Initial days at College
4th August 2k6
After going through the usual counselling crap and a hectic day at CIT on the 3rd(admission day and Orientation crap, which was about 3 hours of bullshit) the long awaited day was finally here!
This time, no big enthusiasm in waking up...rather get up lazily cuz i knew that college starts only around 8:30 and it was way late compared to my school timings (7 am to 1:40 pm). Avinash and I were ready to go to college after a looooong walk the previous day( discussing what would be in store for us).
My dad dropped us both at lakshmi Mills at around 7:45 A.M, we thought what a great day, we would be in time, no scoldings etc etc. But things were not to happen in this wonderland like way. The busses kept on coming but it was crowded (beyond the brim) and it was really hard to even keep a foot on the lowermost step. So we kept on waiting for the "Next bus" to come.....but then we learnt that the case is the same with any bus, be it a '2' or a '13'.
So we got in the following bus with whatever little energy we had, and by the time we reached college, we were drenched in sweat (what a waste of time in ironing my clothes). We reached CIT bus stop at 8:30 sharp.
I hurried to my room, and got in without any problems. But on the other hand, Avinash had to endure scoldings right in the first hour from his Civil Engg teacher on the grounds that he was late by 3 minutes!!!
I heaved my bag on the side of my chair and learnt that it was Computer Engg class. She asked us what we aspired to become and why we had chosen this field. There were students who were answering" i want to get placed in a reputed company". And do u know what reply the teacher gave?? She said, "This is not a good ambition....you should have higher aims. Rethink a better ambition and tell me on monday"!! Now thats what i called a really "Concerned Teacher".
Next hour, we had Electrical circuits. Now, this was one hell of a period. This lady didnt even introduce herself, nor bothered about getting our intros. She started off directly into the subject, and i must say, this lady's got an attitude problem. She says " Thats all that i know, if you know more, you can teach me". But, now I am getting used to this kinda life...so have to ignore and move forward!
Next was Chemistry. This guy (an old man) is pretty much a veteran in his subject. Though his voice is sleep inducing, there's a lot of stuff in the notes that he gives and the explanation that he gave. Some seniors say, "Gopu sir dhane, prachanaie illa". He is really reputed for his notes...really simplified text.
After the third hour, the chem guy just walked out. We were waiting for the next teacher, but no one came. So, we too walked out of the class and went to look at the guide map. I was wandering like a nomad...didnt know what to do...and to top it all, i didnt know anyone around me.
During lunch, i met my friends and got feedback of their experience so far, and also got to make new friends. After lunch, we had our Sectional classes, wherein the students of various branches are grouped together into a single section. We had maths, and this teacher unlike the others, resorted to just talking to us and leave us free for the first day. Now, the speciality of the sectional classes is that, there are GIRLS. In my mechanical dept, there are none.....anyway, no hard feelings(cuz it was my decision to choose this branch).
Now, this class was in no way filled with Dunces unlike the Mechanical Department. There are students who are very bubbly in answering , while others are dark horses. I made quite a lot of friends right on the first day.
Next was games. Now, this was the first time we ever had to write about physical fitness during games period!
Alright, 2 days hols and back to college. This time there was some enthu, cuz i didnt want to repeat what had happend on friday, and the other reason was looking forward to my new friends.
That day i had physics, which turned out to be a disaster, but i started liking it as the classes kept going. We also had Engg Drawing...was pretty interesting on the first day, but it turned out to be a headache. But i guess i have to start liking it. On the next day, we had English. Now, this is by far one of the worst subjects for us. Its a nightmare for a lot of students....the lady gives assignments whenever she finds an opportunity.
Days were a drag initially. I looked forward to workshop, and what do i get?A guy with a comical face and a horrible voice. As the workshop was about to end, we were notified about the opening of the various clubs in our college and that we had an innaugration programme. I gladly attended the meeting. It was pretty impressive. I had almost instantly made my mind to join various clubs.
Two weeks up....and wow, no ragging yet(Poor me, i didnt know that one day i will get ragged). Now, i was really sick of wearing formals and stuff like that. I prefered to be an outlaw for a change, by wearing a T-Shirt. Nothing happened on the day i wore it. So i thought, maybe noone bothered about it. I wore it for a second day and i get caught by the seniors and they asked me to come to the Lounge at 5. After gathering a good amount of courage, I went to the Lounge at the prescribed time. To my surprise, i found NOONE there. I was realy excited and i ran to the bus-stop.
I started to learn to speak some proper Tamil for a change. Maybe thats the only one change in me so far at the college.
Well, thats all thats worth talking about my initial days at college!
The Feast that made others envy us..
AK with a wicked smile....well aware that we're going to show this photo to the other guys and make them feel why they were born, if they were not enjoying what we were!
No comments, My face tells how delicious the food is...
Arjun and Me showing off the milkshakes we drank!
Just proof for the warden that we Had our lunch!!!
More Pics
The Girl's Hostel which distracts the boys during their studies!! ;)
Taken on the eve of Thrissur Puram....
From left: Arjun (called AK), Gautham, Me, Sameer, Arjun.....this was an automatic photo!
The trio of Hostel wardens. From left: Gopal Ettan(Subordinate), BhaskarEttan(supreme guy there, identify him from his belly), Unni...the sub-subordinate guy
Me, The Gulf Case--Githin Winsent (what spellings!!), and AK
Pics at the Hostel
This is Amruth overjoyed at the sight of seeing Chicken being served at the hostel. Other guy the picture is chandra prasad
From Top Left: Prince-the body-builder, Arjun ( My pal), Me, Sameer, Rinil, Amruth.
Second Row: Arjun Ravindran, Chandra Prasad.
Holy scriptures written on the door in our room.
Enlightment in his butt!
Fun @ the Hostel
Now,
Where do I begin.....Right from Day one its been fun and more fun!
Me and Arjun had the maximum amount of fun....by breaking rules....doing all sorts of stuff we're not supposed to do in the hostel!!
Initially, we were all very afraid of the hostel warden....he seemed to be a Nightmare spying on us every now and then.....but later the story changed.
The ritual prayer at the evening everyday was usually and "outing time" for me and my pal AK . Ajun had to go to the other hostel everyday to heat his kashayam (there were no kitchen facilites in our hostel) for his back ache. So on these grounds we bunked prayers and while coming...used to pay a visit to the bakery dude.....buy lots of goodies for ourselevs and our friends who were deprived of "Good Food"!
In Thrissur, there's a place called City Center....something like a Ultra Miniature model of Spencer plaza....but still it looks great. Some of my friends from Bahrain used to go there daily while bunking classes. One of the guys (Githin) was checking out a Shopkeeper (around the same age as his...a Female). All that we had to do was give them some money, and they would buy us lots of stuff to eat (Mouthwatering Veg burgers...Chicken rolls for my friends...which i eventually tried and liked).
Other than the eating stuff....we were amused by something else too!
I hadn't in my life before seen people craving to look at girls! (Thats what happens to the guys there who are totally isolated from the girls for around a year....i'm talking about the repeaters). But this disease eventually spread even to my juniors...and that was the reason for my fight the other day! The thing was that, our hostel was the only one of its kind there...surrounded on all sides by girls hostel. The guys after their evening snacks used to rush to some rooms from which the view was good....and try and communicate with them! You should be there to see that such things do happen!
But i was even more surprised to note that the same was the case with the girls....they too were really craving to speak to boys....I used to wonder how they learnt to speak to boys via sign language....they are rather masters in the language!
The people who became succesful in finding girl-friends were no doubt the adept Bahrain guys often referred to as "Gulf Case" by our teachers.
Another Dimension of Fun: IN CLASS
Now, this is obvious....making fun of the teachers.....but we'd gone beyond that level...
I put my drawing skills to use...drawing the cartoon sketches of teachers while they are teaching and we are in no mood to listen!
On the second last day...I played another prank on Sameer(This dude is damn intelligent....he used to always beat me in the tests conducted daily)
We were given our OMR's and the question papers. I had heard that students who write others name in the omr's are scrutinized by the institution. Well, I gave it a go! Before the exam, i got Sameers Roll no. and during the exam i wrote the name as Sameer
$%^ (Censored word...not the "S" word or anything very bad)...and i decorated the OMR with all sorts of designs i could. Obviously i was afraid to come the next day....anyway it was the day when i was supposed to leave.....The results were not givenon that day ....but then...i got news that the results were finally given on the day after i had left....and gues what...my prank worked! There on the mark list....there were two Sameers.....one with marks around 300 on 420...and the other Sameer with a -16!!!!!!
Now comes the real freak out! THE LAST DAY:
Arjun and me planned to bunk that day. While the others went to the institution, we headed for Hotel Saffron...and launched an all-out attack on the food there! We took some photos there and we retured the hostel at around 1 pm...which is just after the lunch time. When we returned, the hostel warden asked us if we had food....I showed him the photos, and he blurted out with laughter and complained of me not bringing anything for him.
We went to our rooms and learnt that no food had been served that day......some problem had occured in the kitchen of the Hostel (D Block)...and when our friends returned totally fagged out at around5, and when they came to know what we ate, they were totally furious....should have a look at their faces.....Damn Funny! :D
Before leaving, I had a look at City center...a place to visit if u go to thrissur....had some more fun...and guess what....the guys whom i never saw in the class....i met them there!
And last but not least, We witnessed a really glorious speactacle of the Thirssur Puram Fireworks which was visible at the night....i felt that thrissur is bidding me farewell!
Then next morning was my train....Everyone wished me good luck...i was really happy for i was going home...but felt really sad for the fact that i would miss my friends....
By the end of the course...I had kinda become the hostel warden's pet....I was the only tamil guy around there...and by the time i left...had learnt sufficient malayalam. I took photos with the warden....and lets not forget the group photos that i took with my friends!
Great memories cherised 4 ever.......Though i didnt go for holidays anywhere....this trip to thrissur, felt like i had gone for vacations.
Last part of humour.....
Lots of people thought i had gone to chennai, having a gala time with my cousin....When i revealed what had actualy happened, they were all surprised and at the same time angry...for not telling the truth.
When i returned home....it felt like eons had gone since i touched my comp.....when i switched it on...i couldnt believe that i actually couldnt handle the mouse!
Days at Thrissur
The days at thrissur breezed away really fast....a lot of quirks within us were brought out. Me and Sameer became really good friends. There were new additions to my friends back at the hsotel.....some of the studious guys while others some freaks from bahrain, really filthy rich guys, who had come just to pass time and make some girlfriends!
Right on the second day, I was asked to shift again, to another nearby room, which was empty....only me in my room. Well, now this was great, this room had all the silence it needed for one to study! It took me no time to personalise my room, i cleaned it and made it suitable for me to study. The room overlooked a big bungalow, and the building would glow blazing red in the evening during sunsets. The sunset at this particular place is one of the most picturesque sights here....sort of eases of the tension of the day.
Now, how could i be not disturbing my fellow mates??? I'd been irritating my friends quite a lot talking about studies at the wrong time...Well, one thing for sure, We had a lot of fun in the upcoming days. Some of my mates, who'd been really bugged with my presence in their room, wrote an equation:
Distance from mukunda inversely proportional to the marks obtained in the exams!!!!!!!!!!
Eventually we became really great friends.....
Some days, when we did overnight studies, we used to do all sorts of nonsense. We could actually see each other sleep walking....i did one of the funniest things there....and its a memory i am sure, my friends will never forget.
The classes were going fine....we had 2 replacement teachers for physics...one guy called Diaz ( we nicknamed him Die Ass) . This guy was really playing it a fool. Neither did he teach us, nor let us answer, He just kept on going as if he were practising his physics. None of us understood what crap he was teaching due to 2 reasons:
1. The topic was Hydrostatics ( A nightmare of a topic)
2. He was an idiot
But bad days wouldnt go long. We had another repalcement for physics...a guy called TOBY. Now, if at all have scored any good marks in physics in any entrance exam, its just because of him. It was not only the way he taught, but also his inspiration imparting aspect. If i have to talk about the way he taught, i could go on for ever...though i could summarize, He's the best physics teacher i have ever seen in my life!
In maths, we had another addition, a guy called P.C. George, who was a nightmare for most of the students. He taught really well, but then, he used to pin point individuals and ask questions....Even the person who knows the answer would forget it the moment he looks at this guy.
Our days were dotted by us returning home now and then for writing exams such as IIT, AIEEE etc. We were given extra question papers for IIT and stuff...but the bottom line is....Unless u start preparing right from the beginning( ie, from 10th), there is no way you can get into IIT.
IIT exam was another experience....We were gathered at PSG Tech at 7:30 Am. The exams were conducted from 8-10 (Physics), 12-2 (Maths), 4-6 (Chemistry). After i wrote my physics, i was wondering if a miracle can happen....me getting a seat in IIT....but then, as soon as i saw the Maths question paper, all my hopes vanished....then chem was again a breeze..
Now, this is how i felt the exam paper...but it was not to be....i got one of the most horrilbest marks in histrory...though i made it to the positive marks..
The whole day was sooo tiring, but then i couldnt go on yapping about the exam for atleast 2 days, talking about the standards of the paper and the quality of the paper itself!
Well, me returned to thrissur, and now i had newer roommates, this time Juniors who were preparing for exams right away...Lots of events took place...one memorable thing that happened was a fight between me and one of my roommates. The fight was for a chair....I claimed it mine as i was sitting there first, but then he snatched it from me (The guy was huge around 6 feet 1"), cuz he wanted to see the girls in the nearby hostel, which was quite visible from my room. What started as a fight of words ended up into real physical fight, ultimately i gave a blow in the wrong area and then...........silence.
However, after this freak incident, we became really good friends...we're still in touch nowadays.
First Day at Chaitanya Classes
24th March 2006, 5:00 A.M.
I woke up enthusiastically even without the need for an alarm (Which usually doesnt happen...Even if thunder strikes, i wont wake up at home). The story here is different...
I had a bath in cold water and got myself ready for the day. Since i had to move to the other hostel today morning, i packed all my stuff, and had my breakfast (typical kerala food....Puttu and Kadalai). After bidding goodbye to all my one-day roommates, i boarded the van in which food was going to the different Hostels in the Ambilikala Chain.
In five minutes time, I was at Keshavam, a pretty royal looking hostel! I noticed a Big Burly Guy on a table yapping something in Malayalam to another new admission. I was waiting outside with all my luggage..not knowing what to do. After quite a while, I kept my stuff temporarily in a room and went scouting about the place.....I was not farther than 1st floor i went that i had found Arjun.
Arjun is the guy who was my neighbour in Coimbatore. After his 10th, he left for calicut as his dad was transfered there. Seeing him after 2 years was just great. I couldnt talk to him at that moment, because he had just taken his bath, and was getting ready to have his breakfast and then leave for the Center and we were already getting late.
I accompanied them for breakfast (Though i didn't eat) and started talking to him about school and stuff....suddenly i heard a voice shouting at me "SAMSARIKYANDAA". I turned back and it was the burly warden. H e had just spoken something in Malayalam and i didnt understand....so i resumed my talk. As soon as i started talking again, he shouted the same thing again. Not knowing what it meant, I took it for "Shut up" and confessed to him that i didn't know malayalam. So the warden, explained to me that we were not supposed to talk while having breakfast.
After having breakfast, we went to the coaching center which was hardly 50 metres from this hostel. On the way Arjun introduced me to some of his friends namely Sameer (Who later became a really good friend of Mine), Two other arjuns, Amal, Prince and Adithya.
Enter Chaitanya Classes.....The whole place was so silent...its like a school with oversized class rooms....can seat around 110 students at a time! Well first day...I had to endure a lot of Malayalam. Me and my friends were alloted our class room (for the crash course). We were on room no. 4 and the place has total of 32 rooms! Whoa...thas like 3200 students under a single roof! Now...thats what i call studying atmosphere! Dont worry, the atmosphere doesnt last really long....cuz there were some brats from gulf who joined us later....ok now for the first classes....
Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
The morning bell went. There was a small Malayalam song...couldnt follow a word in the beginning....later as the days passed on .... i memorized it! Each classroom has got its own speaker...through which the manager of the place gives instructions to us....
Hour 1: Chemitry sir enters...he is a really old guy by the name of Paul PaniKulam. He's got experience written all over his face....the way he takes the classes is simply amazing....Even for chem haters like me...it seemed to be one of my most looked forward classes!
Hour 2: Chem 2nd year, different teacher., byt the name Ramachandran....started off with a bang...Nuclear Chemistry...again the teacher was an old guy, around 82...having an experience of teaching about 55 years!!! Obviously he was a veteran in his field!
Hour 3: Maths...the subject i was very weak in my 11th...and thats excatly what we were dealing with! This teacher however was not alllllll that a grandpa looking guy...again great teacher in his subject!
Lunch: All of us went back to our hostels...and had steaming hot food....which was virtually uneatable! Only i had a large plate...large enough to spread the food on the plate... Everyone used to wonder what the hell i was doing...but later they envied my as they couldnt have their food as fast as me....too bad they couldnt ape me!
Back to Classes:
12:45 we're back in the classroom....and OMR's were being distributed. I knew that tests would be conducted daily…but I seriously didn’t expect a test on the opening day….
All of us received copies of question papers and we were given info on the OMR…the Do’s and the Donts. It was Physics/Chem…..it was not as easy as school, cuz I was stumped right away…as there were questions from the 11th standard( I didn’t study 11th properly ). We received our marks and I got the marks as what I expected…175/430…….!@#$%
Now, the last two classes were Physics… My favourite subject! It was indeed a great experience again…learning from knowledgeable teachers. The last two hours went really fast…..and I was really supercharged, enthusiastic to go and study what had been taught on the first day!
At 5 sharp, we left for the hostels, had our evening refreshments. I played the role of Dhobi, washing the dresses of the previous day! By the time I am done, its time for evening prayers, again in Malayalam. After the prayers, we headed to our rooms….oh yea…I was finally allotted a room again with a few seniors….really very helpful people….The room was pretty Massive, with provision for 3 bunk-beds. I just started studying…and the bell rang….It was dinner time! The food was upto the expectations…..for the first day…(Eventually we started hating the food).
After dinner, we headed back to our rooms, and started studying from around 8:30 to around 1 AM. That’s the first time I have crossed the threshold 1 hour of continuous studying. Oh yea, there was a small breat at around 9:30 when we were served black coffee…to keep us awake throughout the night..(Later during my days here, it served as a drink that made me to sleep!!)
Thus, came to an end the first day at Thrissur…..a really memorable one, but the fun had just started…..I was yet to become better friends with my new friends!
My miraculous trip to Thrissur
" Hi da Arjun...Coming home after ur board exams...we can have loads of fun...there are a lot of developements in Parsn's and Coimbatore...What say??"
"No da..I am going to Thrissur"
"Dont Tell me u too are a religious fanatic going on a pilgrimage..!"
"No way. I am going for my Entrance coaching (AIEEE) to an Institute called P.C. Thomas-Chaitanya Classes"
"Have you got any feedback about it? I mean how is the coaching there?"
"As far as i know..its awesome...the results they produce...they are staggering"
"Ok..fine...Do you have their phone no.? I might come too"
"Yea here it is....."
"Thanks dude..will call you if something positive happens"
And thats how started my memorable trip to Thrissur for my "Entrance Coaching".
Soon after the phone call, I convinced my Mom and Dad that it would be very useful for my entrance exams...especially since i hadnt gone for any coaching earlier.
We had to pay 10k to the Institution. Since we couldnt go there immediately, Mom arranged for the cash through her friend who lives in Thrissur (God bless them).
So after packing up...i was ready for thrissur ...just a day after my board exams had got over. The whole trip was a bit "Secretive" cuz i hadnt told everyone about this....I had lied to quite a bit of people telling that i am going Chennai to have lots of fun with my cousin. Only a few knew where i really was going.
Next morning, we drove all the way to Thrissur on our car...which was occasionally marked by the usage of the A/C, cuz my dad is very fuel conscious! We reached Thrissur by around 11:30. We had our lunch at a local hotel, which wasnt all that great..but since we were really hungry, the food went down our throats. The heat at Thrissur is phenomenal. Even i who am aversed to using fans, couldnt take it. Instantly we were all soaked in sweat.
After calling up the guys in the hostel, we found out the way and reached there. To my chagrin, the location of the hostel wasnt all that welcoming, and apart from this, it was a bit too far from the coaching center on walk. But, since i was charged up with the feeling that i should study, it didnt bother me at all. This hostel was a part of a chain of hostels called "Ambilikala" and i was admited to the D block. To my surprise, my pal Arjun, was admitted to the other block called "Keshavam" which was nearer to Coaching center and was supposed to be a comfortable lodging. So i requested the hostel warden if there was any chance by which i could be admitted to the other hostel. They told me they would me inform me of any vacancies there.
After my brief stay in the hostel, we left for my mom's friend's place. They are one of the owners of Kalyan Jewellers. Their house was massive...probably they would have needed walkie-talkies to communicate within their house. They were really warm people. Their son, who is of my age, amused us with his piano skills.....he composes his own music. After a long chat, my parents dropped me at the hostel, and they went back to Coimbatore.
I settled in my room, which was a room for four. Though the room wasn't all that great, i was really impressed by my roommates. They were repeaters...they were really hard working...probably only they know the value of a year. I got introduced to them, but then i was really fagged out....so i spread my bed and slept immediately. I was a bit afraid what the warden will do if he found me sleeping right on the first day! Well, Since my classes were to start the next day, no one was bothered. I slept till around 7:30 when i was woken by the call for dinner. This time, the food was really delicious. After the dinner, i opened my books and started preparing for the next day, when suddenly a guy ( who was my warden) came along and said "Do you want to go to Keshavam today". Initially i didnt understand, then later i found out that he was talking about the other hostel. Since it was my first day, i wanted to be with my new friends....so i told him that i will go there tomorrow!
And so started my days at P.C. Thomas!!
Gone are good ole days :(
Hi Everyone....
Its been quite a long since i blogged!
Gone are the good old days at School........After 22nd March 2k6 (The last of the board exams...which i screwed up) Me, Mukundhan, Pravish and Gautham Ram went to The Residency after having no other option, we finally headed for the residency...An amazing Lunch..my first time there...I can go on and on describing the food..but whats the point...you just wont be able to feel it..
I took only around 175 bucks for the lunch..cuz we had initially planned to go to "Thats Why" which is another restaurant.. Gautham the ATM..as usual sponsered us with the rest of the 75 bucks..and it was just great..
After having our Royalty like Lunch...we headed to Gautham's home..had some amount of fun there...i picked up a few books which I eventually never read :(
I bid good bye to all my friends as we would'nt be able to meet for atleast about a month!
Thats because i was heading for Thrissur....you know for what?? For ENTRANCE COACHING!!!!!
