This is an article I'd written when I was in college...and felt very strongly about a lot of things that were an everyday part of the Sydenham Life. I was proud of my College yet disillusioned at the way it was treated! It's a bad place to be, when you're 20.
I'm posting it again, for the young 20 somethings of my beloved college...who may have felt these things sometime. Guys, if you believe in something...DO IT!
YOU make Sydenham...and make it the best that it can ever be!
Lets take pride in saying, "I'm proud to be a Sydenhamite!" :)
To Sydenhamites…with love!
"Call it small, call it dusty, call it cramped but 'SYDENHAM' has an aura bigger than the size of the building gives it credit for... the name itself evokes a plethora of reactions from common people; 'the first commerce college in Asia', 'the first female commerce graduate', 'The best Institution to the east of Suez Canal' (The Time Magazine, 1990) et al. This name strikes a deeper meaningful chord among people who have had the honour of being associated in any way to this fine institution of learning."
It's been 96 years that this august institution was born. Mr. K. Subramani Aiyer's dream of establishing an institute totally devoted to education in commerce became a reality on 22nd October 1913, with merely four part time lectures and a hundred students.
Sydenham. The name itself means excellence. Sydenham has enjoyed the monopoly of being the best commerce college in Mumbai and all over for a very long time. Sydenham today has become widely synonymous with extra – curricular activities. That is our forte! With more than 20 unique societies functioning simultaneously, its amazing how there is a society for every talent a person could possibly possess. The college literally inspires creativity. The extra curricular activities give the students an edge above the rest.
We seem to have it all don't we? The education, the exposure, the interaction, the extra curriculars and the attitude. Well then why is it that the glory that Sydenham once had is getting lost? Why is it that inspite of being good in academics, we do not produce toppers or rank holders at the university level? Why is it that inspite of being one of THE most active college in extra curriculars we don't end up winning most of the inter-collegiate festivals? Why is that we don't want to attend lectures? If we really delve deeper into our system, when was the last time we didn't give an excuse for not winning a competition or for getting low marks? When was the last time we really did something for the college except lurking around the campus blaming the management and the faculty for the declining repute or worse wearing the, "I care a damn" attitude on our sleeve.
Today, we look at Sydenham and we know that something somewhere doesn't fit. Something really went wrong along the way. When and where, no one knows. Yet the answer lies with us. All we really need to do is look into ourselves and question!
The students' blame the professors, the professors blame the management, the management blames some one else. It’s nothing but a vicious circle. When, we ask, when will we stop giving excuses and really do something? Why don't we realize what we are messing with a reputation that takes ages to build. Have we really become so indifferent to the situation around us? No, the truth is that we not motivated enough. Only half of the thousands who are part of this college have a feeling of belongingness towards it.
As the popular saying goes, "don't see what Sydemham can give you, see what you can give Sydenham"
This has to be the attitude
We won't offer any solutions here. We ourselves are the solution. All we need to do is wake up.
Sydenham is a place beyond compare.
All it needs is your commitment. Sydenham provides its students with the platform to display their talents but ultimately it is up to the students to exploit this opportunity. The least we can give our college is the respect it commands not only in words but in deeds. We are all like bricks in this superstructure; its glory is like the paint. With a wrong attitude and no sense of belongingness towards the structure the paint will start peeling off. All we really need to do is restore the structure's peeling paint…and it'll be as good as new!
Let's take pride in saying, "I'm proud to be a Sydenhamite!"
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