The potpourri my college is

I can begin by describing the institute I have enrolled in for my Post Graduation, as the old, tile-roofed building in dusty brown, set amidst lush greenery; or by talking about its 31 years of meaningful existence maintaining a low-profile; or by writing an elegy to alumni who have made the institution proud.

But all that is clichéd, time-consuming and most importantly, runs the risk of being boring. So I will describe my college through the people that make it: its teachers and students. Ready?

A look around the college auditorium packed with freshers, buzzing with hi’s, hello’s and what’s-your-name’s, I knew that this batch of students like any other, was an interesting mixed bag. There were pretty gals, cool dudes (sadly very few), clowns, nerds, geeks, flirts, chatterboxes, loners, depressed souls, fed-up-with-life faces, hyperactive specimens…all at one quick glance. A hush fell over the audience as our Professors walked on to the dais to welcome the fresh batch of students. The look on their faces varied from kind to intellectual to grave to jolly to diabetic (read sickly sweet).

In the next few days I learned that my judgment of the Professors’ temperament by the look on their faces was more or less accurate. The Professor with the diabetic face used to be a radio announcer prior to taking up teaching and I assume she still misses her previous job because she delivers her lecture with ample full stops, ellipses, commas and dramatic pauses between EACH WORD! Students are noted to have art-filmish nods, smiles, long gazes into space, and a batting of eyelashes in slow motion, just after they have attended her lecture.

The intellectual looking lady is indeed one, with literary criticism and non-fiction works both in English and Malayalam to her credit. When she politely dismissed the flattery-studded opening speech delivered in her honour with a graceful wave of her aged hand and said ‘take those words with a pinch of salt’ with a wink, everyone knew this was a lady of mettle. And humour.

The jovial Professor who looked no more than sixty turned out to be eighty years old! He confessed that he along with the whole of his college nursed a crush for the intellectual lady mentioned above, who used to be his senior and also the heartthrob at college. His sixty years of teaching experience and sprightly demeanor make him eighty years young.

Then there is the kind looking Professor, whom our seniors described as the man who wouldn’t bite even if you put your finger between his teeth. There is another cheery lecturer who takes your doubts so seriously that he would devote an entire session clearing it, no matter how silly it is! I can’t decide if it’s a blessing or not.

However, the most interesting of the lot is the young grave-looking professor who doesn’t look more than 30. He speaks at a speed that can intimidate the Bhopal Shatabdi Express and takes a pause every 5 mins only to resume at a faster pace. He fills the 30 second pause with a ‘er…’ so loud that it can pass off as a belch. It has become impossible to restrain our laughter in his classes which go ‘aghhsdfjhk hjkhjkfgh kkgjdfhjgf kh skhlkjdfl dfgjgfjk ERRRRRR….. dfdfkgjhdgj lhgfgkljhkl;kb dfgjkghljk; ljfdfgkd gjfjg;jk ERRRRRRR…..’ and so on…

The student lot is colourful too and I must admit my face reading of some characters was wrong. Like for instance the one whom I thought to be a flirt and flirt only, is also a clown, chatterbox, every-boys-hated-brother, most-girls-loved-brother and hating-to-be-brother-and-hoping-to-be-lover kind of guy. He hasn’t had any luck with anyone so far.

So now, you must have an idea of the place I am in and the kind of observation, learning and research prospects it holds. More on students in the next post depending on the kind of twists and turns events take. You see, our teachers keep talking about newsworthiness.