Last weekend my attention was drawn to an advertisement
about a spiritual fair, being held at a college in Chennai. Two things
interested me - one I was inquisitive about what a spiritual fair could offer,
what sort of stalls will be there and what are the talking points. Somehow, I
was very sure that no religion will be sold there and hence the
inquisitiveness.
The fair had a fair share of crowd being a Sunday and the
last day of the event. There were stalls
selling religious books, cassettes (yes cassettes!) , VCDs, DVDs, chains made
of rudraksha beads and name something related to Bhakthi or devotion…. they
were there. There were even stalls for famous hill temple such as Thirupathi
and hints on how to get quick dharshans. Then there were directions on how to
learn Sanskrit in a week, and any number of stalls for Meditation, yoga and nature cures. Of all the stalls
numbering 100, honestly I did not feel like buying anything, but it was good to
go through them, as some useful information were also available on Seva Sangams.
The other main point of interest was the venue, which
was D.G.Vaishnav College- my alma mater.
The college I studied for 3 years, I was stepping into after nearly 37 years,
though I made some brief visits in between.
This time I was very curious to know how my old class room looked like-
whether it is still there or has gone under the remodeling of the campus. How
the Gandhi park appeared, the place full of trees and shade where we spent much
time listening to radio commentaries of cricket matches and lunch. The HOD
room, outside which I had spent time waiting to take some choicest Mathematics
books, which were not placed at the general library.
The third floor was there but not the contents and structure
of the old room! The staff and the HOD
room were shifted to a different corner and wore a different look. The Gandhi
park with its tress were missing, possibly replaced by other concrete
structures I could see. But, as I stepped hesitantly into the third floor and
walked towards the room which the Mathematics students occupied for most of the
entire three years, the good old grand gallery , called "G3" was
there - intact with its ancient splendor. I went into the empty Sunday gallery
and fondly caressed the first bench, where I sat for the duration of the course. Thoughts of my good
old friends Raghavan, Ramaujam & Murali came flooding and I was overwhelmed
with emotion. The classroom also had another special place of interest in my
mind, as it was here that I sat as a student to hear the teachings of my
brother, who was the professor, with not a soul knowing about my relationship
with him, for a year! I scooped up the
nostalgia through some snaps in my cell phone and left the campus wondering
will there be any other college in the city, with a huge Lilly pond, at its
entrance. The beautiful statue of Lord Krishna at the entrance was there where
it was and made me realize the reasons for continued charm of this place !
Certain things in life never fade from your memory and I
realize our Alma Mater tops the list.
Chithappa, I can totally understand what you went through when you looked at your old class and college. I also enjoyed reading this. I read all your blogs and never had time to comment. I like your way of writing. Very simple and straight forward. Please keep writing often, I enjoy India/chennai/mylapore/Tamil through you. Keep up the good writing.
ReplyDeleteThank you. That was a lot of encouragement!!
DeleteNicely written! Nostalgia from college is such a nice topic to blog about and you have done justice! First bencher huh? I tried once in my first year, didn't work out. Resorted to the last bench for rest of the college years. Felt right at home :)
ReplyDeleteYeah Arun, Sitting in the first bench was my first , rather unsuccessful, attempt at being a nice boy - The facade didn't work though. Thanks for your feedback
ReplyDeleteNicely written. A good attempt at nostalgia. I too visited Vaishnav College, quite a few times in the recent past, but never had an occasion to go to the class room. I was a Commerce Student. I can recall my days of skipping the Economic Theory classes and going to Gandhi Park or going to the only shop in the entire stretch of Poonamallee High Road, a make-shift shop for my tea and take the next bus back home. Raja
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kapalee for positing the picture of G3. I can see the place I was sitting...first row, third from the right corner! You used to sit in the same bench at the other end. I can still hear Professor Veeraraghavan saying "Aberration, Sept 66, 68 etc" (for those who do not know the context, Professor Veeraraghavan taught Astronomy and Modern Algebra and the "Sep 66 etc" are the years in which there was a question in the University Maths paper on that topic). Yes, none of us knew you were Professor Muthuveeramani's brother. We used to share lunch boxes in the park under the shade of Mango trees. The group studies in our houses on Numerical Mathematics were equally enjoyable! WOnderful years they were! Thanks again...
ReplyDeleteWell written words or phrases captures one's attention truly. You have done it via this post sir. Thank you so much for this wonderful posting. :) I was taken back to my old memories with mixed emotions :):( Days are still evergreen and cherished always. I am lucky to be a first bencher as well :P
ReplyDelete