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ShareTales from the Locker Room
Although it's against our culture and should be stamped out well before lesser evils like HIV, bird flu, diarrhea and dysentery, here's wishing a Happy Valentine's Day to all foreigners and NRIs, as well as all Indians posted in western countries, such as Pranab Mukerjee and the Indian Cricket team.
However, I'm not writing about Valentine's Day (which is clearly against our culture).Instead, I'm writing about a college I revisited after many years. Many years ago, sometime between the Industrial Revolution and the Mangal Pandey incident, I went to holiday in a college called St Xavier's for five blissful years.
In those days, we all holidayed by going to college and except for the fact that one would magnanimously allow one's ageing parents to stand in the line to collect forms, there was no headache involving travel agents, bookings flights, train check-ins or check-outs.
In those halcyon days one of our rival holiday colleges went by the screen name of H R College, tentatively titled the 'House of Romance'.
Last week after a gap of 87 years I entered H Ragain. I was ushered into the college by strapping boys who pushed me straight in to the principal's office. I found this very strange since I had done nothing wrong to be punished in the first place. Expecting to see Gary Cooper or Clint Eastwood or at least the erstwhile Sheriff Nana Chudasama, I was pleasantly surprised to see the gracious Principal of HR and Sheriff of Mumbai, Mrs Indu Shahani. Surprisingly, our Sheriff didn't carry a pair of colt .45s or even a Stetson, and much to my amazement and happiness I wasn't drawn, quartered, or hung in the next few seconds.
Then we went towards the classroom. Here, I was given the highest honour any Mumbai college can bequeath on a citizen; the greatest testimonial to one's status--I was allowed to use the lift.Next came the air-conditioned classroom with slide projectors. It was a welcome change for an ex-Third World student to see a First World college. As the watchman threw me out after a pleasant stay, I couldn't help notice that there was a new Sheriff in town.So Happy Valentine's Day, but remember it's clearly against our culture.
