Wednesday, September 8, 2010

OF FESTIVITIES, FUN & NOSTALGIA….Mummy's Musings

The students at the medical college I work in, are celebrating Annual College week. There are activities galore ranging from Singing and Dancing events, Treasure Hunt, Dumb Charade, Bakery and Snacks stalls, Balloon Blowing competitions to Cricket!
At the expense of sounding insensible, I must admit it provides a pleasant deviation from the usual humdrum of attending to and operating on sick people and teaching about illnesses!
It has been a hectic past few days and there are more to come. But I am enjoying myself.
 
We played ‘Tambola’ yesterday.
For the uninitiated, ‘Tambola’ involves crossing out the numbers on a printed sheet you are provide with as they are called out at random. A minder keeps note of the numbers as they are picked out of a bowl.


 

(The enthusiastic organisers)
 
There are prizes for many accomplishments, or should I say strokes of luck?!
The first one to cross out five numbers, the first row, the second row and the complete sheet, called ‘House’ are winners and take home some designated prize money!
Yesterday of course the prizes were chocolates, the sizes in increasing order of the importance attached to the winning category!!
How some people manage to be so lucky and always so, is beyond my comprehension, because I have till date never managed to win one single lottery or any such luck games. Not that I play many, I have no illusions about the results!
But yesterday was different.
My students expected me to buy tickets! 
 
‘There is even a discount if you buy three. We will give you serial tickets which will put you at an advantage,’ one of the girls very sweetly offered.
‘Besides, the more tickets you buy, the better are your chances at winning’.
 
So there I was, forever hopeful, stuck with three tickets and raring to play!
My husband was very supportive!
‘This game is so much fun, you won’t mind so much when you lose’, ‘When’ being the key-word here!!
 
Number after number was called out. Again I marvelled at my luck (rather, the lack of it!)
My sheet invariably had, say, 73 and 75 while 74 was called out! And so it continued, much to my husband’s amusement (who, by the way, was sitting beside me and couldn’t stop sniggering)
People around me excitedly called out ‘First row’, ‘Second row’ and with each cry my hopes got dashed. At one point I needed just one number to complete the house.
Ahh! Was my luck tuning after all?
But alas! The biggest chocolate was taken soon!
Sigh! I wonder if I should actually start using those charms some people wear for luck.
 
Soon afterwards, we went to watch the (invariable) game of cricket in progress!
The event was code-named ‘BPL’ for Bhaskar Premier League’ after Bhaskar Medical College and Hospital. There were 12 teams in total, including two girl’s teams, so that the matches had to be shortened to a mere 6 overs each!
And the instant, improvised rules would surely have made even Sir Donald Bradman sit up and take notice!

 
One can be forgiven for thinking that is a golf- match in progress. Three months of incessant rains is to be blamed (thanked?) for the florid growth of all flora, including those on the cricket pitch!




The events are planned to culminate in a grand cultural function ‘Aeonia on Monday.

Whoever had chosen the name did good, I feel.
Aeonia’ means eternal or lasting - just  what college day memories are supposed to be. Even after what I feel centuries(!) mine are very vividly, poignantly clear…

4 comments:

jabblog said...

Thank goodness it was only 6 overs each! How many balls were lost in the 'grass'??
It sounds like a lot of fun and your students are surely enjoying themselves :-)

Anonymous said...

What a great celebration of life and its content. Please have a wonderful Thursday you all.

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