Chemistry of MBA Campus life (or that matter of any other professional degree) is always incomplete without its hostel life. Hostel life is a beautiful compound made up of numerous elements named Fun, Frustrations, Pain and Pleasures. For detailed research on this Compound let my mind take you back on a ride to University Hostels at HSV.
It was the first week of August; the day seemed beautiful, little cold and foggy like a typical day during monsoons in Shimla, but thank God it was not raining. I was visiting this place for the very first time with plenty of imaginations in my mind. Didn’t knew exactly how the place is going to be, but as per university Prospectus and my imagination it couldn’t have been less than a paradise.
HSV Campus had 7 boys’ hostels and 6 girl’s hostels with an intake capacity of 1500+ students (not including illegal residents). Although the hostels are located on beautiful hills with green dense forests all around but the sad part was that boys and girls hostels were situated far apart from each other on different sides of hills. Due to this there wasn’t any possible chance of bird watching. It gave me a feeling of living in “Purush Aashram” on leeward side with “Mahila Aashram” on the windward side. Additionally, Boys were not allowed inside girls' hostel and mess and vice versa.
Just in case you are interested in knowing names of our hostels, they are called as such - Shri Ram Hostel, Buddha House, Mahatma Gandhi Hostel, so on and so forth. There are generally two types of rooms that are allocated to MBA’s – triple sharing in first year and single occupancy in second year. Before I invite you to my room and introduce you to my 2 room-mates and the other neighbors, let me introduce you to life at university hostels through this dialogue between University Prospectus and Reality.
University Prospectus- : A hostel is a home away from home. Aware of the special needs and requirements of students, who come from far-flung places to this great centre of learning, the University tries to provide them a safe, secure and affordable accommodation.
Reality -: Indeed it is a home away from home and the university is aware of the special needs of students. When it comes to safety and security the Hostel Campus is really very safe and secure. It can be considered as the hub of various political parties present in the campus who share a relation nothing less than what cats and dogs do. The place is as volatile as the India –Pakistan border and has had a history of bloodletting fights. When it comes to affordability the place is far more than value for money, affordable for all.
University Hostel - The University Hostels provide its students with a neat and clean environment and a comfortable place to live in.
Reality – The exact words that describes neat and clean environment here would be filthy, dusty, messy, scrappy and all other synonyms that you can think of. From the first look it looks like a smelly government hospital that you would only like to visit in case of grave emergency.
Fresh smell of dirty toilets will wake you up from the dreamland. No matter how many notices were put for toilet etiquette, there are always people who act like prisoners of mental asylum. Poor guys who are addicted to cleanliness usually collapse into misery whenever they see corridors packed with litter - alcohol bottles, broken cigarettes and food left over’s.
University Prospectus - For your assistance there are Wardens and attendants on duty round the clock.
Reality – Don’t know what university Prospectus means by the word “Round of Clock”. I did not see any warden on duty even for a single day (except during clearances) during my 730 days tenure in the campus. Anyways “this” is one of the best things about HSV’s hostels.
University Prospectus - Each hostel has its own mess which is run on co-operative basis by the boarders, and provides delicious balanced diet at reasonable rates.
Reality – yes each hostel had its own mess which is run on co-operative basis but without any Co-operation.
Like other hostels across the globe, food is neither delicious nor balanced (no finger licking stuff). Sometimes it becomes completely unbearable with students starving and dreaming for the delicious cuisines of the world. People like me who have always been blessed with mom – made food will really have a bad time. To our rescue we had two alternatives, No.1 was the greatest inventions of humankind ever - Maggi Noodles. The second one was Babu Rao Bhaiya’s Hostel Canteen famous for its “World’s Best Band Omelette and Band Samosa”- desi versions of fast food, far better and super affordable in comparison to the burger and pizza giants!
When both the alternatives failed, we used to raid each other’s rooms usually after 11'o clock to find something to eat.
University Prospectus- Architecturally, the hostels are aesthetically laid out with plenty of open space. The rooms are comfortable, spacious, fitted with lights and all essential furniture.
Reality – Architecturally boy’s hostels are an architect’s nightmare. In Comparison girls hostels are more imaginatively built, whereas the hostels for boys are dark, prison-like dungeons with a narrow passage running across small rooms.
University Prospectus - For your cultural and social development Colorful evenings of song and dance, talent shows, dramatics are organized from time to time. Inmates of a hostels are encouraged to live in harmony, like one big family, lending each other a helping hand whenever, mutually cooperating to make hostel life a rich and fruitful experience.
Reality -: As far as I can remember, yes girl’s hostels have these activities. In boys hostels there are only political meetings, dadagiri, political fights and booze parties. Whether you like it or not you HAD to attend some of these stupid meetings and listen to idiotic political ideologies that only believed in the ultimate British policy of divide and rule. It not only divides our big family but also ruins something known as “harmony”.
Well enough about the Pains and Frustrations, now it’s the turn of fun and Pleasures of Hostel life in the next episode.
EPISODES - FUNSUTRA OF A RUINED MBA Degree...
episode - 1 Life Outside University Gates
episode - 2 Once Upon a Time in Shimla
episode- 3 Save General Class
episode-4 Fun and Frustrations of a Hostel Life
episode 5 - Fun-sutra of an Amusing Hostel Life
episode 6 - Room no. S8, Buddha Hostel HSV
episode 7 - Room no. S9, Buddha Hostel HSV
EPISODES - FUNSUTRA OF A RUINED MBA Degree...
episode - 1 Life Outside University Gates
episode - 2 Once Upon a Time in Shimla
episode- 3 Save General Class
episode-4 Fun and Frustrations of a Hostel Life
episode 5 - Fun-sutra of an Amusing Hostel Life
episode 6 - Room no. S8, Buddha Hostel HSV
episode 7 - Room no. S9, Buddha Hostel HSV
