The College that was School!

It was like 9th cloud when i had scored rank 1603 in my CBSE-AIPMT(year 2004).I was the kedgiest person on earth i guess.But then,suddenly,i was like skidding hard on burnt road & biting dust.Actually it happened so as I had picked my final med school down south(boy those counseling days were awesome,we were like stars in sky millions of people gazing at us!),which happned to be in Chennai & was known as Kilpauk Medical College(famous for its surgical oncology and discovery of leishmania donovani).First thing which I wanted to make sure after landing at my campus was whether I was still at school or in college.Probably I was at Kilpauk Medical School(donot take ‘school’ as in Harvard medical school,rather as in xyz primary school).Actually the shock,said so,was with respect to the buildings,the lecture halls,the hostel rooms(yes they were quit old) & boy,the class composition had overwhelmed me(I mean I was supposed to be with this group of 100 for 5 & ½ long years).I could see my hard-toiled efforts of past 2 years flying high with respect to my education(read MBBS seat) but giving me a thud flat blow with respect to campus life I had dreamt of.Coming to class composition,there were two subsets of people — my fellow mates from CBSE-AIPMT & the local-state-PMT guys.Finding resonance amongst former was relatively easier(read 'relatively' with stress) but the latter took time.About the second mentioned,essentially all were like school studs(we were too,but to a lesser extent I suppose),who never used to slip into jeans & stuff,girls in those loose fits,none of them even close to what I had thoughtoff or dreamt about(so making girlfriends was out of question),many used to carry those heavy bags & separate baskets for steel lunch boxes and water bottles(I never did so even in my school),smartness was way-way out,English was in limited circulation,forget hindi(such short was its supply that it used to force me to think whether I was still in India or not),obviously the local lingo ruled.So,basically,there was no college attitude and stuff.I was stranded in no word’s land.It was sweet south music blowing past my chin(I was regretting why didn’t I go for Calcutta or Bombay med colleges which were also available to me).Study pattern & classes were schoolish(the use of color pens for diagrams,homeworks,girls & boys sitting separately,cram & vomit culture,etc,etc).Faculties don't need a mention(except a few).Hostel days starting the days with idlis(read rubber) & nights ending with hopeless seniors’ rags and riches were add ons.All in one,it could not have got better to start your college life with.
But as time went past,as today became yesterday,the duds,duxes & damsels of class emerged.People too developed attitude and became collegecious.I had picked few words out of the local lingo as well(da & machi was everywhere,although I knew I was using them jus to do some locale-butter-fly as I would have never used them out of my own interest).Years went past,faculties & departments changed.I too had a fair bit of experiences — from campus floods to awesome fests,from quota wars to extension strikes,from fashion geeks(so said) to literary leeches,from multiple love triangles to splitsvilla-s(I too had my share:)),from cramming parrots to accented aunties of class,it was all in one-5 star-solid star-the only campus circle kind of its type on earth.
But with so long atime,I made few great friends as well.Can’t say they are the best but definitely good atleast to say.I suppose this is how things are down south,with loads of good & obviously some bad as well.Whether a college is School or not,how does it matter,as far as it imparts reasonably good & quality education which prepares you to compete even with the best in the world,which I would say my college ultimately did.So,I suppose,its sweet home Alabama,na,rock hot KMC!