The Tale Begins

Gradually, days flew by and we were elated at the news that our classes would be conducted in our campus and our University buildings. That was the beginning of our third semester after a long two months’ break. New classrooms, new furniture, and a renovated library – all added to the charm of the college, and moreover, the enthusiasm amongst us. It was much later that we realized that this charm would gradually fade away, and for reasons justifiably so. Sociologists generally refer to a term called ‘panoptical structures’ while studying the structures of prisons and correctional homes. Despite the marvelous design and gorgeous exteriors, students generally felt claustrophobic while attending classes or simply hanging out with their loved ones. Guards seemed to be omnipresent despite all efforts by the students to avert their presence. Obviously, there was a genuine reason to be unhappy.

Every student in the batch, after having completed the first couple of semesters, felt comfortable and identified themselves to be NUJSians. Not to my amazement and surprise, Atul wasn’t amongst them. Once I happened to ask him the reason for his apparent displeasure.

‘ Atul bhai, what seems to bother you all the time, man’, I asked candidly.

‘ hmm…’

That didn’t give me a satisfactory answer, or did it? I thought to give it another try.

‘No, I mean, hardly have I seen you happy and contended with your surroundings here. I understand we’ve never been in this kind of an environment before, and so, a natural discomfort is quite obvious. Yet, I guess, we need to reconcile to the fact that all places are not the same.’

I thought adding a pinch of philosophy might just succeed in drawing an answer from this perennially mysterious chap. And to my utter amazement, an answer came. But the answer was the most shocking and heartening one I could have ever imagined.

‘Am in love’, came the reply. This was a shocking answer anyways, but what was to follow was even more gruesome to digest.

‘I don’t know why am telling you this, probably ‘cause you are one of my closest friends.  Infact, you are the only friend I have in the guy’s hostel.’

‘Don’t beat around the bush, come to the point..’ I said impatiently. This was a phrase I had learnt at law school, a sign of lawyers craving for the essence.

‘It’s Mitali. We have been seeing each other for quite some time now. I guess, you might not know her. She’s not from this college… from NIFT.”

National Institute of Fashion Technology or NIFT had its campus just opposite our’s. We used to have a gala time standing in the balcony watching the fashion shows and lovely ladies walking the ramp. NIFT was quite famous for the beauties that it hosted and guys, in rem, used to throng the area in search for their lucky day to talk to anyone of them. Well, amidst the mela of Sushmita Sens and Angelina Jolies, there were a few exceptions, I guess. Other NIFT girls used to disown them, so ‘ugly’ and ‘unpresentable’ they were at times. Infact, these exceptions came to limelight more than the others for the looks that nature had hurled upon them. Quite cruel this world can be, I used to think taking instances of these girls.

I later found out from Atul that Mitali happened to be one of these unfortunate one’s whose looks could stand out in a mob of a million, just by its sheer repulsiveness. I immediately recognized the girl from the description he gave of her. However, be it for the friendship I had with him and for the phrase that one genius had once framed, ‘beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’, I maintained a revered and diplomatic silence. But, Atul didn’t stop then.

‘You know what, I don’t care a damn if people here laugh at me. I have fallen for her and she too loves me dearly. She’s the loveliest lady on earth for me and that’s all what matters.’

I understand that love is blind, but the epilogues that come along with it sometimes irritated me. Atul was doing just the same.

‘I have hated this place since day one. You know very well that I’m not one of those in the crowd. I believe in myself and my ambitions in life are completely different from anyone of you guys who succumb to the institutional structures.’

Being contextual is yet another lesson that law school teaches. You digress from the issue at hand and the hell befalls. But as usual, Atul ‘cared a damn’ for any of these ‘law school teachings’ and his repartees were just a consequence of the same. What had ‘succumbing to institutional structures’ to do with Atul falling in love with the ugliest of girls around!

‘Anyways, let’s keep all these talks aside. Tell me, when did you start meeting her and when did it all happen. You must have had a bit of fun, isn’t it.’ I wanted to add a bit of humour in the conversation and had no intentions otherwise. But very obviously, it fell into the ears of the wrong person at the wrong time.

‘What do you mean by that? My love for her is pure and has nothing to do with physicality. Do you understand that…and never repeat this mistake again. Yes, I have been meeting her for the last couple of months and fell in love sometime during those days.’

The last couple of months were vacations I thought. So, did Atul come all the way from his hometown just to meet Mitali and fall for her? But then, I didn’t have the guts to ask him that and let him do most of the talking. There are times when you should allow a person to speak for himself without interrogating him. The more you question him, the lesser will he speak content.

‘While you obsessed students were busy spoiling your lives interning in law chambers and NGO’s, I spent time with Mitali and discovered the greatest desire in my life. She might not be the most beautiful girl on the planet for you guys, but she’s undoubtedly the most soft-hearted person I have ever met in my life. The best personification of elegance, charm and candour, this is Mitali.’

During this tete-e-tete with Atul, I for once, tended to believe in the age old story that there’s always someone in the world who has a partner awaiting his or her arrival. Even an as unimpressive girl as Mitali did have someone for her, in the form and shape of Atul. And Atul, on his part thought that Mitali was the chosen one for him.

The 'Aranya Bhavan' days

Ya ya… ‘am sorry… for two reasons…

First, it’s been over 20 days since I posted my last bit. The one thing that law school taught me, and taught me well, was to make fancy excuses for every folly that could piss off the teachers. Not that I want to exert my skill at it today, just that reasons of lack of time and over-piling of work, could possible top the charts if I were to do so.  Anyways, here’s a consolation for my limited readers (by the way, the stats say that my readership is rising!!! quite surprising.. isn’t it??) – I promise to step up my frequency of writing by at least 50%, going forward.

Second, I’ve decided to write more about my college before I start on Atul. Reason – I don’t know… perhaps, I need to build the suspense of bringing him on stage – not for long though. I think, my next post should raise the curtains.

Okay. So, here we go.

As days past by in NUJS, I realized the sands of time were mercilessly slipping away. Indeed, time is just like sand at a sea beach, the firmer you try to grasp it, the faster it slips away. Life at law school, or for that matter at any college or university I presume, is so exciting and happening that every soul wishes it to stay for eternity. Going to bed, getting up for classes, partying out or simply sitting over mugs of booze in the hostel terrace at nights – everything seems to be at ready disposal with no guardian to command. The only impediments are the mandatory requirements of attendances and the deadlines set by the University, which frankly enough, fade into pale insignificance in the daily lives of students.

In my first year, the college did not have its own building and campus. We had to march to a nearby building rechristened as ‘Aranya Bhawan’ for attending our classes. The University had taken one floor on lease, I guess, for a couple of years while our own building was being put to shape. Notwithstanding, the University had arranged for our accommodation in the hostel premises inside the campus. Hence, our job was to get up everyday at around nine and get ready for classes half an hour hence. It is rather ironical that during its primitive days, the college seemed to attract better faculty than in its later days after having grown in age and infrastructure.

Classes were taken on time without any breaks in between, resulting in us sitting for almost five hours at a stretch, listening to subjects like history, political science, sociology and economics, the necessity of which, till date, most of us fail to understand. We were made to believe that these subjects would aid us in comprehending law from a perspective unknown to the ‘ordinary’ lawyer and that it would propel us to be Fali Narimans and Ram Jethmalanis one day. I wonder whether these stalwarts ever read such subjects in their law courses and if so, whether they did so knowing their utilities in legal practice.

The Prolegomenon

A sunny afternoon in June, 2002 marked the beginning of an epic as I stepped into the campus of the National University of Juridical Sciences, a so-called ‘premier law school’ striving to achieve ‘excellence’ in legal education and training. Having read about the college in the dailies and recommended by most lawyers in my home-town, I was distinctly pleased to have qualified the written test and see myself as a budding lawyer in the years to come. A yet-to-be completed building, on the side of the ‘EM bypass’ in Kolkata, the college did not have much of a history to share. What it had for certain, was a bright future and perhaps an even brighter prospect for the students who passed out of it. Thus, just three years since its inception though, I had good reasons to join the college and set forth for a journey into the world of legal studies.

Kolkata was never an alien land for me, as I had been a frequent visitor to this ‘city of joy’ since my early childhood. Memories flood my mind of the regular journeys I used to undertake to this city – reasons would be ubiquitous, conclusion only in the unison. My awe and admiration for the city had seen no horizon – the Howrah railway station, the Bridge, plethora of ambassador cabs, and the vast multitude of people – everything had a story to share. Every aspect of the city seemed to unfold its own history wailing for someone to listen to it.

In its short history of about ten years, the National University of Juridical Sciences has achieved laurels from across the globe for its curricular and extra-curricular activities – laurels which very few universities in India can take pride of. Be it in the arena of moot courts where law students compete in their advocacy skills, or in the sphere of publications in national and international legal journals, or just in the sphere of winning scholarships for further education abroad, NUJS students have shown their mettle, enough to take on the world by themselves. Yet, behind all these success stories which seem to be the only foundational determinants of life at a law school, there is a dimensionally different paradigm – the paradigm of an average law student in college who struggles to cope with the academic, cultural and economic torques which the same institution seems to hurl every moment.

Here begins the tale of Atul Singh – nothing heroic in it, as he was never a Bonaparte in the making. It is but a narration of the life of a simple and moderately poor boy, from the northern parts of Jharkhand, in law school. One may conjecture a story involving an austere lad possessed of stupendous legal acumen, who makes a mark in the extremely competitive conditions of law school, who quotes the most gorgeous lady in the batch and gets the highest paying job in US after having completed five years of training in legal education. Well, be it the chance of destiny or the misfortunes of the reader, the accounts to follow have nothing to convey in such lines. In fact, Atul’s stay in law school had no nuance of similarity with the story of a boy who paves the way for his success through all odds. What more, I would rather call Atul’s stay in college a complete waste, as after half a decade in Kolkata, he still remained the same boy, with perhaps the same legal intellect and a love story which would only be worth a smile of pity from the readers.

Why Atul?

Given these characteristic fallacies in the account of Atul Singh, why am I being compelled to write about him at all? Why did I not find the story of a guy who broke all academic records in the University’s brief history and later went on to join the best university abroad for higher studies? Or why did I not find apt to narrate the story of one of the intensely beautiful girls in college, who spent her days in NUJS simply counting the number of boys who fell flat after having got rejected.

I believe, with all the humility that a law school student can possess, acquiring exceptionally high grades in examinations at law school requires no genius mind. It is indeed a travesty of fate and the system that governs the educational spectrum of the country that qualification of students in any subject is, in-turn, subject to their performance in a test spanning for a couple of hours. Having witnessed the pattern of curriculum in a law school and the modes of examinations being conducted, I guess, I would not be completely wrong to conclude that a system which lays Cumulative Grade Point Average (as that is the criteria for determining the ranks of students) as a manifestation of the legal knowledge of a student, is nothing more than a mere sham. In the alternative – and for the consolation of those who have been fortunate enough to flaunt their CVs with the high ranks – ranks and CGPAs do reflect certain skills of students no doubt – for instance, the wit to answer legal problems in the most concise yet comprehensive form and in the shortest time, the intelligence to relate a life problem with the provisions of certain legislative enactments and tracing suitable remedies that courts of law can provide for, and a sharp retention capacity of retaining a catena of judicial pronouncements and legislative provisions and citing them while answering the queries – yet, obtaining these skills deserves no special and exceptional mention besides just the ordinary words of praise. Every law student, I believe, is expected to develop a sharp wit, a good intellect to apply the law-in-books to the practical life problems and a decent retention capacity to know, at the least, ‘where to find the law’. Without these qualifications, the holder of a Legam Baccalereus degree may well become an advocate, but not a lawyer. This explains the relatively miniscule significance that I have accorded to the so-called ‘record breaker’ in academics in comparison to the rather simple, non-exciting, nonchalant and dismissive tale of Atul Singh.

Having humbly understated the achievements of toppers in a law school, let us now divert our discussion towards a more interesting and perhaps, a more engrossing, issue. Ladies and the library – these are the two factors which keep guys in college ever willing to stay in the campus even while there may be other compelling reasons to do otherwise. Indeed, the campus of NUJS, as is the case with other professional colleges and Universities globally, has been a witness to few of the simplest yet gorgeous, gorgeous yet brainless, brainless yet immensely curt, and curt yet occasionally boisterous ladies that the present societal superstructures are bestowed with. In the brief history of eight years that NUJS had seen till I graduated in 2007, there had been more than a couple of ‘scandals’ that had made their rounds among the students who were always on the prowl for gossips. Infact, these gossips used to be the ingredients of long deliberations in both the boys’ as well as the ladies’ halls of residences, particularly, during the nights when students were normally expected to be busy researching legal textbooks and indulge in such other mundane activities. With better things to do and interesting discussions to participate in, these academic exercises were meant to take the backseat and, fortunately for everyone (including the college administration), they did get the seat they deserved!

Lovely ladies, as I witnessed at law school, and as was the general observation of most of my peers, would more often gloat over the number of boys who never stopped trying to build impressions – impressions of a chivalric hero, impressions that would be uniquely different from the ones made by other potential ‘rivals’ – enough to win them. Their days would pass by thinking about the attires they would wear the next hour and the nights chatting either amongst themselves, or with their potential wooers. Indeed, ‘potential’ is the word. Boys usually became the guinea pigs for these ladies who were to be tried, tested and then either ‘accepted’ for a relatively short time or jettisoned into the mockers’ discussions. For the lucky few, who fell in the former class of wooers, their term would undoubtedly be the most exciting and ‘happening’ phase in law school. They would build memories worth cherishing a life time as compared to those unlucky many who would pass few days in melancholy, few in self dejection, few in self pity and the rest slandering the lady who once used to be the burning flame in their lives.

I decide to keep this account as short as it was, for fear of accusations of chauvinistic and inconsiderate generalized statements against beautiful ladies at law school. Every single boy at law school, during my days, yearned to be ‘liked’ and ‘adored’ by the female beauties, whether or not they happened to be in the same batch. And yes, all boys are not blind enough to ignore the negatives in the female race, if at all they exist. Speaking personally, I could easily cite a number of instances where a moderately intelligent boy began a phenomenal march to the higher scales in the rank list after he successfully ‘conquered’ the girl he liked. Indeed, the power of love and the lady anchoring it cannot be denied after having witnessed such phenomena. Further, having seen many instances of conglomerations of intelligence, smartness and inexplicable beauty in the same female, one can never doubt the fact that females could possibly make the best lawyers. Reasons for their success in the race to the top of the chart may be many, some despicable by nature and some stunning and awestrucking. Interestingly, the law school campus clearly proves this assertion.

Given the multifarious interesting issues that can be written about the girls at law school, I still decided to have Atul as the hero of my creation, and not for insufficient reasons. What would then explain the rather partial treatment that Atul has received, to be preferred over other ‘interesting’ people who actually achieved something, either academically or otherwise, at law school. Is it the bond of friendship that I and the central character shared amongst us that compelled me to write about him? Is it my sense of sympathy that provoked something to be written about Atul, who would otherwise remain in oblivion, as was always the case with him as a law student? Or, is it an unjustified attempt to trivialize the character of a secluded person, a character which could hardly be understood by any of the fellow inmates in the five long years that NUJS afforded.

Well, to state briefly, Atul Singh’s character epitomizes a complete tale of a life at law school. I realised, during my tenure at this ‘temple of justice’ that a sketch of Atul’s life here would inevitably incorporate all those aspects of law school, ignoring which would render the entire account a futile attempt. A complete narration of his life at NUJS would bring to light the anecdotes of the toppers and high rankers as well as the heroics of the fellow students whose conquests over their respective lady loves could by themselves constitute novels and classics. It would also highlight the tales of the ladies at law school whose eloquence, elegance and mannerisms would put the English royal families of yesteryears to shame. The character of Atul would merely be used as a tool to narrate the activities that, in turn, characterized the nuances of law school education. The class room teachings, the on-campus activities, the scene beyond the classrooms, the recruitment, and obviously, the ladies – all these aspects, I believe, could be better comprehended only by having Atul’s character as the basic anchor and foundational support.

Why 'Legally Kidding'

Since the day I graduated from the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, I kept cherishing the idea of writing a letter to my University thanking it for all that it gave me, and surely too, for all that it took from me. But, not so late in the day, a brahminical idea dawned upon my puny and incapable self - writing a fiction based on my days at law school. Oh.. wait.. wait... its not that I am a prolific writer and that I ever did it for the money that bestsellers fetch these days. And for all my cynical readers (and I hope, I have many), this blog's a proof of my pious and metaphysical bent of mind!!!!

This forum wishes to present to you a purely fictional story, set in the background of my law school. Don't worry.. I wouldn't hurl upon you a volumnious book at one go. Com'mon, even I need the time to keep writing the script for the following sequels!!!! A good freind of mine once quoted a celebrated author.. he said something to the effect that 'writing a book is much like delivering a baby... fun to concieve but equally painful to deliver'. I can just hope (against hope) that I'll succeed in finishing my novel. In case I do, I would perhaps boast of having saluted my alma mater in a way, not may people are lucky to do.

For start-ups, here's what my creation wishes to give to its readers.

Ever since the inception of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, in 1987, legal education in India has witnessed a rapid metamorphosis. The founding of the Nalsar University of Law, Hyderabad and the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata in 1998 and 1999 respectively, have only gone ahead to introduce law as a refreshing career option for students all across the country. So much so, that these autonomous universities are commonly called the ‘law schools’, with more to be added to the list in the near and distant future.

Having graduated from the National University of Juridical Sciences (in short, NUJS) in 2007, the author was a witness to a unique ‘law school culture’ during the span of five years he spent in Kolkata. In this span, he saw unparalleled academic excellence by some, international recognition to many and a marvelous environment of legal training, unexpected of any other university in the country. The laurels achieved by the university in its short history remains a feat unmatched by most law colleges, Indian and foreign alike. Besides, interesting observations of the lives of faculty members and students coupled with the unique environs surrounding the law school was perhaps too fascinating to be penned down in the form of a novel.

However, given the apparent fame of law schools and the opportunities they seem to bestow upon the students, there is a completely different paradigm to the story, a paradigm which often remains unnoticed unless spelt out candidly and criticized constructively. A bitter truth lies behind the dazzling glory of these institutions. The system can be brutal at times and subjects of such brutality remain anonymous only to be identified years after one realizes the futility of everything that the system had to offer.

The account primarily revolves around the tale of a boy, named Atul, hailing from Deoghar, a small town in Jharkhand, who joins NUJS only to finally rebel against the elitism that permeates the law school culture. Atul encapsulates a typical prototype that is churned out by law schools year after year, which are distinguished only by the transmutation of simple and nondescript guys into complex entities bogged down by shades of incomprehensible attributes.

The novel will not be a stereotype, neither will it offer a sensational climax. But it shall certainly be an interesting story of Atul, who joined law school never willing to severe his roots to acclimatize to the cultural shift. Not to mention, he did try to bring himself upto the high standards set by the system, only to make a graceful exit when failure was at a striking distance. Poor academics and hopeless extra-curriculars could only add to his woes, which he quite successfully camouflaged in his apparent inclination for active politics. And with law schools offering but a little scope to excel in this area of his interest, he could only salvage his esteem by having a close group of fellowers, the author being one of them. A character of self-contradictions, Atul did get some spice in his life when cupid struck chance upon him, only to take it away in the guise of unforeseen tragedies.

Besides narrating the character and the story that unfolds the life of Atul in NUJS, the novel also seeks to reflect few other aspects, perhaps typical to a law school. The immensely gorgeous ladies and their activities, the trendy guys and their courtships in campus, the election days and the political battles that take place annually – everything seek to depict a typical life at law school, and possibly the hypocrisy that surrounds it. The recruitment process and internship programs that form part of a life at law school, shall find a special mention in the account, reflecting the various dynamics that go on to make law schools much sought after by every law aspirant of today.

In a way, the novel shall seek to be a sarcasm on law schools, a sarcasm on what it has to offer and a sarcasm on what it entails. Based on various aspects of life at a law school in general, and NUJS in particular, it traverses the self inflicted ordeal that Atul set for himself struggling to make his presence conspicuous in the myriads of hypocritical dogmas encapsulating him. A little introspection would only reveal that the story of Atul is nothing but a common story of a common guy finding himself stuck in uncommon surroundings. The protagonist in the tale is not standalone. He is to be found in every product of every law school.