My Chum

If you aren’t a Stanlean, or a Stanlean at heart, don’t bother reading on. You won’t get it. It is about my friend, room mate too, who "endured" five and a half years of total crap from me. If you are wondering what is Stanley, it is my alma mater where I did my undergrad as well as post-grad. Government Stanley Medical college and Hospital, Chennai, India.

No other medical college in India has a name that lends itself to be called yourself by the name of the college. When I can proudly say I am a Stanlean, what do guys who studied in Kilpauk Medical College call themselves. KMC-ians? No it doesn’t suit. And we guys boast of what is called the Stanlean spirit. The Stanlean spirit has nothing to do with alcohol(though it is inevitable part of our functions), but to the sense of camaraderie we enjoyed with our seniors and professors. Everybody talks of it but nobody can define it, as are all good things in life.

My friend studied in his village school and came to Chennai for the second time. The previous time being an "educational" trip when he was in the sixth standard. Small built, dark but with curious eyes, he had an infinite enthusiasm for everything he saw. The girls seemed exceptionally beautiful, the hostel building amazed him, the huge ground in the hostel, the floodlit basket-ball courts, everything fascinated him in a way it did not to me.

The reason was simple. I was less innocent than he. He had another great quality of a good student. He was never afraid to admit that he was ignorant of certain facts and would leave no stone unturned to know it. He took to the gym, practiced basket-ball, took part in cultural events, read extensively and soon was the popular guy in class. On a lighter note he did not forget to propose marriage to every crush of his and invariably it would be declined. But he wasn’t the one to be sullen about it. Try try till you succeed!

He is married to a wonderful lady (of course it was an arranged marriage) and they are expecting their first baby in September. He has just finished his Master's in Anaesthesiology in a reputed institution in South India and launched himself professionally. I just happened to remember him and thought I will post a blog about him.