Just as I had finished my lunch and sat down on the computer
on a fine day to browse the internet and have my daily dose of Facebook, I
heard a “BLOOP” sound suggesting there was a person wanting to chat with me. Reading
the name I was excited to reply back and got ready to occupy myself for the
next 30 minutes busy chatting about things that would best remain between close
friends. But it wasn’t a “Hello”, or a “Hi” which needed reciprocation....It was
a long message of around 20 lines.
I immediately sat up straightening my back
thinking it must be something interesting, for he writes like a hardcore
English enthusiast. But the first sentence I read got my eyebrows tilted in
agitation. A very close, dear friend had dropped out of one the premier law
schools in India. My friend, one of the most knowledgeable persons in the
country (people who know him would agree)is a quintessential gentleman, a lad
who is outspoken, and outstanding in his achievements. It would be an
understatement to say that he is a stickler to discipline. He commands respect
from all and is a conservative chap with rational ideas, thus making people
around him both young and old admire him in an ardent manner. He is a crowd
puller and a whiff of fresh air at times when people would yawn.
As I reached
the bottom of the text I had received, I was aghast, shell-shocked and clearly
appalled. The reason as to why he had quit was rather unbelievable. My poor
friend had experienced a sort of hell during his stay at Kolkata. Especially
at the boys’ hostel where he was supposed to stay. It seems it was a veritable
den of drugs and beer, where abusive language was common sight, and some
boozers had turned the boys hostel into their exclusive fiefdom!! The
management was hapless and the wardens were inept and lethargic.
When he embarked to report these to the Principal, he was stopped by the registrar in a somewhat bureaucratic fashion (where a people’s complaint would never reach the person to whom it is addressed to). The registrar of the university tried convincing him, even while acknowledging that his own students were lumpen and maculate. My friend could not withstand it for much longer and submitted his papers stating that he no longer wished to be a part of their fraternity. It took me some time to finish reading it. I didn’t even reply as I was speechless.
When he embarked to report these to the Principal, he was stopped by the registrar in a somewhat bureaucratic fashion (where a people’s complaint would never reach the person to whom it is addressed to). The registrar of the university tried convincing him, even while acknowledging that his own students were lumpen and maculate. My friend could not withstand it for much longer and submitted his papers stating that he no longer wished to be a part of their fraternity. It took me some time to finish reading it. I didn’t even reply as I was speechless.
Again, I heard the “BLOOP” sound. He was asking me if I was still
there. Now I replied-“Pick up your phone” while dialing his number. It had
been so long since I had spoken to him and yet I could make out the familiar
“HelloOo” he used to begin with during the countless other phone-talks we used
to have. I reciprocated the greeting in a rush and spoke to him for a long
time. He told me that he was repeatedly being asked to smuggle and buy his
seniors bottles of beer, packets of cigarettes, and packets of marijuana all
under the pretext of ‘ragging’!!
How can all this happen inside the premises
of the so-called 3rd best Law school in India?? And imagine that you have to take assistance
from your senior(who puffs away, does drugs and boozes to his heart’s content)
to complete a project during one of your semesters for which you will be
graded. And that is not all, there is a Students Association which seems to
be very strong(very bad also) and it decides which students to send for
extracurricular activities. So if you refuse to abet them, then sorry you’ve
missed your chance to participate(let alone represent the college) in
anything.
Life was as worse as hell for my poor friend who cried, shed tears, and prayed to God why this was happening to him, for he had strived and worked as hard as he could for two years and passed his Common Law Admission Test(CLAT) with flying colours securing a commendable All India Rank !! For a person such as him he deserves the best and I wish people would join me in his fight against committing crimes and acts opposed to public policy in the name of ragging!! In his own words-“There is complete Lawlessness in a Law School”!!
Life was as worse as hell for my poor friend who cried, shed tears, and prayed to God why this was happening to him, for he had strived and worked as hard as he could for two years and passed his Common Law Admission Test(CLAT) with flying colours securing a commendable All India Rank !! For a person such as him he deserves the best and I wish people would join me in his fight against committing crimes and acts opposed to public policy in the name of ragging!! In his own words-“There is complete Lawlessness in a Law School”!!
College is a funny place.
ReplyDeleteIf you spill the beans you open up a whole can of worms. I mean, how can you let sleeping dogs lie if you let the cat out of the bag? Bring in a new broom and if you're not very careful you find you've thrown the baby out with the bathwater. If you change horses in the middle of the stream, next thing you know you're up the creek without a paddle.
Then the balloon goes up.
Dei. I think you can talk in clichés till the cows come home.
Hahaha....Well, to be honest I never really thought about that...I was more concerned with this controversial piece doing its round in the Internet...However, your words are acknowledged...and maybe I might try a different style, on perhaps a humourous sort.
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