Shakespeare was no apocalyptic soothsayer, but the Ides of March sure did bring along whimsical tides of insurgency in Manipal. The theme of Revels 2012 incidentally is synonymous with the happenings of the month. The rumbling roars of “Mighty Mighty MIT” bellow through the basketball court and the events in Revels are all centred on ‘Change’. However, in the midst of all this action, the wrecked NLH is still there for all to see and gape at.
Introspection into this makes us think over a lot of things. Was it necessary for a student’s death to trigger the changes? At the same time, did it need such an inglorious protest that has marred the reputation of the institution among public and the media? Throughout the fiasco, the mob had its guns trained on the student council and administration for lack of implementation. The Facebook groups were of course germinating comments and posts by the second. Moral implications and ethical principles were disregarded and personal agendas came to the fore. A few buffoons even had the audacity to bring up issues such as complete removal of attendance, domination of chef on wheels in messes and extension of perm time. Some misused the expired student’s name and cause to get back at the administration. The candlelight march on the next day saw 200 odd people, so where were the thousands who stood in the name of ‘Justice’? Nevertheless, a change was needed, it has come.
The insidious lips that spew venom are now sober. Flaunting t-shirts with “We the change” doesn’t mean much. It all boils down to appreciating that change and positively accepting every bit of it. Promises have been made are being fulfilled one at a time. “We the change” – Yeah, sounds cool, but what is the change?
The college timings have been adjusted to prevent the congestion of buses and messes at the same time. A decision has been made to renovate Annapoorna mess to accommodate the exponential increase in intake.
Mostly importantly, the bus drivers have become patient and slow. The frequency has been increased manifold (2- 3 buses waiting at 16th block at any point of peak time). There are adequate trips to and from 9th block during the lunch break. Bus doors are being closed. In buses without doors, students are not allowed into the bus beyond an extent and the conductor stands on the footboard and hangs boldly making himself a human shield for any untoward incident.
We expect too much idealism when we are nowhere close. No doubt the authorities were negligent and ineffective at times. The undiplomatic method used to bring the change is still questionable, but that is a different discussion altogether. We salute the authorities for taking the first step in developing MIT into a holistic learning environment with mutual satisfaction. The least we can do now is to be patient and wait for more radical improvements to set in.
As we leave behind the hallowed scenes of March and enter the April springs, the hero of this month will live in our hearts forever. His parents may still not have recovered from the bereaved loss. However, they have a thousand souls praying for them somewhere along the southern coast of India.
| This is a Guest Post by Girish Kumar, from Bangalore. He pursuing a B.E in Computer Science Engineering at Manipal Institute of Technology Manipal.He can be contacted via email at [email protected] and on Facebook. His personal blog is at The Devil’s Workshop. |
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