Kalra Shukla Ki Jai Ho!
Kalra Shukla Classes. That's where I got my beauty sleep while I was in my 12th standard. Oh, what joy t'was indeed to get up at five thirty in the morning and bathe. With water. And soap, if I hadn't wasted time rolling in bed after the alarm went off. I'm talking of the months January-February. They get the coldest months to keep classes at 7 in the morning. To be honest K.S didn't give me much of education. But it did give me some exercise, a good friend and some first class memories.
My batch was different during vacations. I had my college friends in my class. But once college started, I had opted for the morning batch. Batch V1. Unforgettable moments, jokes, madness and a few precious friends. This is where I met Rashmi, the reason for all the laughs and entertainment I've had in those boring lectures.
Nothing brought people close to each other like K.S classes.
Seven people have to be seated on one bench. It definitely was a tight squeeze. It takes time to adjust in less space. Well, we had no space to speak of. Whenever we'd have to draw a diagram with our compass, I don't know how others managed, but on our bench alternately seated girls would draw while others waited their turn till they completed. If one would have a violent sneeze, the tremors and quivers were experienced by all on that bench. And in extreme cases, even by those who sat ahead and behind. That's why when anyone would sneeze, we'd say "bless us all". Not a single girl would cross her leg, because she knew there would be no room left to uncross them later. We'd all carry extra pens, because if a pen did fall down there was no hope of retrieving it during class. Not without bumping off the girl seated at the edge of the bench. Once, some insect bit me on my leg and I managed to reach it and began scratching vigorously. The lack of much awaited and expected relief was explained immediately by Rashmi who cooly informed me, "Shini... tu mera pair khuja rahi hai" We were like a close-knit family. Literally.
One reason our classes had become famous were for it's spying cameras. Every classroom had one. I think even the boys washroom wasn't spared. If I recall correctly, one boy was punished because he played "holi" on the walls or something. I'm sure you got it, 'coz if you didn't then I ain't explain' nothin'.
We really didn't know if we were watched or not, but that didn't hamper the spirit of the mischievious boys in our class. We had a lecture on the human skeletal structure. A bag of bones was placed on Girish's bench. As the professor disappeared to fetch the attendence sheet, Girish picked up the first bone he could find ( it was the thigh bone Femur), looking at the camera, waving the bone and his head up and down shouted " Hooga Pooga! Hooga Pooga!". The class exploded into uncontrollable laughter that ceased only after the professor appeared in class. That day all had an eye on the door, expecting it to open anytime and Mr. Dinesh Shukla ( our strict manager whose mind didn't have the space for an ant to crawl through ) to walk in and drag the offender out of the class. Luckily for him, nothing of the sort happened.
There were six AC's in our class. Nice. Except for the times when a professor would extend his/ her class and we wouldn't get a loo break. Mom would give me watermelon juice in the mornings before I left for class.The agony is still fresh in my mind. Physics class. Mr. C.D Mehta was going on and on about rephlaxon and rephracxon. And I was sitting, bladder bursting, cross-legged, swaying to and fro, my eyes checking my wrist watch aleast 10 times per second. What would I do if I lost control, which I was quite sure I would. It wasn't even the monsoon season. All that came to my mind was the fevicol ad, and I said to myself " Pakde rehnaaa.....Chodna nahiiii......". After that day juice was banned from my diet.
Even if you do get the opportunity to visit the washroom, you'd have to swim through a sea of girls. Really loud girls. I'm yet to comprehend why girls in the loo spoke to each other in volumes sufficient to reach a person in China. Or is it that volume accentuates expressions. Or maybe pressure on the bladder has a direct effect on their pitch. Once you're in the loo, you just have time to lock the door, breathe and there's some girl knocking on it already. But what takes the cake was the day Rashmi was waiting quietly outside a door till she grew impatient, gestured towards me that how long this girl was in there and finally knocked on the door. And the door swung open slowly and she realised she'd been waiting outside an empty loo.
I did not get too much education from this place, but I did learn a couple of things like bladder control, how to fall asleep with eyes open, how to supress/hide a yawn, restricted space survival and swallowing hot coffee ( we'd get the coffee seconds before our break ended ). I was so accustomed to sitting on those wooden, hard benches, in full blast of the A.C's, joking with friends, surviving professor's accents, imitating Dinesh Shukla and doing everything but study.
And I got an amazing friend who I've stayed in touch with even after classes ended. When we meet up occasionally we always remnicise about the jokers and weirdos in our class (trust me, there were lots), the nick names we had given them, the professors, Mr. Dinesh Manager Shukla, the undone home work and the over done excuses.
Rashmi Ghonge.
Cute, funny, innocent, kiddish, vulnerable, loyal, sincere and absolutely fun to be with.
She'd usually be lolling with sleep and when I'd nudge her, she'd get up with a jolt and start writing immediately. Once, out of curiosity as to how does she manage to jot down notes immediately after waking up, I peered into her book. There I read, scribbled in illegible writing, My name is Rashmi, I am feeling sleepy, I want to go home.....
She was a riot.
If it weren't for her, my life in K.S would have been such a drab.
Luvya Rashmi!
My batch was different during vacations. I had my college friends in my class. But once college started, I had opted for the morning batch. Batch V1. Unforgettable moments, jokes, madness and a few precious friends. This is where I met Rashmi, the reason for all the laughs and entertainment I've had in those boring lectures.
Nothing brought people close to each other like K.S classes.
Seven people have to be seated on one bench. It definitely was a tight squeeze. It takes time to adjust in less space. Well, we had no space to speak of. Whenever we'd have to draw a diagram with our compass, I don't know how others managed, but on our bench alternately seated girls would draw while others waited their turn till they completed. If one would have a violent sneeze, the tremors and quivers were experienced by all on that bench. And in extreme cases, even by those who sat ahead and behind. That's why when anyone would sneeze, we'd say "bless us all". Not a single girl would cross her leg, because she knew there would be no room left to uncross them later. We'd all carry extra pens, because if a pen did fall down there was no hope of retrieving it during class. Not without bumping off the girl seated at the edge of the bench. Once, some insect bit me on my leg and I managed to reach it and began scratching vigorously. The lack of much awaited and expected relief was explained immediately by Rashmi who cooly informed me, "Shini... tu mera pair khuja rahi hai" We were like a close-knit family. Literally.
One reason our classes had become famous were for it's spying cameras. Every classroom had one. I think even the boys washroom wasn't spared. If I recall correctly, one boy was punished because he played "holi" on the walls or something. I'm sure you got it, 'coz if you didn't then I ain't explain' nothin'.
We really didn't know if we were watched or not, but that didn't hamper the spirit of the mischievious boys in our class. We had a lecture on the human skeletal structure. A bag of bones was placed on Girish's bench. As the professor disappeared to fetch the attendence sheet, Girish picked up the first bone he could find ( it was the thigh bone Femur), looking at the camera, waving the bone and his head up and down shouted " Hooga Pooga! Hooga Pooga!". The class exploded into uncontrollable laughter that ceased only after the professor appeared in class. That day all had an eye on the door, expecting it to open anytime and Mr. Dinesh Shukla ( our strict manager whose mind didn't have the space for an ant to crawl through ) to walk in and drag the offender out of the class. Luckily for him, nothing of the sort happened.
There were six AC's in our class. Nice. Except for the times when a professor would extend his/ her class and we wouldn't get a loo break. Mom would give me watermelon juice in the mornings before I left for class.The agony is still fresh in my mind. Physics class. Mr. C.D Mehta was going on and on about rephlaxon and rephracxon. And I was sitting, bladder bursting, cross-legged, swaying to and fro, my eyes checking my wrist watch aleast 10 times per second. What would I do if I lost control, which I was quite sure I would. It wasn't even the monsoon season. All that came to my mind was the fevicol ad, and I said to myself " Pakde rehnaaa.....Chodna nahiiii......". After that day juice was banned from my diet.
Even if you do get the opportunity to visit the washroom, you'd have to swim through a sea of girls. Really loud girls. I'm yet to comprehend why girls in the loo spoke to each other in volumes sufficient to reach a person in China. Or is it that volume accentuates expressions. Or maybe pressure on the bladder has a direct effect on their pitch. Once you're in the loo, you just have time to lock the door, breathe and there's some girl knocking on it already. But what takes the cake was the day Rashmi was waiting quietly outside a door till she grew impatient, gestured towards me that how long this girl was in there and finally knocked on the door. And the door swung open slowly and she realised she'd been waiting outside an empty loo.
I did not get too much education from this place, but I did learn a couple of things like bladder control, how to fall asleep with eyes open, how to supress/hide a yawn, restricted space survival and swallowing hot coffee ( we'd get the coffee seconds before our break ended ). I was so accustomed to sitting on those wooden, hard benches, in full blast of the A.C's, joking with friends, surviving professor's accents, imitating Dinesh Shukla and doing everything but study.
And I got an amazing friend who I've stayed in touch with even after classes ended. When we meet up occasionally we always remnicise about the jokers and weirdos in our class (trust me, there were lots), the nick names we had given them, the professors, Mr. Dinesh Manager Shukla, the undone home work and the over done excuses.
Rashmi Ghonge.
Cute, funny, innocent, kiddish, vulnerable, loyal, sincere and absolutely fun to be with.
She'd usually be lolling with sleep and when I'd nudge her, she'd get up with a jolt and start writing immediately. Once, out of curiosity as to how does she manage to jot down notes immediately after waking up, I peered into her book. There I read, scribbled in illegible writing, My name is Rashmi, I am feeling sleepy, I want to go home.....
She was a riot.
If it weren't for her, my life in K.S would have been such a drab.
Luvya Rashmi!
posted by eh, what's up doc? at 9:00 PM
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