:: RAGGING :: The origin

What does ragging mean to u ?
Ragging........What picture does this word bring to ur mind ?? I'm not quite sure abt what its in your mind.Is it u being ragged or you ragging ! I bet its you being ragged....Well i just thought abt the ragging that i miss...Yes u heard it right,I MISS RAGGING....
Twas the month of june 2002...I was so proudly holding my class X marks sheet with an air of dignity in front of the principal's room of st.Thomas residential school tvm,one of the best schools of my tym.The principal talked to me as if i was an average student n he was scoffing at me on all points.Though i felt bad then,i realised later that an 89.83 % was a mere average in STRS.Back in st.Mary's , from where i came, i was sort of a hero...Mine was the record mark in the 25yr school history !! And the second rank stood 53marks behind me(thats a 9%)....Huh...My world was changing....It was june 14th,2002...My first day in hostel.Its not the first time i am being away from home..I'd been to 5day camps n even a month away from home during summer hols.And i thought its going to be ok.Just one thing was different here.I dint know anyone here....
For the first time i was going to have seniors....Those ppl whom my dad had given me a lot of info on(dad being in medical college seemed to know lot abt ragging)....So twas automatically imprinted in my mind that seniors were to be respected n interestingly i used to respect them...I still don know if twas out of fear or twas passive...But i did consider them as someone important in my life.I was pretty much amused to find lot of guys lik me standing in awe before seniors.Well we had a small introduction by the hostel warden at night around 8 and then he left by 9....And then the party started.....RAGGING.....Twas a scary situation.We were asked to stand in a row n lik picking a prostitute or something,a bunch of seniors would pick one of us and would disappear...Infact what was happening went in accordance to my dads description...Well The rule was simple as far as i was concerned.....Respect seniors....
A topic was seldom required to start the party.The diversity and the creativity that they displayed amused me ! Well i was caught on the grounds of having a moustache...And i had to shave it..I dint resist thou i hated to look the 'me without moustache'.I had really tough time to meet up new friends in a completely new school,but st.Thomas gifted me some really good ppl around,ah thats a diff story....Well back in hostel,i was the only one who chose STRS..Every other hostelmate were NRIs n they chose STCS,the CBSE stream....But i had around 7 seniors from STRS,2 of them in science stream...The commerce stream had the BHAIs...Lik the underworld villians....
The first week twas introductions and getting to know the YOU...Well thats what ragging is al about ryt..The method they adopted seemed rough to me but now i realize twas good....Too good...Its true over 6 months they ragged me...Lik anything...I must have received around 300 cherry toppings n hamburgers...Oh btw a cherry topping is getting ur nipple pinched and a hamburger is getting your shoulder muscle(trapezius) pulled...I still remember him coming n askin casually ,"hey pk,u want a cherry topping"(oh ya i was known as pk even to seniors back then,cos of that initials all over my stuff lik books,bucket etc)...They had the right to make us stand in the sun for hours...The max i stood was 15min :)...I carried water for seniors lik a million times...There was even this game where we had to climb on top of our racks n run when our seniors would try to hit us with tennis ball till we fell...I was kinda challenge for them cos i never fell till date :) n that made me climb the racks often !!! There were times when i was used as stumps when seniors played indoor cricket...And there was this crazy game,where i had to lie down with my legs spread n was used as a hole,when seniors played golf with hockey ball (if only u knew how hard a hockey ball was)....Well yes it was lot of torture to say...Around 14 of first years' dropped out from hostel....But there were some good things that came with all the torture as far as i was concerned....Respect...Yes the seniors liked me !! Not oly just to rag but they taught me lots of things,which i listened to,keeping my dad's words in mind...Respect seniors,they r there to help you...They taught me basketball,hockey,table tennis....Somebody even taught me to wash my clothes !! They took care of me when i was sick ! Its lik i had a whole bunch of brothers around me....The most prized thing that they taught me was.....ROCK MUSIC n ya sex !! The bond between us grew in hostel through the fun we'd in chapel..In the mess...In the playground...Running in the rain...Playing in the quadrangle...Even in studies n finally in school where my seniors were nothing less than my big brother....One year flew just lik that....i was in tears on the farewell day....I still remember the hug and the last hamburger my senior gave before leaving the hostel......Leaving me as a senior....To roll on the tradition......What does ragging mean to u ?
Ragging........What picture does this word bring to ur mind ?? I'm not quite sure abt what its in your mind.Is it u being ragged or you ragging ! I bet its you being ragged....Well i just thought abt the ragging that i miss...Yes u heard it right,I MISS RAGGING....
Twas the month of june 2002...I was so proudly holding my class X marks sheet with an air of dignity in front of the principal's room of st.Thomas residential school tvm,one of the best schools of my tym.The principal talked to me as if i was an average student n he was scoffing at me on all points.Though i felt bad then,i realised later that an 89.83 % was a mere average in STRS.Back in st.Mary's , from where i came, i was sort of a hero...Mine was the record mark in the 25yr school history !! And the second rank stood 53marks behind me(thats a 9%)....Huh...My world was changing....It was june 14th,2002...My first day in hostel.Its not the first time i am being away from home..I'd been to 5day camps n even a month away from home during summer hols.And i thought its going to be ok.Just one thing was different here.I dint know anyone here....
For the first time i was going to have seniors....Those ppl whom my dad had given me a lot of info on(dad being in medical college seemed to know lot abt ragging)....So twas automatically imprinted in my mind that seniors were to be respected n interestingly i used to respect them...I still don know if twas out of fear or twas passive...But i did consider them as someone important in my life.I was pretty much amused to find lot of guys lik me standing in awe before seniors.Well we had a small introduction by the hostel warden at night around 8 and then he left by 9....And then the party started.....RAGGING.....Twas a scary situation.We were asked to stand in a row n lik picking a prostitute or something,a bunch of seniors would pick one of us and would disappear...Infact what was happening went in accordance to my dads description...Well The rule was simple as far as i was concerned.....Respect seniors....
A topic was seldom required to start the party.The diversity and the creativity that they displayed amused me ! Well i was caught on the grounds of having a moustache...And i had to shave it..I dint resist thou i hated to look the 'me without moustache'.I had really tough time to meet up new friends in a completely new school,but st.Thomas gifted me some really good ppl around,ah thats a diff story....Well back in hostel,i was the only one who chose STRS..Every other hostelmate were NRIs n they chose STCS,the CBSE stream....But i had around 7 seniors from STRS,2 of them in science stream...The commerce stream had the BHAIs...Lik the underworld villians....
The first week twas introductions and getting to know the YOU...Well thats what ragging is al about ryt..The method they adopted seemed rough to me but now i realize twas good....Too good...Its true over 6 months they ragged me...Lik anything...I must have received around 300 cherry toppings n hamburgers...Oh btw a cherry topping is getting ur nipple pinched and a hamburger is getting your shoulder muscle(trapezius) pulled...I still remember him coming n askin casually ,"hey pk,u want a cherry topping"(oh ya i was known as pk even to seniors back then,cos of that initials all over my stuff lik books,bucket etc)...They had the right to make us stand in the sun for hours...The max i stood was 15min :)...I carried water for seniors lik a million times...There was even this game where we had to climb on top of our racks n run when our seniors would try to hit us with tennis ball till we fell...I was kinda challenge for them cos i never fell till date :) n that made me climb the racks often !!! There were times when i was used as stumps when seniors played indoor cricket...And there was this crazy game,where i had to lie down with my legs spread n was used as a hole,when seniors played golf with hockey ball (if only u knew how hard a hockey ball was)....Well yes it was lot of torture to say...Around 14 of first years' dropped out from hostel....But there were some good things that came with all the torture as far as i was concerned....Respect...Yes the seniors liked me !! Not oly just to rag but they taught me lots of things,which i listened to,keeping my dad's words in mind...Respect seniors,they r there to help you...They taught me basketball,hockey,table tennis....Somebody even taught me to wash my clothes !! They took care of me when i was sick ! Its lik i had a whole bunch of brothers around me....The most prized thing that they taught me was.....ROCK MUSIC n ya sex !! The bond between us grew in hostel through the fun we'd in chapel..In the mess...In the playground...Running in the rain...Playing in the quadrangle...Even in studies n finally in school where my seniors were nothing less than my big brother....One year flew just lik that....i was in tears on the farewell day....I still remember the hug and the last hamburger my senior gave before leaving the hostel......Leaving me as a senior....To roll on the tradition......

RAGGING 2 ::

Being a senior was another challenge,which i dint realize how tough twas until i was in the spot.Ragging is an art...An art passed down the traditions...But i never considered myself very good at ragging but still i was good enuf....Good enuf not to hurt the junior n not to appear too lenient....Its said that seniors adopt ragging to unleash the frustration n sort of revenge for what was done with them...N its almost true...Ragging is power...And with power comes responsibility ryt...But just as our politicians,when u get the power u just seem to be a different person unless and until u are man of set ideals and integrity...The first thing i did after being a senior and having lots of juniors was to get all the moustaches clean shaved ! U can call that vindictive.But it dint make me feel good or anything special.It was time that i searched what the meaning of ragging was n why its there in first place.I found it a good method to know juniors.Get to know who was good in what al fields...I was lucky enuf to help out some with home sickness.The UNREALZ,my colleagues in hostel were kinda good when it came to ragging.They mixed fun with terror n were quite good in controlling the rebellious ones.We enjoyed the seniorhood in style.But i don know y i had no tears when we'd our farewell in hostel....But i wept lik a baby when UNREALZ passed out....

RAGGING 3 :: Munnabhai MBBS

Year 2005.Calicut medical college
Oh i was so happy to be in a medical college finally.A dream come true....Infact i chose calicut straight away even without considering other colleges.I don know what made me do that.I hadn't even heard of the college before !! Anyways the first day is still crystal clear in my head..Since i was from kollam,a 10hr journey to calicut,we came a day before d class started.N my dad took me to hostel just to check out how twas...In front of the hostel we find machos blasting the pioneer music system in a new car...From that emerges a handsome guy with sparkling eyes and a cute smile n greets my father.They start some conversation and they even have a laugh,then my dad smiles and says,"do a little bit of ragging to him ok".....I's shocked to hear that and the seniors too shared my same expression i think.....
Next day,the first day in hostel,after the introduction classes in college,when we returned,we were greeted by hungry seniors.Now this situation was not new to me..I had been a junior once and even a senior.I never knew what a senior wanted but i did know he wanted respect.So the motto was clear "SHOW RESPECT".And at night i was picked up by the most villainous bunch of seniors,the 45th...There were three other juniors in the room along with 7 other seniors....I knew they were the most senior.And i remained humble than ever n did everything they asked for.......I even licked the ashtray !! Few minutes after which they sort of congratulated me and made me the right hand of THE BHAI....Nobody ragged me till 2...I mean till when i was with them...Then i was called upon by the just senior batch guys n they had their happy time.They were amidst some exams and the frustration and disappointment with themselves came right on us....They asked me some petty things to do and i did it with ease but dint overdo it :) they dint find any fun or what they were looking for...So they left me..I was actually feeling happy and adapted to the situation when everybody else were scared to death.And the next day there was this very funny incident..In mess,a senior asked me to drink hot tea...One thing they dint know was that i hate tea and haven had tea since i was 6 ! The glass was superhot..I took hold of it gently and as i prepared to drink,the senior said not to drink...I was so relieved !! And then he asked some other person to drink it,he replied,"this is very hot".....Bhaam....He was made to drink even the last drop !! Thats how seniors are :) After when i finished my food,i asked the senior sitting in front of me if i could get up and go(from my experience in st.Thomas) which surprised some seniors but they realized that i have been in hostel before.And thus it dint take much time for me to build rapport with the seniors.I think my some of my batchmates looked at me with envy.Anyways I was enjoying the new environment....But that lasted only three days...
There was this guy in my batch and he was from my town oly...He told his father about the cruel ragging in hostel.His dad told my dad and they decided to move us both to an outside hostel....I pleaded my dad not to do it but he refused.....And then i was lik a dayscholar....I would hear stories about ragging in hostel and i found them interesting.Well back in my private hostel there was this hyperactive guy who verbally abused seniors,ofcourse in their absence....When i saw how hypocritic he was,i thought guys lik him deserve ragging...I never had to experience much ragging after that...But you know what was most striking....All the seniors who ragged me remembered me and they smiled whenever they saw me back in college...They even took me to library,at the time when freshers entering library would be ragged lik anything...I met more seniors...They advised me to get back to hostel...I felt lik i began to'v brothers again....
After 7months i succeeded in persuading my dad to get back to hostel.And it was a good time to get back.The ramdan...There were 8 muslim guys who lik me had opted out of hostel n who returned during the month of ramdan....So the ragging had much declined and since it was holy month fewer ragging...Less did we know that seniors had noted us and planned to rag later...Luckily i knew some of the seniors and i did respect them always,unlike the muslim guys who started enjoying the freedom..And eventually they got ragged...Thats when i met the 46th batch....They were known to rag so hard...But I liked them.Twas fun to get ragged by them.They kinda followed what the golden rule of ragging was..."FUN-for the one ragging and d one getting ragged"
The year rolled on...Next year....We the seniors....Now this is the year which changed me and my outlooks lik hell...First i came to know how sick the people in calicut were.Second i saw power in wrong hands....My batchmates had only one intention while ragging....REVENGE...Avenge for what was done to them...I tried talking it out but it dint work...So i dropped the idea of ragging...Yes some of it were funny but they did the same stuff with everyone...Not that i got bored of repetition,they dint care to look the history of whom they were ragging....I don know if you could appreciate if d same question can evoke responses as different as black and white...It depends on lots of things...I could see the deterioration of the art of ragging....Twas becoming a completely bad scenario...It sucked...I felt pity for the juniors who were tasting the sour version of ragging....So i decided to shun the role of a senior and enjoy being a junior of 46th...And trust me, my life would have been hell in calicut without them...They reminded me of my st.Thomas seniors...I had lots of fun with them...They took me out when they partied,they took me to beach,movies,shopping and even taught me techniques and places to birdwatch :) and they made fun of me when i came to know that my so called girl friend was having me as a friend to satisfy her physical desires ! Actually they were disappointed they couldn point out the girl before !! Well they taught me to look at it in a funny angle,the angle of experience :) Anyways life was fun to have them around,and in postings.....I haven seen any 'good' ragging after them.I have this feeling that the art was passed from 45th to 46th but after that the anti ragging came into being.And the phase almost represented the revenge filled process...And till date its the same...The dictum-for what was done to us !!

RAGGING 4 :: The judgement day

Where did it al go wrong ! I'v no idea actually !! Mayb twas the result of the wrong use of power than its productive use,which resulted as nuclear explosion...Progressive with time...As i said before ragging is an art...And its not going to be productive unless the seniors become patient...But a medical student is supposed to have personality traits lik kindliness,honesty,patience,tolerance,perseverance,consciousness,thoroughness and initiative(from the Parks textbook of preventive and social medicine)...And i think ragging was supposed to inculcate some of these...But alas its doing the opposite now...So i think its fair enuf to ban it than give d power in the wrong hands..Yes one of the dreaded outcomes cos of the ban on ragging is that the juniors have lost the respect for seniors.Even the professors have started to say that the students' level of respect has gone down....(The etiology of drop in respect is under debate whether its due to poor standards of teaching)....Anyways ragging including cruel behavior and beating should be prohibited...But that should not leave seniors vulnerable to the whimps and fancies of juniors...The antiragging rule if implemented properly has got serious power...And again this power can be used wrongly by juniors....Just lik women who charge cases of molest on innocent people to gain something....The legalization aint proper....And as for any major society change,the change of self is the most effective and efficient way......Hope the future of ragging is good.....Well i do miss the sweet ragging just like The GreeN.....:)