Hmmmm…………. this statement is such a cliché that often we fail to see its import. Well reading this sentence like a 100 times while studying the freedom struggle of our country, it seemed that I too had forgotten the depth of this ubiquitous saying. Providentially, a couple of days back on 22 nd jan, I was a part of this episode which resuscitated the worth of the word ‘unity’ and proved the above penned statement 101% accurate.
Let me take off with the description of the event by sketching a brief background of our earlier plight so that you guys can comprehend as to why this chapter is so important to us(me and the other girls hostel boarders). Well……so…… we had an entry time of 5.30 pm in our hostel, quite unbelievable right, believe it coz we had been living wid this for the past 3 ½ yrs. And if you think its not a big deal then just try this for, not much, but just 5 days and you will know why it is such a poignant situation. We had a dress code for college ..to wear salwar kammeez .I will not put it this way that we have something against these beautiful , elegant, Indian outfits , but that we should be given the liberty to wear what we want( and ofcourse I donot mean bikini or other minimal clothing, but definitely something decent) .It was not that we wanted to sport fashion in the campus but we didn’t get the logic as to how girls become good and traditional if they wear salwars and absolutely mod and indecent if they wear jeans. Oh and a lot of times there had been genuine tries from different groups of girls to bring about an alteration, but everything fell to the deaf ears. It felt as if the whole world came to an end after 5.30 pm. We were literally tethered to our hostels after 5.30pm. We had to squeeze in everything from tuitions to shopping to medical check ups, everything that you can think of within 5.30pm!!!!!!. We were amazed at the bigotry of the people of this place. How could their thoughts be so quaint. Well this is just 5% of the scenario. Its hard to imagine a college life if u haven’t been in it your self. While on the other hand the guys get to avail much more than us. If we are studying in a coed college then why the hell are we restricted, caged and stripped of our basic rights in the name of safety. Every time we stood up to fight, for nothing extra, but our privileges, we were pulverized down, just because we are girls? In simple words we stood at the receiving end of the gender bias. This is just 5% of what we faced.
Now let me hop to the foreground. Enough is Enough we decided and its time we take some serious actions and rebuff to the recalcitrant ways of the management. So this time a plan was premeditated a week before and thoroughly checked so that there was no room for any flaw. Well what we decided was simple, all girls move out of the hostel by 5.15 pm and then sit outside till the demands were met……. simple but this time we were counting on unity…… unity which was was absent at all the other times. So as per plan every body moved out and seated themselves in the OAT. It was some scene which I will never forget , around 300 girls were sitting…or instead it was like a horde of amazons ready to pounce on their reprobates……no its not an exaggeration of adjective…. for us they (the management) were our sinners. This time our acquiescence had turned into an implacable Junoon to get our wants. Every passerby was amazed to see the gathering. The boys I guess were more excited to see all this Halla Bol, or maybe as usual they are just excited about anything related to girls…well…..boys will be boys…... But they somehow believed, from the past statistics, that it would be like any other day when we will be muted. The best part was that the management had no clue till they discovered that no girl turned upto the hostel even after 5.30pm. I wish I could just record the humgama inside the hostel after this discovery…….. Missed it yaar !!! anyways so the management turned up after half an hour. I must say they had never imagined this even in their wildest thoughts that the gathering of the girls will turn into a mutinous one.
In the beginning these management people were really adamant and said that the timings wouldn’t be changed. But we had decided to retort back and not listen to their specious talks. After some more negotiations they announced the new time as 7.00 pm . The reactionary junta was really adamant and unitedly we shouted “8.30 ….8.30 …. 8.30” the roars of which still resound in my ears. Ofcourse the managemnet decided not to respond and tried to give us there nonsense which we wouldn’t buy this time. Our revolt prolonged and at that time we were proud of ourselves and got a feel of being a part of some revolutionary movement like RDB or something. Some girls could connect our situation so stalwartly to freedom struggle that some (back seaters) shouted “Simon go back” “bharat choro” and it was really funny. Basically the point was shout and show your hostility over their decisions if they are not favouring us. The management then decided to stagger the timings according to the years. But again that was not the point. We were fighting together… and for all as a single body, so we demanded a uniform time. We screamed “no divide and rule…. we need uniform time”. 500 girls roaring …was a sight to watch….. trust me. On many occasions the management tried their level best to divert the situation, to give the discussion a different direction, to do everything possible to discuss everything but the point. The decision of entry time was held in an abeyance and the discussion shifted to dress code. As the topic came into limelight the tone of the management was as if “ hello whats the need, wear salwars, cmon you are not even thinking this will be changed” . Aah but we were in some mood. It was like a verbose match…”dhishum dhishum”…. one on one…sometimes we felt that we were loosing. But I guess we can call ourselves baazigaars kyounki haar ke jeetne waalon ko baazigar kehte hai. And after lots of struggle, lots of tu-tu mai-mai , lots I wish I could show u by some gesticulation what I mean by ‘lots’ , we won the match. The moment the management announced “from tomm there is no dress code” we all hooted and clapped and shouted as if we won a cricket match against Australia. We couldn’t believe it….no dress code…..woww. ….it was something we always dreamt of. No more being stemmed for wearing short kurta or jeans (with a kameez ofcourse) it was a moment we would always remember.
But still there was one more thing left to be decided..the entry time…….Finally the management announced the entry time as 7.30 and they got up to leave. But we decided to sit…sit as long as they donot extend the time atleast till 8.00pm. It was 9.00 pm by then…all shivering …..and hungry…jaded …..but we decided not to leave. We felt as if this is it. Its now or never. We were well aware that this gathering can never be repeated…the whole process can never be repeated again . if its not done today then ………… ………and moreover our juniors were getting impatient……..we somehow managed to keep them there…….after lots of negotiations…. finally the moment arrived . There was a lull before the announcement “the entry time is 8.00 pm”. And the whole crowd jumped up in the air. It was the happiest moment ever. It was a day of jubiliation, a day of celebration, a day all the boarders would remember in the coming years. “We did it we did what we always dreamt” we couldn’t stop hugging each other, and hooting …well now if u think its an over exaggeration then you should have seen us and moreover you know what it is to get freedom only when you are in restrictions and it is hard earned. It was then that I realized that we succeded only because our forte was this time we were united and 500 is not a small number. Basically we were in a point of vantage as the plan was executed gingerely and man o man you cannot go against 500 girls, it had the vigor to bring about the revolution. This powerful saga of girls really proved that “Strength lies in Unity”. This event was a true paradigm, in its own small way, for the above mentioned adage. 22nd Jan will henceforth be the independence day of our girls hostel….seriously no joke…..the feeling was of being free.
Ye humgama hila ke rakh diya sabko …and …..it was definitely the best break and change from our stolid life…hehehehe. The experience was unforgettable….and for it would be the hot topic for the next one week not only in girls hostel but the guys too (as we girls would not stop describing about it)
We still couldn’t believe that it was done….we couldn’t help smiling……We friends know that we have to live our past 3 1/2 yrs in the coming 3 months. That’s a bigggg challenge but we happily accept it and are a game for it……………………...and after all unity(wid friends ofcourse) will help to get us through this best challenge ever…………………….
Let me take off with the description of the event by sketching a brief background of our earlier plight so that you guys can comprehend as to why this chapter is so important to us(me and the other girls hostel boarders). Well……so…… we had an entry time of 5.30 pm in our hostel, quite unbelievable right, believe it coz we had been living wid this for the past 3 ½ yrs. And if you think its not a big deal then just try this for, not much, but just 5 days and you will know why it is such a poignant situation. We had a dress code for college ..to wear salwar kammeez .I will not put it this way that we have something against these beautiful , elegant, Indian outfits , but that we should be given the liberty to wear what we want( and ofcourse I donot mean bikini or other minimal clothing, but definitely something decent) .It was not that we wanted to sport fashion in the campus but we didn’t get the logic as to how girls become good and traditional if they wear salwars and absolutely mod and indecent if they wear jeans. Oh and a lot of times there had been genuine tries from different groups of girls to bring about an alteration, but everything fell to the deaf ears. It felt as if the whole world came to an end after 5.30 pm. We were literally tethered to our hostels after 5.30pm. We had to squeeze in everything from tuitions to shopping to medical check ups, everything that you can think of within 5.30pm!!!!!!. We were amazed at the bigotry of the people of this place. How could their thoughts be so quaint. Well this is just 5% of the scenario. Its hard to imagine a college life if u haven’t been in it your self. While on the other hand the guys get to avail much more than us. If we are studying in a coed college then why the hell are we restricted, caged and stripped of our basic rights in the name of safety. Every time we stood up to fight, for nothing extra, but our privileges, we were pulverized down, just because we are girls? In simple words we stood at the receiving end of the gender bias. This is just 5% of what we faced.
Now let me hop to the foreground. Enough is Enough we decided and its time we take some serious actions and rebuff to the recalcitrant ways of the management. So this time a plan was premeditated a week before and thoroughly checked so that there was no room for any flaw. Well what we decided was simple, all girls move out of the hostel by 5.15 pm and then sit outside till the demands were met……. simple but this time we were counting on unity…… unity which was was absent at all the other times. So as per plan every body moved out and seated themselves in the OAT. It was some scene which I will never forget , around 300 girls were sitting…or instead it was like a horde of amazons ready to pounce on their reprobates……no its not an exaggeration of adjective…. for us they (the management) were our sinners. This time our acquiescence had turned into an implacable Junoon to get our wants. Every passerby was amazed to see the gathering. The boys I guess were more excited to see all this Halla Bol, or maybe as usual they are just excited about anything related to girls…well…..boys will be boys…... But they somehow believed, from the past statistics, that it would be like any other day when we will be muted. The best part was that the management had no clue till they discovered that no girl turned upto the hostel even after 5.30pm. I wish I could just record the humgama inside the hostel after this discovery…….. Missed it yaar !!! anyways so the management turned up after half an hour. I must say they had never imagined this even in their wildest thoughts that the gathering of the girls will turn into a mutinous one.
In the beginning these management people were really adamant and said that the timings wouldn’t be changed. But we had decided to retort back and not listen to their specious talks. After some more negotiations they announced the new time as 7.00 pm . The reactionary junta was really adamant and unitedly we shouted “8.30 ….8.30 …. 8.30” the roars of which still resound in my ears. Ofcourse the managemnet decided not to respond and tried to give us there nonsense which we wouldn’t buy this time. Our revolt prolonged and at that time we were proud of ourselves and got a feel of being a part of some revolutionary movement like RDB or something. Some girls could connect our situation so stalwartly to freedom struggle that some (back seaters) shouted “Simon go back” “bharat choro” and it was really funny. Basically the point was shout and show your hostility over their decisions if they are not favouring us. The management then decided to stagger the timings according to the years. But again that was not the point. We were fighting together… and for all as a single body, so we demanded a uniform time. We screamed “no divide and rule…. we need uniform time”. 500 girls roaring …was a sight to watch….. trust me. On many occasions the management tried their level best to divert the situation, to give the discussion a different direction, to do everything possible to discuss everything but the point. The decision of entry time was held in an abeyance and the discussion shifted to dress code. As the topic came into limelight the tone of the management was as if “ hello whats the need, wear salwars, cmon you are not even thinking this will be changed” . Aah but we were in some mood. It was like a verbose match…”dhishum dhishum”…. one on one…sometimes we felt that we were loosing. But I guess we can call ourselves baazigaars kyounki haar ke jeetne waalon ko baazigar kehte hai. And after lots of struggle, lots of tu-tu mai-mai , lots I wish I could show u by some gesticulation what I mean by ‘lots’ , we won the match. The moment the management announced “from tomm there is no dress code” we all hooted and clapped and shouted as if we won a cricket match against Australia. We couldn’t believe it….no dress code…..woww. ….it was something we always dreamt of. No more being stemmed for wearing short kurta or jeans (with a kameez ofcourse) it was a moment we would always remember.
But still there was one more thing left to be decided..the entry time…….Finally the management announced the entry time as 7.30 and they got up to leave. But we decided to sit…sit as long as they donot extend the time atleast till 8.00pm. It was 9.00 pm by then…all shivering …..and hungry…jaded …..but we decided not to leave. We felt as if this is it. Its now or never. We were well aware that this gathering can never be repeated…the whole process can never be repeated again . if its not done today then ………… ………and moreover our juniors were getting impatient……..we somehow managed to keep them there…….after lots of negotiations…. finally the moment arrived . There was a lull before the announcement “the entry time is 8.00 pm”. And the whole crowd jumped up in the air. It was the happiest moment ever. It was a day of jubiliation, a day of celebration, a day all the boarders would remember in the coming years. “We did it we did what we always dreamt” we couldn’t stop hugging each other, and hooting …well now if u think its an over exaggeration then you should have seen us and moreover you know what it is to get freedom only when you are in restrictions and it is hard earned. It was then that I realized that we succeded only because our forte was this time we were united and 500 is not a small number. Basically we were in a point of vantage as the plan was executed gingerely and man o man you cannot go against 500 girls, it had the vigor to bring about the revolution. This powerful saga of girls really proved that “Strength lies in Unity”. This event was a true paradigm, in its own small way, for the above mentioned adage. 22nd Jan will henceforth be the independence day of our girls hostel….seriously no joke…..the feeling was of being free.
Ye humgama hila ke rakh diya sabko …and …..it was definitely the best break and change from our stolid life…hehehehe. The experience was unforgettable….and for it would be the hot topic for the next one week not only in girls hostel but the guys too (as we girls would not stop describing about it)
We still couldn’t believe that it was done….we couldn’t help smiling……We friends know that we have to live our past 3 1/2 yrs in the coming 3 months. That’s a bigggg challenge but we happily accept it and are a game for it……………………...and after all unity(wid friends ofcourse) will help to get us through this best challenge ever…………………….
