++ Some wonderful years ++. Review on Sophia College For Girls, Mumbai

I am a classic case of falling from Frypan into Fire that is just changing from one instituition run by Nuns of Daughters Of Charity to another instituition run by the Nuns belonging to the order of The Sacred Heart of Jesus. The nuns ensure that each student under their care turns out into a good human. As much as possible they are always available for guidance when needed. I come from an only girls school and I had no other option but to join an all girls college but I was a real tomboy at home(maybe that was the reason I was pushed into a all girls college :D )

Sophia college is situated at Peddar Road and can be accessed from Breach Candy or Warden Road too. I always liked the concept used in the crest of the college. On the outer edge is a row of pearls which stand for a number of units forming a whole, lovely in its united lustre and simplicity; inside, a lotus blossom design, symbol of purity, of good, which survives the test of bitter experiences. In the centre is a tree, a symbol of life and unity, of growth and expansion, of strength and shelter. The tree with its roots upwards denotes that the roots of our lives are anchored in God, for all that we are and all that we have is from Him.

One fine morning amidst a light drizzle, our group of friends entered college nervously, ready to be ragged but to our surprise, saw nuns roaming around the key areas to ensure that no ragging takes place. During the four years that I spent there, I did not see a single case of ragging. Few years back there was a stray case of suicide by a hostelite, as a result the authorities have become stricter.

I As I climbed down the staircase,(the entrance is at an elevation) I was struck by the beauty of the campus, it is a sprawling place with several buildings at different elevations. Three main buildings are Arts, Science and Polytechnic buildings. There are several buildings on campus where the teaching staff resides. Sophia Bhabha Hall & Sophia Duchense(don’t remember the exactname) art gallery on the college campus are patronized by the lovers of theatre and fine arts.

To reach the Principal’s office one could also climb the marble staircase with wooden balustrade. Near the Junior college Principal’s office there is a wooden staircase. In the centre of the campus are the well kept lawns called Central lawns. Just opposite them are the Marble Steps where I have spent some scorching afternoons, the coolness emanating from the marble steps and the shade from the creepers makes it a cool and a pleasant place to spend some idle time waiting for the next lecture.

As the Arts building was the original building, it had huge rooms, high ceilings, wide windows in all comfortable , the beauty and charm of a royal home. Some of the classrooms had different level of elevation, so everyone could see the blackboard comfortably. Several more wings were added to the original Arts building and one wing served as a connection to the Science building. Science building boasted of well equipped labs. Microbiology being one of the subject, I was a regular visitor to Microbiology lab, can still feel nauseous just by remembering the smell of agar. Ugh!

In one of the wings is my most favourite place, the library. It is a very spacious, well ventilated place with sufficient seating arrangements. The books are neatly arranged in the cupboards and could be found in a jiffy. Some books are exclusively for reference and not allowed out of library. Our library can be termed as one of the best library in the city. I would be like a kid in a candy store, who didn’t know candy to choose, read which book to choose :D . All types of Encyclopedias, reference books on various topics, journals, maps, magazines, slides and Transperencies could be found and keeping up with modern times CD’s & DVD’s are also found. We also had a wide range of fiction books available but I seldom issued them. Many times I would bunk lectures to go through some books and on some occasion earned glares from the Principal herself.

Our college is a stickler for attendance, if it is less than 75% of the required attendance, a student was strictly not allowed to appear for exams, so we bunked our lectures carefully ;) . Nothing detered us from visiting the canteen. The aroma of yummy Samosa, Ragda Pattice, Chole Bhature, Fluffy Omlettes always lured us to the canteen. Simply loved Tea/Coffee from our canteen. In our canteen we always got tasty food while students of other colleges would complain of tasteless food available in their canteen. We could actually see the food prepared in hygienic conditions. It was a huge place which was always crowded, students just sitting there to chat and discuss or eat. If we had fetish to eat roadside food, we would walk down to the Bishop’s Gate where our favourite people that is Sandwhich wala Bhaiyya, Anna who would make crispy Dosas had their carts. Otherwise we had Ramniks(it is still there) the store just outside where we could buy chips, chocolates etc.

One of our favourite place was Room No 13, no not the movie but the room where we had our practicals or rather fun with food. Come Monday morning and at sharp 8 am, we would be in our starched lab coats waiting to have fun. In this room, we the students of Food Technology & Preservation had our practicals, would get to taste the yummy pickles, and other stuff that we prepared. We would eat the leftover tamarind and our professor would smile at this habit of ours(She was so nice, she would order extra for us).

Our college boasts of several clubs but sadly I was never interested in any of the activities. Kaleidoscope, the annual festival of our college was not a regular affair then, it was held only once during the four years that I spent there. Shed was the place where all these activities took place and I loved watching these activities whenever I got time. Students were encouraged to take part in various activities conducted in the college as well as inter collegiate competitions.

Those students who came from outside Mumbai could avail of excellent hostel facilities. There was a separate kitchen which catered to the hostelites. There was a strict schedule for them and none of the day students were allowed to enter the hostel.