PHYSIOPALS...

Five glorious years of college life are drawing to an end. As an school student, I would look up to college life as something very alien, something very fascinating, and something very elderly and serious. our backpacks converted to shoulder ones, our formal school uniform of dichromatic shades, converted to informal jeans-t shirt, our tight school routine converted to carefree college bunks, and yet the childishness of school upgraded to a serious image of college life- thats how i had perceived college life.

Hence, when I entered Presidency College (after the second round of counselling), I was proud- not only to be a part of Kolkata's best college, but also to have become a more mature guy...a college guy! The ambiance of Presi- with its large fields and old buildings, with its large LTs and Labs- was a complete contrast to the compact structure of my school, and it felt different somewhere within.

As I first stepped into the long verandah of the Department of Physiology,a few of my future classmates greeted me with open arms ( and protruded ..ahem..). One of my school classmates was already there..and I felt a little at ease, though not completely at home. reason being: I was not sure that I belonged here completely....my apathies for biology, combined with my tensions for JEE never allowed me to enjoy the first year of the college life to its fullest. As the classes started, I found myself enjoying them..not because I liked the subjects or so...but because of my classmates. Most of them (barring 2-3) where from Kolkata and its outskirts. I enjoyed their companionship to the fullest..keeping up to the tradition of CU, classes were scarce, and hence, off periods were not a luxury. My metro journey back home brought me closer to friends like Agnivo, Aparajita, Krishnendu and later, Deboleena. But still, my long bouts of absence .. (I was "studying" at home for JEE).. didnt let me get involved with the general activities of the department ( Reunion for eg). My only link to the Department at that phase was Agnivo, with whom I used to meet regularly at Golpark RKM, to exchange notes, and much more importantly, hog. The rest of the department, was almost alien to me at that time.

What brought us together was me not cracking JEE (expectedly for me, unexpectedly for my father, and I ended up shedding tears in a Meena Kumari pose all afternoon, and then downloading and dancing to KANK tunes that very night), not a lot of people cracking the xam. So, the batch was left with a group of like minded people, and we started to move together everywhere. Hence, (as still classes were rare) we started frequenting each of our houses for get togethers, dancing and hogging away. I started to get more acquainted with the genius to had greeted me on day 1 with protruded ....ahem...Neelanjan Chatterjee, and gradually, became close to Madhurima, Rituparna (who was Agni's soulmate at that time and till today), Deboleena (we both are aquarians), Sakshi (my crush)..and so on. Among the others, Sayan and Sugata would be busy with IC, and I came close to them, ironically, after leaving Presi. Sumitash, Krishnendu, Uttam and Priyanka were always the quieter among the lot, ( though priyanka's songs were not so quiet), and Chadan would always be bullied like anything. Together, we formed what we called the "Physiopals"...our memories embedded in the thousands of fotos and videos, our excursion memories, and our ongoing activities even at MSc....our bonding still goes on, much to the envy of our present classmates. Below, Im documenting what I think of my fellow Physiopals today...after 5 yrs of association.

roll 163: Agnivo Niyogi (aka Aagan aka Agni): maybe my closest friend amongst physiopals. we have had our share of differences no doubt...a plethora of not very common experiences..but apart from that, he's the most helpful person I have ever seen. His priorities change more frequently than Mamata Banerjee inaugurates a railway project. he's also a mental genius, with a photographic memory!! Of late, he has been a little impossible with his twitter mania enshrouding him to the fullest, but that doesnt stop him from being a nice guy, a great physiopal, and my closest among them.

roll 177: Uttam Pal (aka Uti) the quietest among the physiopals, he's one of the most hardworking one with multifaceted talent. His discipline in life is something we should all learn from. Though he's stubborn at times, and surprisingly babbling at other rare times, he's someone we all look up to as an ideal student.

roll 180: Madhurima Dhara (aka madhu) she's jolly, she quarrelsome, she's friendly...she's everything one can be. She's my ma.I wonder what I would have done in the 3rd year without her xeroxed notes! She's ulti helpful, and caring...and almost substituted for my mother during the excursions. She's also an intelligent girl, and an enjoyable classmate

roll 185: Suvosree Ray (aka paperweight aka buladi) she can be called as a physiopalloid, much like a metalloid. she wasnt much of a company during Presi days, but whenever she was, she would be friendly and jolly. what I like is that even after presi days, she calls and keeps in contact with some of us...a testimony of the bonding.

Roll 191: Neelanjan Chatterjee (aka Neelu aka Duldul)the most popular amongst the physiopals, he's a genious with his debating prowess and oratory skills. but more importantly, he's a great friend, and an awesome company. where, on one hand, I wont ever forget the help he meted out to me during 2007, I also appreciate the fact that he constantly keeps in touch from Ahmedabad even if not reciprocated. He's one person we got closest to in 3rd year.

roll 193: Krishnendu Sarkar (Krrishh)We know the least about him, as we saw the least of him. When he's there, he's the coolest, and the only one Iv never seen angry.

roll 194:Sumitash Jana (aka Janu) Again a strict disciplinarian, he's what we call mr perfect- someone every mom wants as a son and every mom in law wants as a son in law. a perfect family guy and an intelligent one, (though indecent and spoilsport at times), he's a sweet company.........when he's there)

roll 247: Sayan Mullik Chowdhury I got close to him (not physically) only after college, as he was busy with the union during the college days). He's a cool company and a jolly one, and though he innocently bluffs at times (revealing bluffs, though), he's also one of the most helpful and jolly friends. And handsome too... :) and we all luv his mom's biryani.

roll 251: Sugata Roy (chhoku): Well, he's a little aloof these days, thanks to his luv and studies, but again, he's also one person who constantly keeps in touch , even without reciprocation. and when he's there, no guy is spared of his hand, and its pressing. :)

roll 252: Rituparna Mandal (Ritu): she's a cute classmate, though craving for attention all the time with her RJs. But she's one of them who really keeps in touch, and demands for our presence ( though her demands irritate us at the moment, its really out of her loyalty to the friendship, as we do realise later). Though some of her antics are ..well..anyways...she's a great pal..and a small pal too!

roll 254: Priyanka Kejriwal: without her mood swings, she's cool! though interactions with her has not been much, she traumatises the crowd with her songs when she's there, and we all luv her mom's aam ras!

Roll 260: Chandan Champa Baha Hembram: (aka tommy): she has always been a target of bullies, but a great pal nevertheless. her histrionic sometimes puts us to laugh...but again, we treasure those moments as the most enjoyable ones. she's a great pal...though mostly missing from most get2gethers, and a "loyal" one too

roll 261: Sakshi Arora (aka pinky). she's beautiful, she's sexy, and she's jolly! she has the potential to make a depressed crowd dance ( maybe with her jolly nature..or maybe with her shouts)...she has been a great friend...though aloof in the 3rd yr, and a great help....(deshapriya park)...(and also a great crush :))...and qudos also to her cheating histrionics....though we missed u big time during the excursions, along with pri..



roll 262: Debaleena Basu (Linz): she's a complex mixture practicality and impracticality....though i still resent one of her recent activities..i agree that my rapport with her is one of the bests amongst the physiopals. and that is evident through my movies featuring herself and agni. and above all we are fellow aquarians (and share the same frustrations regarding studies :P :P ). to add, we'v also turned her house into a shooting studio ;P




that...sums up...my physiopals... :)