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From 1965 to 1985 the Notice Board of the Physics Department at IIT KGP was free for all. It didn't have a front glass panel with a lock.
Apart from official notices like seminars, office orders, Ph D vivas and such, they were often adorned with highly readable content like Lost & Found ads. Like for instance:
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Under which would duly appear a scribble:
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Or, Nandi Chowdhury would announce the start of season of his Green Swimmers Association...where he teaches campus kids and infants to survive in the deplorably polluted Gymkhana Lake...blue swimming trunks, green tops, and red caps (for detection of the drowning and floating) being compulsory.
In 1985 Prof K took over as our HoD and the first thing he did was to close the Notice Board with a glass panel and lock it up and keep its key with his Office Assistant (OA) instructing him that anyone (other than himself) who wishes to put up a notice on the official Notice Board should take his approval before his OA opens it and pins up the said notice, closes it securely, and pockets its key.
This was a ripe recipe for the celebrated Bernard Levin's Theorem to kick in:
http://gpsastry.blogspot.in/2010/07/bernard-levins-theorem.html
Even teachers who wished to put up some announcement for their students or even their grade lists had to beg for the key from the OA since the HoD is often 'busy in a meeting'.
And then there was this St Agnes School in the campus for the campus kids from Nursery to Class V. This was a branch of the main school, called hilariously, the 'High' St Agnes School which was located in the Kharagpur Town. The Principal of the campus school was a forbidding-looking nun. And a bus used to arrive everyday from the High St Agnes, carrying her and several of her teachers and students from the town at 8 in the morning...and take them back at 1 in the afternoon.
Most parents in the campus then preferred to admit their kids to this campus school for a decent 'convent education'. My son too studied there for all of 6 years. Since the campus was small and cozy then, we used to carry our kids on our pushbikes or scooters at 8 sharp and fetch them back home at 1 PM during our lunch break.
There were no campus telephones then.
The school was housed in an old British Raj relic...roomy but dark, and hot in summer. Without lights and fans there was no way of holding all those kids and their teachers confined within their class rooms.
One April morning at 9, after dropping my son in his school, I was scanning our Physics Notice Board and found pinned there an official announcement from our Electrical Section going like:
"Due to scheduled maintenance work from the West Bengal Electricity Board, there will be no power supply in the entire campus between 8 AM and 2 PM on 7.4.1985...bla bla bla..."
7.4.1985 happened to be 'tomorrow'.
Since St Agnes School was not part of the official network, copies of such notices were not sent to the school Principal.
Since April was the humidest and hottest month of the year, I thought it would be impossible for the school to hold its classes 'tomorrow' without fans and lights for all of their 5 working hours. And they had no way of 'letting the students off' once they had arrived and were taken in...all parents would have left after dropping their kids by the time the school bus with the Principal arrived leisurely 'tomorrow' not knowing that there would be no power for the entire session.
And frankly I was worried about my infant son getting fried.
So I asked our OA to unlock the Notice Board and let me have that Power-Board notice for just 15 minutes so that I can scoot to the school, meet the Principal showing her the notice, and requesting her to announce that 'there would be no school tomorrow due to power shutdown'.
The OA asked me to meet our HoD for his approval. And I walked into our HoD's Office (he was alone...'not busy in a meeting'). And I had to convince him that the matter was genuine and that I promise to replace his precious notice within 15 minutes. He hummed and hawed and reluctantly agreed...just for 15 minutes and not a minute more...as if skies would fall down in case...
And I snatched that notice and ran to the school and barged into the Principal's office as if I were Philippedis running the first ever Greek Marathon.
She was more than happy with my errand and thanked me and within minutes wrote down on her Portable Black Board lugged outside the entrance:
And I ran back and handed his precious notice to our OA feeling happy like a Boy Scout who did his day's good deed.
And the next day all of us, parents and their kids, and the Principal and her teachers, were all happy for the bonus holiday.
And I was waiting for the promised power shutdown at 8 AM. Nothing happened...9 and then 10 and 12 and 2 and 4...there was NO power shutdown.
All of us were more than happy and the next day we reached our kids to the school and the bus arrived leisurely and we all left after the in-bell rang its chimes.
And the power went off promptly at 8.30 and didn't arrive till 3.30 PM...
And I ran to the Electrical Office asking for an explanation...
And the Engineer-in-Charge took a keen look at his Notice and smiled and said:
"Oh, it was just a typing mistake...Hey! Appa Rao! You idiot!...Come here and see what you have typed!"
***********************************************************************************************************
From 1965 to 1985 the Notice Board of the Physics Department at IIT KGP was free for all. It didn't have a front glass panel with a lock.
Apart from official notices like seminars, office orders, Ph D vivas and such, they were often adorned with highly readable content like Lost & Found ads. Like for instance:
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Lost! Lost!! Lost!!!
Rupees 100 lost near the Central Library.
Finder please return it to:
Sri Hari, Room # B-142, V S Hall.
Heavy treat promised!!!
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Under which would duly appear a scribble:
"Already had!!!"
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Or, Nandi Chowdhury would announce the start of season of his Green Swimmers Association...where he teaches campus kids and infants to survive in the deplorably polluted Gymkhana Lake...blue swimming trunks, green tops, and red caps (for detection of the drowning and floating) being compulsory.
In 1985 Prof K took over as our HoD and the first thing he did was to close the Notice Board with a glass panel and lock it up and keep its key with his Office Assistant (OA) instructing him that anyone (other than himself) who wishes to put up a notice on the official Notice Board should take his approval before his OA opens it and pins up the said notice, closes it securely, and pockets its key.
This was a ripe recipe for the celebrated Bernard Levin's Theorem to kick in:
http://gpsastry.blogspot.in/2010/07/bernard-levins-theorem.html
Even teachers who wished to put up some announcement for their students or even their grade lists had to beg for the key from the OA since the HoD is often 'busy in a meeting'.
And then there was this St Agnes School in the campus for the campus kids from Nursery to Class V. This was a branch of the main school, called hilariously, the 'High' St Agnes School which was located in the Kharagpur Town. The Principal of the campus school was a forbidding-looking nun. And a bus used to arrive everyday from the High St Agnes, carrying her and several of her teachers and students from the town at 8 in the morning...and take them back at 1 in the afternoon.
Most parents in the campus then preferred to admit their kids to this campus school for a decent 'convent education'. My son too studied there for all of 6 years. Since the campus was small and cozy then, we used to carry our kids on our pushbikes or scooters at 8 sharp and fetch them back home at 1 PM during our lunch break.
There were no campus telephones then.
The school was housed in an old British Raj relic...roomy but dark, and hot in summer. Without lights and fans there was no way of holding all those kids and their teachers confined within their class rooms.
One April morning at 9, after dropping my son in his school, I was scanning our Physics Notice Board and found pinned there an official announcement from our Electrical Section going like:
"Due to scheduled maintenance work from the West Bengal Electricity Board, there will be no power supply in the entire campus between 8 AM and 2 PM on 7.4.1985...bla bla bla..."
7.4.1985 happened to be 'tomorrow'.
Since St Agnes School was not part of the official network, copies of such notices were not sent to the school Principal.
Since April was the humidest and hottest month of the year, I thought it would be impossible for the school to hold its classes 'tomorrow' without fans and lights for all of their 5 working hours. And they had no way of 'letting the students off' once they had arrived and were taken in...all parents would have left after dropping their kids by the time the school bus with the Principal arrived leisurely 'tomorrow' not knowing that there would be no power for the entire session.
And frankly I was worried about my infant son getting fried.
So I asked our OA to unlock the Notice Board and let me have that Power-Board notice for just 15 minutes so that I can scoot to the school, meet the Principal showing her the notice, and requesting her to announce that 'there would be no school tomorrow due to power shutdown'.
The OA asked me to meet our HoD for his approval. And I walked into our HoD's Office (he was alone...'not busy in a meeting'). And I had to convince him that the matter was genuine and that I promise to replace his precious notice within 15 minutes. He hummed and hawed and reluctantly agreed...just for 15 minutes and not a minute more...as if skies would fall down in case...
And I snatched that notice and ran to the school and barged into the Principal's office as if I were Philippedis running the first ever Greek Marathon.
She was more than happy with my errand and thanked me and within minutes wrote down on her Portable Black Board lugged outside the entrance:
"There will be no school tomorrow due to power shutdown...
....By Order"
And the next day all of us, parents and their kids, and the Principal and her teachers, were all happy for the bonus holiday.
And I was waiting for the promised power shutdown at 8 AM. Nothing happened...9 and then 10 and 12 and 2 and 4...there was NO power shutdown.
All of us were more than happy and the next day we reached our kids to the school and the bus arrived leisurely and we all left after the in-bell rang its chimes.
And the power went off promptly at 8.30 and didn't arrive till 3.30 PM...
And I ran to the Electrical Office asking for an explanation...
And the Engineer-in-Charge took a keen look at his Notice and smiled and said:
"Oh, it was just a typing mistake...Hey! Appa Rao! You idiot!...Come here and see what you have typed!"
***********************************************************************************************************
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