Oh Those Ten! - 1

Disclaimer:For those followers of this blog who expected Moment No:1 to be a grander one than becoming a chairman,this is absolute anti-climax.

Dean : Should first year students be called for Students Union volunteering work?I feel that they must be protected.

Umesh : No sir.They must be involved.If I had not worked for SU in the first year,I would not have applied for the chairman post now.

- SU Chairman Interview,February 2010.

For a large part of my final year,I roamed around the PSG Tech campus with a blazer.Everyone called me "Chairman".Some generous hearts even called me "Champion".My opinion was sought for many issues that gripped various clubs.("Yedhukum oru vaati Umesh kita ketuko").My word was taken as The Gospel.("Umesh solitanla adhu podhum").There was a sense of half-pride in walking to college everyday.That was the period when Umesh was the chairman.It all ended there.

Yet,there was a time in 2007-08 when I roamed around the campus with an unwashed Intrams T-shirt.Everyone called me to say "inum 50 chair kondu vaa da".Some generous hearts even said "inum 3 per helpoda 100 chair kondu vaa".I was ordered around the college campus and made to do menial work.("Umesh kita solita ila vela nadandhudum").The sense of pride was more complete then.That was the period when Umesh was an active volunteer.It all began there.

The first two months of college life were largely spent in identifying the best girl in the class and deciding whether a certain Veerarajan was the best author of Maths books.Then the day came in September 2007 when my senior Mr.Rajarajan came into the class to brief us about Intrams. “Everyone must be present for Intrams.Make sure that you do quality volunteering.”And then he made a passing mention about my classmate Ajay.”Ajay is very much interested in working for SU”.Suddenly,I got jealous about Ajay.I wanted to be in Ajay’s place.I wanted to work for Students Union.

In Intrams,I was one of the guys handling the screen for Footloose.It was so gratifying to see the girls' dances up close.We carried the musical instruments all the way from 5th floor in E-block to Q-angle.Just as we were so childishly thinking that we had done something remarkable in the first semester,January 2008 arrived.

"When is Kriya?" became a GK question failing to answer which made one contemplate suicide.When Samivel (A senior who always smiled.To make up for all those smiles,he cried so loudly on the last day.) asked the question to few of us,I jumped in to answer "Feb 1,2 and 3".I was made the class representative that semester.Phone calls came from seniors at the worst time possible.When one eye closed to sleep,the other saw the call and ran to seniors' room for work.

I had to convene a First Year Representatives meeting once in three days.We took Kriya brochures and went around Coimbatore looking for sponsors.Many shopkeepers and corporate people never used to respect us.(It continued till the final year).But we still kept trying for three days before the miracle happened.Naturals beauty parlour gave an amount of Rs.10000 and I still remember the electricity in my voice when I called up and told “Inigo anna!We got sponsors!”

Publicity was more fun.Ashwin,a senior from Msc stream will give us Kriya posters every day in the evening and we used to paste it in all prominent spots of Coimbatore.We went around Race Course,VOC Ground,Saibaba colony,R.S.Puram and Gandhipuram with Kriya flyers and distributed it to anyone who remotely resembled a student.”Hello sir!Do come for Kriya!All events will be great”.Naive words but enthusiastic nonetheless.

Then the night before Kriya. Attendance could have been taken.Each and every guy in my class was present in the campus doing one work or the other.One guy was down with fever but he came to the college soon unable to resist the Kriya fever.Rajarajan used to check us all.He gave a new work to anyone who was free.We didn’t sleep through out the night.Even if we had taken sleep pills,we would not have slept.Kriya gave dreams which never allowed us to sleep.We went back to hostel at around 5 in the morning and came back at 7:30 AM.

My entire class bunked classes on the Friday of Kriya.Our physics teacher was taking lessons to the walls.(Even the walls would not have listened.Kriya posters were stuck in them.)An angry HOD came to class and shouted at us.He gave an instant punishment cancelling the first Industrial Visit we had planned.We did not even care about it.Renaissance was somewhere nearby.

Renaissance,the inter-college culturals,made us paint an entire ship as a publicity stunt.Myself and Kaushik spent more than 3 hours painting it green.When Kingslee (Final year guy then.I thought him to be a don.Realised later that he was a child) scolded a second year guy "yen da ipdi kevelama paint panringa?first year thambigala paathu kathukonga", myself and Kaushik felt so proud.

The first night of Renaissance,myself and Ajay had to sleep in the college itself as a security measure.I still remember vividly me and Ajay struggling to sleep in the old canteen with a whole army of mosquitoes kissing us.We looked everywhere for a makeshift bedsheet.Fittingly,it was an old Kriya vinyl that served the purpose.That we never slept that night is stating the obvious.That moment when both of us were so happy to brave the mosquitoes and sweat and lose our sleep to talk about how the next day of Renaissance would go about defines my college life.

They gave me a blazer.They carried me around the hostel grounds in their shoulders.They called me "Chairman" every time.They celebrated me every moment.Yet,I felt like a servant.I carried chairs everywhere.I ran around to paste vinyls.I carried large sponsors' boards in my head.I did lots of menial work.Yet,I felt like a king.

Those experiences remind me of those beautiful lines

பூவரச இலையிலே பீப்பீ செஞ்சு ஊதினோம்!

பள்ளிகூட பாடம் மறந்து பட்டாம்பூச்சி தேடினோம்!

தண்ணி பாம்பு வரப்பில் வர தலை தெறிக்க ஓடினோம்!

பனங்காயின் வண்டியில் பசுமாட்டு தொழுவத்தை

சுற்றி வந்து பம்பாய்க்கு போனதாக சொல்லினோம்!

அடடா வசந்தம் ! அதுதான் வசந்தம்!

மீண்டும் அந்த காலம் வந்து மழலையாக மாற்றுமா?!"

and I wish to change the last line alone to

மீண்டும் அந்த காலம் வந்து first year student-ஆக மாற்றுமா?! "

Whatever happens to me from now on,wherever I end up,I will point out to that image of me and Ajay sleeping in the old canteen with Kriya vinyl as bedsheet and say with pride "It all began there".