Artwork by Prof. Arun Inamdar
Nostalgia time! For some fundoo hostel memories. Pondies. Gaalis. Water fights. EPs/PAFs. Cult trophy. Sports trophy. Inter wing tourneys. Bridge. Carom. TT. Footer. Basketball. Volleyball. Chess. Antakshari. Chayageet. Dumb Charades. Chai at canteen. Ghats. Pseuds. Gujjus. Bhaiyas. Bawas. Mallus. Punjus. Hajjar memories come flooding by of all our muggoos, cribbus and hugroos.
I had a cack with Queenbee and she said, “Lingobee! You write the next editorial.”
“AVOID!” was my retort. Never took so much tension even during endsems.
But she persisted. “C’mon Lingo! You faat away endlessly. You know all the fundas of hostel life. You can write a majboot editorial. C’mon Lingobee! BANA DE.”
So here I am Junta. Tried hard, but could not ghiss out of this assignment. I know zot about writing editorials. But what to do? Queenbee screwed my happiness. I’m not even sure if junta will understand the IITB lingo of day-before-yesterday. Because that too has evolved like the hostels. What has remained intact is the Hostel spirit. Known as RLC during our times. Those spirits were flavoured. Orange, pineapple, mosambi and cashew. But the colour that has remained intact is the green colour. EVERGREEN actually. This issue seeks to tell you why EVERGREEN is more than a colour. It’s a project. It’s our mission. And it’s our religion now.
Read on for some senti reminiscing about tales from hostels. Hoss-Tales.
Queenbee adds…
Here’s a glossary of some of the terms used by Lingobee since he has used the “then” lingo which may not be intelligible to the “now” junta.
Pondies: Evergreen literature. Tinted blue.
Gaalis: Exchange of pleasantries in a matriarchal setting.
Hajjar: Literally one thousand. But denotes a huge volume.
Muggoos: Mugging away endlessly.
Cribbus: Cribbing away endlessly
Hugroos: Losers. Flop-showers. Endlessly of course.
Cack: Not gujju for a bakery product. Talk. Yap. Jab.
Faat: Cacking away with random, reckless and spiced up abandon.
Majboot: Literally strong. But meant to be solid in this context.
Bana De: Just do it. (Nike should pay a royalty to IITB)
Ghiss: Corruption of Ghus. One always ghisses into or out of a situation.
Zot: Zero. Matched with the test scores of many of us.
RLC: Ratna Country Liquor Bar. Should have been RCL. But was tweaked to RLC to match the circuitry of EE dept.
Table of Contents
H5 Enhancement Project – the Seed for Project Evergreen
In mid-2019, one of our classmates (C’77) posted pictures of our hostel 5 on WhatsApp. There was an uproar.
Timeless Memories of H10
It has been 30 years since we graduated, and yet the thought of my wing brings an instant lifting of the spirit and a bubble of laughter in my throat.
TGIF: Holiday Caper!
Who doesn’t like an unexpected holiday being declared, especially students pleasantly surprised when a snow day or a rainy day is suddenly announced at a school or a college?
Six Memories of H6
The first memory has to be of the first entry into the hostel in blinding rain. Since I had not yet studied engineering, I knew how to fix a bulb…
Community Living
IITB was my first experience of community living. There was very little of ‘this is mine’.
An Elegy on the Death of an Yellow Bike
The yellow bike was an abomination. Its owner, who was named after the mating call of the Rana Tigrina, was contemplating the despicable act of making money from a hand…
Vintage Student Publications from IIT Bombay
When I joined IIT Bombay in 1974 the first piece of “publication” that I got was an introduction to the Students’ Gymkhana.
A Trip to Matheran on Bicycles and ‘Ghee’ Stories
The first week of January 1972, we had returned to the Institute after the winter break.
Empowerment – Not Just a Pipe Dream!
IITB was a very special place. H10 at IITB was an even more special place.
Metamor4sis! Planting Trees Under the Shade of Which We Would Never Sit
As background, I had the honor of serving as General Secretary (GS) of Hostel 4 in 1968-69 1 . During my H4 GS term, we broke all norms for a hostel…
A Short History of Powai
Long, long ago, in 1965, archeologists were scandalized to find a stoned student in the bed of Powai Lake (surname first), who pretended that it was routine matter.
The Great Indian Rope Trick
Wings also invariably brought together students from different years, thus acting as the passing of the baton of stories and folklore.
Origin of the Ladies Hostel on the IITB Campus
The first girl to join the B.Tech. program of IIT Bombay was Tejaswini Saraf (now Kanvinde).
A Casual Reminiscence of an NSS Trip
Somewhere in the second semester, we were told that we need to have a field trip to gather the mandatory 100 hours needed for social service in the first two…
Hoss-tales: Evergreen Memories of a B&W Era
I am Bankim Biswas and what I write is a lot of bunkum and wishwash. I write about “then” and “now” scenarios. I am from the “then” generation. Mercifully so.…
Despo-Nair
Once upon a time, there was a magazine called the Debonair. It was famous for its nude centrespreads. Nobody knows what else there was in the magazine.
Start-up of Start-ups
I don’t exactly know, but let me tell you about some start-ups that occurred in the late nineteen sixties.
Memorable Hostel Days
It happened suddenly. Messmates started shouting and there was chaos. Demands were made as to who prepared aloo subzi for the dinner.
Rites of Passage
About a week or two after I became a resident of Hostel 4 on the campus, for some reason I was a bit late getting to the mess for dinner.…
Bitter and Sweet Memories of H11Mess
There is a widespread belief among hostel inmates that you would not feel homesick if your hostel served good food. This belief is likely true as most of us enjoyed…
H5 Thirty Five Years On
I was visiting H5 after over 35 years. My wife was accompanying me and I was keen to show her my room and relive memories of some of the best…
The Word is Grease
This was our fifth year. Knowing that we’d disperse the following year, we maximized the fun aspect of our hostel and wing life – in the silliest of ways (looking…
Literally Speaking
When Ali sent a message via Ashok Kamath wanting a piece about the ‘literary life’ of IIT Bombay during my time there, I had to dig into rapidly dissipating memories,…
Looking Back with Mr. Sharad Saraf: IITB in the ’60s
Interviewers: Adil Khan, Samyak Shah This interview was conducted as part of Department of Electrical Engineering’s “Alumni and Corporate Engagement” initiative. Check out the Department’s official student newsletter at this…
Nostalgia Nuggets
I usually never bunked lectures but it so happened that I was down with fever and felt too delirious to attend that day.
Nostalgia Nugget: Making Faces
We used to have a common Freshie’s night in LT for all hostels, in which freshers exhibited various skills .
Nostalgia Nugget: A Muddy Magazine
Arun Kaul wrote, acted in, directed and produced plays, skits, entertainment programs. One of his outlandish media adventure was the production of a “magazine”.
Nostalgia Nuggets
I had to miss my B.Tech convocation due to my stupidity on Janmashtami in 1973.
Nostalgia Nugget
This was in our third year. We had just won the Institute Treasure Hunt. Our joy knew no bounds. Jitna daru ka stock tha pee liye. But yeh Dil Mange…
Nostalgia Nugget: Look Before You Leap
One night, four students were playing till late night and could not study for the test which was scheduled for the next day.
Nostalgia Nuggets
The MI rock show took place in the SAC amphitheater, and the sound check would go on for what felt like hours (especially for the headlining bands).
Nostalgia Nugget: War Piece
There used to be, and maybe there still is, a quota for foreign students. The IITs used to attract students from all over the global south.
Nostalgia Nuggets
Jimy Uranwala and Sapnon Ki Rani I could hardly believe my ears when I heard someone in my hostel wing strumming his guitar and practising singing “Mere Sapnon ki Rani,…
Nostalgia Nuggets
I always recall the eclectic collection of professors from all over India who taught us various subjects during our years at IITB.
