The makers of SSB could well predict that it will house the most notorious students who would be engaged in some sinful activities or the other and hence, a temple was built to wash off their sins.
However you will not require any special skill to note that the temple itself needed much washing and cleaning. It was situated in an isolated corner of the school campus so that Lord Shiva could not see what we were doing. But I liked it because of it’s old structure and the fact that Pooja was performed regularly.
Our very own Library assistant named Mr Panigrahi was entrusted with the holy task of maintaining the sanctity of the temple. He was an early riser and a god-fearing man. God had given him an uncanny sense of knowing who was stealing books in the Library. He might as well say now “AB TAK CHAPPAN ” or even more.
It was 17th of February, 1996, one month before the much awaited Board exams. The chilly winter had done little to give us a breather. We were all decked up in Blazers and pullovers and were getting ready to pay our obeisances to Lord Siva, the destroyer.
The temple was also open to the general public as it was close to Mancheswar and Gadakhanda, a village at the end of the industrial estate. I do not have vivid details of the incident that happened at the temple as I was not there but this story was narrated to me by R K Patro during dinner time.
Some guys from the village Gadakhanda had gone too far. They had beaten our class mates in our own territory. Again I do not remember the names who were the victims that day. It happened during the “Aarti” when the Gadakhanda guys were acting too smart.
The fact that we were outsmarted by a band of hooligans from a village, was not taken that sportively by our classmates. We set sail on a journey after the dinner. Our very own U K Mohapatra was our guiding light and the navigator as he knew the place very well and thankfully he also knew the guy who had hit our friends.
Before we could start our adventure, we made sure that even the bookworms of our class take part in it. After all ,the solidarity and reputation of the class XIIth guys was at stake. Some juniors who witnessed the fiasco in the temple were warned to be tight-lipped about the incident or else they could face our wrath.
Our armour was full with hockey sticks, grass cutting swords, cricket bats, iron rods, wood batons of peculiar sizes. We took the topsy road behind our school for Gadakhanda. It was pitch dark and we enjoyed the thought of being invisible to everyone. We had decided to confront the Gadakhanda guy in his own village. Filmy style huh...
There were two guards who saw us near the main gate and shouted at us. When they saw 35 people marching with not so friendly looks and with a lot of baggage, they stood there, not moving an inch. They ran away after seeing all of us and we laughed again, being happy with our first victory. What we could not visualize then, that they had intimated the local police.
We could not even cross our school boundary and were apprehended by the police in jeeps and motor-cycles. Again cross country running had come to our rescue. We were running in a zig-zag way without thinking twice. We ran all the way from the school to the hostels. I remember Debashish Panda crying because his father would know and he will be screwed. The policeman near Mahanadi house was shouting that we can’t escape and we should surrender. It was as if we were trying to run away from one of his jails. He shouted again “SURRENDER KARA NACHET, BAHUT KHARAP PARINAM HABA”.
Someone shouted amongst us.” SAALA POLICE”. The policeman got agitated by our abusive behaviour. He called someone from his walkie-talkie. D Panda cried again and we all started running towards the Godavari house.
We stayed there for a while and went to our respective houses via the secret doors.
We all laughed the next day in school. We could never find out the Gadakhanda guy again. God save his soul.
So on the night of Shivaratri, Lord Shiva had destroyed our plans and our ego as well.
D Panda was very happy that he was safe.
However you will not require any special skill to note that the temple itself needed much washing and cleaning. It was situated in an isolated corner of the school campus so that Lord Shiva could not see what we were doing. But I liked it because of it’s old structure and the fact that Pooja was performed regularly.
Our very own Library assistant named Mr Panigrahi was entrusted with the holy task of maintaining the sanctity of the temple. He was an early riser and a god-fearing man. God had given him an uncanny sense of knowing who was stealing books in the Library. He might as well say now “AB TAK CHAPPAN ” or even more.
It was 17th of February, 1996, one month before the much awaited Board exams. The chilly winter had done little to give us a breather. We were all decked up in Blazers and pullovers and were getting ready to pay our obeisances to Lord Siva, the destroyer.
The temple was also open to the general public as it was close to Mancheswar and Gadakhanda, a village at the end of the industrial estate. I do not have vivid details of the incident that happened at the temple as I was not there but this story was narrated to me by R K Patro during dinner time.
Some guys from the village Gadakhanda had gone too far. They had beaten our class mates in our own territory. Again I do not remember the names who were the victims that day. It happened during the “Aarti” when the Gadakhanda guys were acting too smart.
The fact that we were outsmarted by a band of hooligans from a village, was not taken that sportively by our classmates. We set sail on a journey after the dinner. Our very own U K Mohapatra was our guiding light and the navigator as he knew the place very well and thankfully he also knew the guy who had hit our friends.
Before we could start our adventure, we made sure that even the bookworms of our class take part in it. After all ,the solidarity and reputation of the class XIIth guys was at stake. Some juniors who witnessed the fiasco in the temple were warned to be tight-lipped about the incident or else they could face our wrath.
Our armour was full with hockey sticks, grass cutting swords, cricket bats, iron rods, wood batons of peculiar sizes. We took the topsy road behind our school for Gadakhanda. It was pitch dark and we enjoyed the thought of being invisible to everyone. We had decided to confront the Gadakhanda guy in his own village. Filmy style huh...
There were two guards who saw us near the main gate and shouted at us. When they saw 35 people marching with not so friendly looks and with a lot of baggage, they stood there, not moving an inch. They ran away after seeing all of us and we laughed again, being happy with our first victory. What we could not visualize then, that they had intimated the local police.
We could not even cross our school boundary and were apprehended by the police in jeeps and motor-cycles. Again cross country running had come to our rescue. We were running in a zig-zag way without thinking twice. We ran all the way from the school to the hostels. I remember Debashish Panda crying because his father would know and he will be screwed. The policeman near Mahanadi house was shouting that we can’t escape and we should surrender. It was as if we were trying to run away from one of his jails. He shouted again “SURRENDER KARA NACHET, BAHUT KHARAP PARINAM HABA”.
Someone shouted amongst us.” SAALA POLICE”. The policeman got agitated by our abusive behaviour. He called someone from his walkie-talkie. D Panda cried again and we all started running towards the Godavari house.
We stayed there for a while and went to our respective houses via the secret doors.
We all laughed the next day in school. We could never find out the Gadakhanda guy again. God save his soul.
So on the night of Shivaratri, Lord Shiva had destroyed our plans and our ego as well.
D Panda was very happy that he was safe.
Haaaahahaa good one bro...
ReplyDeleteBut if even the bookworm guys took part in it why didnt u???.
heheh
Isn't it fun Santosh. really,rememebering some old incidents and putting it in words. I found it amusing.keep posting. i'd love to read more
ReplyDeleteYou are right Alok...I will keep posting more and thank you for showing interest in my blog...keep visiting and keep spreading the word...ha ha ha
ReplyDeleteI like to read especially if i know the person. That adds to the reading experience. It helps connecting.
ReplyDeleteI liked the flow and simlicity of the write up.
Try this.This is almost true with added flavors.
http://planet6oclock.com/?q=node/13
How on earth did i miss this story or perhaps i had forgotten or too busy with stories on hockey field!!
ReplyDeleteMr Tennis Analyst....who r u baba? wat is ur real name? did u go to Maldives recently or u were in UK for 2 years?
ReplyDeleteHey brother....
ReplyDeleteGood One... You can publish a Book on your Campus Experience at Sainik School Bhubaneswar..
Good Luck.. Go Ahead.... u have along way to go.....
I liked this very much.
~ Naren
:-)
Sk, This was really daring.
ReplyDelete@NS..Thank you dude.Writing a book is definitely in the pipeline but that may take some time.
ReplyDelete@Martha Sir : yes sir...it really was daring.There are many more that you will read later when I add them in my blog.