Ragging - an exercise in bonding!

"Ragging" was not a bad word in the past and we in St Joseph's had our share of fun whether we were senior or juniors. The most common sight those days was to see the otherwise calm and playground full of girls(or should I say women) in blue flit from one group of raggers to another. The most popular sites were the portions of the playground in front of the three arches in the Homescience and the Hostel block as also the spot in front of the central steps of the main building. Everyone of these spots was reserved for specific groups - the middle arch of the Homescience block for the Homescientists and the other two in that block for the other sciences. The Hostel arches were for the humanities and the central steps were for the B.As (Optional English students as they were called). Looking like a tribal congress the girls would form concentric circles with the hapless juniors at the centre being bullied by two or three seniors whose bark was worse than their bites.

I can never forget one particular instance when the ragger got ragged. There was this meek-looking girl from a rival co-ed school who was asked to recite a nursery ryhme. After a lot of wrigggling and wiggling she started with the famous rhyme " Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie" and when he came to the part "down came the blackbird and pecked off her nose" she very cheekily stepped up to the Senior and very deftly her nose much to the astonishment and horror of all the girls. It will surprise the younger generation to know that that cheeky junior and the tweaked senior became best friends and contiue to be in touch even after their time in the college.
That is what ragging was about in St. Joseph's - an ice breaker and a cementer of friendship between the older and the younger generation. The Sisters and the staff knew and understood the value of this whole tamasha and kept out of the way while making sure that no harm was done to the physic or psyche of the students.
I would be happy to record the 'ragging' experiences of any of the Josephines!