Third Degree..!!!

Statuary warning: The following piece is completely a work of fiction and any resemblance to any one living or dead is solely incidental.


Peeling off the nails, lying naked on an ice slab, hanging upside down are few of the things that sum up to the third degree used for outlaws. Fortunately ours is equivalently torturous but a bit different, and spans up to a couple of years.
Yeah folks, I’m talking about the three degrees a student has to undergo during his not so happy lifetime- 10th, 12th and at least his/her bachelors’. Surprised???Eh..!!! Bitter, but truth.
The torture begins as soon as the label of a board student is pasted on our foreheads. Unlimited pressure, be it from the family members, compeers, or teachers, starts mounting on us from nowhere. We were happily living our lives as juveniles without a trace of fear or a vision for future at the back of our minds. But the existence of some people in the society who are more interested in others’ household than theirs made our parents become more concerned about their status rather than our willingness to study. Albeit, we did our best to score as much as we could, it always appeared deficient. Somehow we managed to finish off our boards. But this was not the end. The game has just started.
The month of June is very critical for a would be class 11th student. Arts, Science, Commerce….What crap..!! Anyhow, overriding the present interests, and looking over for the bright future, we end up studying Science. Despite the fact that there are numerous fields which are waiting to be exploited, the dream of entering the two premier institutions viz. the IIT and AIIMS for the two respective fields are inculcated deep into our minds from the very first day. We come across various types of tortures during this two years of vigorous study where a student is expected to solve problems from Halliday Resnick to Loney to Morrison Boyd. Unfortunately, we find ourselves so much entangled between the competitive exams and our respective boards that we end up with sleepless nights and of course colleges like SSIT for our third degree…!!!!
The beginning of our third degree is very nice for most of us, when we are free from the daily chiding which we used to receive back home. Cash in our pockets, balance in our flashy cell phones, freedom to buy designer clothes and roam around wherever we want. But this freedom is short lived as we find ourselves chained and trussed up within the confines of the VTU( better known as Very Tough University). I can say that the life of a first year prisoner is the best ‘coz as soon as we climb up the stairs in the main building, we find ourselves more and more reluctant to look in to our books and are more interested towards finishing off the degree soon, however it may be. Innumerable assignments, about over 100 internals, 50 papers, and to add on, a over a dozen labs too. It truly deserves to be called a third degree!! Apart from academics, during these 4 years, we are audience to various changes that turn a playful teen into a responsible adult. Perhaps time is the best teacher and it teaches us every damn trick to survive…..’Coz it is only the fittest who are going to survive this test of endurance…………….

Destination OOTY...!!!!

I desperately neeeded a break from the strenuous college schedule. And it did come, in the form of a long planned, mismanaged, full of twists and turns, and of course a rainy trip to Udhagamandalam, better known as Ooty. We started off with a tiring bus journey from Bangalore @ 11 in the night. With tea breaks @ Mysore and another unknown location, we woke up to find lofty mountains, dense forest, sprawling grasslands and miles and miles of tea gardens greeting us!! The weather was obviously coool!! Without wasting any time, we started off for Conoor in the Beautiful Toy train chugging with a steam engine. With all the whistling and hushing, going through numerous tunnels and bridges, we reached Conoor @ noon. Our taxi driver-cum-guide took us through the picturesque locations dropping us at various points. As we went on and on, memories of beautiful moments spent in mussoorie kept flashing in my mind. The visit to the tea factory was worth it as we got the chance to see the actual process, and above all tasted 6-7 varieties of tea..!!

Next day was for Ooty darshan! We set out early for Dodabetta- the highest peak of the Nilgiri range. We left the bus 3 kms before the peak and trekked up the remaining distance. However when we reached , it started raining( as it usually happens wherever i go!!), but still we could manage to have a telescopic view.Next we headed for the boat house, rosa garden, botanical gardens and the local shopping area. And yes, how can i forget the home made chocolates!!! Yummmmm...the trip is incomplete without the great variety of chocolates Ooty has to offer!!

We headed back to our college, with beautiful memories in our minds to cherish forever........

Black Friday

Well, it was not that serious as it sounds from the title, but it did disappoint me. I am talking about Tantra- the state level technical symposium that our college hosted so well( unexpectedly!!!). I had been preparing for the paper presentation since our internals got over and had struggled a lot to find a topic worth presenting. Everything was going smooth, infact the day before, I was so well prepared that i was helping others with their papers. On the D-Day, I was pretty excited as it was fun to see so many people turn up for such an event! Everything looked so lively.I had to demonstrate my hobby project as well as the paper. I finished off with the project befor lunch and was eagerly waiting for my turn @ in the next roon for ppt.
Luckily I did well( as told by others). But I was happy for one thing. When someone from the audience asked me a question, the judge, who was supposed to screw me with more queries, himself stood up and was arguing with him on my behalf. And perhaps this was the biggest mystery of the day!! If I did well then why didn't I win?
Consolations came in flooded....Sorry i don't need it. I knew it was an easy strike. I guess its truly said-"The best man wins"!!- and I wasn't the best.

The Revolutionaries..!!!!

People like me are used to be in the limelight.It was quite sometime since i was out of it, so i had to strike back...!!!! Since the first year chicks have joined the college, the main gate closes @ 8 for the fear of ragging.(i still wonder how it prevents ragging!!!).The mess food is so good that as soon as you enter the mess you feel all filled up.It was Monday--when the dinner is so good--they serve....ummmm...dunno what kind of veg.So I, and my other 2 roomies, Vishnu and Rohit set out to have a bite @ something good so that we could give sum rest to the hungry demons inside.While going out, we managed to fool the guard somehow @ the bank gate.Everything seemed to be normal until we stepped inside the campus jumping over the back gate.....The guard @ the duty caught us and was trying his best to drag us to the main gate.And to add some spice to the story, the hostel manager came to the scene from nowhere and told the guard to catch us.....And lo...!!!then started a chor - police game....3 of us running and the 2 guards behind us...Finally we managed to get into the hostel- all three in three directions.The guard was in a dilemma.....whom to chase.???so he started off behind Vishnu and Rohit ....and unfortunately, Rohit was caught.!!!So just like 'Bhagat singh', 'Rajguru' , and 'Sukhdev', all of us resurfaced.It was a moment of pride..!!! All three of us walking with our heads held high and three guards following us to the main gate..!!and i could hear the echoes "Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai....Dekhna hai zor kitna bazuein kaatil mein hai.........."

Long live revolution.!!!
Down with imperialism..!!!!!

My School Song

Oakgrovians young and old,
Come join in cheerful song;
The honour of our school uphold,
With voices clear and strong.
We leave the plains and heat,
Our homes and friends below;
And on these rugged mountains meet,
Life's purposes to know
Our glorious valley green,
With wooded hills around;
As games we play with vigour keen,
Doth oft with shouts resound.
In classrooms and in field,
Oak Grove has made her name;
We strive and hope our time will yield,
New glories, wider fame.
We love this school of ours,
We're Oak Grove's children true;
We'll serve her in her darkest hours,
And in her glory too.
This place wherein we live,
Fair gem of this earth's crown;
Claims earnest work which we must give;
Regardless of renown.
And when we leave Oak Grove,
Embarking on life's seas;
We'll never forget the school we love,
But loyal to her be.
In future years we pray,
God's blessing she may see,
And that her sons and daughters may,
"IN ALL THINGS FAITHFUL BE".

O.G. Dictionary

Hey people..!!! Here i am with my first blog on OAK GROVE-the best place i have ever been to,the place i spent the best eight years of my life.......

"The O.G. Dictionary"
Waise to use of slangs is pretty common these dayz , but ours was a bit different.......

Chick : This was the name given to us when we graduated from junior school
and stepped into senior boys' school . You just need to shout " oye chick" and will find around 10 guys coming up to you shouting back
"yes sir"..!!!!

Get down: The most usual command to become a murga.


P.D. : Public Dhunning-the event of whole class beating a particular guy.

C.K. : Care Keeping- the job, usually of a class eighth guy, to see whether
any teacher is around or not, while the seniors had the luxury of
massage,watched movies,and ragged us.

Sneak : Leak information/ complain to teachers

Fagging : Usually this has reference to smoking,but as i told you, ours was a bit different.The seniors used to bat and bowl, and we were always
fielding.This could mean that just two of the seniors could play the
whole day and we ended up "fagging".

Jhits : Acronym for Jharipani-the location of our school.

Jhits fall : Another beautiful place, a wonderful waterfall-unexplored, unexploited
we used to bunk off to, on holidays.Perhaps a tourist hot spot now.

Moos : Acronym for Mussoorie.

G.P. : "Ganji Pahadi" - Another beautiful place to bunk.The ambience was so
serene,soothing. You will just love the place.As far as i remember,
it got its name from a vast stretch of land, kind of hillock, with
beautiful grass and no shrubs.

Daem : Damsels-really extinct species..!!!!

Check : Throw

Dhobs : Our dhobi- the washerman.

Zhakh : Last

I think there are many more.........oakgrovians , plz help..!!!

"SHE"

Waiting outside the metro station, i went down the memory lane when we sat at our common hangout-"R.R.CORNER" looking at the other "lucky" people having a shoulder to rest their heads on.My life seemed to be an utter waste, entangled between the strands of responsibilities and commitments,with no room to explore the hidden sea of my emotions.I was nowadays becoming sure of the path my life was going to take, which i never wanted it to.But sometimes you have to come to terms with reality rather than live in an illusion.And perhaps it was a fictious life i was living in........................
The gentle tap on my shoulder woke me up from my dreams and i found her in my arms....!!!!!!!(Perhaps this was reality).It was a wait of 8 minutes for me ,8 years for her(Goddamn it..!!!! 8 long years!!!).How can she love me so much?How can you love someone for so long?My mind started betraying me ......I had to do something for her.If nothing much , then atleast i could make her smile, make the day beautiful for her.And i set out for that.

I don't remember the rest of the evening.We went around places , just like 'adam and eve' in the Eden Garden.I guess the touch of her hands made me forget everything.It was the first time i had that strange feeling of being wanted.She was smiling for the rest of the evening.I was not a complete waste.Maybe i could bring about some happiness in someone's life......and perhaps that gave me a reason to live..............................