The cracker which went offffff..! Nammooru…mysooru - 6

I guess it was couple of days after deepavali in 1995. We were in first semester… it was a quite morning as usual. We just had finished our morning break & were back in bench section (In first semester - bench section, we learn some basic skills like filing & learn to use some basic tools). Suddenly…DAAAM… there was an explosion..!! We knew it was inside the building but nothing seems to be happening…except for a thin smoke from one corner. Soon we realized that it’s a cracker which went off in one corner of bench section..! The fun has begun…!! Our GM Mr. Yeshwanth Rao was in 'blast area' within minutes & he summoned 1st & 2nd sem guys outside. His condition was till the 'culprits' were found we will not be let in. Well… we didn’t had any problem with that..! We were having fun… also we really didn’t had any clue of who might have done it.
Few of our seniors (2nd sem, 4th batch) were very sure that it was a work of someone from their batch, as only they had 'courage' to do these kind of stuff. But funniest of all was this… our senior Mr. Avinash, was appointed as DETECTIVE, by one of the instructor Mr. Nagendra..!! He used to come to us & act like Sherlock Holmes or Agatha..! Even he was sure that only 4th batch can dare to do something like this.
It went on till noon when we heard that the 'bombers' were caught. It was none other than our buddies Sunil & Arun..! I am sure few of our seniors, who were 'proudly' thinking it was their batch achievement, were shattered when they heard that the 'pride' went to their juniors, who had just entered arena..!! :)
I guess Sunil & Arun were still fresh of their deepavaLi, mood & wanted to have some fun @ collage too. So, they prepared a 'time bomb' with a "Agarbatti" & an "atom bomb" tied @ its end. They placed it under bench & were waiting for it to go off. Amrut Joshi wanted some "rest" from long standing @ bench & went to the same desk where the cracker was placed. So, he too got hint of what's going on.
The cracker went of as expected & it marked Vth batch's presence in Tool room… & also it inaugurate all the mischievous fun we had for 4+ years..!

Nammuru…mysooru - 5

ಎತ್ತಿಲ್ಲದ್ ಬಂಡಿಗಳೂವಿ, ಎಣ್ಣಿಲ್ಲಧ ದೀಪಗಳೂವಿ ತುಂಬಿದ್ ಮೈಸೂರಿಗ್ ಬಂದೆ
ದೊಡ್ಡ್ ಚೌಕಾದ್ ಮುಂದೆ ದೊಡ್ಡ್ ಗಡಿಯಾರದ್ ಹಿಂದೆ 'ಫಟ್' ಅಂದಿದ್ ಬುತ್ತಿನ್ ತಿಂತಿದ್ದೆ...
-- ಕೋಳಿಕೆ ರಂಗ, ಟಿ. ಪಿ. ಕೈಲಾಸಂ
May 03 2005…..I packed my bags & landed in mysore. I guess till then I had not realized what is home sickness. I don’t remember being emotional when I left shimoga… But I guess I was when my dad left a day after. May 05 2008 was my first day @ GTTC. New faces to meet, new friends to make & new place to adjust. Within a week I knew how much I am missing my home, my parents, my sisters & brother… & my friends. I started realizing that this "away from home" saga is not going to be short. I guess I went really quite for sometime, which was unusual for my uncles & auties. But they knew what I was going thru.
Collage was fine… but evenings were getting miserable. Had no friends near home & spending time in evenings was really hard. All my cousins were just kids & they were no match for me..! I always used to remember Manu, Guru, Ramu, Suma, Venu… & others. For the first time in years, I started writing letters..!! Started visiting libraries in weekends & developed this reading habbit. Sunday morning got reserved for chamundi hills walk…(which I am missing now..!) By staying away from home, of course I missed my home, but I learnt lot of lessons..! As Calvin's dad says (in Calvin & Hobbs comics) "it builds character"..! I cannot deny that.
Collage was different story altogether. Strict timings & that too in shifts, more shop work than theory, no canteen breaks when we want, no bunking classes etc. But I cannot complain about this. I knew all about this before joining & I would say I was kind of enjoying it…! Arun, Gowda, Sunil, Mohanbabu, Joshi, Prasad, Saju & many more were 'added' friends now. And of course, Suma was in mysore for her postal training. We used to meet weekly once atleast.
It took 2 months for me to get a vacation & go back to shimoga. I went to visit friends @ Sahyadri collage, had kashaya & vada @ collage canteen & also attended nataraj's sir's physics class with Manu & Guru…! :) It was easy to catch all friends @ collage itself. So whenever I used to visit shimoga, I used to go to Sahyadri… to have fun..!

Give it to Wife..!!

Really Funny..!

SLAPPED..! Sahyadri Collage - 4

For collage "talents day" we decided to play a drama. Me & Manu played a 'almost' beggars role in this…… & this became an instant hit in collage. Me & Manu got 'kind of' identity in campus… not because of our acting, but for the fact that though we played beggar role, we could not convince anyone that we were hungry beggars 'coz of our sizes..!! We both looked well fed. So… what was supposed to be a 'drama' turned out to be a "comedy drama" & everyone thought we did this purposely..! I guess our skit steal the show for another reason. Our classmate Suma who was playing my wives role in this was supposed to slap me in this skit. She was a real talented actress. During rehearsals this slap scene will go without a slap & we had convinced her that atleast on stage she has to slap me…slowly. But on the D-day I really got a SLAP..!! Suma really didn’t mean it, but her finger marks were clearly visible on my cheek..! I clearly remember that moment, the whole audience going silent for a moment, then clapping hysterically for the natural acting (or may be seeing I get slapped) & I, feeling dizzy that moment.
When we went side screens after finishing, poor girl came to my crying & telling me she was sorry. But me & Manu knew how popular that slap going to be…. & it was.
It was a coincidence that me & Suma both dropped out of BSc approximately a month after our talent..! She went to join postal service & I joined GTTC, Mysore. In a way I was happy 'coz I was going to study what I was willing to, but it was really difficult to depart from close friends. One year @ Sahyadri collage is what I remember as my collage days…this one year @ sahyadri collage is what I remember as the place where I made close friends… this one year @ sahyadri collage is what I remember as the place where I made friends for life…

Whats in the name...Sahyadri Collage - 3

Once I recovered from my injury I decided that I will no more play football. So from that day I too got into cricket. I used to play cricket occasionally, but was more into football. Manu was good in cricket & was a good bowler too. I guess he used to play in collage team. I started going to Manu's house in evenings & bunch of guys would play "road side" cricket there. Even in collage if some lecturer doesn’t turn up, we used to end up playing "pitch catch" cricket in "basket ball court"..!!
Though I was known as Ravi to everyone in collage, in my home I was "kiran". One day I asked Manu to come to my home & gave him the address. But he didn’t turn up. Next day when I met him in collage, he started blaming me for giving wrong address. Actually what has happened is he promptly came to my home, knocked the door & my sister answered him. He has asked for Ravi & my sister totally forgot my full name & has told Manu that no one by that name lives there. I was so much "kiran" than "ravi". Afterwards whenever he came home, he used to make it a point to loudly call me "RAVI" & say "everyone in your home need to remember that you are RAVIKIRAN…not just KIRAN".

Walk to remember - Sahyadri Collge - 2

Sometimes we used to end up spending the 'bus ticket' money over 'kashaya' & 'vada' in canteen. With no money left for bus, we used to take "Nataraja service"..!! Well… in simple words its called 'walking'. Don’t know how this nataraja service relats with walking, but I have seen many using it. Manu is the guy who introduced me to this word..! Initially it felt really difficult to walk 4 kms at a strech, but with 4-5 guys around & talking all nonsense, it was a "walk to remember". I guess this is where we got into this habbit of walking long distance, which continued in bangalore too… Another highlight of going back home from collage was the cycle ride of Guru & Ramu..! There were really made for each other..!! Guru is about 6'+ & Ramu is much shorter.. :) They will come "doubles" on a cycle. I wonder how many teens will go to collage on bicycle now..?! Remember… I am talking about Degree collage here.
In the evenings I used to get along with my PU classmates & play football in nehru stadium. One day evening I injured myself & next morning I had this big white plaster on my left arm…with a sling. As I didn’t wanted to miss the chemistry lab, I went to collage in afternoon. Well… there were few usual questions about how? When? Where?....Once I came out the lab, I saw Manu & Guru approching me. I still remember Manu's response once he saw my plaster. He came to me with a big smile, said 'WOW"… then promtly took a pen & wrote "Get well Soon" on the plaster. He also took my sling & put it around his neck, put his hands into it as his hand is fractured & with a big grin he said "Lets go to Canteen"…!! No how…why…where…when…! He knew I play football & exactly knew what might have happened. Or might have heard from someone. But we became famous… for he using the sling & me having the plaster..!!

Into the collage... & canteen... Sahyadri Collage - 1

Last week I had to travel to Jalahalli for a family function & I had to pass thru Majestic & IISc. Though I keep remembering Manu regularly, seeing IISc, Agarwal Bhavn & Rajastani Roti Ghar in Mattikere, strongly bought back the memories days 'we' (Me, Guru & Manu) spent together.
Remembering a dead friend is always difficult. When me & Guru meet up & talk, I guess we avoid talking about Manu for the fact that we cannot digest that he has been dead for 3 years now. Also we try to avoid being in Majestic & passing thru "PLATFORM NO.13", which used to be our meeting place in bangalore.
Somehow, last weeks look @ IISc put me in thought of penning down as much as I remember from the day I met Manu & Guru. So…here it is….
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Sahyadri Collage - 1
Though I did my professinal stidies @ Mysore, after my PU, I enrolled in Sahyadri collage for BSc..! It was 2004 June batch & this is where we met. I still remember the first day @ collage, when manu came to me asked "You studied in National School… right?". I said "Yes" & he was gone..! (He was my senior in my high school & I knew him by face). During lunch hour he came to me & we talked about our school. That’s it…he was my new buddy. I guess Guru was a week late into the class & I don’t remember how he got into our group. Within few days myself, Manu, Guru, Ramu (my PU classmate) & Venu became good friends. I still remember we all sitting in "Bhatru Canteen" munching "Masala Vada's" & sipping hot "Kashaya"..! We hardly used to have money except the change we used to get for the city bus. We used to manage the "canteen parties" with these funds itself.
Guru had opted for electronics & Manu for Geology. I was in Chemistry. We had nothing in common…. Except me & Manu were FAT & had good appetite..!