“Damn! I am going to kill my father as soon as I reach home this evening,” blabbered a drunken and angry Senthil Kumar, a final-year undergraduate student of the Government Arts College, Coimbatore. His wrath had nothing to do with any personal animosity between father and son, but was caused by naming him ‘Senthil Kumar’!
“Damn! I am going to kill my father as soon as I reach home this evening,” blabbered a drunken and angry Senthil Kumar, a final-year undergraduate student of the Government Arts College, Coimbatore. His wrath had nothing to do with any personal animosity between father and son, but was caused by naming him ‘Senthil Kumar’!
Senthil Kumar’s father probably chose the name due to his devotion to Lord Muruga. But Senthil Kumar, who was contesting the 1995 students union election to the Chairman’s post, never expected that his opponents would field as many ‘Senthil Kumars’ as possible to confuse the voters! The college had a great many Senthil Kumars, Siva Kumars, and Suresh Kumars then!
Although the 168-year-old institution is not conducting students’ union elections these days, its history is synonymous with its active days of politics, where the contestants learned to file their nomination papers, address gatherings, lead rallies, stage protests, and so on. Besides, political parties, directly or indirectly, backed their student organizations with money for ‘election expenses’ that included printing of posters and handbills and supply of liquor and biriyani for boys and fresh rose flowers pinned with chocolates for girls.
The campaign for the election would begin months before the election date and every day, the college would wear a festive look. Different groups of students would be distributing handbills at the entrance, enthusiastic contestants delivering speeches in the ‘antique’ gallery classrooms and their supporters chalking out winning strategies while playing rummy in the rooms of the main hostel.
As the college is located in the heart of the city, even those going along the busy roads there knew the names of the contestants from the eye-catching posters, colourful banners, and attractive graffiti on the walls around the college. Also, a large police van would be stationed at its east gate to whisk away anyone who turns violent.
Senthil Kumar, being a DMK- backed popular candidate, spent around Rs 1 lakh on his campaign, but lost to his heavyweight non- partisan rival by a wide margin. Still, his election tactics are worth recalling.
While his rivals highlighted their names on banners and cut-outs, Senthil Kumar, just to mark him out from his namesakes, erected cutouts around the college, highlighting ‘8’ which was his number of the ballot paper.
Senthil Kumar also had a slogan on top of the huge cutouts highlighting the number ‘8’:
‘Ennai Maravaatheer Ettu’
It means “Don’t forget the ‘number’ eight,” and also suggests “Don’t forget ‘me’ (Ennai), the ‘eight’.”
As most students of those days were used to drinking, several private-run wine shops functioned in places like Race Course, Geetha Hall Road, Trichy Road, and so on around the Government Arts College. Of them, the bar within Hotel Sunrise near the Railway Station was quite famous and frequented by the students.
The present-day students, who are pursuing studies from under graduation to Ph.D. in the historical institution, can hardly believe that their Alma Mater was once a place for 'liberty unlimited'
Particularly, on the eve of the students' union election, the main hostel of the college would witness a free flow of liquor, as the contestants gave treats to students to buy their votes. Though the production and sale of arrack, a distilled alcoholic drink, was prohibited in the city then, it was illegally brewed in the rural pockets of Coimbatore like Vagarayampalayam and Vellanaipatti. Hence, the contestants secretly purchased it in large quantities, stocked it in large drums, and served it to the students on the day of filing the nomination. The day would be marked by a lot of merry-making, as the respective teams of the contestants would come in procession dancing to the thunderous beats of 'Thudumbu' (A traditional percussion musical instrument popularly called 'Jamab' in Coimbatore) But, what is interesting is that the country-made liquor would be given a colourful brandy ‘getup' by mixing Rasna powder in it!
At a time when rival political parties (Including the one which legalized liquor in its regime) demand a total ban on liquor, a guzzler can learn the philosophy of drinking from Senthil Kumar’s life.
Senthil Kumar, who could not defeat his heavyweight in the students' union election, spent the rest of his final year college days consuming liquor at Hotel Sunrise and was hospitalized one day.
A good Tamil poet, Senthil Kumar later realized his addiction to liquor and penned a two-lined poem, parodying his favorite 'Hotel Sunrise'.
“Look at the 'Sunrise'
And there began my sunset!