You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Sangham’ category.
I have been working on this post for ages…
My drafts had character sketches, timelines and countdowns, lurid accounts of our final kamikaze ride; highlighted coincidences, pumped up the drama and blamed fate.
But this accident was not some adventure. It was about sliding into hell. It was about guilt, trauma and nightmares. Coping. Staying sane. Surviving…So no post.
RIP Guys.
(Malayala Manorama)
1988. Biju was with Modi Xerox then. He had to meet a customer in Trichur and Rojobhai also went along. The photo above was clicked before they started, and the photo below, the following day in Medicare.
While they were coming back from Trichur, an appappan misjudged the speed of Biju’s 350, ran across, and ended up in ICU. Biju fractured his leg; Rojo, the survivor, survived with bruises on his face.
This accident added ‘culpable homicide not amounting to murder’ to Sangham-speak.
And Sangham banned my pre-trip snaps.
From The Indian Express
A special thanks to Pattar for sending me the clipping
‘Outside-REC’ Admission Season. We had to apply to the University for confidential marksheets – and we didn’t know how to. A ‘friend’ of ours volunteered to go to Trivandrum and find out. But as there was no news from the guy even after a week – and as time was running out – Biju, Pattar and I decided to go to Trivandrum…
From the station, we bought a pack of Charms. Its denim pack and the launch campaign were already huge hits (Charms is the spirit of freedom, Charms is the way you are). But the cigarette was horrible and we distributed it among to our co-passengers – at least we had the pleasure of seeing them squirm, trying hard to be polite and not throw it away too soon…
We finished our work in the university, had a good time in the city for two days and by the time we started back, we were so broke we didn’t have money even for ciggies.
The train to Cochin was packed and we ended up sitting on floor near the door. From Quilon, one fisherman got in with his nets and stuff, settled down near us, lit a beedi, took a long puff and exhaled luxuriously…and that was more than we could stand. To cut a long story short, we bummed a beedi from the bum, and take it from me, tobacco never tasted better.
Maharaja’s. We went to Ooty with our Pre-Degree batchmates. I remember that we halted at the Trichur Zoo and that we bought More cigarettes in Coimbatore.
In Kovai Biju was our guide. There was this restaurant that he knew and he took us there for dinner. When the food was served Biju decided that we had come to the wrong place – the plates weren’t warm – and we scrammed from there.
Sangham at the Botanical Gardens
TV, Jose, Aby, Biju, Babu & Mookkan, during his Complete Man period
TV, Jose, Babu & Shibu
It was in Ooty that I first got a taste of kothamalli, and the intense dislike I developed for that continues to the day…
After lunch we went boating. While everybody else managed to row all around the lake, Sangham drifted in circles a few metres from the shore arguing about the right technique…
My academic performance followed a sinusoidal curve; a high was always followed by a low – and it was quite a roller coaster ride for my folks. In the high school, when the Eapens and Urumeses got serious about studies – and when I discovered books big time – my rank, which always hovered around 4, dipped to the early teens. But I recovered in time for SSLC.
Pre-Degree in Maharaja’s was quite unlike Rajagiri. The faculty didn’t care if you attended the classes, no tests, no report cards. Heaven. And while the Sangham averaged 98% in the first year, all I could manage was 98 out of 140. (The day after the results broke, when we were hanging out near the cycle stand, Panku of Physics came over and enquired about our marks. Biju, Jose, TV, everybody went 97, 98, speaking percentages of course. When my turn came, I said ‘98’…bwah!)
Bijubhai, Feb 1981
Second year was much better thanks to Biju who made me join the classes of Iyer Sir and Ramaswamy Sir. Along with the second year stuff, I ‘improved’ my first year papers also. Finally the big day…results…and the college office refused to hand over my marksheet as I did not have my hall ticket. After much wrangling, they agreed to issue the marksheet if I produced my first year marksheet. I rushed home, picked up my old marksheet, got back and collected my new marksheet – 94%, boo haa haa.
I bounced out of the room, and in front of my batchmates who had witnessed the whole drama, tore my old marksheet to pieces, and threw it into the wind. I believe the crowd applauded…
A low was right around the corner; I flunked Engineering Entrance.
A short glossary. Mainstream media has since adopted many of these…
(New entries highlighted)
Shappadu – Grub
Sabhalatha – Crap
Poth – Sleep
Pushti Shappadu, Pushti Sabhalatha, Pushti Poth – Our guiding principles
King – Expert
Prince – Getting there…
Petti pack – fresh
6 – A form of transportation
Culpable homicide not amounting to manslaughter – ’80s driving style
Ketido – Concert speakers
Thickness – Measure of crowd density in a bus
Addendum diddendum dish – Mech Engineer’s drum roll
Used to be my life was just Timoshenko and Young – MS1 Theme Song
Jaam session, panchi panchi – Ritual chant to get into mood
Kilivathil – After-hours booze shop
Sea King – Before-hours booze shop
Second Show – Mercy
Maraambal, Pambu, Anaconda – Stages of soberness
Cheettukali – An attempt to reach 50% of bill amount, practised in bars, etc.
Usth – A form of entertainment
Ustad – An expert in the above, as in Ustad Jabbar Patel
VK – Servant
Onth – Ugly babe
Vawwals – Acrobats
Bonji – Lime Soda
Please Rice – I will have rice, preferably Staff Rice
Bhai – All purpose suffix, as in Rojobhai, bouncerbhai, etc.
Lissy – Heroine of the movie that my friend’s cousin’s neighbour saw last week
Boo Haa Haa – All purpose greeting
I might have missed out many words & phrases. Contributions are welcome. Boo Haa Haa
Top corporates in India were invited for the Monkey Challenge 2007. Round I – there was a monkey seated on the dais and everybody was asked to make it laugh. Infy, TCS, etc. tried, no success. Guys from _____ (insert your company name here) whispered something in the monkey’s ear and the monkey guffawed its head off. Round II, the challenge was to make the monkey cry. Infy, TCS, etc. ditto. My company successful again. Third round. The task was to make the monkey run off. Other companies drew a blank again. Our guys spoke to the monkey, and it just vanished.
Everybody wanted to know what our guys had told the monkey.
“In the first round, we told the monkey we are working for _______, in the second round we told them our salary”
And in the last round? “We told the monkey we are hiring”
Story contributed by Biju. I had a small session with Biju and Bobby this Sunday. Wish you were there.
Pattar’s wedding. Crazy bash in Trivandrum Club. Early morning muhurtham. Guess only Mookkan reached the hall in time. After the wedding we pushed off to Munnar. 7331 and Jose’s car. For most of the journey, Biju was sleeping (he was driving, of course); he was finding it difficult to sleep when somebody else drove.
We stayed in some PWD guest house. Another big night – ‘I saw the Sign’ was the flavour of the season. Next morning, we were so exited to see a koladu that we almost drove off the cliff; round the next curve, 100 kolads…
That was Sangham’s last big trip. Jobs, marriages, whatever…we never went on a ‘big’ trip after that – perhaps it is time we did. What say?
Babu Kuriakose 