Mysorean

June 1997
Bangalore

It was that time in a student’s career when he is about to choose a college where he believes a platform for his future will be set. Sitting inside the SJM Samudaya Bhavana where the CET counseling used to take place then, I was thinking of what lies ahead for me. One thing I knew for sure is that I was going to be in Mysore. The question was: NIE or SJCE?

Having secured a rank of 2930, I was well poised for a seat in NIE. I could choose from Mech/ EEE/ IP or Civil. My dodappa [father’s elder brother!] had told me that EEE involved lot of head-breaking studies and that Civil was not a branch with great opportunities. The infrastructure boom was not even on the horizon then. So that only left Mech and IP as the two branches for me to pick from. But there was one problem – you won’t be able to get into Software Industry from these branches. Of course, the boom went on to surprise us!

It was the first round of counseling. My father had come with me. We were sitting on seats which were in a 2 + 2 fashion like in a hitech bus. One student and his escort on each pair of seats. It was my father & me on one pair and next to me was S’s father & S on the adjacent pair of seats. This was the arrangement:

My father-Me-S’s father-S

S’s father: “Enappa ninna hesaru?” [What’s your name?]
Me: “Aditya, Sir”
(S’s position: Looking away from the conversation)

S’s father: “Localite aa neenu?” [Are you a localite of Karnataka?]
Me: “Hun Sir” [Yes Sir]
(S’s position: Looking away from the conversation)
My father and I talk to each other in telugu. Hence the question. But since I was talking to so many other people around in Kannada, he started the conversation with me in Kannada. And I love Kannada!

S’s father: “Elli college odiddu?” [Which college did you study in?]
Me: “Hyderabad nalli”
(S’s position: Looking away from the conversation)

S’s father: “Hyderabad nalli odiddre localite henge aagtiya?” [How can you be a localite if you did your college in Hyderabad?]
Me: “Nanu seven years Karnataka nalli odiddini. Plus ondu public exam kooda bardiddini. 4th to 10th standard. Hangaagi nanu localite! [I have studied in Karnataka for seven years and also written a public exam. So, as per rules am a localite of Karnataka]
(S’s position: Looking away from the conversation)

S’s father: “Estu ninna rank?” [What is your rank?]
Me: “2930”
(S’s position: Looking at me with great interest and anxiety as if I was going to tell a secret that would expose his position! After my answer, he was back to his ‘looking away’ position.)

S’s father: “Enu togolona antha idya?” [What are you planning to choose?]
Me: “Branch yavdadru parvagilla, Mysore beku aste nange!” [Whatever the branch be, I want to go to Mysore!]
(S’s position: Looking away from the conversation)

S’s father: “Adeno CS togondre, E&C togondre ella bright future ide antharallappa?! [They say that if you choose CS or E&C branches you will have a bright future, is it true?]
Me: Adella gottilla nange. Yaava branch togondru opportunities naave create madkobeku allva?! So yaava branch togondre enu heli?! [I cannot comment on that. Whichever branch you choose you need to create opportunities. So, how does it make a difference which branch you choose?]
(S’s position: Looking away from the conversation)

S was actually looking at the Electronic board displaying the rank numbers being called for counseling. It had reached 2890. His rank was 2896. So he was tense. They went off after sometime, and I turned my attention back to the big electronic display board.

The person with 2929 rank was choosing a seat. The seat availability board read:

GMU quota (GMU: General Merit Urban)
NIE, Mysore
Mech - 00
EEE - 04
IP - 23
Civil - 27

SJCE, Mysore
Mech - 00

EEE - 06
IP - 18
Civil - 25

I had made my choice. As soon as I went to the desk, I said “SJCE – IP”. The person at the counter gave me a strange smile, which I was not able to interpret. I was not in a mood to interpret actually.

Then we walked upto the foyer (fees-paying counter in fact) of the CET cell. I was happy that I had got my Mysore seat. My father had no problems since I had what I wanted. But that smile was haunting me. What did he mean? Why was that smile necessary?

Near the foyer we bumped into S and his father again. I asked him what he had picked.
He said, “NIE – Mechanical”
I said, “Congratulations!”

I started thinking. As long as I remembered there was no seat available in GMU quota. So immediately without any hesitation, I asked him how it was possible?

He said, ”GMR Quota. General Merit Rural.”
I said, “Oh ok”

And just turned (as rudely as possible) and walked away from the scene. I hated reservations right from the beginning of my education.

(I used to always wonder why I should pay Rs.450/- as fees where some other people could get away by paying only Re. 1! I had a friend during my schooldays. He belonged to the SC/ST category. He was also the son of the District Commissioner of Mysore. He could bloody well pay the entire fees. But he would pay only Re. 1/-. With due regards to his father, I think he could have risen to that level by making use of the benefits arising out of the reservation policy itself. Which very well means that the policy has achieved its objective and can be withdrawn henceforth. But then what are we mulling today? 49.5% reservation in IITs and IIMs?Reservation for SC/ST in private sector?! I support Lok Paritran!)