Memories of PTC Mysore

So What is PTC Mysore be like? That’s a question I always asked my seniors. The best experience in your career, almost all of them had that reply. Anyway after hearing all those with huge hopes. I packed my bags to Mysore. “ It is an unforgettable experience. I wish I could attend the training in your place” my colleague and dear friend Linesh had made that comment before the day I left. 

What awaited me was a very pleasant climate. Got an Uber to PTC and the first shock was waiting for me there. In my room one was from Bihar, one from Karnataka and Other one from Andhra. Oh my god! How will I talk with these people. That was my first thought.

Anyway at the first day itself we visited the Mysore palace to see the lighting festival and it was awesome. The faculties were very strict. We were placed in Section E whose main faculty was Nataraj Sir. From the second day onwards we had Physical training in the morning. For a guy like me who can stay up till 4 but can’t wake up at 5 it was very hard initially. It was a heavily packed schedule and you had to wear formal clothes all the time. The food at the mess was initially so difficult for me. I was seeing many of  those food items for the first time.

The only Kerala guy in my class was me and I didn’t know Hindi to talk to others who were mostly north Indian and I felt so lonely initially. Like being alone in a crowd.

But the situation rapidly changed after 2 weeks. We became familiar with instructors they were also much more friendly. Later I heard from them that the batch before us had created a lot of problem so that’s why they were being extra vigilant. Nataraj Sir our main faculty was one of the very best in PTC. In last batch and in our Batch also the toppers came from his class. He was highly knowledgeable about every nook and corner of the work and above all he inculcated a sense of commitment towards the postal department among us.  Like a guide, friend and guru he had always stood with us making us better employees and human beings. Thank you sir.

Also I had some great friends at PTC. Abin, Sangeeth, Dhanesh, Vishnu, Amina, Preethy, Akhila thank you all of you for the great memories.

Most of the guys in my section were North Indians. Had such a great experience being friends with them. The jokes of Tiwari and Sirajudheen, The 2 singers Dharmendra and Dharmendra ( One from UP and other one from Bihar),  Akash & Ashish the 2 fashionistas, Mr cool Sandy and Sunil Bhai who always lifted our spirits saying E section means Elephant Section.

One of the Dharmendras was my roommate. One was Santhosh who was previously working with APS and was familiar with the work and really helped us in understanding the concepts and he was also our section’s class leader and Independence day parade commander.

Then there was Chandru the one Kannadiga in our room. He was a very friendly person. He bought a lock for the room. But it only had 3 keys. He gave the three keys to all of us and he didn’t have a key and so had to depend on us. Likewise he had always been a helping hand to everyone. By the end of the training he became best friends with almost everyone in the Section. Now I understood why it is often said that Kannadigas are the most friendliest of South Indians.

Then there were competitions. Sports and Arts. We had reached finals in Volleyball and Tug of War. Our sports leader was Vinod Kumar. He was a great leader. He would visit all rooms and wake everyone up at the morning at 5. When we were down at the initial strict days of training he told us “we often fail to see it when we go through the best periods of life. Its only when that time pass we understand how good those days were. This training will be like that.” We used to jokingly call him Vinod Khanna after the famous superstar. But now I have to say he was our superstar. The guy would run looking backwards to make sure everyone in his section was okay. Thank you Bhai. You were a great leader !!

The General leader Baiju Sir lead the Independence day Parade and all of our activities. He was such a great leader and I am proud of the fact that he is also from Kerala.

We visited many tourist places in Mysore. So many Palaces. The journey to SriRangapatanam the home of Tipu Sultan, The Tiger of Mysore was nice. Him and thirty thousand Mysore Army who fought valiantly against around 2 Lakh cavalry and the British was truly an astonishing story. The Muslim King even had a Naga Temple inside his castle!! May be these kind of memories are what we need in these times where the country’s secular history is being washed away.

Like all good times the training period end very fast. Finally it was the last day we had got our certificates and I was leaving with my bags and when I reached the hall preparing to leave PTC Hostel my friend Dharmendra was singing “Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna” and it brought tears in my eyes.

The PTC brought together all of us from different states of India. South Indians, North Indians; people from various religions and casts all together as friends, room mates. It was an astonishing experience.

PTC Mysore was some of the best days of my life. “Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.” Thank you for the memories.