Hostel Life

I had promised to write a bit about hostel life, so here goes.

You must remember that I was just 15 years old when I left the comforts of home to stay in a hostel.This is a very vulnerable age.On the one hand, there is a heady sense of freedom and a feeling that one can do what one likes without anyone looking over your shoulder.On the other hand, there is an incredible feeling of loneliness because of a new place, new friends and the loss of home comforts that one had so far taken for granted.

A lot depends on the kind of friends that one makes.Fortunately for me, Priyan was already there and therefore it did not take me too long to settle in.

The food and climate are two major factors that one needs to get adjusted to very quickly.Hassan was not unlike KGF watherwise and the food was also OK.The servers were Ramanna, Shamanna and Damodaran Nair.

We had a feast on one Sunday in a month when Biriyani would be served and there would be either a sweet or Payasa.We also had Masala Dosas every Sunday and this is where I must have picked up my love for Masala Dosas.

Hostel life also teaches you thrift.The mess bill would be calculated on a per day basis and the average used to come to around Rs.2.30 per day.For a month this would amount to Rs.70.I would immediately send a postcard to dad and ask him to send Rs.100 by return post.Gafoorsab was the postman who would deliver the Money Order and I would tip him Re.1.

After paying off the mess bill, I would have to manage with Rs.30 for the rest of the month i.e Re 1 per day.This included movie tickets (Rs.2.50), the occasional Filmfare or Star & Style, laundry and the occasional haircut.If we fell short of cash, it was common to borrow Rs.10 from our friends to tide over till the next MO arrived.Thriftiness was a habit we soon got used to.

Laundry was a major issue.It was common to have one set of underwear for Sunday,Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and and another set for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The "cleaner" boys used to have 3 sets of underwear in a week. Daily change was an unheard of luxury.Bedsheets and pillowcovers were changed once a month.There were some who didn't change their bedsheets at all and the smell would hit you as soon as you entered their room.

Lungis were the standard loungewear then and the boys would sport the most colourful lungis.In fact , some of them could be easily recognised from a distance just by their lungis since this , like the bedsheets, would be changed once a year.

Saturdays and Sundays were meant for going to "town" in the evenings.The boys would line up in the bathrooms for their weekly shave, put on their smartest clothes and walk to town in batches of four or five depending on their friends circle.

If there was no picture to go to, the boys would head to one of the restaurants, order a masala dosa, sada dosa or benne kali dosa and finish it off with a coffee.Boys would either pay individually or there would be a "draw system". Let's say the bill came to Rs.10 and there were 5 boys.Someone would write down amounts of Rs.3, 2.50,2,1.50 and 1 on 5 sheets of paper and there would be a draw and each would pay according to the chit he drew.

We would do "batting", check out the girls and then head back to the hostel around 8 PM, finish our dinner and get back to our rooms.We had to pass through some woods before we got to the main road and so we used to carry a torch to watch out for creepy crawlies.On a couple of occasions, we saw a snake slithering away when the torchlight fell on it.

The more intrepid boys would go for the night show or stay on in town after dinner, watch the night show and then come back.There were no restrictions and boys could come and go as they pleased.

Very deep friendships were formed and you could count on your friends for anything.During my final year exams, I came down with a high fever. As I lay shivering in my bed, my friend N.A.Ravindranath peeped in.I was staying in a single room at that time so no one knew that I had fever.He put one hand on my forehead and immediately ordered me to get dressed and took me doubles on his bicycle to town to a doctor.I got an injection and the temperature came down by next day morning.
That is an example of friendship.

Girls, films, sex,sports and politics ( in that order) were the most discussed subjects in the hostel rooms.Please don't think I'm trying to titillate. I'm just giving readers a glimpse of what goes on in the minds of impressionable boys of that age.

We also got used to travelling on our own,managing without reservations.

Overall, I would say that hostel life or a stay away from home is good as long as one has the right friends

That's it for now.I'll continue with my blog on my 3rd Year BE next.