I was watching Roadies auditions a few days back on TV and I saw this girl talking about St.Stephens college and how fascinating it was to be admitted there and how cool it was etc etc...no need to mention that Raghu and Rajiv clobbered her (verbally)...but that's not the point I wanted to make. Well actually i don't want to make a point. Just want to reminiscence about my old college....yes i was a part of St. Stephens... '99-'01 batch.I still remember my first view of the college, it was the form submission procedure. Now Stephens doesn't really take the common admission forms circulated by DU..they had their own forms, Rs.50 back then. I went to a lot of other colleges too that day, but Stephens was the only college where everything was organised...there was no unruly and jostling crowd stepping on your feet, inspite of the fact that almost 90% of students applying for regular courses do apply there. I was all excited and secretly proud of falling into that magic slot the 'cut out percentage'.
But am not here to recall all the events that happened in college and my reactions to them. Its just that everyone, well almost everyone I have met feel that i have been very privileged to be a part of St. Stephens..some have even taken a double take and changed all their opinions...there's this awe and respect that creeps in. I wont deny that I haven't used it to my advantage every single time I could. But my time in college was so vastly different from what people think...
The truth is...I used to hate my college...I still do...Stephens is a cauldron of snobbish teachers and students or to be exact and respectful to the Stephanian lingo, the Senior Scholar and Junior scholar. Yep we had a lingo, a very sacred one...everyone knows the canteen is cafe and hostel is called res...you see Hostel are for horses, Stephanians reside in the 'Res'. But the college handbook actually has a term for the janitors..the Gyps .
I had taken up History Honours considered to be toughest course and the one of the most prestigious courses in the college...the people before me who have done this course have usually turned out to be dramatists, politicians, media personalities, IAS officer etc etc..So. We had one of the best faculties, lecturers who had a language of their own, something which always went over my head. The tutorials were nightmares with the discussions between the intellectual students and the lecturers like APD going on in a parallel universe for me.
The worst part was however a total lack of warmth in the college...Stephens has a great tradition, culture to keep up and an attitude which keeps everyone out. Its cold and utterly unrealistic. Its anything but fun...and it doesn't suffer weaklings or aberrations easily...God the number of times I have been snubbed. It made me feel inadequate and a nincompoop...And trust me girls there isn't anything remotely romantic about the Stephanian guys..they are all a bunch of snobbish, cocky, highly chauvinistic boys. Most of them turn out to be like Rajiv and Raghu....or Rahul Gandhi. Choice is yours!
There isn't a single good memory of the college which I would want to carry along. This isn't to say that Stephens is a bad choice..no it isn't ..it maintains its very high standards...gives its students a strong backing throughout their lives with its sterling name. Maybe I was all wrong for the college...maybe I wasn't.
I wouldn't want to waste my time contemplating on the various ways it could have been better. So if anyone asks me if I am an Ex Stephanian......I'll just raise my eyebrows in utter disdain and say......."I am not an ex Stephanian, I am an Old Stephanian....once a Stephanian always a Stephanian"
Ad Dei Gloriam
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