On Sunday our religion is chicken

I wasn’t a practicing non-vegetarian till I came to NITW. Our institute has its own way of ragging the students-make them eat in a vegetarian mess for one full year and who’s to complain..? Students, for most part of their first year are regarded as 0/4s (not officially..!!) and no one is interested in empathizing with their woes (unless of course they utter the word ‘ragging’). Ragging (CODE RED) is the single most important issue to our beloved and sincere, student-loving faculty and administration. Sick food, sad infrastructure, primordial facilities and an abysmal lack of something called a life for students don’t quite make the cut. So I joined the best non-vegetarian mess in NITW-Cauveri mess a.k.a. 3rd mess when I moved to 2nd year. What follows is my tribute to the weekly mega-event of the 3rd mess-a student activity which has never seen an off-day or a low turn-out. I’m talking about fried chicken on Sunday.


0900 hrs : Sunday mornings are lazy mornings. While the majority of the campus is busy counting sheep crossing fences, a group of highly dedicated individuals are preparing to embark on a mission-the size of each team varies (generally one or two). There’s no saying what fate has in store for them-a minute here and there can make the difference. The choice of weapons vary from operative to operative-how they decide to use them are also varied. Newspapers, kerchiefs or a heavy bunch of keys-some brave souls manage without any weapons at all..!! (the author, a veteran of more than 50 successful missions, suggests operatives carry some form of entertainment-a book, an MP3 player or the current newspaper.) Once the positions are taken a long wait ensues so be prepared.

1000 hrs : Human activity is on a steady rise and extreme caution is to be taken-one blink of the eye and all is lost-the first signs of trouble start brewing as failed operatives try to plunder positions claimed but untended (he knows pretty well that the usurped operative and his back-up team will not be happy and may resort to, first a war of words n expletives, and when all fails hands may start flying. He hopes that they surrender meekly. ) Eyes wander longingly towards the place called kitchen, moving to cell-phones and the wall-clock. Concentrations wane. Any and every noise evinces suspicion and side-way glances. More than half of the battle-field is occupied. Messages, missed calls start coming in, reminding successful operatives of debt of honors and U-O-MEs. (somewhere around then the author receives a short message.”da,keep a seat for me” – SSKs in the church but his stomach reminds him to send this message-what dedication..!! )

1100 hrs : Back up teams start moving in to occupy positions held bravely by their team-mates. Negotiations are on and pacts are getting finalized at different places. The impatience grows, so does the noise. Saarus are slowly coming in – hope rises. Reserved signs on untended positions are removed en bloc and someone immediately occupies it. A late comer takes a peak, hoping against hope that one position is left by error of omission. No hard feelings dude but next round, Loser. Now negotiations start for accession rights – keys are slipped in onto occupied chairs.

1140 hrs : Hustle-bustle, small altercations break out here and there – nothing is paid attention to unless someone is shoved or manhandled. Tongues are wagging as the chicken rolls in. In honor of the chickens who lost their lives a minute of silence is observed. The chicken, served on side plates (chinnas), stacked on a large tray, are brought to the tables where the victorious feast. Activities which follow include stretching the neck muscle to get a good view of the chicken remains,sitting and standing at ones place, haggling with the saaru over a piece, playing snatch-snatch and sometimes eyeing someone else's piece of meat with jealousy or holding of one's head high in pride. Once the ruckus in the form of the tray of chicken passes,things settle down. This peace is momentary and fleeting - extras roll in for one and all. Soon all is devoured as these warriors leave with nothing but bones n chicken skin left on their plates.

1215 hrs : The next batch of people are ready to take positions as the first batch of satiated and sleepy individuals slowly move towards their rooms to sleep.What happens next is not of interest and the author can proudly say that he's never had to stay in the mess past this time on Sundays.Hence, he cannot say what goes on..obviously, everything exciting and of interest is already over.