Reminiscence
Sunday, April 27th, 2008(This is going to be a series of posts leading up to my graduation on August 10th. And it is about the best time of my life)
"Academic success is just on the scroll,
But the memory remains forever etched on soul"
It seems just like a year ago that an idealistic and impressionable young boy walked into a private university in Malacca to register himself for a course he didn’t know much about, nor had much interest in. As unprepared that he was, the boy was pretty excited about the prospect of meeting new people and the abundance of experience to be gathered in his time there. 6 years on, this boy, now a man, would like to pen down his story of the most glorious times of any person’s life - the university years.
I was 17 going on 18 when i registered myself in MMU Melaka for a degree course in electronics engineering. At that time, my brother was studying for mechanical engineering in UTM while my father was a civil engineer. There was not much question of what my future would be after high school. The question was rather, "Which engineering school would you like?".
When we all moved to KL from Penang after my Form 5, i had met a guy called Pradeep in the Sai Centre in Subang. He was my age and applied for MMU too. We chatted a bit, and though i found him to be a bit of a rebel, we sorta clicked. Later i found out that he thought i had nice features and a funky hairstyle. I just thought he was a funny prick.
Later, fate would decide that this funny prick ended up being my roommate in Emerald Park, a jailhouse of a private hostel just outside the MMU main gate. Orientation week started as soon as we registered, and we all were allowed to mingle and make new friends. I met a small framed boy called Nirmal. At first glance he looked like a typical Malayalee boy from Kerala. A few football games together (and missing penalties together) got me acquainted to him. He was Punjabi. I swear to God, Penang never had Punjabis that small and cute. They were all huge, beer-bellied and bearded. This guy was small, clean-shaven and puked after one can of beer.
One day, as Pradeep and I sat and spoke about the people we’ve met and exchanged notes about girls, he said he met one particular guy who is so damn cool. And the reason why this boy was cool was because he had the biggest and best porn collection and was willing to share it with us. And this is how i met Rohan. Initially, i must say, Rohan didnt impress me much, neither did his porno collection which never really made it to our room. But Rohan lived just opposite our room in EP, and so being friends with Rohan made me meet another guy called Puva. This guy Puva was from Ipoh. He started talking the day i met him, and he is still going strong. I’ve had some good chats with this guy, and never will I ever doubt that he’s going to be a politician.
Football was a big part of my life then, and i joined a group of guys who played football at a small area of sand and dead grass just beside the tennis courts. Here is where i met the best part of what will turn out to be WhupAss Clan and NUTS FC. I met Kishen, a really good footballer. I met Bal, a big sized bhai dude with a girl’s voice and a small boy’s turban. I met Devan and Khugan, both identical in terms of their anorexic body but very tough on the ball. Also got to meet Vinoth, a pretty nice guy to chat with but somehow disappeared every time the lights went off. Apart from these guys, i also met a guy from Sabah called Coach. Coach didnt quite like me in the beginning because Pradeep stepped on his hands once during football. But within weeks, Coach didn’t stand the idea of being deprived of our friendship, and he approached us to seek forgiveness. We duly forgave him, and established the start of the craziest of times in Emerald Park, which ended with all of us being kicked out of EP and Coach returning to Sabah without a proper farewell.
Naresh Lal and Jayaveera were other 2 guys whom i’ve known before coming into MMU, and they continued to be my friends in university. Jayaveera was our roommate for a long time in EP, and the smell of his fart still lingers in certain regions of EP. Naresh was one of the guys sitting with Nirmal and I in Rama Ram(now known as Spices Hub but still tasting the same), when we formed NUTS FC. Naresh was goalkeeper. Our team never lost by conceding less than 3 goals at those times. My best memory of Naresh as keeper was when he took a goal kick that hit one of the defenders standing just meters away from him. If im not wrong, it must’ve been Vinoth, and the game must’ve been after dusk.
Whup Ass Clan was formed primarily to allow a bigger number of people into our circle of friends. We really loved having new members in Whup Ass Clan, because that would mean a new Ass to Whup. I remember the time Pradeep and I were christened into the Clan. I wore double belts and a tight jeans. It was to no avail. I couldnt sit for a few hours, thanks to Ramanan - a guy who i only remember as the best hand in an Ass whupping session. The only consolation i got was, i chose to go first, which means i got to whup Pradeep’s ass. Pradeep’s non-existent ass, that is.
I think only a few guys really escaped getting whupped, with reasons varying from asthma attacks (Jayaveera) to just simply being a cry baby about it (Bal). But if ever there was a guy whom we did not whup because of his sheer destructive nature, it was Melvin. This was a guy, averagely built with lots of hair from cheeks to toe, who can just slap you accidentally if you are within his reach. Try poking his hips if you want to know what a concussion feels like. Melvin Raj - the most clumsy dont-touch-me guy I’ve ever met.
The way i met Giribalan was very memorable. Prior to this event, i only knew Giri as a nerdy boy who hung out with nerds. Then, something happened that changed everything. Giri had slapped a guy called Bryan. And though Bryan had literally asked for it, there was some "tak-puas-ness" about the whole thing. Giri sought some help, and at the end of the day, General Coach got involved and Bryan and his screwdriver yielding gang from Kajang were ousted.
(to be continued - fuck, i havent even finished on Alpha and there’s so much to write, i think this write-ups gonna have a lot of sequels!!!)
Coming up next…
The association with the local thug Pathma
A foul-mouthed Sai brother Selva
Sleeping in Melaka town waiting for the 7am bus
and last but not least…
Failing exams.
Enjoy…