Into little pieces, with heart broken,
and eyes shedding tears, and red,
I prayed to God for you,
and told him how I bled.
He asked me to make a wish,
and he’d make it come true,
I’m a hopeless fool in love,
and told him I wished for you…
(Image courtesy: Topnews)
Due to some circumstances of a personal nature today, I was just wondering… Which gives more pleasure, the happiness of pursuit or the pursuit of happiness?
If it sounds too cryptic, just think about whether journeys are better and more fun than destinations or not.
(I’ll explain the chain of events leading to this later sometime…)
It has been a raging debate over the years – to rag or not to rag.
The evil of ragging juniors is something that seems to have seeped deep into the Indian educational system. And with each passing year, the levels of sadism exhibited seem to grow worse and worse.
Apparently, engineering colleges and army colleges are the worst of the lot. (I say this, not based on my perceptions, but after speaking to numerous folks out there.)
I guess the biggest question is – what exactly constitutes ragging? Some of the ‘events’ that constitute ragging at some colleges are:
a) Asking people to parade around as ‘Supermen’ – with their innerwear worn over the outerwear.
b) Making people perform obscene dances or gestures.
c) Talk about the anatomies of classmates of the opposite gender.
d) Making people burn themselves with cigarette butts.
I’m yet to understand how one can be sadistic enough to cause physical pain and/or mental anguish to other people for no reason at all. No one acknowledges that ragging happens in some of the best places to study at in India, but we all know that it’s there. Despite Supreme Court orders decreeing the strictest of action against offenders, people are just too scared to come out and speak, for fear of social ostracism and ‘bad consequences’.
Unfortunately, they don’t even tell family or friends and sometimes, suffer in silence till there’s nothing that can be done.
A friend of mine who joined a reputed institute recently narrated some such experiences to me, and I recalled a documentary called ‘Where Boys Do Cry” made by a friend who happens to be an amateur movie maker. At an army institute, a friend of his had killed himself after suffering humiliation through dastardly acts of ragging. I had voiced over for some sections of the documentary, and I was appalled when I read the script.
The sad part is that many of us pretend to be ‘custodians of society’ and wouldn’t rag anyone, but we wouldn’t stop our classmates/batchmates from doing it either. But, turning your face away doesn’t stop such incidents. By cranking up the volume on your iPod, you can’t drown out the pleas for help around you.
Yes, there are forms of ‘harmless’ ragging or ‘just routine fun’ ragging. But, harmless for whom? Fun for whom?
I wonder who makes this distinction, and how…
It’s been less than a week since I moved from the cool climes of Bangalore to hot, sweltering Jamshedpur. Yes, the weather is killing me. And I do miss the lilt in the Hindi accent of the people there, the numerous book shops, the awesome eateries, the brilliantly pleasant weather, and most of all – my erstwhile employers, Microsoft.
However, it has been an exciting time since I returned to campus. There’s a whole new crowd of new juniors, so we guys can enjoy being the ‘exalted’ seniors, who are fountainheads of knowledge. (hee hee)
Many facets on campus have undergone a facelift, and it’s nice to see freshly painted buildings, neatly trimmed lawns, better air-conditioning in classes, and lots of other changes (though the mess food is as bad as ever).
The best part is the junior ‘interaction’. There are 240 of them, and there’s just me with my limited processing power. How in the name of God shall I remember 240 names? And it can be doubly tough when almost all of the others know your name.
Anyhow, this term promises to be a mix of fun and learning, a mix of sweat and tears, and victories won and battles lost. (I’m just hoping that the wins exceed the losses.) Since we get to choose our own subjects this term, I’ve picked up some that I think I am interested in. They promise to be quite a mouthful.
In addition, the personal startup venture is still hanging fire, but hopefully, will take off by the end of the month. Once that happens, life should be suitably busier. Also, there are other responsibilities on campus that one needs to take care of, and they assure me of their time demands as well. :|
Overall, the summer seems to be a super-busy time but I am guessing that it will be satisfying and rewarding too.
Amen!
P.S. Sorry for the drabness of this post. And thanks for reading it. :)
