It's good to be finally back here :) For all of those who are wondering where I went, I have joined my BDS classes in Bhopal ! So, I am staying in hostel and since then, my life has been on a roller coaster ride.
Life in hostel is very tough, for me, I would say ;) Going away from my home for the first time was a very drastic change which came all of a sudden. The fact obviously remains, that it had to be by chance,not by choice.
So let me just start point wise to get a concise post.
THE RAGGING PART
Why not start with the funniest part?
So, yes, I was ragged, am being ragged and will be ragged till the fresher's is organised.
For 15 days I had stayed in the hostel, I with my other batchmates, had become the personal chai-walla, paani-waala and what not? For the first time, I did someone else's assignment.
The first day, I went there, 15-20 seniors had come to my room just to take a look at me. *sigh* I felt like a new dog in a colony being sniffed by the local dogs *deep deep sighs*
And then I was bombarded with numerous questions ranging from my hobbies, my talents and my favourite actress! I dodged these questions quite wickedly though..which I had to regret later..
like, Where did you study?
In the school sir.. I said with a puppy face :D
My batchmates then took a 2hr class of me the same day and made me aware of all the protocols and rules. I had no option but to comply..
And being from delhi, I tell you, is a curse in these places. All the people have their pre-conceived notions about delhites, mostly on the negative sides, so I am being ragged harder. I need more training than others, or so the seniors say..!
We, especially, Me, is ordered to speak in shudh hindi !
e.g For asking any senior's name I have to say like this-aadarniya shriman mahoday, aap mere varishth hain aur main apka kanishth hoon. Me apne aap ko apke aadar aur samman ka paatra banne ke kaabil bhi nhi samajhta paruntu fir bhi kya mai apka su-naam jaanne ki chestha rakh sakta hoon?
For asking the permission to go to bed-Manniya Shriman Mahodaya. Me, ek atyant tuch praani, aapke aseem shabd sunne ke baad dhanya ho gaya hoon. Agya deejiye mujhe apne kaksh me viraajmaan hone ki..
And we have to put shri before the name of any senior and the number of shri(s) depends upon the year in which the senior is. For example, we have to put shri five times before his name if the senior is in the fifth year!
Standing outside the room of seniors for two hours, singing and dancing for them is all we get to do after we come back from the college.. First week was quite rough but as the seniors got more used to the juniors, the intensity decreased gradually.
But for me again, nothing goes straight. Least to say, the seniors hate me more than others because in their opinion I complained to the authorities.. another moment for *sigh*
Chalo, let's not bicker about it too much, going forth to the next part
THE FRIEND PART
Now, what surprised me the most in my college is that I am the only one from Delhi. And that too in all the years. There were people mostly from M.P, Maharashtra and other adjoining states. But no one is from proper North India. It is difficult to adjust with people who come from an entirely different culture altogether. But I am trying to be as flexible as possible.
My room mate is from Jabalpur, another small town in MP. Apparently, he had been living in a hostel since his class 5th. At first I thought he was a good fellow. But later I realised what an obnoxious little weed he is. Bossing around seems to be his favourite hobby. And my god! he is so blunt, in his speech and his manners too. I wouldn't want to write all the unnecessary details but one thing is for sure, that he doesn't qualify for being my friend. I was quite perturbed by this fact but I got a very soothing advice in the meantime that, even I should not treat him as my friend. Just treat him like a room mate. And after implementing it, I was so relieved. Half of my pressure seemed to have evaporated.
Actually, from what I have observed, people from small towns have a very basic problem of inferiority complex. They have to press their issues harder to prove that they are not any inferior. That's why they act so rigidly and take everything for granted. Although, for people of big cities like Delhi, there are a lot of misconceptions, major one being that we have a lot of attitude and are quite un-adjusting, I found I adapt to every situation whatever it is. But still, these people from smaller towns fail to take cognizance of any such activity and go forward with their pre-conceived notions. Being from a bigger town, I had to adjust the most to the bare minimum facilities. And being away from my family, it was a really hard part. I would call my dad three times a day and talk to him for hours altogether. He is a very patient listener. He would stop whatever work he would've been doing and solely focus on what I had to say.
I had assumed my other batchmates would've been going through the same situations but I found them perfectly alright! Nobody was interested in talking to his parents at home. My room mate just called his father once in just 15 days and that too only to ask for some money. It was a real shocker indeed. But later I found out that all of them had in a way stayed away from their homes at one point or another. And all of them had stayed in Kota(Rajasthan) for their entrance preparation, away from their homes. So, they were obviously far more trained and accustomed to such lifestyle. So, obviously I am the weak petal !
I am keeping a very low-profile in the college. I am interacting with everyone but nobody has become a very good friend of mine and I don't think it would be easy for me to find one in this place! The major problem is, I have nothing to talk about with them. And being just the beginning, we're under scanner all 24 hrs. So, to avoid all the judgements, I play particularly safe.
THE COLLEGE
My college is, well, too cheap for a private university. I had anticipated it to be more like the Manipal university but it turned out to be just better than your average govt. college. Even the campus is not that good. I mean, it's huge. Yes, spread across acres of land but there are a lots of different colleges within the same campus. The thing that pinches me the most is that there is no jogging or walking track. I am really fond of morning walks and running but there neither the people nor the college are interested in giving some space for such activities. Another difficulty of being among small towners. I say this because they are developing, no doubt. But are committing the same mistakes that happened in the metropolitan cities. You just subtract 10-15 years from Delhi and you'll get Bhopal.
The teachers here, well, aren't backward or small towners. They are like Delhi teachers. Crank! Everywhere the teachers are much the same. Actually, they are good. Till now they have been. Atleast to me. But what I have heard from my seniors is a very dark picture of these good faces...
Hence, the variable adjective.
And the one thing which gets me really irritated is the drinking problem. 90% of the hostlers drink, then do their 'naare-baazi' and all that weird stuff. I felt like I have come among animals, the first time. The second thing is the use of "tapori" language. Hurling abuses and to such a great extent, was just yak! No sense of whether it's morning or evening, they'll have to use BC in every sentence they use.
I am glad I used only english abuses. Now I think I will stop them altogether ;)
Seeing such a behaviour has made me more mannerful I would say :P
Finally,THE IMPACT ON ME
Spending even such a short time in hostel has turned out to be a bitterwseet experience which in my analysis has had a lot of impact on me. The first one being the change in my eating habits ! I had found the mess food really awful, every daal tasted the same. And the taste also bore the touch of central and south india, so naturally it repelled me. So, I would just eat 2-3 chapatis all throughout the day. But it's good. I have reduced around 4 kgs. I invite all the souls irritated by their weight to join me in the hostel -_-
Also, we're not allowed to roam alone in the campus, so I am just confined to my room and college for most of the time. It's a real shame that I haven't seen the actual Bhopal ever since I got there.
My college is also good 10-15 kms away from the main city and transportation is a real hassle. So, I intrinsically avoid going to places.
The next thing I can think of is, now I value this life more than ever. Seeing cadavers and dissecting actual human heads, I now know the importance of human lives much better. And also the value of human relationships. What came to me as a rude shock was the fact that how come in this country of 1.2 billion people, there was nobody to claim these men and women?
There are times when I am too irritated, just questioning myself "why did I ever come to this place?" and sometimes others, it's just normal. Neither too bad nor too good. And these mood swings will go on. The only change is, living in hostel I have realised that we take for granted our loved ones. They are subjected to our frustrations and irritations regularly but in hostel, you have to deal with these things yourself. You cannot vent out your anger on any other person. I think this has been the most ominous change I have witnessed in the hostel life.
Now, the major question is "Am I enjoying the hostel life? " I don't think so. Well, frankly, if I would have got any other chance to stay near my home, I would have pounced upon it like a hungry lion. But it's the way of life. And I need to prove myself something this time and hence, I won't back off now. I just can't let my emotions guide my actions this time. It's been a new beginning, not a great one in my opinion but I am sure it would not turn out to be a mistake.
"Live like you own it, otherwise don't live it at all"
So, that was all I had to say. I don't know when will I get time for my next post. BDS is a tough course. I had been underestimating it but now I realise how much one has to study for it. And a hostler is never free. Singing songs for the seniors even at 12pm at night, acting like a spot boy for them and so many other roles, is quite time consuming ;) We do it because seniors will only help us in the later years. For example, we have to carve out the whole tooth from a simple cuboidal wax block. Like sculpturing. So, seniors might change just one or two cuts of the block and our carvings would get an A. That's how it works in medical line. You help your seniors, they help you in return.
I know everything won't turn out to be perfect but I hope I will make things perfect for myself. I will slog and slog some more in desperate times. I have many more stories to write about but I don't see their relevance. In the course of life, you just remember big things. Nobody remembers what they said to their friend on a particular day in class 5th. So, I am filtering every incidences whether they are worth remembering or not. I want to keep my mind as free as possible. I have better stuff to fill it with ;)
I don't know how to end this post. I can't think of any flowery ending, so I'll just have to be contended with plain old bye and have a good life :)
P.S- What if anybody from my college reads my blog? Would I be dead? :P
