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Bunk:
This was the unofficial open-air coffee shop and vineyard of AU.The menu smacked of internationally acclaimed recipes including the piece de resistance, the Muttai Bonda. Come 4.30 p.m. and the open space in front of the LH would be transformed into a place buzzing with activity with all creatures big and small (i.e. if you would include the cows, dogs, goats & cats). The gang of EEE’99 attained enlightenmentat these very steps – on the steps of
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the phone booth under the Gulmohar Tree (just for the record, nine of them called themselves the Buddhs). Most of the EEE gossip in the final year was churned out from here. At the end of every bunk session when crushed coffee cups were scattered all around (wonder who used to clean them?!!!), the cows had settled themselves to chewing the cud & it was time for everyone to go back home / hostel the cry from every heart used to be
Yeh Dil Maange More!!!!!!!!!
Buhari’s Icecreams :
This ice-cream company should have made a fortune from its sales in Anna University, such was its popularity. Back from those gruelling theory or lab classes, there could have been no better comfort than the joy of licking away at the Buhari’s Icecreams. This was the only thing apart from the bunk that would bring the guys in front of the LH, who would rather be found dead than near the LH. Die hard fans of Buhari’s swear that no Baskin Robbins or Shakes & Creams can equal the Rs. 2/- flavors of Buhari’s icecreams.
Playground :
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This huge patch of greenery was the Karmakshetra for the jumping beans of EEE who after attending those cramping hours of continuous classes used to rush to the playground to stretch their muscles in the basketball/ball-badminton courts & cricket pitches. Every soul of EEE ’99 has, sometime or the other, trampled the grass of the playground under his/her feet- inspite of the tight "All work & No play" college schedule. However the regulars were-Mang, R.P&co., and the Buddhs.
Internet Centre :
When cyber mania invaded the campus (during the 3rd year summer hols) a sudden lull fell over the campus. The campus conversations were reduced to one-liners like-
" Hi! How is life !"
" Yup,tell U over E-mail"
By starting the long queues of booking slots for accessing the net, the vocal chords were rejuvenated. Nevertheless Internet brought a different zing to EEE 99 - half the class began a Dr.Jekyll & Mr.Hyde style of communication. Total strangers face to face and bosom pals on the net. Students applying for MS degree & a few dames applying for MRS Degree found it to be a blessing in disguise.
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TOUR DIARY
When we tour, We Tour!!! ( and call it study tour)………
BANGALORE TOUR
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KERALA TOUR
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EEE Tour of ‘99
The EEE Tour of 99 was one of the high points of life at AU. Apart from the cherished memories that we will carry over, this tour carries great significance because of the sense of bonding and interaction that developed between EEEians during this time. Prior to this tour EEE was a class consisting of guys and gals who rarely spoke to each other. After this tour EEE became a class of closely-knit friends. Actually speaking this was a model tour – a tour without hassles, which provided everyone with unrestrained fun & enjoyment. Many other branches that went on the tour took up the EEE tour as a benchmark & tried to emulate us. Kudos to EEEians for leading by example. It was the summer of 99. Chennai was a steaming cauldron and to cool off the EEEians decided to go on a tour to Kodai, Munnar and Thekkady It all started in the evening of April 99. The painting of faces in the train provided just an inkling of things to come. Trekking
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at Kodai followed by the mixed cricket match at Bryants Park kindled the flame of interaction up and set the stage for the interaction sessions at Thekkady and Munnar. At Munnar, Senthil’s camera was rolling, the bubbly VJ was present & the splendid evening provided the perfect atmosphere for the tour to reach its crescendo. Not everyone was willing to don the grease paint and face the camera, but your ever-reliable VJ was always around to see that everyone got a fair share of the spotlights. The confession sessions were an absolute revelation where G7 classified secrets was made public. The campfire at Thekkady was the perfect setting to round off a perfectly unforgettable experience. In short, those 5 days & 6 nights brought all of us closer to each other than we have been in our 4 years of college life.
Three cheers for the tours!!!!!!!!
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FAVORITE PASTIMES OF EEE’99
The new ‘international’ game found its origin on the Basketball court during the Sambandan Memorial Trophy in Jan ’98. The game with its International rules and regulations was invented by our beloved seniors Satyanarayanan & Co. but was patronized by the class of 99. Even though the game originally started with a big fight, it united many a heart. The class of 99 played this game wherever they found a patch of green or brown & a number of people became celebrities thanks to the game. Ranji hit a four of the most venerable cricketer of our times-Anand. Nithya made an easy hat trick against the guys. Mubeen excelled in the art of umpiring by making all the decisions by trial and error Chechi to top it all, once raised the doubt asking which was the boundary for four & which for six!!!
This was the favorite entertainment channel (rather infotainment channel) of one and all of the class of ’99. The main attraction of this blockbuster channel was an irregular monthly / weekly ritual where one is made to feel that its their Judgement Day and he/she is supposed to confess all
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sins committed to the high priests (the rest of the grinning gang). The sins were nothing but the no. of crushes (not the soft drinks) one had experienced since the last C(S)NN. A lot of misdeeds came out into the open during the C(S)NN and human color (the red on the cheeks) was exposed very often. The channel owed its popularity to the high viewership (everyone was more than eager to sacrifice a night’s sleep to view C(S)NN ) & wide coverage (the crushes involved all the eligibles of AU & beyond)!
This game is very popular all over the world but when played by the class of 99 it looks like a 1942 type struggle
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for the freedom of expression. The going-by-the-rules players of this game were Ranji,Devika, Aarthi etc., but the do-or-die players who used to silently steal the show were Sumi, Sangeetha M.,NTK , Buski etc. Any free time was Dumb C time for these guys-prime times were lunch hours & free hours. Watching the class of 99 play this game would make anyone murmur a silent prayer to God for the day He said "let there be Speech" .
During the final year, a peculiar syndrome was seen among a section of the class of ’99. Come Saturday early mornings (7 a.m., technically speaking is early morning) and a herd of somnambulists (herd led by kichcha, hari pundit, consisting of Buddhs,Aarthi, Sanban, Sumi etc.) could be seen with rackets & corks dozing their way to the M.I.T. campus, Chrompet. The main attraction of this campus, apart from the guys hostel just at the entrance (from the girls’ point of view) is an indoor shuttle court. The charm of this shuttle court used to motivate this pack of somnambulists to sacrifice their early morning sleep & go all the way to the M.I.T. campus. They used to have a real sweating time, burning up the fats accumulated over the week – sleeping in the X-Hall.
A few memorable things happened there-Mr.JJ (Jumping Jack) cut his forehead while being his usual self (Jumping, what else). And one day when the herd started late, they wanted to reach early and took an express bus. On reaching there abs. on time, they were given the royal bulb that the court was closed due to TNPCEE. The herd made a glorious exit & promptly came back – by an express bus.
Each EEEian of the VIIth block is an individual with a mystery – a maze of conflicting passions and desires and attitudes. On the whole, a very entertaining and jovial bunch of guys who believe that every moment of life should be spent in merriment. Each person has a different definition of early morning in this block. For the studious ones like Sakthivel and Baskar, 6.00 a.m. is the time to hop out of the bed and into the books. For others like Mang , RP & Co. , 8.30 a.m. signals the time to wake up, and zoom towards the dept. missing their "wholesome " breakfast in the mess. Then follows the monotony of sitting through boring lectures, where except for Sakthivel and Baskar, everyone begin hibernating in the class.
In the evenings the group, once again excepting Baskar drifts towards the playground to exhibit their athletic prowess. Actually speaking, this group has a number of sportstars. Mang is an excellent forward and plays for the university football team. RP makes full use of height as a spiker in the AU volleyball team. Murali, also known as Aravinda is an ever dependable batsman who regularly rescues the EEE cricket team from the doldrums. Prabhakar is feared by opposing teams for his tremendous pace bowling.
7.00 p.m. signals the break or half time for these guys, as they return from the ground and continue playing tennis ball cricket in the hostel. Play continues until hunger calls. Now these guys grab their bikes and speed out to Adayar or Guindy to refuel their growling stomachs.
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Night life is best experienced in the VIIth block. These guys either sit back and spend the night watching TV or head out for the movies. After the movies, they go to the Marina or Elliot’s beach and enjoy the breeze till 2 a.m. and discuss important issues. Finally they return back home (VIIth block) all the way feeling sorry for the denizens of LH who miss the beauty of the beach by night.
Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. Champions are what the EEE team is made up of. The men that made the team were men of will, men who had grit & determination, men who never gave up and men who played not just for the sake of playing, but played TO WIN.
Nilakandan – A solid opener for the team, he plays a slow but steady game. A safe pair of hands behind the wickets, you better watch out when he pairs up with CV – ‘cos this pair forms a deadly combination.
Senthil – Another opener for the team, he is dynamite on the field. Always urging bowlers and his fellow players, he is Nicknamed ‘Ijaz Ahmed’ for his peculiar stance.
Anandakumar – The captain of the team, he is a terrific batsman and a great fast bowler (though his Nickname had nothing to do with his bowling). He has stumped many a batsman with his unstoppable yorkers.
Muralidharan – He is Mr. Dependable of the team. Nicknamed ‘Aravinda’, he has got the team out of trouble an many occasions. Though he fancies himself as an all-rounder, he is famous for bowling long overs in a game.
Prasad – He believes in Geoffrey Boycott’s maxim that "Cricket is a mind game". A crafty bowler and a stable middle-order batsman, he has outfoxed many batsmen into playing false shots by his subtle changes in pace and well-disguised slow deliveries.
Anush – Vice-captain of the team, you can leave it to this guy to hit a quick-fire knock at the crunch time. Nicked ‘Ajay Jadeja’ for his batting and useful bowling, he bowls fast medium, but lacks consistency.
CV – He is the one and only spinner of the team. A great off-spinner he has taken many 5-wicket hauls thus paving the way for the team’s victory.
Prabhakar – A very good all-rounder, he bowls lovely in-swingers and with his sound technique, can bat anywhere in the order. He is also a terrific outfielder.
Balaji – He is ‘Azhar Mehmood’ of our team due to his looks as well as his cricketing abilities.
Vivekanadan – He is the only left-handed player of the team. A dependable batsman, he can bowl slow-medium pacers. Tried his luck by keeping wickets and instantly knew why it was the most difficult job in the team, ‘cos he was struck by one of Anand’s bouncers.
NTK – Nicked ‘Buckets’, one can not recollect an occasion where this guy dropped a catch or missed a runout.
Lux – He is one fielder any captain would love to have in his team. Nicked ‘Jonty’ he never seems to mind when he throws himself full stretch to stop the ball on any surface.
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Looking thru’ the window of a moving train
Fleeting images of trees and hills pass by
As four years of AU life flash past my inward eye
Four years which have changed my life and style
My heart cries out for those days gone by
Those days of unbounded fun and joy
In the midst of peers and beyond compare
Whose absence will be missed in joy and despair
Alone and insecure with a sense of nostalgia
Creeping over me, like a snake around a tree
It has been a rude awakening from my dream
To face a whole new world staring at me
As my journey draws to an end
I prepare myself to embark on another journey
Cause the journey of life continues unceasingly
It stops neither for you nor for me
AU, I promise to live up to thy name
Wherever I go and in whatever I do
Cause it was your portals what nurtured me
From callow youth to a person of steel.
