Induction at SCMHRD

Had my induction on 2nd June, 2007. This was the first time the entire batch was coming together for the first time… I was hoping to meet some nice guys… come on, ever since I stepped into Scmhrd, I was packed off to the girls’ hostel I had spent most of my time either with parents or with girls; now it was getting on my nerves!
Anyways, since we were supposed to wear sarees for the Induction, I decided it was prudent to start getting ready early in the morning, because I never prided on my saree-wearing skills. But it wasn’t too big a deal as my mom was there to all the hard work, not just for me, but for my room mates as well! Sometimes, I think this world can’t get along without my mother, or anybody else’s mother for that matter. I wore the SCMHRD uniform that was handed to us on reporting, and I DID NOT LIKE IT!!!! I looked old and aunty like (no offence to aunties, but am not ready to be one just as yet). What followed for the next eight hours can be described in one word: PAIN!!!!
First of all, all my hopes of getting to know “nice guys” were dashed, as most of us were sitting with parents, and treated each other like aliens from another planet. The ceremony started off on a positive note with a presentation on the symbiosis family- its genesis, its journey through the years and all the colleges under its ambit. It was quite amazing what one man (in this case, Dr S B Mujumdar) can do if he has the vision and of course, the courage. Then there was a speech from Dr Mujumdar himself and I really liked him: simple, soft spoken, humble and with no airs of graces. It was followed by a LONG speech by our chief guest, Jagdish Khattar, the MD of Maruti. Well, I hadn’t heard of him till a year back- my GK used to be pathetic, but a few months before the entrance exams, I mugged up the names of 200 CEOs and Mr Khattar was just one of them. But seeing him in person, was kind of well, exciting! Surprisingly, unlike most chief executives, whatever he spoke, did make a lot of sense (though he wasn’t exactly a great speaker), and I was surprised that I didn’t fall asleep…. Gosh, I must be growing up!
The final speech was by our Director, Mr Subramanium (popularly known as Subbu Sir). He made it amply clear that there is going to no love lost, that he was going to be a major pain and that the chief aim of his life was to inflict as much stress as possible. But thankfully, he didn’t resort to abuses (as he had allegedly done last year), so there weren’t any shocked parents.
My parents left after the induction, and no matter how much I profess to hate them on their face, I was kind of sad as also deeply grateful for so many reasons…
The post lunch session was exclusively for students and we had the best speech delivered by Col Mohan- it was humorous, it was depressing and interspersed with warnings, admonitions and a LONG list of “what not to do at SCMHRD”. We also had a nice session about the Symbiosis Health Centre. The good news is that all of us are insured which means that we can actually get drunk, drive at a fast rate, get injured (within limits), get spoilt in the health centre, miss college and not pay a penny. The bad news is that it only starts after 5th June. So I have to behave myself for the next few days.
Thereafter we had our measurements taken, a photoshoot and were handed over the college T-shirts and tracksuits. Of course, after walking around in high heels and stumbling over the stairs, getting tangled up in the saree, I could barely walk….
But when I spoke to one of the seniors, he unsympathetically dismissed it as “welcome to SCMHRD; your pain begins here”.
Well, our aim, as appropriately articulated by Col Mohan, is to get out of this place as soon as possible with not too many broken bones. 686 more days to go!!! Till then, I am in bad company, the D Company.