Would you like to be ragged? Or rather, let me ask more relevant question – would you like your son or daughter be ragged ? Imagine a herd of senior students ordering weirdest possible commands to a few helpless fresher. Most of us would agree against it but when given chance to rag any one, it would be hard to step back !
On very first day, I happened to meet setu just at the entrance of the boys’ hostel. He looked a nice handsome fair guy like some hero of English movie.
‘hello setu bhai..” I was behind him and my words made hin turn around.
“oh, hi ! are you nehal?” he had soft voice. “from bhuj?”
“yes..” I was happy as he recognized me. “ I like to be called neh”
“ okay neh, is everything fine?”
“ fine. Just got my room allotted.” I said
“ so?” he paused a bit “ let me tell you there will be introduction by seniors but no one would harm you. I mean, just customary…” he smiled and continued “this things are for few days. Everything will be normal there after…okay? Not to worry..” -but what abnormal will remain till then? a question just went back from my lips. I could not ask. Probably my confidence was that low or may be I feared facing truth. Setu looked at me as I nodded my head.
“ nice meeting you setubhai” I said.
“nice meeting” he said.
Just after entering college, we heard there would be some kind of introduction of all of the fresher. my talk with setu confirmed it. Might it be ragging or whatever, we had to face it. When you are not left with any choice, just enjoy the situation.
We had two boys’ hostel. I was given accommodation in the new main hostel while most of the boys of our batch were accommodated in a small hostel just near the nursing hostel. We were very few at new boys’ hostel. All the new comers were given rooms at the ground floor of the big 4 storied hostel building. All the other rooms were occupied by our seniors.
Our immediate neighbors were samir , prakash and bhargav from room no 14. just at the entrance of the hostel a room was allotted to jasmine, biju and hemant of our batch. Remaining boys were given rooms at the small hostel near the nursing hostel.
You know, Stress makes friends faster. So was with us. we were stressed with the new environment and within no time, we became good friends. There were groups amongst the students. One was group of students from north Gujarat, one from saurashtra,one was probably headed by achal and one was headed by gaurang desai or GD as all called him.
Some of the my batch mates were lucky as enrollment to a group was automatic from the place the belonged. They at least enjoyed some mental immunity for ‘introduction’. For us, tapasvi, me and biren, there was no such group.
However, there was big group of kachchhi students at vallabh vidya nagar – india’s city of colleges. But physically it was about 5 kms away. There no kachchhi students in our college.
Shanti, my best friend from bhuj, had taken admission to BVM eng. College vallabh vidya nagar. Some how, he smelled issue of ragging in our college and when i was going to mess for lunch on very first afternoon, he and some of his friends arrived on bicycle from vvn. At that tine, the college was functioning at the guest house near the quarters of the hospital staff.
“ hey nehal, hows going?” he rushed his bicycle to me and stopped scratching both of his legs on the ground.
“ oh man, you?” I exclaimed “ I never expected you at this time” he was perspiring
“ any problem?” he asked hurriedly. “ hey friends! Come here! He is my friend nehal I told you about. Tell his seniors to keep away from him.” Shanti turned to his friends and shouted. His new friends came near me. They parked the cycles.
One of my seniors that probably shanti’s friend knew, happened to pass by.
“hello there!” one boy waved hand to him. He stopped.
Shanti and his friends took me to him. He was a full sized man with very big spects add to that soda bottle thick glasses and broad plastic frame.
“ hi! How are you?” said my friend.
“ oh fine. Whats up?” he looked at all of us and probably understood why I was presented to him.
“ he is our friend nehal. he has Just entered your college. Can you please take care of him?” he gave a wry smile and looked at me as if I was a worth less worm.
“ that is ok.’ He said in dry voice. From his body language, it was clear he disliked the request. Who would like to ruin all the fun of ragging by swearing protection of an unknown worthless lad?
“its nothing like this here.” he said keeping his eye purposefully away from me. “ but ask him to wish his seniors.” – wish? What wish? What did he mean by that? “ tell him to wish good morning sir, good afternoon sir, good night sir whenever he encounters any senior.” He elaborated for my benefit and emphasized word ‘sir’.
It was okay saying good afternoon to any senior of any one-but Sir? Like Indian and Africans used to call their English bosses ? how insane? But I had no guts to argue that to my mr big spects senior. I hated but I nodded my head.
“ that is ok. How is everything?” shanti’s friend probably could see that they could not help the situation and so cut short the conversation.
“fine. Anything more from my side?” mr big spects shook hands with shanti’s friends. Perhaps shanti could also read the situation and so turned to me immediately as soon as my senior was gone.
“ hey nehal, tell me if anything goes wrong with you. I will bang these rascals.” I knew him very well. He really meant it. (even today, if something goes wrong me I know he will be there to bang the world with his own capacity!). I told him I could handle my life here and asked him to not to worry. They were in hurry and so went like a storm as they came.
As the day passed, campus was increasingly filled by words “ good evening SIR…! Good afternoon SIRRRRR…..!” etc. while some of the seniors responded with an arrogant smile but some even not felt it necessary to respond at all. for most of juniors, it was more like practical joke on them. For me it was something I disliked to do but I had my own version while sating it- I used to do namaste along with! Just to add Indian tinge to it ! I could see irritation in eyes of some Yankee seniors as I folded my hands to them.
But the real work of seniors started after the sunset.
“ some one is calling us on the first floor for intro.” One of my friends informed.
What would they do? Would just Ask our names and places we belong? ask Hobbies? It did not look that simple. Probably they would bully us as well. Or might be , they order us to do something funny. Or worst, they might command us to smoke or drink as seen in films I thought. We all probably hated the situation but when you are a fresher, you are not left with any choice but to obey orders of the seniors.
We forced ourselves to walk toward the room of the seniors.
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