Dr. Partho Pratim Seal - A Day in the life at IHM Chennai

A Day in the life at IHM Chennai

Dr Partho Pratim Seal

During the mid-nineties, Hotel management was a fashion, though not the first choice of many students after completing their 10+2. There were the all-time mainstream favourites, Engineering and Medicine. Three-year Hotel Management course soon became an option to go for. 

The reasons for not being the top pick was because parents and students were not sure about the career options after completion of the course. At the same time, Government run institutes in hotel management (IHM) were preferred over private institutions, because of their vast network across the country and long-term presence. These were some of the reasons which also motivated me to take this course. So, here I was at IHM, Chennai.

A day in the IHM hostel began early at 6am, though most of the students woke late, but I was always an early riser. That proved to be an advantage, as the day usually began with the shouts of some hostel mates, about a call from my parents, on the telephone on the ground floor of the hostel. During those days, STD calls tariff were low during the morning hours and cell phones were still at a very nascent stage. 

The first-year students popularly known as facchis were trained to answer phone calls similar to the way one has to answer the call in the hotel reception. Once they answered the call, the facchis had to shout calling the name of the seniors in the direction of the hostel room. Early risers also had an edge, since the washrooms were always free and one could finish daily activities at the earliest.

The next important activity was ironing of clothes, and not every room had an iron box. So, either you had to request the same or do the ironing in the same room of the person who was lucky to have an iron box. 

After getting ready with the prerequisites, the next place to head towards was the mess for breakfast. A bell used to be rung to announce that food was ready. The boys hostel had a mandatory dress code to enter the mess which included slippers, shorts and T-shirts which was followed religiously in three years of my college education. The menu in the mess for breakfast was cyclic and remained the same during my three years at the college, with dosa being served on Sundays, something which was eagerly awaited for and cherished by all. The one-fourth fried chicken during Sunday lunch along with gravy was again a favourite for the boarders.

After breakfast, we hurried to the college depending upon the schedule of practical or the theory classes. Rains often created havoc, as the erstwhile football field between the institute and the hostel used to be often flooded. The alternative was the road, which used to be in bad shape due to tankers bringing water both for the institute and hostels. It was a nightmare for us, but we thoroughly enjoyed it as we used to fold our trousers and managed to carry our belongings including the journal, chef cap, shoes, socks, kitchen kit and dusters while traversing in knee deep muddy water and then clean up and proceed towards classes.

The practical class on bakery and kitchen are important and were not to be avoided, as was told by seniors. Bakery and kitchen practical also had a different menu which was many a time preferred as compared to the menu served in the common dining hall for the students. That was prepared by the students in the quantity training kitchen with papad, pickle, plantain - which was a must. The food in the bakery and the kitchen was shared, as four portions of food were prepared by two students. In practical classes, we used to be choosy when it came to eating, with preference for food which was cooked well compared to what was cooked by our classmates. The same batches use to share food, alternatively. 

The lunch break was more than an hour, so we had spare time to change and head towards the hostel. At the hostel, we received eagerly awaited letters from friends and parents. Yes, emails and whatsapp were non-existent then.

Post lunch, we again use to head back to college for theory classes and the library. The library was the best place to read, and the librarian was very particular that we should not take the reference books outside the library. This rule was sometimes violated, and we used to sneak out and make a copy of the book at the Kanagam which had a cost effective reprographic facility. 

Kanagam, for the information of non-madcats, is located a stone’s throw from the college. Seniors told us that it has grown from a row of small time shacks to good eateries. It was a favourite place for evening snacks which included various bhajjis, vadas, and egg pakodas, followed by tea. There was a famous tea and samosa shop of Kanagam which remained open round the clock. 

The evenings were usually spent either playing squash outside the portico of the boy’s hostel or casual chatting till dusk with hostel mates sitting on a concrete pipe just where the road bifurcated for boys and girls hostel. 

An hour was spent writing journals for the next day, followed by dinner in the mess. The mess had a television which was the only source of entertainment, though it had only two channels of Doordarshan DD1 and DD2 (Metro).

The dinner, which began from 7.30 pm, allowed us to have food and then proceed to other entertainment opportunities. 

Calling home was something that was common post-dinner as STD calls were at one-fourth rates, during that time. The other most preferred entertainment option was late-night movies at Mount Road. One positive thing was the availability of buses in Chennai even at odd hours which allowed us to return back to the institute, bundling together in a packed bus without having to spend a fortune for the autorickshaw. The Birthday celebrations at hostel at sharp 12’ o clock were also a thing to cherish, the garnish was the birthday bumps followed by a walk to Kanagam for tea and biscuits.

The day in an IHM hostel used to be quite long with batchmates going to sleep at their own will, which was mostly after 2am, by which time when the bustling hostel came to a standstill - for a bright day ahead.

Dr Partho Pratim Seal, Class of 1998

Associate Professor, WGSHA, Manipal