My Campus Life

I had a great time during my campus days. The campus community especially the residential college communities were really lively. Every weekend there would be a dance party in one of the residential colleges somewhere. I was then playing in my college band and we were booked full. Some student groopies would attend every party just to enjoy listening to us or get close to us. I enjoyed being a mini rock star.

My residential college community did not tolerate those who did not mix well with others. I remember a chap who tried to stay alone and aloof and never bother to even greet fellow residents. One fine morning he went to the bathroom whistling loudly along the way. But the whistling stopped abruptly as soon as he opened the bathroom door, for there he came face to face with a brand new Honda Cub next to the toilet. Mind you this bathroom was on the third floor of the hostel. Looking at the number plate it dawned on him that the cub was his. He ran around knocking door after door asking for volunteers to carry his machine down but only met with laughters after he told them what had happened. When we felt that he had learnt his lesson we all helped him bring down his motorcycle. After that incident he mixed well with other residents and even joined the college band.

There was an Indian student named Rama who made clear that he must graduate with a first class honours even though he was in his first year. Anyway he studied really hard. On the night before his first year exam he studied up to midnight and set his alarm clock to 5am to continue his last minute preparation before his 9am paper. In his haste he set the clock to 5 but forgot to rewind it. The alarm did not go off at 5 and he woke up at 8. He looked at his clock. It showed 3 but the sun was already up. Snatching his wristwatch he then realised that his clock went dead at 3. He started to howl and cry and told everybody that he did not want to take his exam for he would surely fail if he did. We did all we could to persuade him to sit for his paper and finally he relented. Hours later he came back again crying and howling blaming us for persuading him to take his exam. He said he was sure that he could not score high and therefor he wanted to commit suicide. Every one was alarmed and started to dissuade him from committing such a stupid act. Some reminded him of god and some his family etc but he was so adamant. Finally one guy who really got fed up with this chap's antic told him to go ahead. So he went to the varsity lake but came back a half hour later. We then asked him, "Are you Rama or the ghost of Rama?". He pointed to the leg of his pant which was wet at the ankle and told us that he failed in his suicide bid as the water was too shallow. By then we could read his antic and told him that we would help him commit suicide by throwing him right to the center of the lake. He immediately told us,"No, no, no...actually I didn't jump into the lake. I just jump into the drain nearby". From then on he was known as Chicken Rama.

We used to have what we termed as 'panty raids". These were events when students from the boys' residential colleges raided the girls' residential colleges. If the boys failed to conduct these raids for more than a fortnight the girls would provoke the boys to do so by calling them all types of names that degraded their manhood. Feeling challenged the boys normally organised them. The girls got ready by splashing soap water on the floor. When the boys rushed in they would fall all over the places and the girls would spray them with fire hoses and the water fight ensued till one party surrendered. If the boys were defeated they would retreat gentlemanly and planned the next raid. If the girls were to lose the boys would confiscate at least three items of ladies undergarments as the spoils of war. The victors then would organise a victory procession around the campus on motorcycles. The boys at the front end of the procession would be wearing bras, panties, petticoats etc which were confiscated earlier. The procession would end in front of the main library where the spoils of wars were then hoisted up the flag pole with this song repeatedly accompanying:

Daisy, Daisy...show me your grassy land
I'm half crazy my ???? is on the stand
You are of the feminine gender,
Your ???? are soft and tender
So lift up your frock, I'll shaft in my ????
On a bicycle made for two

The funny thing was that nobody complained. Not the students nor the authority. Sometimes even policemen in their patrol cars waved at us with broad smiles.

So that's it for now. Bye and have a nice day