DISCLAIMER :This blog is based loosely on my Engineering college days of University College of Engineering, Trivandrum,Kerala during the period 2003-2007 . This has to be viewed as a piece of art rather than a commentary of my college life . At times I have taken the writer's liberty at the same time I have tried my level best to stay as impersonal as possible .
On a hot afternoon in December last year I was standing at the corridor of my alma
mater trying to replicate the feeling that I had more than 5 years ago. Things
had changed a lot during the ensuing period I had lost hair put on some weight
become older and wiser and no more the student of this institution just an alumni
like countless others. What made this place very special to me? I was left
wondering. I can't find a single reason. Our college situated in as scenic
campus in the outskirts of Trivandrum city had a special place in my life. Here
is where I learned the tricks of my trade, where I was transformed from a boy
to a man the list is endless the nostalgia is too intense for me to objectively
think and write so here I am penning down a few lines about my college life
that come randomly to me.
I enjoyed the freedom the place offered to me. After 12
years of schooling College was a welcome change. Qualities that were innate in
me until then slowly started to come out and there was every opportunity for me
to put that in use and I believe that I had used that to the best of my
ability. Placement co-ordinator, Tour co-ordinator, Class representative,
Events co-coordinator for a Tech cum Cultural fest, anchoring on stage for
numerous events, dance you name them and I have done it all. I take this opportunity
to thank all my classmates for their support and encouragement all along
without which any of this would not have been possible.
My description of the college would not get started if I
don't paint a picture of the surroundings. A campus which acts as a
headquarters for the Kerala University around 5-6 acres plush with lush
greenery with lot of trees well paved roads a kind of place where you can take
your girlfriend around for a quiet walk after
bunking classes. The college as such was not that great it was the campus that
made it sexy. I remember at the end each
hour we used to just take off from our classes roam here and there and come
back well into the next hour. The guys in our class rarely occupied the front
rows in the class the front rows were either left vacant or were occupied by
geeky girls. We guys had in fact monopolised the entire back row. Who can forget the
getaways that we had after bunking classes Kovalam Beach, Madupara(a rock
cave), Kazhakootam beach and many others. I should not forgot the favourite hangout spot
of us was a pond situated within the campus called as Haimavathi it was
supposedly the source of fresh water for the entire campus and it had stories
of its own to tell . At times mostly during the afternoons we would retire to this
pond to chill out until the end of college hours it was in fact a regular
feature during the final year where we used to bunk the labs every week without
fail. I still remember the violent reactions from my friends that it so
happened that every guy in the class had an attendance of 20 % for this
particular lab while I was the sole guy in the class with 70 % + attendance. It
was not that I went to the labs regularly but due to the fact that I was a
placement co-ordinator and my teachers were under the impression that I was
doing some activity related to that. It was not long before they realised my
true colours and I slowly started to get pushed out of the good books of my teachers’
.After I left Trivandrum during my stints in Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai I have
always missed the greenery that I was privy to once.
Well how I can leave off the political activism of our
college. Our college campus was the hotbed of student political activity. It was
called the Red fort of SFI(Students Federation of India). I still remember
vividly the first strike I took part in .It was not as if I was political active
or anything but it was just for the feel it. But that one was special it was
during my first year in college we had marched to the office of the Joint registrar
or something of the University from one
end of the campus to the other end shouting slogans fist pumping and all. My
political activism ended there I being the son of a bureaucrat for that matter
loathed politics that was the first and
the last time I did anything like
that. I remember after that picketing as
we were walking back to our classes we were all in a jolly mood joking around
and chatting excitedly about our first experience when one of our seniors came
up and rebuked us for taking things too lightly and how we had to solemnly and
silently walk back to our classes. My class had a fair brand of political
activists, during our final year the Chairman, Vice Chairperson and Secretary
of the College Union were from my class and for that matter our class enjoyed enormous
amount of clout in the College. Our final year tour which was a coup of sorts
during that time because no final year batch has gone ever for an official tour
is a story in itself.
Check out a similar posts of mine Life has come a full circle, College Diaries #2,
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