have not been so ideal. ..but it was the least controversial. And at that time & age thank god we didn't think much, otherwise it could have resulted in a permanent rift with the seniors. But again some incidents happened later on which created a permanent animosity with some of our seniors.So I made a point not to demean or physically hurt any of our juniors while ragging .The fact that our seniors didn't face any ragging since they were the first batch & didn't know about ragging may have played a part in their narrow mindedness of not accepting us as their equal .Except for a few, most of them became friendly after 3 months. So if you ask me , I would say ragging helps in knowing the juniors better , but it should not be physical or insulting.
With Mams Senthil..
As for my transfer, I went to Chennai regarding that 2-3 times & they said they had sent the papers to Salem. But here they denied receiving it. When I got a copy from Chennai & produced it here, the Dean refused to releive me saying numerous applications have come & she is not relieving anyone.Eventhough it was a great dissappointment I didn't know what to do there after (middle class with no money power or influence) & made up my mind to continue at Salem itself, without giving further problems to my father. In the meantime friendships also developed & it made it easier to continue .But another problem arose. ... .In all these hullabaloo of College, Hostel, Transfer & Ragging; Medicine as a subject was forgotten & it became a frustrating incomprehensible behemoth. Regarding those ludicrous events I will write later ..
At this age, looking back I can see how childish I had been . Those same buildings & location that I hated..the old college one & the Chatram hostel has created so much memorable moments in my college life . But there are certain lessons learnt from it.
1.Don't expect too much. .like look of the college, name etc. .
Finally what you learn, matters , not the name of the college or its building.
2.Don't compare yourself with others. ..like my friends at Tanjore.
They also faced the same difficulties & ragging if not more.
3.Hardships & difficulties gives you valuable experience , which helps you to face the different challenges in life with ease.
4.Hostel life during college, teaches you valuable lessons in making friends , handling people & running a household after marriage !!
(Like doing chores to seniors !!!)
Also you lose all your Vetkam, Maanam, Soodu & Soranai there by getting ready to face any future employer or spouse..!
5.Time is a good healer of everything, even disappointments. Give time some time.
So everyone should have a taste of hostel life. (Nam petra mess sappadu peruga neengalum..!!)
A year in hostel makes you feel that , your home is a palace & mom's food is the best in the world..!!
It makes you responsible for your own self, gives you...
Freedom, Choices , Strength to face the world alone , Decision making abilities, Teamwork, Strength to accept & face the failures & Humility. .
The camaraderie you develop in hostel , stays for a life time. ..& makes you reminiscent of those good old days.....
Ps..I couldn't get our old college photo.But now it seems that it may have been a heritage building built by the British.
DASHED DREAMS
During school days itself most of you would have dreamt about college & what you will be doing there. I also had those fantasies but it was dashed on seeing our college at Salem.Joining at Salem itself was an unpleasant feeling since all my classmates . ..6 of them were posted in Tanjore medical college ( Manthaiyilurunthu oru aadu thaniyaga pirinthu sendrathae !!) . For most of you hailing from Salem & in and around it, it may not mean much, because your first choice would have been Salem mostly. But coming from more than 250 km away & not among our choices when Madurai & Tanjore medical college were nearby, it was a big sore deal. At that time there was no uniform system of allocation of college, based on merit or counselling, like today . We were asked to give 3 college choices while filling up the application form & i was given none out of them, even though I could have got them if chosen on merit. This was the reason for my disappointment. After attempting to get transferred to Tanjore (Actually I took all my things from home & shifted them to a house taken by my friends at Tanjore ), with great reluctance, I came to Salem as they said, the transfer would take some time & advised me to join first at Salem .My first impression on seeing our old college building at Ponni Super market was shocking to say the least . After seeing the majestic Engineering college building at our place in Karaikudi where my Elder brother & my 2 elder sisters studied, it was a great blow to my imagination..
Steeped in History
 |
| The Engineering college building at Karaikudi. .Foundation laid in 1952 by Dr Rajendra Prasad, president of India & Building Opened by Prime minister Nehru. .The 2nd old Eng. College in TN. |
My initial stories about college & college life was from my father who was the first graduate from our native village, who used to narrate about the PG life at Roorkee university U.P , while doing his Msc in chemistry . Then my brother joined Engineering when I was just in 2nd std and I grew up in an atmosphere where there used to be a flurry of visits from my brother's & sisters friends to our house, since it was very near to the college & it used to be their meeting point. Being a kid I was in awe of them.They were like heroes & demigods to me. They used to take this mini drawer, scientific calculator , put on those khaki dress during lab classes , And used to read big bound voluminous books like Fluids & Thermodynamics , Engineering maths etc...The scientific calculator was an amazing thing for me as a 7 yr old... but it had to be handled with care ..given under supervision. During this period I had the opportunity to listen to a number of their anecdotal events in college & witnessed personally many college functions & events . This had created a big expectation of college life throughout my childhood.So please view my disappointment in this backdrop .
FUSSY FELLOW
I made a big fuss that I didn't want to study in this college, which doesn't even look like a college! ..Running from a makeshift building. I threatened to join Anna university.
My parents pleaded with me ...there were already 3 Engineers in the family, you are the one with an opportunity to do medicine. .so please join & we will get a transfer to Tanjore for you. On this condition I agreed to join at Salem. Looking back. ..I see what a fussy spoilt brat I had been. ..& thank my father to have put up with all these adolescent adamencies with great patience.
So on 8 August 1991...I joined with great reluctance. There was no sense of achievement that I got a medicine seat. Rather bitterness in being alloted this unknown entity of a college .But at least my parents were happy. There was a great dilemma as where to stay till the transfer comes. Hostel fees will be a waste if transfer comes soon & there was also the issue of ragging. But without knowing when the transfer will come, I had no other option other than to join hostel.
DOWN AND OUT
That was another shock. Hostel was functioning from a place called "Chatram"...meaning travellers rest house.I hated the location... with ditches running outside.. in a busy , noisy & dusty ....low end kind of market place area of the city with heavy lorry traffic. It was a great let down. Inside ..the seniors were a strange lot. At 17 & Away from home, in a hostel for the first time in my life ,with no friends & strange seniors I felt so lonely. This was not the hostel or college I had seen & imagined.This was not what I wanted.This was a nightmare & i had a lump occupying my throat as I reasoned I had to be a part of it .In addition to that most of the seniors treated us as their slaves ,asking us to do all the petty things like getting them food , making hot water & carrying it to their room & so many other things that it will take a separate blog to write all of them. U name anything ...They told it & we did it.That's the end. Once a fellow slapped me for spilling a small amount of hotwater while carrying it upstairs. Never ever been beaten by anyone, not even by my parents or by teachers ,it felt so demeaning. Also as the last child & being pampered at home, doing no work , serving the seniors was a rude jolt. Since most of our class mates were from nearby places they escaped during weekends and our ( a few of us who were from far away) problems & work would double during that time . Later on , I learned some tips , from some of our classmates ,who had the experience of staying in hostel during school days as to how to escape from all these ragging. Lock your room & stay indoors or go out to some park or mall or movie. But I didn't have that luxury as I joined hostel late ( expecting transfer) & i had to put up & share the room with the seniors. Ok enough of this aluvachi kaviyam & whining . Grow up..Be a man ..face it boldly & tackle it.
Our New College Building
BLOOMING BROTHERHOOD
As time passed,slowly everything reduced & some of them (seniors & classmates) became good friends .New classmates & friendships blossomed which was a balm for all these raw wounds & soon all those incidents were relegated to the back of our minds.Presence of Venkatesh & Rajaram from my place was a big boon, as it was good company while travelling 7 hrs to Karaikudi.
Better this happened at that time in my life (not too soon nor too late) , to teach me a lesson on the stark realities of life & how the world functions. How different people behave & react at different times.How to differentiate between the good & selfish people &how to manage & get along with them. And how money, casteism & groupism play a part in every aspect of life.Having been brought up in a protected environment with doting parents & with no knowledge of this harsh external world, it was a real eye opener & learning experience for me. What ever coping mechanisms & management methods I developed later in my life were only because of this early hostel life experiences. You get to see and know so many different characters & learn so many things on life.. both positive & negative.I think it must be the great Indian policy of forgive & forget or the attitude of accepting everything as it is without questioning that helped me in overcoming all this. Thinking back it may have not been so ideal. ..but it was the least controversial. And at that time & age thank god we didn't think much, otherwise it could have resulted in a permanent rift with the seniors. But again some incidents happened later on which created a permanent animosity with some of our seniors.So I made a point not to demean or physically hurt any of our juniors while ragging .The fact that our seniors didn't face any ragging since they were the first batch & didn't know about ragging may have played a part in their narrow mindedness of not accepting us as their equal .Except for a few, most of them became friendly after 3 months. So if you ask me , I would say ragging helps in knowing the juniors better , but it should not be physical or insulting.
With Mams Senthil..
 |
| I got this photo today after rummaging through old albums..Only one of our old college. . Background la shirt a madakittu irukavaru than "Veera" Socrates ..!! |
As for my transfer, I went to Chennai regarding that 2-3 times & they said they had sent the papers to Salem. But here they denied receiving it. When I got a copy from Chennai & produced it here, the Dean refused to releive me saying numerous applications have come & she is not relieving anyone.Eventhough it was a great dissappointment I didn't know what to do there after (middle class with no money power or influence) & made up my mind to continue at Salem itself, without giving further problems to my father. In the meantime friendships also developed & it made it easier to continue .But another problem arose. ... .In all these hullabaloo of College, Hostel, Transfer & Ragging; Medicine as a subject was forgotten & it became a frustrating incomprehensible behemoth. Regarding those ludicrous events I will write later ..
LESSONS LEARNT...OF COURSE NOT THE SUBJECTS...!!
At this age, looking back I can see how childish I had been . Those same buildings & location that I hated..the old college one & the Chatram hostel has created so much memorable moments in my college life . But there are certain lessons learnt from it.
1.Don't expect too much. .like look of the college, name etc. .
Finally what you learn, matters , not the name of the college or its building.
2.Don't compare yourself with others. ..like my friends at Tanjore.
They also faced the same difficulties & ragging if not more.
3.Hardships & difficulties gives you valuable experience , which helps you to face the different challenges in life with ease.
4.Hostel life during college, teaches you valuable lessons in making friends , handling people & running a household after marriage !!
(Like doing chores to seniors !!!)
Also you lose all your Vetkam, Maanam, Soodu & Soranai there by getting ready to face any future employer or spouse..!
5.Time is a good healer of everything, even disappointments. Give time some time.
So everyone should have a taste of hostel life. (Nam petra mess sappadu peruga neengalum..!!)
A year in hostel makes you feel that , your home is a palace & mom's food is the best in the world..!!
It makes you responsible for your own self, gives you...
Freedom, Choices , Strength to face the world alone , Decision making abilities, Teamwork, Strength to accept & face the failures & Humility. .
The camaraderie you develop in hostel , stays for a life time. ..& makes you reminiscent of those good old days.....
Ps..I couldn't get our old college photo.But now it seems that it may have been a heritage building built by the British.
New Medical college Hospital, Salem.
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