Tea Time/ Visitor Time!

Yes! Tea time was also visitor time in the hostel.........looked forward to by many of us girls!

A visitor walks through the hostel gates manned by a "Chowkidar" (watchman in Hindi). He signs the visitor book - Name, address & the name of the person he is visiting and a second "Chowkidar" shows him to the visitor room/common room where he can sit & wait while the "Chowkidar" goes to inform the girl for whom the visitor had come. Yes, the "Chowkidars" are the only men allowed in the residential block!

The "Chowkidar" usually would shout from below, (if the girl lived on a first or second floor)... "Mary, D-14....Visitorrrrrrrrrrrrr". Other girls hearing it would in turn pass the message....from one girl to the other till it reaches Mary. At times, if we had a feeling that it is an unwanted visitor we would ask the "Chowkidar" whether he knew the name of the visitor or to describe the person. If it was the same, we would send him back to tell the Visitor that we were not in!

Apart from the common room, the visitors could also hang around just inside the gate where we had a "Dhaba" serving "parathas" or bread slice & omelet served with tea.

For girls who did not have any visitors coming in, it was equally interesting to see who came for whom and this "watching game" we could do sprawled on our lawns with cups of tea!

The Midnight Feast

Our conversations never seemed to finish...........we had loads to talk. I had loads of friends in the hostel...........and when we all gathered it was but to talk on everything else but studies....as all of us were studying different subjects.........most of us at least! Astrology & Palmistry was quite popular and many a times we tried to find out where our future was heading.

All these were accompanied with the tuck got from home, at least as soon as we came back after the holidays.......and for some of my friends, these were frequently replenished through indulgent relatives & local guardians. At other times, we had Maggie Noodles. We would cook these on the heater which was illegal.....but all of us used it anyway. Baked beans on toast or on crackers.......yummy! At times, as snacks, we would crunch a packet of Maggie Noodles, pour the masala, shake it and eat it........raw! Hostellers!

Coffee was our standard midnight drink. One of us would religiously beat the coffee till all the sugar melted and the coffee from dark brown color turned into a lighter color and when milk was poured we would get such frothy beautiful not to mention delicious coffee!

Our Hangout

K.Nags............Kamla Nagar for those who are not from the University.....and not into the Miranda Lingo......was a hangout for all of us here in the University Campus.......North Campus to be precise. Yes, there are 2 Campus - the North & the South..........and of course the North Campus is the best! No, I mean it really! Ask anyone! Most of the Top colleges were here in the North and all at a walking distance.

Well, coming to where I started.....K.Nags.....this was the place where we bought all our course books..........this was the place where we bought greeting cards for all occasions..........and occasions were plenty!..........Birthdays........Valentine Day.....Holi.....Raksha Bandhan... Diwali....Christmas...New Year.....and also for no occasion cards....simply!....Missing you...Sorry...

Then, there was this "Chana Bhatura" (Indian Bread with chickpeas) stall in a "galli" (lane).........."Chacha's". Chacha in Hindi means an Uncle. In India, everybody was an Uncle or an Aunt..........we do not address as Mr or Mrs....that would have been rude. This is the Indian culture. Coming to "Chacha's", this was a really popular place with all. The food was delicious and the price reasonable. One had to wait.....to be served.........not in line though! Just hang around in front of the stall!

Another popular place with us, was the place where we would either have cold coffee or badam milk....."Badam" meaning almond. A trip to K.Nags was incomplete without having a drink........and this was really delicious.........especially the badam milk..........nutritious as well as tasty.....We would see that all the badam pieces at the bottom were tossed to our mouth along with the last bit of the milk..........full value of the money paid!

I also must tell about the corner cold drink shop where we would so often stop for a refreshing drink...........of "kancha nimbu"! No, this is not an exotic drink...........just plain old lemonade in a bottle with a marble for a stopper! Kancha is marble and nimbu is lemon in Hindi. The marble in the bottle would be punched in to remove it and masala (spices) which was black salt, pepper, etc would be added, shaken and a straw inserted and given to us. It was yummy!

Lastly, this was a place to see and to be seen...........for many boys & girls!

Meals in the Hostel

We were served four square meals!

Breakfast was rationed.....the milk, cornflakes, bread & butter and we could either have an egg or a fruit! Tea was unlimited. Choosing between the egg or the fruit...........it was a major decision....at least for me! I was not a tea drinker back then, so I just had the bread & butter and the egg and went for my classes. The milk was kept aside to be consumed late at night.......... made into coffee to be precise!

Lunch was one meal that I seldom skipped, even though every week the menu would be repeated. Some girls would know precisely what we were getting............I never did............good in one way....at least there was the element of surprise that I could look forward to. "Kadi"(made with curd & gram flour) & "Rajma" (Kidney Beans) were the favourites of nearly everyone. All "Dals" (lentils) were described by their color. Girls would ask, "What's for lunch?" to those who have already had....and the reply would be "Red Dal" or "Yellow Dal" or "Green Dal". There was also a "Dal" which we all knew as "Flying Saucer". I still don't know their actual names!

Tea was served with some snack. I only went for the snack as I didn't have tea. Tea again was unlimited while the snack was rationed...one "Samosa" or one "Bread Pakoda" or one "Aloo Chop" or one..... At times, they would make teeny-weeny "Pakodies".......these we would get a handful. One should see the girls having their tea..........they didn't use the normal tea cups...they had these huge Coffee Mugs....... some even drank their's in Beer Mugs!

Dinner time, the Mess was packed unlike Lunch time when the girls used to come in as per their class schedule or when they felt like during the time limit. As in lunch, we were served Rice, "Chappati" (Indian Bread), "Dal", "Subzi" (Vegetables) and curd. We were also given dessert! This could either be Custard, "Kheer" (sweet rice cooked in milk with dry fruits) or even half a Watermelon............during the watermelon season!

“Square Meal”

Scene at Dinner Time, the 2nd night when the Hostel Mess opened. Having just arrived at M.H.H, we “Freshers” were pretty quite, well behaved & properly attired! The Seniors were boisterous & being the month of July & Delhi being hot, a few of them were clad in shorts & skimpy tops with a bit of cloth “dupatta” (scarf) thrown over to cover their modesty? & some were in their nightdress or in their pyjamas! They eyed us........like a cat watching & waiting for the right time to pounce on a mouse!

At the tables...there were 3 rows of tables and in each row you had 2 tables.........the Seniors took it for granted that they had all the rights to sit wherever they felt like. Thus, some of us “Freshers” got pushed around or were squeesed in between them. One “Fresher” landed at the same table with a Stuck Up Senior who thought she was very clever. This “Stuck Up” lady made the poor girl’s dinner an ordeal! And how?

Miss Stuck Up – “Hey Fresher! Do you know what a square meal is?”
Miss Fresher – “Yes, Ma’am.” (By now, some of us have been told.....and the rest of us... word passed around that we were to address the Seniors as Ma’am!)
Miss Stuck Up – “Well, have a square meal then. Do you know how?”

It turns out that the “Fresher” had to pick up her food and take the spoon over her plate tracing an imaginary square and then eat it after which she had to say “Yum-Yum”. She had to do this for the entire meal! How sick! A Bully I would call, Miss Stuck Up.....nothing less.