The SADANANDA VIHAR Taap Ten

A little under five years ago, when I moved in to Sadananda Vihar (translates to ‘Place of eternal happiness’) I thought that it was an ironic name for a conservative and restrictive women’s hostel. I was to spend the better part of four years there, by the end of which, I no longer found the name ironic. It’s been a little over a year since I moved out, and I can honestly say I have never enjoyed life as much as I did back then. Those still living there might sneer at this statement. But here it is the things I miss most about SV- the Sadananda Vihar Taap Ten!

#10 The bathroom queues: Alright, alright! Stop with the guffaws already! Granted, standing in line with your bucket and clothes, waiting for your turn; or cursing the girl who snuck in before you when you had been waiting for 40 minutes for (what is rightfully) your turn; or having the bathroom door knocked on (when you are eventually in, of course) followed by “how long will you take?” is not something one necessarily enjoys. But they do make for some amusing memories. The bathroom cluster has been the setting where I have had some interesting conversations about energy conservation and even had a mini “beats concert” while washing clothes. Such things, I will hardly ever have again!

#9 The evenings and weekends: I was hardly ever bored- ping pong/badminton/ scrabble- there was always someone ready to play along and my evenings were always fun. Weekends were even better. You can never beat the lazy pleasures of a hot weekend afternoon watching a movie, reading a book, or starting a game of scrabble that could potentially take up the entire day. Or simply idling away trying to beat the heat!

#8 The warden: [I can almost see the shocked/bemused/amused faces!] Ours was the archetypical Tamil movie/serial warden. Never a day passed without her yelling “Yei GERL!” or “Over satham podringa neengellam. Dean saar enna phone panni katharaaru, anga varaikkum kekkuthu nu” (You are making too much noise. The DEAN is shouting at me on the phone!) This always threw me in fits of laughter. Our hostel was located in a forsaken corner of the campus, far, far away from wherever the dean (student affairs, by the way) was! She can never forget me... having been her next door neighbor for a year, by the end of which, me and my friends had earned ourselves the title of rowdy gumbal. I do not like her, and do not ever want to see her again (actually, don’t want her seeing me!). But I doubt if those days would have been as much fun if it weren’t for the thrill of breaking those ridiculous rules she came up with. Just for that alone, she warrants spot #8

#7 No lack of accessories(and sometimes clothes too!): Ever. Trust me; this perk comes in handy when you need it the most.

#6 No cooking/cleaning up: Yes, yes... the kitchens and dining halls are aptly called “the mess”. There were also times when there was a severe shortage of food. It was awful. But when you start living alone (especially as a student) and have to come home and cook (and clean up afterward) every day, you begin to miss the mess. And it’s not like my creations are any better anyway! And neither did I have to worry about grocery "shopping" (takes the fun out of the word doesn’t it?) or worry that the milk would sour.

#5 You never had to look too far for notes: Being nocturnal, I hardly ever made it to class (at least not the morning sessions- prompting one of my classmates to quip Ithenna evening college nu nenappa ie "what? U think this is evening college a?"). I could always rely on my classmates for notes/homework/assignments any old time of the night. And exam times have never been so memorable. Irrespective of the time of the night, there was always someone to “clear your doubts”, tell you what was an “important topic” or was “out of syllabus”. There was always someone to chat with when you took a break, someone to go to and whine “why do I have to learn this?” Someone to nudge you back to your book when you had taken too long a break, someone to reassure you and “pray for you” when you were scared to death! And oh, there was always someone who stocked up (and willing to share) for those late night hunger pangs.

#4 No dearth of books/movies: Face it. The hostel is a RESOURCE. I got to read the last 2 Harry Potter books within days of their release without spending a penny. During the last year of college alone, I read over 50 books- without having to ever step out of the hostel! And the movies! I was never able to enjoy commercial desi films until I went to the hostel. It does take a group of friends to turn a movie like Vivah into a full fledged laugh riot. Lazy weekend afternoons and study holidays (an oxymoron in itself) were spent watching movies or Friends- 100% guilt free. One of my favorite movies- Chennai 600028- is my favorite because of the people I saw it with. Final year, final semester's final exams- about 8 girls gathered around to watch it. The humor in the movie was amplified by the jokes we ad libbed, and it was as if the movie was a tribute to the comfy friendship that we had.

#3 The evening tea: Every evening, at about 5:30, poorly insulated cans of extremely watery and overly sweet tea were placed in strategic locations in the hostel. On the evenings when the tea was late or insufficient, crowds of girls thronged these spots with all the courtesy of those lovely ladies at the thanni lorries on the Chennai roads. There was also this time when the tea was rationed in “mini coffee” sized eversilver tumblers! After the said tea was (somehow) procured, I would sit down on the veranda (in the final year, when a small lawn was built, it became a breezy lawn bench- those were prime real estate, mind, and went real quick) with my closest friends and chatted away. It was usually the time when no one did any work because it was too close to “roll call” time (yes, we had roll call at around 6.30) which, in itself, was highly unpredictable. Weekends were even more special, when one of my friends saved me my share of the tea and woke me up just before roll call (refer #2 for more information)

#2 There was always, ALWAYS someone to wake me up: Even those who have just begun to know me will acknowledge (and my ex-roomie will whole heartedly agree) that this is something I sorely, very dearly miss. Even today, I sleep like a baby (OK, those aren’t the words many people would use) and always have to be woken up by someone. In the first year, it was my beloved roomie, who made sure that I was up (just) in time to make it to class (on weekdays) and to lunch (on weekends). By second year, any of my friends would take up this task, by third year, it was the entire wing, and by final year, just about anyone would knock on my door at crucial times. Especially during exams, you could hear “Yei, Rukku muzhichtaala di?” (Has Rukku woken up yet?). There are certain people who are famous (well, tragic heroines, if you will) for their efforts to wake me up on weekend afternoons. For sheer lack of space, I cannot mention names, but you know who you are! Agreed, I was pampered to the point of being a spoilt sleeping brat- but I enjoyed it immensely, and miss it dearly.

And finally, numero uno- The friends I made: The dorms are the perfect setting for close, comfy and long lasting friendships. There were all kinds of friendships around: sisters so close they were like best friends, and friends so dear, they were practically sisters. I know this is obvious to absolutely anyone who has ever lived in dorms (unless, of course, you hated every second of it) so I need not say more. But let me just say this- I, as a person, have always been picky about my friends, and took years before I felt someone was a close friend. But in those four years, not only did I make loving friendships and companions whom I deeply respect I also made them fast. Again, there is no need for names, you know who you are. Just know that you are very much loved, cherished and missed.

I have never been attached to ‘places’- having moved around a lot- but when I moved out of the hostel, I could not stop the tears. Those of you, who have never lived in dorms, will never know what you missed. And those who are there now, enjoy it while it lasts!