The campus of St. Xavier's College brought a sea-change in his personality
It was June-July 1988. Siddhartha was anxiously waiting for his XIIth Board result. His overall performance in the Board examination had not been good except in English, Bengali and in Mathematics. His performance was not good in Physics and Chemistry and only average in Biology. He had not appeared in any Entrance examination either.Eventually, the Board result was declared. Siddhartha heaved a sigh of relief. Although his result was not as good as his elder brother Partha, he did not do very badly either. He managed to get a first division, which was considered really good during those days.
Then, another anxious stage arrived. That is, the admission process in college commenced. Siddhartha first went to the college where his brother studied, but could not get admission in that college. The college did not find him fit for admission in any science subject due to his low first division marks. The same story was repeated in some other colleges also.
In the meantime, Siddhartha, without informing his family-members had applied for the Entrance examination at St. Xavier's College, Calcutta (now Kolkata). The college used to admit students not on the basis of marks, but on the basis of their performance in the Entrance examination.
After a few days, Siddhartha surprised his family members. He managed to qualify the B.Sc. Mathematics Hons. Entrance at St. Xavier's. His parents, elder brother and youngest sister were all elated. Immediately, all of them decided that Siddhartha would go for St. Xavier's and would not attempt to take admission in any other college.
But his family-members were worried on one count. Siddhartha was a very reserved boy in school. His friends were very few, unlike that of his elder brother who had also studied in the same school. So, his parents were worried whether he could manage among the hi-fi students in St. Xavier's.
Ultimately, after completing all formalities, in one fine morning Siddhartha went to attend his first class in college. After the preliminary introduction, he was asked to sit along with an Anglo-Indian girl, who started conversing in English with Siddhartha.
Siddhartha was naturally embarrassed because of his heavily Bengali-accented halting English, but he found many students from many Bengali-medium schools in St. Xavier's. The Jesuit Fathers were (and still are) from Belgium, and they themselves spoke halting English. His immediate acquaintance, the auburn-haired Anglo-Indian girl also proved to be very friendly and accommodative in nature. As a result, there was Siddhartha gradually became confident and fluent in English. He also started spending quality times in the sprawling college campus and in the Park Street locality after the college hours (any Calcuttan would clearly understand the real meaning!)
After three splendid years, Siddhartha left St. Xavier's College after very successfully completing his Graduation. There was a sea-change in his personality. In the college, Siddhartha learnt to face the world confidently.
(Competition entry: Campus Admissions - Flash Fiction Creative Writing Contest)