A.M.U. not only gives you a degree but it also gives you a name (called ‘title’ in Aligarh lingo). More often than not, the new name sticks with you for the rest of life. More on A.M.U. nomenclature system sometime later, but right now I remember a very interesting anecdote about a person whose ‘title’ was (yes, you guessed it right) bakraa.

His actual name was Nafiis meaning exquisite. I don’t know how and why he was named bakraa. What I did hear was that he was not very popular among the students during his earlier stint as the Proctor. A couple of years ago he was appointed the Proctor again. He hadn’t exactly endeared himself to the students during this duration and obviously the title was still the same, bakraa. It has been the tradition of A.M.U. that high officials always offer their Eid and Bakreid prayers in the main mosque of Sir Syed Hall. Once during Bakreid prayers Nafis saahab was sitting near the Imam while he was delivering the Khutbah on the suitability of the sacrificial bakra during Bakreid. According to eye-witnesses, the Imam used the exact same words and used it forcefully and repeatedly:

qurbaanii kaa bakra to nafis hii honaa chaahiye (The sacrificial goat should be exquisite).

Needless to say, the audience was in splits and the Imam was clueless.

Naseem Ahmed, the current Vice Chancellor (V.C.) of A.M.U. is also an alumni of the institution. Urdu department of A.M.U. organizes a sherii nashist (small poetry recital gathering) on the eve of Independence Day and Republic Day every year. Usually, the V.C. is the chief guest and is invited to say a few words to the audience, which mostly comprises of the staff and the students.

When Naseem saahab’s turn to speak came, he started by saying that, “jab maiN yahaaN par paRhtaa thaa, us vaqt mujhe shaayerii ka itnaa zauq nahiiN thaa aur mujhe samajh meN bhii nahiiN aatii thii. lekiN ab itne saaloN ke baad mujhe shaayerii bhii samajh meN aane lagii hai” (When I used to study here, then I did not have a taste for poetry and I also didn’t understand it. Now, after so many years I have started to appreciate the poetry). To which one of the students commented:

“haaN, ab shaayerii ka mayyar bhii bahut gir gayaa hai” (Yeah, the standard of poetry has also deteriorated a lot).

You just can’t get away with A.M.U. students !

Aligarh numaaish (exhibition) is an annual month-long event and has become a tradition of sorts down the years. Its cultural events are very well attended and lure away even big artists like Ghulam Ali last year. After reading this post through Desi Pundit, I remembered a very interesting anecdote about the numaaish.

A.M.U. students attend numaaish with much enthusiasm and needless to say, it would be a bland affair without their presence. For the cultural events, the audience section is divided into three parts. The front rows are usually reserved for dignitories and government officials. Normally they are occupied by people who like to throw their weight around. The back rows are divided into two parts, one for the students and other for general public. Some years ago when I was studying over there, Hema Malini was invited to present a classical dance program. Now, I am yet to ‘meet’ a North Indian who would watch a classical dance show with some interest. But since it was Hema Malini’s dance, therefore the front rows were jam-packed. As soon as Hema Malini arrived on the stage one of the students from the back rows shouted:

Basanti, in kuttoN ke saamne mat naachnaa…..