Journey Continues

After a long pause I am coming up with this blog. It was not that I was too busy with the work but simply had not felt motivated enough to write. But the motivation is back though alas now there are time constraints. Anyways this post is a continuation of
“A Journey: The beginning”
which could be read at
http://kshitij-touchthehorizon.blogspot.com/2009/06/journey.html

The intro sessions

After the initial college blues were over it was the time for getting into some serious stuff...ragging!

He had heard a lot about the ragging in the colleges. How the seniors would force to undress juniors and would even beat them if their wishes were not fulfilled. Or how once a student was made to pee on electric heater with power switched on and he died. He actually had to pee in intervals such that at no time his urine would be in contact with - both his body and heater. He could not maintain the interval and died of electric shock.

However he later discovered that all that was not in the culture of his reputed institute and kind of ragging that took place in his college actually helped people to come out of their shell.

Ragging was banned in the college and posters stating Govt of India’s rule against ragging could be found on hostel notice boards. As per rules seniors and juniors were not allowed to enter in each other’s room. There could be free interaction between them only after a formal welcome ceremony (held every year on 2nd Sunday of Aug) that was hosted by seniors with Hostel warden as chief guest. Prior to that if a senior was found in junior’s room or a junior was found in senior’s after 10 pm; in both cases it was the senior who would be punished. The juniors had a tool to protect their modesty: DAC (read disciplinary action). However juniors tried to avoid it because firstly it would mean total boycott from all seniors and secondly it went down badly with his reputation in the college.

(DAC :-Juniors could complain to DOSA Dean of Student Affairs about any ragging done by seniors. The concerned senior would then be called to defend himself against the charges in front of disciplinary committee consisting of HOD, DOSA, Director etc. He would be asked several questions to whom he was allowed to answer in “Yes or No” only. The punishments were very severe ranging from semester drop to termination from college.)

So there were only few common places where seniors came face to face with juniors, and hostel mess one such place. He and his colleagues were like bait to those hungry seniors who could be seen prowling like wild animals for fresh food –freshers.
For the first time he fell prey to few seniors when after having lunch he was trying
to sneak away. He heard someone shouting...
”Hey Freshie ....yes you ...where are you trying to flee....come here !”
“Me....??”

”yes ! you idiot you. Come here”
“ummmm...arrrrrrrrr...”

“Start”
“What?” asked he, completely puzzled
“Do we need to tell you that also?”

He looked at them with an idiotic face still not getting the faintest idea of what he was supposed to start. Whether he was supposed to start undoing his clothes in the front of every one? No-no he won’t do that. Or was he supposed to dance or sing or may be run. While still trying to figure out the answer to the question “What?” ,he heard again

“You as**ole....give your intro idiot.”
Oh! Yes the famous intro, he thought and recited
“Hi ..I am so and so....from XYZ city... with an AIR (All India rank) of ABC....enrolled in B.Tech in CME...stream”

All of them looked at him pathetically and someone asked “That’s it?”

“Ummmm...arrrrr...yes...” was all he could mutter.

“What the hell.....I tell you the quality of these students coming to our college is becoming bad year by year. These people can’t give an intro. What the hell will they do when placement companies will ask them ... tell me about yourself?”
Everyone Laughed.

“Ok let’s get to rapid fire”

“Any Girlfriends?”
“No”

“Any Boyfriends?”

Now he got puzzled... Was it a trick Question? He obviously had friends who were boys and logically they can be called boy-friends but in practical sense it did not seem right. And he could not remember introducing his friends saying “meet ABC my boyfriend” , it was always “meet ABC my friend ...”

“Are you deaf...I asked how many boyfriends”
“None”

Next was GK round which tested the candidate on knowledge of his college and hostel history.

”Who is the current mess hostel secretary?”

“Which senior made a history by proposing to all the girls of the institute at that time?”

“Who is the hottest girl in the senior batch?” ...now this kind of questions were very dangerous in case you named the girl that had a boyfriend in the same college.

“Rate top 5 girls of your batch and then justify the rating” and yes then there was questions pertaining to legendary Pamela Scale.

(Pamela Scale
Pamela scale is a scale designed to rate certain features of girls as a comparison to Pamela Anderson. The scale has 0 and 1 as its extreme. Any girl after her comparison to Pamela Anderson is given a rating. The highest rating ever given to any girl of the college was 0.7Pamela and the record still holds.
Pamela scale was 1st started by some senior in his 4th year. The story goes that when this senior was preparing a final year report for his B.Tech Project and was writing some equation about ideal and real cases and thinking how the fluid dynamic results compared; suddenly the idea of designing Pamela scale popped in his head. With the view of Pamela as Ideal case and rest all as real cases he invented “Pamela Scale”. Rest is history. Though the guy got extension for his B.Tech Project report he managed a hostel colour award the same year for outstanding contribution to hostel reputation!)

Well this whole intro session lasted for about an hour and so and he was relieved only when one of the senior felt like sleeping. He thought that overall it was not that bad. It was just like viva sessions he used to have in the college where teachers asked the questions and he hardly satisfied them with his answers.

Happily he went to his bed for an afternoon –weekend nap.

More will follow