The Story of "Porktato" and "Double Fishing"

Sherubtse is a premier institute and a place where many young minds are being trained to become great scholars. It was very fortunate even for me to do my Bachelor’s Degree from Sherubtse. When I first went to college or even before going there, I heard so many funny but interesting stories about the ragging which would sometimes freak me out. The name of the places like viewpoint, kissing point, suicide point, pregnant house, haunted house were some of the peculiar names named by the students learning there and all have their own stories behind their names. All names were based on their structures and the beauty the passerby beholds. Besides these places, there are many stories in Sherubtse, a story of how seniors used to rag their juniors, blind dating and a story of demons being spotted by some people at some places which would freak me out even before going to college. Also I heard about the Sherubtse bread being famous in Kanglung, also the places like Youngphula where students goes out for camping and the charm of being in a college on one hand tempted me to go to college. I had to go anyhow.

To my relief we were told that college has done away with the blind date and ragging system but seniors somehow still ragged us in the name of counseling and advice. I had a terrible experience the very first night I spent in the hostel where seniors broke into my room and greeted us with ferocious faces that brought tears to my eyes. But it was nothing compared to those stories from the past where seniors made the juniors to swim in the drop of water on the table, made to cycle without cycle and made to wear ghos in the middle of the sleep, the only charm for being seniors in Sherubtse.

I have been to all the places which I have heard before and even tasted the bread which I had longed for a long time. Visiting the places associated with the stories behind and feeling the charm of being in the college itself was a very interesting part of my college life although I missed my home very badly because I was away from home for the first time.   

Every batch of students leaves behind a legacy behind so that they become the part in the history of the college. Every third year students have a third year project where they carry out variety of works to leave behind their legacy. Beside these, many senior leave behind funny yet worth to listen to the stories so that the juniors later on would cherish it like I did. Even during my stay there were so many interesting stories cooked up. Out of many one interesting story was the story of "Porktato". The story goes on like this.

We used to get meat (Non Veg curry) twice a week but later it was made only on Mondays. Once it was Monday and the dining hall was houseful as it was expected. Having tasted potatoes for long days, many waited in line with eager to taste the change in the menu. It was pork this time. I along with my friends was also in the middle of the line waiting for our turn to be served. Many students waited in line for long and to their dismay the pork was served as curry and not as Paa. And more disgusting was, it was mixed with potato and pork could hardly be seen. Many students grumbled every nook and corner of the hall, food thrown everywhere on tables and floor. The grumbling never ended even in hostel. The next day when we were in the class we heard the story called "Porktato in Sherubtse" in one of the print media. It was written by a student who was frustrated by the menu the previous day. Porktato literally means pork and potato mixed together. The story is funny but its true and is still famous among Sherubtseans.

Another story was "Double Fishing" and also was about the menu. Sometimes we used to get fish curry mixed with more water and cabbages. Students would take their turn to fish out a slice of fish from the pot which would be very difficult because the fish could hardly be seen.  A Fish first was fished out by fisherman from the sea and when in Sherubtse mess, students fish it once more from the pot, therefore the story "Double Fishing".

These are some of the memories that we still cherish when we friends get together over the coffee table. These remind our wonderful college days. But we are always thankful to our government for having provided us with free education and meals.