“Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books” these were the famous words of William Wordsworth from his poem “The Tables Turned”, where he urges the reader to learn from the outside world not only from books. Here comes the story of the fun world away from the classroom where there was always a lot to learn.
Apart from studies, We had so much to enjoy in the campus. There were two canteens. We used to call them as “mini canteen” and “Big canteen”. I had this habit of visiting this mini canteen at least two times a week. They used to prepare delicious sweet bun with coconut fillings, veg cutlets, multi-layered puff (the egg puff was extra tasty), coffee, lemon juice, all kinds of chips, last but not least, the cone ice-cream. I was in the morning shift batch. 8 A.M to 1 P.M was the timing. After the first two classes we had an interval. It was a time to rejuvenate, to listen more lectures later. Some will go out and do a little chitchat with the juniors and seniors. Our teachers will be rushing from their classes to the departments with a big smile. The corridors will be full of people, some will be rushing to the department to submit assignments, to ask doubts. Only a very small group of girls will be inside the classroom. And the busiest place at that time inside the college was the college canteen.
THE BEE AND THE DUCK
There was a smart woman in the canteen who worked like a bee. She was very friendly with everyone. Entrepreneurs have a lot to learn from her style of moving with people. The girls lovingly called her “Kala akka”. I had a great friend who often accompanied me to the canteen named Elsie, who is now Dr Elsie, with her hard earned Ph.D. 'Else' is how I call her. I called her so after we learned a story called “The Doll’s House” by Katherine Mansfield. It was a beautiful story where the author highlights a little girl’s character by personalising her as “Our Else”.
Here, our Else often buys snacks for our whole gang of 7 friends. Funniest thing about that mini canteen was the duck gang (I mean real ducks) that wanders around the canteen. They had the guts to chase and scare the girls to steal their snacks. I have watched a girl kicking a duck for chasing her, of which one of my professors showed discontent.
SMILING.. A BIG DEAL?!
We had a beautiful, loving professor called Dr Betty. She had this heartfelt smile and answer for everyone who smiles at her and wishes her. She taught us in our PG classes, she gave our class little projects regarding the college magazine and treated us with vada or Lotte Choco Pie from that mini canteen. When I got choco pie for the first time, I thought it was a crunchy textured biscuit and gave it a bold bite but then got amazed at its very smooth texture for which I became a huge fan.
THE ATM MACHINE?
Another interesting thing about the intervals was visiting the Big canteen.
Most of the time the visit to the big canteen ended as a disastrous trip because it was very far from Newton Block and whenever we visited the canteen out of our love for Badam milkshake, we ended up coming very late to the class. It was so embarrassing to enter the class late and disturb the professor who was taking attendance. Attendance was a great deal in my college. They were very particular about the student’s attendance.
There was some percentage allotted of which you should have secured, even to write the exam. Every good work was carefully rewarded with academic credits by the college. There was a machine which looked very similar to the ATM machines that we see today. It was placed near the principal's office. We were requested to check our attendance there. All one has to do is to type their reg. number in the machine and the percentage of the results will be shown in the screen.
THE VADA INCIDENT
The Big canteen had varieties of food. There was a white board on which they would write the menu with a marker pen. The famous delicacies were 'piece parotta' which has never tasted the same elsewhere, 'chilli parotta', 'masala dosa', very big 'chola poori' with chenna masala, delicious butter chicken. They also had many varieties of flavoured rice like Lemon, Tomato, Curd etc. There was this big T.V which was displaying something all the time. The ground floor had four divisions- the main hall, the teacher’s room, kitchen and then the area to wash hands. It had white tables and green benches. On the next floor there were two rooms where dance practices for various events were practiced and tailoring classes also went on. One day I visited this canteen with my friend named Angella whom I love to call as “Gella”.
Ms. Lilly Ernest came and enquired for vada with the old lady who was working in the food delivery section of the canteen.
She asked in her straight tone
“Do you have medhu vada?”,
the old lady said “There is no medhu vada”.
Again she enquired “Do you have kaara vada?”
and the old lady said, “There is no kaara vada”.
Again she questioned “Do you have keera vada?”
"VADAIYE ILLA" replied the old woman. (meaning there is no vada)
Me and my friend were listening to the conversation and found the old lady’s answer a bit too funny. Ms. Lilly Ernest went on her way nonchalantly.
THE STAR FOOD
My most favourite food to buy from that Big canteen was “Plain biriyani or Empty biriyani”.
I loved to have empty biriyani with crispy potato chips. It was like a comfort food for me. At times, it will take a long time to go back to home again from the Hostel. One program or another would come. The YRC meetings usually will be scheduled on weekends. The projects and thesis writing work had delayed my home visits, or at times days were simply challenging. Then, the comfort food for me was this empty biriyani. One of my witty professors passed this funny remark at both me and my friend Elsie-who used to be very tall,
"Anita is growing wider and Elsie is growing taller." And I knew that the secret was this empty biriyani. I have seen many hostel girls going for outings to try biriyani from outside. But here I was so much attached to the canteen food and never left outside campus to search for one.
FRIEND REMEMBERED
I was friends there in the Big Canteen, with an old gentle man who was in the billing section. Once I left the college after completing my M.Phil, I visited again for the M.Phil graduation ceremony. Then, I paid a visit to the canteen as usual and this very old gentle man greeted me with a wide smile and paid for my food that day. I think, he remembered me because I gave him a parting "Thank You" card when I left the college, for all the kindness he showed towards me whenever I visited the canteen.
He used to engage in little chats with me when I waited patiently to pay the bills, while others hastened him. The billing section was always crowded. He was an English literature student too and used to write an English proverb on the menu board every day in the canteen. This old man’s kindness and his thirst for learning always inspired me.
We used to order cakes for birthday celebration from the big canteen. We used to sit around umbrella table setting outside the canteen to celebrate our birthdays. Lunch pavilion was another favourite place for all to celebrate their birthdays. My friends gave me a beautiful birthday party there once. It was during my M.A days. As Paulo Coelho says “Friendship isn’t a big thing it’s a million little things”. We made million memories together. No matter how far or near, in touch or not the million meaningful memories remains and will never fade.
Enjoying the "Lady From Doak" series. Do subscribe for more. May this month be a start of something new in our lives, today being the first of July, 2021. A brand new month.
Date: 1 July 2021
Place: Karunya Nagar, Coimbatore.
Previous Blog:
Thank you all for every thought shared about the above blog.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Comments