BE---2nd Year ( 1967-1968)

Before I start the blog, let me test my memory and write down the names of my 1st year classmates:-

M.A.Ravindra, K B Ravi ( this is how he was known in KGF School but he later changed this to K.Ravindranath), H.R.Sripada Sastry, H.R.Sethuram,M.G.Nagaraja Setty,B.Vishakantiah,M.G.Srinivasa Murthy, Sajeer Ahmed,A.R.Manjunath, A.Kulaiswamy,N.A.Ravindranath,Narayana Shanbogue,Ganapathy Bhat,Bhaskar Bhat,Madhukar Kamath,Sudhir,B.K.Murali,C.R.Bhashyam,A.R.Hari Prasad, Chandan Dutta,B.N.Madhusudhana Rao, C.R.Nagaraj,M.S.Krishnan, Joseph Almeida,Hemkumar, M.C.Karumbiah,A.R.Krishna Prasad.I'll probably add to this as and when I remember or when my friends tell me names to be added.

Right, here we go with the 2nd year.The results came in May 1967 and I duly got a 1st Class.

After a holiday well spent, it was time to pack the bags and head back to Hassan.Because we were perenially short of money in the hostel, I would try to pack as many items as possible from KGF so that I didn't have to spend on them at Hassan.I would prepare the list starting from my head down to my toe:-
Hair Oil, Comb,Shampoo,Afghan Snow ( later switched to Pond's Vanishing Cream), talcum powder,razor,Godrej Shaving Round, Shaving Brush, tooth brush, tooth paste, shirts, banians,trousers,underwear,belt,socks,shoes,sports shoes,hawai slippers.
Then the general stuff:- Bedsheets, pillow covers, bedspread,mosquito net,Agarbathi, god photo, foodstuff ( lots of it).
Foodstuff usually consisted of crunchy stuff like Chakli,kodbale,thengolu, ompudi and sweets like kobri mithai etc.Whenever anyone came to the hostel from his hometown, everyone would raid his room and generally finish the stuff right then.To take care of this, I would pack two packets.The one to be raided and finished up was always on top and easily visible and the one I wanted for myself was usually hidden between layers of clothing.

The most challenging task was to smuggle the stuff to my bed after lights out, pull the covers over my head and try to eat the crunchy chakli and kodbale without making a noise and waking up my roommates.

A funny incident happened once regarding food.I was coming to Hassan from KGF and Priyan's mom had given me a packet to be given to him.As soon as I arrived in the room, Priyan and his gang came over and without as much as a by-your-leave, proceeded to ransack my suitcase.After they had finished gobbling up everything, I told Priyan that one of the packages that was demolished was meant for him.

In the second year, I was selected for trials to select the team for Sahyadri Zone for the Prof.M.G.Srinivasamurthy Inter-Collegiate Tournaments that was to be held in Mysore in Oct 1968.

I got through in Tennis along with Priyan and we travelled with the rest of the team to Mysore.The other teams were Karavali Zone,Chamundi Zone and one more zone representing Tumkur ( I forget the name).The matches were held in Maharani's College and there was a bunch of admiring college girls watching our matches.

There were two movie theatres in Hassan, New Imperial and Picture Palace.New Imperial was a little more sophisticated than Picture Palace. I had promised my parents that I would see only one movie per month but found it very difficult to keep this promise.You tell me how I could limit myself just to one movie a month with films like "Teesri Manzil", "Guide","Phool aur Patthar", "Kashmir ki Kali", "Brahmachari", "Mere Humdum Mere Dost". "Neela Akash"."Upkar" etc and heartthrobs like Waheeda Rehman, Nanda, Vyjayantimala,Mala Sinha, Asha Parekh,Meena Kumari,Mumtaz,Sadhana,Saira Banu. Hema Malini's "Dreamgirl" had released when she was just 16 years old and was already making waves.Even Rekha, a buxom 16 year old, made her debut as Bhanurekha in the Kannada Film "Jedara Bale".

The swashbuckling heroes of the time were Sunil Dutt, Raaj Kumar ,Dev Anand,Rajendra Kumar, Dilip Kumar,Jeetendra, Dharmendra,Shammi Kapoor,Shashi Kapoor,Raj Kapoor,Manoj Kumar,Sanjay,Feroz Khan etc etc.

Added to this was the pressure to see Kannada films--- mainly Rajkumar movies such as "Bangalore Mail","Jedara Bale","Gandondu Hennaru" etc.Many were the times when I had to see a Kannada film for the second time with my family in Bangalore because I didn't have the courage to say that I had already seen it in Hassan.

And then there were the morning shows on Sundays at half rate where we could see English movies and old Hindi or Kannada movies.

One other event that took place in 1967 was Sathya Uncle's grihapravesha in Bangalore.There was a Duleep trophy match going on at the same time in Central College Ground and my cousins Omprakash,Suresh,Badri and a couple of others totalling 8 people decided to go and watch the match.The caterer had made Poori saagu and Sathya Chikkappa instructed him to pack 8 pooris for each of us with enough saagu.We carried the food packets along and went by bus to central College.At lunch we opened the packet and found, to our horror, that the cook had packed only 8 pooris, not 8 pooris for each person.We didn't have enough money to buy lunch and were wondering how we would manage.Fortunately, we spied T.B.Venkatesh and a few others who had also come to watch the match.They shared their lunch with us----- thank you Venkatesh Chikkappa, after 43 years.

December was the time for soppina kadlekai and the annual exhibition.The exhibition was a great hit because there was a program with tickets called "Bombay Dance" where girls in skimpy costumes would dance and sway to Hindi cabaret numbers. Cheap thrills but that was our only source of entertainment those days.

The next important event that took place in early 1968 was the Grihapravesha of our house "Kesari Krupa" in Jayanagar Extension, Mysore.Dad had applied to the Housing Board and had been allotted a house.The cost was Rs.24000 with Rs.6000 as down payment and the rest to be paid in instalments.I remember that dad had borrowed the Rs.6000 from his colleague Mr.M.C.Ramaswamy for the down payment.I went to Mysore straight from Hassan and returned after the ceremony.

The rest of the year passed off uneventfully and then it was time for our exams.We had a subject called "Workshop Practice" and I probably created a record by being the only student to fail that exam.Here's how it happened.

In "Workshop Practice", we had either smithy or foundry and I drew foundry as my subject for the exam.We were required to make a sand mould inside a wooden pattern according to the drawing given to us.

I finished the mould in the allotted 2 hours and just as I got up, my foot accidentally kicked the mould and it broke into pieces.There wasn't much I could do except hope that the examiner would have sympathy on me.

When the results came, I had passed with a single ordinance meaning I had failed in one subject and that subject was "Workshop Practice".

Another easy subject was "Survey Practice" and one of my classmates failed in that subject.I think he also created a record and here's how it happened.

Survey practice usually had external examiners and one of the examiners was a friend of one of the seniors in the college.This student went to the senior and told him that he had "Survey practice" the next day and asked the senior to speak to his friend.The senior duly spoke to his friend and asked him to "take care" of X, the student, during the exam.He meant it in a good way but the external examiner thought that the senior wanted the senior to be failed and duly obliged him!!! After the results came , X was furious and asked the senior to check why his friend had failed him.The friend said " You asked me to "take care" and I "took care", so what's the problem?" A perfect example of communication gone awry.

Anyway, after the exams I went straight to Bhadravathi to attend Chikka Papacchi's wedding on 8th May 1968.From there,Mom,Rummy,Sandhya and I went to Chitradurga and then I went back to Hassan to collect my luggage and head back to KGF to spend the rest of the holidays.

That's it for now.My next blog will be on the 3rd year( 1968-1969).