Be ragged or else be damned?

When did we start seeing “ragging” as a part of college curriculum?

Is ragging necessary to mould a student?

I have heard students and teachers justify “ragging”. They say it helps a person to face the real world. Is it so? Will the scars of ragging ever fade? And sometimes the scars can be physical too as in this recent case in a reputed college in Coimbatore.

Another ragging incident jolts India
Sunday, 12.04.2009, 08:29am (GMT)
Kochi/Coimbatore : Ragging extends to be a threat in colleges despite severe stricture passed by the Supreme Court to ban it.

Another shocking incident has come to light this time in Tamil Nadu. The incident dates back to March 8, a day after the medical student buckled under to injuries inflicted by his seniors at a private-run institute in Himachal Pradesh.

A 19-year old fresher at the PSG College of Arts and Science in Coimbatore was ragged savagely, nearly losing his eye.

Akil Dev is now recouping at his home in Kochi, and has underwent two operations in the eyes so far.

New Delhi, Friday 13 March 2009:

In another shocking incident of a student being ragged in college, a girl student of an agriculture engineering college in Andhra’s Baptla town has attempted suicide. The 20-year-old student of the Government Agriculture Engineering College attempted suicide after allegedly being ragged and physically abused by her seniors.
Reports say that, the alleged victim was forced to strip and dance as part of ragging. Embarrassed by the entire episode, she consumed a hairdye solution and collapsed. Some reports also state that it may have been pesticides that she consumed.

The meaning of Ragging:

- to scold somebody persistently or vehemently
- to subject somebody to persistent teasing or taunting

Yes, it is taunting as a start and those who resist the taunting are then subjected to torture.

I remember my hostel days in Trivandrum where one student in our batch was caught ragging her juniors. The punishment that was meted out was for the whole batch and I still remember standing in the open area in the middle of the hostel and writing imposition. We did try to have a little fun out of it, but none of us ever wanted to rag. And none of my friends ever found ragging fun and I don’t remember being ragged. But the scene has changed over the recent years and now students are scared to join some colleges in fear of ragging. I have heard it myself from parents and students. Some parents were forced to seek admission in “safer” colleges for their wards after having paid the fees and when the wards refused to continue. Some students eventually lose a year for this sake. Do we call these students “chicken hearted”? I do not think so. Even if a student end up being a total “nerd” for not having interacted normally with the students, I guess it would be fine than scarring him/her permanently. And our world does need such students too.

I was relieved to find this on the web:

http://www.noragging.com/

http://noragging.blogspot.com/

Happy Vishu!

Happy Vishu to all!

Soon after Vishu celebrations will come the Lok Sabha elections and let us hope that the best candidates are selected.

Meanwhile, it is time to think about our vacation since we already purchased our tickets!

This time we are going a little early since there is a marriage in the family.

Hubby is busy checking the roads that he would like to cover this time and I as usual cannot resist reminding him that we make plans every time while only some of them materializes. He has found new roads to reach Calicut through places that we both have never seen. I also keep reminding him that it is a shame that we have never seen Fort Cochin! It is also some years since we visited Ooty and I would like to take the trip to Mudumalai once again and visit Wayanad too.

Last year we could drive down Munnar,




through Chinnar wildlife sanctuary, Marayur Sandal Wood forest, Malakkapara, Sholayar forest ranges to reach Athirampally and Vazhachal.






The drive through the Sholayar forest was a treat!

Although the roads were bad, the thrill of going through deserted roads through the middle of thick forest was a treat. We did see a few wild animals but since we were advised to get out of the road before 6 PM we did not stop much on the way.




Besides we saw fresh elephant dung on the roads and our imaginations ran wild. Hubby who was behind the steering wheels was having a time of his life. The scenes were picturesque and we saw only 2 vehicles during our almost 4 hours drive.

We had a glimpse of the Peringalkuthu & Sholayar Dams and was actually relieved to reach Athirapally; only to find that the waterfall was closed to visitors after 5 PM.



We watched the beautiful falls from afar before driving to Calicut.




Sure nothing is definite these days ( remembering Lehman brothers is enough to drive this point home!)

If all our plans do not materialize the way we dream, the visit to Kumarakom (which is the nearest tourist destination for us) to have another glimpse and taste of the following scene (for which there are takers from the above 70 year category too) cannot be missed at any cost!