May 1994 Chandigarh
I get a call from Rahul (or Bong, or someone) and I have passed 1st MBBS Junior with an enormously surprising 65% or so. I even passed Anatomy comfortably and that is a huge confidence booster ahead in the next six months. I am looking forward to a semester lighter in load, heavier on the stomach and the exciting prospect of meeting fresh, homesick juniors. I almost feel like my MBBS is over, but of course, the fun has just begun.
I am now 1st MBBS Senior!
June 1994 JIPMER
The upcoming three months are the most fun in the JIPMER calendar. Since I joined only in August last year, I missed the euphoria that starts in Late July with the InterClass competitions , followed in quick succession by LOHA (Lister Osler House Association) Day and then Curie Day. I only got to experience the painful joys of Spandan but will have ample opportunity to delude myself for the next 3 months.
This semester is a short one-from now to December and comprises of the leftovers of Anatomy and Physiology but the topics seem to be heavy stuff. Biochemistry is over and done with and I hope that I don't have to come across the myriad cell cycles and reactions that subject is riddled with. In Anat and Physio, there is an attempt at correlation between the remaining contents of the two subjects so that the Head and Neck and the Brain in Anatomy are covered with Neurophysiology and the Thorax is covered with Cardiac and Respiratory Physiology.
Of course, a short semester also means that tests will be more frequent.
As usual, I miss the Bong sponsored Rasogolla party. This happens because Rahul sits in Bong's room all day till the time is right, then shouts "Oye, aa jaao saale",(loosely translated as "Hey assholes, come"), blocks the door with his massive non-muscular frame while eating most of them himself. Trespassers, invited or not, are at his mercy and I'm way too small to muscle my way through.
I decide I don't like Rasogollas that much anyway.
Finally out of the misery of 1st year, I have some time to breathe and take in my surroundings without fear of getting raped or buggered.
June Onwards 1994
...and so it goes. The same routine. Officially, we go to class at 8, stay there till 1, break for lunch till 2, and head back for more classes till 5. The time after this is variously divided between Snappy, the mess, shacks and outside rooms. There is no need to be actually inside a room since no one is doing much reading. The next three months will have InterClass and the Hostel Days followed by Spandan-the Big One.
The Hostel Days (LOHA for the boys and Curie for the girls) are organized by an "Executive". So we have a LOHA executive consisting of a Gen Sec, a Speaker and some secretaries. This batch is 2 years senior to me and is called the Executive Batch and therefore this is now the Batch of 1991. The only information relevant to Curie Day is that
a) It happens
b) There is food and an Open House where we can all go in for a while. (Note: The doors of the rooms have to always remain open at 15 degrees, in theory that is.)
InterClass is the first on the list of things.This will coincide nicely with the arrival of my own juniors but I'm hearing that from this year onward, they will be put up in Aschoff House for the first year, far away from the barbaric bunch of seniors we have apparently transformed into. The unfairness of this is staggering. We will be the first batch not to have the pleasure of screwing the happiness of our juniors right outside our own rooms, the first batch that will have to make the arduous trek to Aschoff and try our luck, and within Lister and Osler Houses, we will remain the juniormost batch. The Interns, previously housed in Aschoff, will return to Lister and Osler.
This disturbing piece of news cannot, however, deter us from spending our time usefully till the juniors do arrive. Vinay and I often spend a lot of our time in Snappy watching the comings and goings helped along with multiple cups of tea and the wisps of burnt nicotine and tar that accompany it.
I come to realize that most of the Jipmer student body (boys) can be categorized into a few distinct sets:
1) Those with girlfriends
2) Those without girlfriends but in active pursuit
3) Those without girlfriends, were in pursuit but have dropped out
4) Those much more interested in boozing and eating than girlfriends
5) Those interested in neither.....the nerds.
My gang is Category 4.
In Jipmer, it is not possible for one to just be 'friends' with a member of the opposite sex. If one is seen walking together for more than 1 day in a row, one is classified as hitched. Gossip can spread faster than fire here.
Some 'pairs' are obvious. They make no attempt to hide the fact and are quite happy seen together. Some guys will actively deny that something is up, but will mysteriously be very late for a booze appointment or party. The ones in Category 2 usually never arrive for a party till they become Category 1. Then they just get very late. So most parties are full of Categories 3 and 4. Which is perfectly fine.
Category 5 people sometimes make it a point to stop and chat for 5 minutes, probably image maintenance, just ensuring that they too, when they find the time, can stop by for a drink or a chat. Sometimes they will pass by silently with a look that says "Oh u poor guys, your parents have sent you here to study, and THIS is what you are doing"....We know that look and no one really cares. As long as we are all passing, no one gives a damn. No one is bothered about getting distinctions and sucking up to the teachers. In lingo, this is called "Balls to them".
I get a call from Rahul (or Bong, or someone) and I have passed 1st MBBS Junior with an enormously surprising 65% or so. I even passed Anatomy comfortably and that is a huge confidence booster ahead in the next six months. I am looking forward to a semester lighter in load, heavier on the stomach and the exciting prospect of meeting fresh, homesick juniors. I almost feel like my MBBS is over, but of course, the fun has just begun.
I am now 1st MBBS Senior!
June 1994 JIPMER
The upcoming three months are the most fun in the JIPMER calendar. Since I joined only in August last year, I missed the euphoria that starts in Late July with the InterClass competitions , followed in quick succession by LOHA (Lister Osler House Association) Day and then Curie Day. I only got to experience the painful joys of Spandan but will have ample opportunity to delude myself for the next 3 months.
This semester is a short one-from now to December and comprises of the leftovers of Anatomy and Physiology but the topics seem to be heavy stuff. Biochemistry is over and done with and I hope that I don't have to come across the myriad cell cycles and reactions that subject is riddled with. In Anat and Physio, there is an attempt at correlation between the remaining contents of the two subjects so that the Head and Neck and the Brain in Anatomy are covered with Neurophysiology and the Thorax is covered with Cardiac and Respiratory Physiology.
Of course, a short semester also means that tests will be more frequent.
As usual, I miss the Bong sponsored Rasogolla party. This happens because Rahul sits in Bong's room all day till the time is right, then shouts "Oye, aa jaao saale",(loosely translated as "Hey assholes, come"), blocks the door with his massive non-muscular frame while eating most of them himself. Trespassers, invited or not, are at his mercy and I'm way too small to muscle my way through.
I decide I don't like Rasogollas that much anyway.
Finally out of the misery of 1st year, I have some time to breathe and take in my surroundings without fear of getting raped or buggered.
Shom is still there in 215 and Vikrant in 225-both just a few doors down. On occassion they are joined by Mishra , Jain and Plaha-all Final year boys. The fuse has been lit under their asses and in a few months time, there will be fire.
Upstairs in 321, there is Misra (without the H). He is from Kanpur, is in charge of L&D for Spandan this year and is the star of his class and probably the college.
One day in the mess, I had asked him what "myositis ossificans" means. He replied by starting off with "well, myositis means inflammation of the myosites which don't exist in an adult, and so the term by itself does not mean anything".......If this is the way he answers vivas, the examiners are either super impressed or are tearing their hair out. I would do the latter, like I did that day.
Kel, next door to Vikrant, is from South Africa, in a stupor most of the time and is very powerfully built. He seems friendly enough, especially when he speaks of unspeakable things he did in South Africa, things that ostensibly made him run away from the local authorities there and join a Medical college in Southern India. He has been in the same class for a fairly long time and is often seen flat on his bed at most hours of the day.
Upstairs in 321, there is Misra (without the H). He is from Kanpur, is in charge of L&D for Spandan this year and is the star of his class and probably the college.
One day in the mess, I had asked him what "myositis ossificans" means. He replied by starting off with "well, myositis means inflammation of the myosites which don't exist in an adult, and so the term by itself does not mean anything".......If this is the way he answers vivas, the examiners are either super impressed or are tearing their hair out. I would do the latter, like I did that day.
Of course I have some classmates too...Apart from Chandan and Phani (who has moved into hairstyling and dancing overdrive) and the few mentioned before, there is also Vinod.
Vinod talks smooth, has brownish curly hair and is from Kerala but has lived in Delhi. He writes poetry sometimes. For reasons that are never clear, he is called "Dodo".
There are 2 "Rajinikanths". One has the initials T.V after his mane and the other has the letter "R". So obviously, they are called TV and Radio.
Moa is from Nagaland and is the best guitarist I have heard live. Chiradeep, now called Chakma for obscure reasons will be our singer in the Class band and Condom has agreed to play the bongo.
There are 2 "Rajinikanths". One has the initials T.V after his mane and the other has the letter "R". So obviously, they are called TV and Radio.
Moa is from Nagaland and is the best guitarist I have heard live. Chiradeep, now called Chakma for obscure reasons will be our singer in the Class band and Condom has agreed to play the bongo.
In the days leading upto InterClass, classes go on as usual. We are dissecting brains and hearts now and it is a lot more fun than cutting arms and digging out livers and kidneys. We're used to the schedule now so it's not that extreme. Prof L is still the Head and so there is lots of hope we'll pass Anatomy. Physiology has some experiments that involve decapitating frogs to see how they look afterwards. I'm hearing medical sounding terms like "systole, pulse pressure, hemiplegia, internal capsule etc " and it really feels like I'm in the right course. A big change from 2 months ago.
June Onwards 1994
...and so it goes. The same routine. Officially, we go to class at 8, stay there till 1, break for lunch till 2, and head back for more classes till 5. The time after this is variously divided between Snappy, the mess, shacks and outside rooms. There is no need to be actually inside a room since no one is doing much reading. The next three months will have InterClass and the Hostel Days followed by Spandan-the Big One.
The Hostel Days (LOHA for the boys and Curie for the girls) are organized by an "Executive". So we have a LOHA executive consisting of a Gen Sec, a Speaker and some secretaries. This batch is 2 years senior to me and is called the Executive Batch and therefore this is now the Batch of 1991. The only information relevant to Curie Day is that
a) It happens
b) There is food and an Open House where we can all go in for a while. (Note: The doors of the rooms have to always remain open at 15 degrees, in theory that is.)
InterClass is the first on the list of things.This will coincide nicely with the arrival of my own juniors but I'm hearing that from this year onward, they will be put up in Aschoff House for the first year, far away from the barbaric bunch of seniors we have apparently transformed into. The unfairness of this is staggering. We will be the first batch not to have the pleasure of screwing the happiness of our juniors right outside our own rooms, the first batch that will have to make the arduous trek to Aschoff and try our luck, and within Lister and Osler Houses, we will remain the juniormost batch. The Interns, previously housed in Aschoff, will return to Lister and Osler.
This disturbing piece of news cannot, however, deter us from spending our time usefully till the juniors do arrive. Vinay and I often spend a lot of our time in Snappy watching the comings and goings helped along with multiple cups of tea and the wisps of burnt nicotine and tar that accompany it.
I come to realize that most of the Jipmer student body (boys) can be categorized into a few distinct sets:
1) Those with girlfriends
2) Those without girlfriends but in active pursuit
3) Those without girlfriends, were in pursuit but have dropped out
4) Those much more interested in boozing and eating than girlfriends
5) Those interested in neither.....the nerds.
My gang is Category 4.
In Jipmer, it is not possible for one to just be 'friends' with a member of the opposite sex. If one is seen walking together for more than 1 day in a row, one is classified as hitched. Gossip can spread faster than fire here.
Some 'pairs' are obvious. They make no attempt to hide the fact and are quite happy seen together. Some guys will actively deny that something is up, but will mysteriously be very late for a booze appointment or party. The ones in Category 2 usually never arrive for a party till they become Category 1. Then they just get very late. So most parties are full of Categories 3 and 4. Which is perfectly fine.
Category 5 people sometimes make it a point to stop and chat for 5 minutes, probably image maintenance, just ensuring that they too, when they find the time, can stop by for a drink or a chat. Sometimes they will pass by silently with a look that says "Oh u poor guys, your parents have sent you here to study, and THIS is what you are doing"....We know that look and no one really cares. As long as we are all passing, no one gives a damn. No one is bothered about getting distinctions and sucking up to the teachers. In lingo, this is called "Balls to them".
Back in Snappy, Mr Akram, who runs the place, is calling me kozhand. When I shout out "Hey Chief, one Egg Chicken roll, one tea', the order is passed to the kitchen in the next room with "Get it for the kozhand there" or some such thing. I have no idea what this means so when I ask why people are sniggering, I'm told that it means "kid".
In any case, I'm his favourite customer and he knows all that I want by now. So no offence. As long as the food keeps coming, he can call me whatever he likes.
In any case, I'm his favourite customer and he knows all that I want by now. So no offence. As long as the food keeps coming, he can call me whatever he likes.
Kel calls Mr Akram "Chief". So from now on, this is the name most people start to call him by. It's simple, short and he is the Chief of our food pangs after all. Most people call Mr Akram "Chief" now. A lot of the evening after college life revolves around Chief and his Snappy.
In the evening, especially around 5 when the day gets over, a lot of the faculty also go home. Since many of them live on campus and the road to their homes passes by right next to Snappy, we spend an interesting hour watching the the smokers try to hide their cigarettes when they see someone approaching, or wish blindly at passing cars (especially if attendance is low or exams are near). This 'wishing' thing is irritating but I catch on quickly since everyone seems to be doing it. Wishing someone in front of you is the done thing of course, but wishing cars?
I learn the ropes quickly. It's a matter of survival after all.
The car is a Maruti 800, the old version. W know the number plate by heart. It's owned by a petite lady but with a fearsome reputation. I haven't really met her since we have not started work in her Department but she is one of those people whose reputations precede her. Madam, as she is known, is supposed to be on the lookout for people wishing her and supposedly makes a note of those who have the balls to pass by and not wish her. All of this is hearsay and to me it sounds very far fetched, but why take chances? In medical school, I need all the help I'm going to get. So when her car zooms by, we all nod our heads in unison hoping that she noticed. Sometimes, I hear that even in town, people wish her car "good Morning' etc.Sometimes, she isn't even in it.
Tests come and go. Reading is more manageable now. I actually pass an Anatomy test on Thorax fairly easily. Physiology is more concrete now, dealing with the Heart, Lungs and the Brain instead of Muscles and Nerves and Action Potentials. In dissection, I love looking and studying the features of the heart and the brain. Just holding the brain, even half cut, is a strangely awesome experience.
This is a small period of time between the start of the semester and the start of Baby Junior Arrivals (and InterClass etc). Apart from Snappy and the shacks, there is a lot of Pondicherry to be seen.
One of the things Pondicherry has in gross abundance is movie halls. Not multiplexes, but stand alone halls, with balconies, stalls and a feature unique to Pondicherry (for me)-the A/C box. Someone tells me that Pondicherry has 41 movie halls and the town is about 36 sq Km. Almost all the theaters shows Tamil movies so I'm a little lost there. The one that does show English ones is called "Ratna' and is in the middle of a very busy street that also has booze outlets (of course) and 3 restaurants nearby-Jaya, Lavanya and Tavern. Lavanya is going out of favour but Tavern has excellent American Chopsueys. Many evenings, we catch the 10 PM show after a brief booze/dinner session at one of the above 3 places (usually) and scramble for A/C box tickets. The movies are OK, the sound is amplified for the A/C box and the crowds are tremendous. I love it, though the Ice Cream served in the intervals could be far better.
Anandha, located in the other direction from Ratna, is the only other hall showing English movies with any consistency. It's much bigger, has a better sound system but the seats are infested with bed bugs.
In the middle of this little blissful semester, a whole town lies waiting to be discovered. It is finally time to step outside the gate.
I learn the ropes quickly. It's a matter of survival after all.
The car is a Maruti 800, the old version. W know the number plate by heart. It's owned by a petite lady but with a fearsome reputation. I haven't really met her since we have not started work in her Department but she is one of those people whose reputations precede her. Madam, as she is known, is supposed to be on the lookout for people wishing her and supposedly makes a note of those who have the balls to pass by and not wish her. All of this is hearsay and to me it sounds very far fetched, but why take chances? In medical school, I need all the help I'm going to get. So when her car zooms by, we all nod our heads in unison hoping that she noticed. Sometimes, I hear that even in town, people wish her car "good Morning' etc.Sometimes, she isn't even in it.
Tests come and go. Reading is more manageable now. I actually pass an Anatomy test on Thorax fairly easily. Physiology is more concrete now, dealing with the Heart, Lungs and the Brain instead of Muscles and Nerves and Action Potentials. In dissection, I love looking and studying the features of the heart and the brain. Just holding the brain, even half cut, is a strangely awesome experience.
This is a small period of time between the start of the semester and the start of Baby Junior Arrivals (and InterClass etc). Apart from Snappy and the shacks, there is a lot of Pondicherry to be seen.
One of the things Pondicherry has in gross abundance is movie halls. Not multiplexes, but stand alone halls, with balconies, stalls and a feature unique to Pondicherry (for me)-the A/C box. Someone tells me that Pondicherry has 41 movie halls and the town is about 36 sq Km. Almost all the theaters shows Tamil movies so I'm a little lost there. The one that does show English ones is called "Ratna' and is in the middle of a very busy street that also has booze outlets (of course) and 3 restaurants nearby-Jaya, Lavanya and Tavern. Lavanya is going out of favour but Tavern has excellent American Chopsueys. Many evenings, we catch the 10 PM show after a brief booze/dinner session at one of the above 3 places (usually) and scramble for A/C box tickets. The movies are OK, the sound is amplified for the A/C box and the crowds are tremendous. I love it, though the Ice Cream served in the intervals could be far better.
Anandha, located in the other direction from Ratna, is the only other hall showing English movies with any consistency. It's much bigger, has a better sound system but the seats are infested with bed bugs.
In the middle of this little blissful semester, a whole town lies waiting to be discovered. It is finally time to step outside the gate.
Pondicherry is waiting.
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