This was written 30 years ago. Back then the jokes sounded funny. Now I don't recall half the references, and the rest come across as juvenile. But still...
History, it is said, repeats itself. Pretty true. Take any event of any period, and you’ll find parallels in the contemporary era. So even if I say this story starts in 1992, it doesn’t really matter if we shift either way by a few years. The story basically remains the same, only the players change.
Now let’s go back to 1992 – the 14th of September to be precise, when some 120 odd human beings all with their own dreams of making it big in life, join Model Engineering College, believing it to be a step in that direction.
Let’s meet some stalwarts of that batch – Danny, Martin, Latha & Tom of Bio-medical, Joby, Peter, Sindhu & Usman of Computer, and Anitha, George, Kamal & Rajan of Electronics Engineering.
What follows is not exactly their story. A few excerpts rather, from their dairies.
14.09.92
Danny – I seem to have made the right choice. The principal said, as far as Bio-Medical is concerned the sky is the limit.
Rajan – Only 450 students, and 486 computers. Great college!
28.10.92
Kamal – Oh God, when will this ragging end? Why do these people indulge in it? Such inferiority complex. I would never rag any of my juniors.
Anitha – All the seniors are jumping over each other to rag me. Today one of them even bought me ice-cream. I never though ragging could be so much fun.
Usman – I have often thought, why should we pray? Why should we go to the mosque every day? Now I have an answer to the 2nd question – to avoid getting ragged during lunch hours.
Joby – They tell me ragging will improve my personality. What crap. Now I’m even scared of going to the toiler for fear of meeting a senior on the way.
Latha – Martin proposed to me today. I wonder what I should say. He is nice all right, but what if the seniors find out?
Martin – Wonder what she’ll say. If she rejects, I’ll just laugh it off and pretend I was forced by the seniors.
Sindhu – I’ll have to buy a mile length of thread for next Rakhi. I’ve already made two dozen brothers in the past one month. I don’t understand what’s wrong with having idlis for breakfast.
George – The senior girls made plenty of seductive comments. I hope they are as naughty as they pretend to be.
20.01.93
Tom – The university exams are only a week away, and I haven’t learnt a thing. The electrons seem to be drifting in all directions. If this is basic electronics, I shudder to think what the advanced versions will be like.
Peter – My life is in ruins. After all those treats in Bimbis and Caravan, she now starts calling me brother.
Usman – If only I hadn’t tried to understand, I would have finished learning by now.
01.04.93
Martin – Sports day tomorrow. Should I concentrate on the sprints, or try the high jump also?
Latha – Should I wear the green or the blue churidar? Will definitely have to put on my new earrings. Deciding what to wear on one day is tough enough and they spread the sports meet over two.
Anitha – I guess I’ll have to skip the sports tomorrow. Don’t have anything to wear. Nothing that goes with my new hand-bag.
Rajan – Today I saw a computer for the 1st time. It looks like a TV connected to a typewriter.
18.07.93
Kamal – I hope the transistor amplifies as I think it does.
George – I thought the multivibrator was some sex toy. Glad I wasn’t asked to answer the question in class.
03.10.93
Kamal – Ragged 5 guys today. That brings the total so far to 23.
Joby – Ragging does improve your personality. For the 1st time in life, I gathered the courage to flirt with a girl.
Martin – Shiny is real cute. She has a French look about her. I’ll try and make her an officer of the BMA.
Anitha – These guys are such lusty idiots. What do they see in those junior girls?
04.11.93
Peter – Spent the entire afternoon in the computer lab
George – These seniors are such cowards. All worried about their conduct certificates.
Kamal – The Digger record is now mine.
Danny – If it weren’t for guys like Laplace and Fourier, life would have been so much simpler.
23.12.93
Sindhu – Such a vulgar dance. Our boys are so much more decent.
Tom – Vulgarity exists in the mind of the beholder. Ours was a well-rehearsed dance meant for the family audience.
Latha – The boys have brought shame on the whole class. I’ll never speak to any of them again.
12.03.94
Martin - The house distribution isn’t fair. All the beautiful girls are in the same house.
George – If I could somehow become the treasurer of the house, it would be the most profitable endeavour in my life.
Peter – Spent the day in the computer lab
17.04.94
George – Got a front seat for the Thiruvathirakali today. It is The Event. Wish the girls came dressed like this every day.
Tom – If I don’t get a job after college, I guess I’ll start a juice stall. Did good business today.
Kamal – Arts is the time for necking. The architect of this college is a wizard. How he managed to get so many corners in one building never ceases to amaze me.
Peter – Spent the day in the computer lab.
29.05.94
Rajan – I must be the most outstanding student of the batch. This is the fifth time this semester I was thrown out of the lab. The principal was in college today.
Usman – The principal came to college today. Wonder what’s going on.
Anitha – Seems the principal came to college today. Must have been while I was in the lab. Anyway, it has started raining.
Peter – I cut class to sit in the computer lab. John told me he saw the principal today.
Joby – Looks like Thoppumpady is out to get me. If it goes on like this, I cannot able to get minimum sessionals. Saw the principal.
04.10.94
Sindhu – Crazy driver! Just when things were getting cozy, he goes and crashes the bus.
Joby – The fellow must have been concentrating on the rearview mirror when he crashed.
Rajan – I was having such a sweet time when that drunkard ruined it all. On top of that I had to put up with all those guys’ loud singing afterwards. A sweet night turned sour.
Kamal – Goan fish have really sharp teeth. Tore my shorts completely.
George – The tour was cool. The tour committee was the most decisive body after Narsimha Rao.
Danny – Ah! Give me Goa any day.
Joby – To err is human, but to really mess things up you need a whole committee.
Latha – Wonder what this mystery of the missing cap is all about.
Rajan – So embarrassing. As if no one has lost a cap before.
Tom – I think I will go into palmistry after graduation.
Peter – The last 10 days were bliss. An uninterrupted stint in the computer lab. Now its back to class.
16.10.94
Martin – I guess Beena really likes me. She spends almost all her free time with me.
Danny – Martin seems real hooked to Beena. Every change he gets he pulls her out of class. Poor kid can’t say a thing as it\s ragging period. I hope it’s not the same with Nisha and me. I think I’ve really impressed her with my knowledge of the stock market.
Peter – The computer lab closed early today.
Joby – Ragging must be a socialist idea. Gives everyone a chance to flirt.
18.10.94
Martin – I’ve quit drinking today. It was on Beena’s suggestion. Since we are of different religions, we’ll probably have to elope.
Tom – Learnt something new last night. Test tube babies are not actually born in large test tubes.
Kamal – None of the brats seem to be buying ‘Technobrats’
Peter – The computer lab is closing pretty early these days.
19.10.94
Martin – No more cigarettes. Beena’s wish is my command. Relationships demand responsibility.
Danny – I’m the only guy in college with a car of my own. Besides I’ve got a bike, am handsome, and own plenty of shares. What more could a girl want?
Pater – Got to do something about the lab closing early every day. Guess I’ll complain to the VP tomorrow.
03.11.94
Martin – The nerve of that girl. She took me on a royal ride. ‘Shot through the heart. She’s to blame. She gives love a bad name.’
Danny – This is life. All the while you wait for the perfect girl. And when you finally meet her, she isn’t interested. She’s waiting for the perfect guy.
George – Addiction, thy name is Digger.
Peter – Class left late today. I couldn’t get a seat in the lab until 9 PM.
17.03.95
Kamal – If arts is a great time for being naughty, Holi is even better.
Latha – Holi is great. You can let the boys play all their games publicly without having to appear shocked.
Usman – We should have at least one Holi a month.
Peter – Some terrorists with painted faces tried to recruit me into their gang. When I refused, they threw colour all over. As a result, I couldn’t go to the lab.
16.04.95
Kamal – Today the 4 of us started working on the mini-project. For convenience we’ve divided the work into 4 sections. First Sanjay will do the design. Then Sanjay will wire up the hardware. At the same time Sanjay will develop the software at home. After this Sanjay will write up the project report. The other three of us are to meet him every Monday morning and go see Mani sir together.
Danny – Had gone to the computer lab for some project work. Same some girls of C6 for the first time, after studying in the same college for the last 3 years.
Tom – Propose to Ameto on behalf of Joby. Was a bit drunk. Can’t recall if she slapped me with her bare hand or her slipper.
Joby – Long live AWAKAU.
George – The reason India is not a superpower is that we don’t have enough DSP engineers. We should stop Biomedical and start DSP.
14.09.95
Joby – Who wants Siemens anyway. There are so many better companies.
Kamal – Good I didn’t get the job. Otherwise I’d have had to treat everyone at Taj Residency. Besides Siemens only provides vegetarian food in their canteen.
Anitha – If I am smart enough to get into Siemens, I also know how to avoid a treat. Poor guys. They’re dreaming of Taj. They’re not even getting one at Zam-Zam.
Rajan – Such a waste of time. Ajith Sen sir tricked Rajesh & me into doing all the work. The two of us had to arrange the graphics hall and Room 101 with very little help. And finally neither of us was selected.
Peter – Spent the day in the computer lab. Some fellows got recruited today by some company in Bangalore. Seems to be a big deal.
Danny – Only Wipro can save us.
George – The Biomeds can at least blame their branch. What excuse can I have for unemployment?
03.10.95
Danny – India is a beautiful country. The Taj in Agra, the lakes of Simla, the forts of Delhi, the bushes of Rajasthan…
George – Genius is getting into the tour committee and not going for the tour.
Peter – Bushes and palaces though we may roam, be it ever so humble there’s no place like the computer lab.
14.02.96
Tom – I’ve given out Valentine cards to 24. Wish at least 1 responds favourably.
Danny – All this time I’d considered Raghav as my friend. And today he followed me to NSS hostel. So cheap of him. If it weren’t for him everyone would have believed my tale.
Rajan – Here I was, waiting in college with a card in hand. But she never turned up. Even losing a badminton match has never depressed me as much as her absence today.
24.05.96
George – Just two more week of college and no sight of a job. Have to start pretending to prepare for GATE or GRE.
Anitha – If I can avoid that treat for two more weeks, I’ll have made it.
Latha – No job offers yet. Better hook some fool fast.
Rajan – I hope at least IHRDE takes me. For the past two semesters, bell ringing hasn’t been very lucrative. The teachers are getting transferred too often.
Danny – How ironic life is. When I got into college, I just wanted to get out somehow. And now when it’s time for that, I wish I could stay on.
Kamal – Four years have just whizzed past. Though I admit my knowledge has considerably increased, some doubts linger. Like – How exactly does a transistor amplify? I want to find the answer to that some day.
Peter – I wonder if they will allow me into the lab after graduation.
And so it is friends – 110 engineers (some paused along the way) ready to face the life, the universe, and everything, their visions radically altered by 4 years of MEC. Those who once dreamt of becoming millionaires, now dream of just getting a job. As some smart alec said, “It’s easier to change your dreams than earn a million dollars.”
No comments:
Post a Comment