Symbiotically, apathetically Sproutified!!!

This post is dedicated to all the students who fell a prey to the contaminated sprouts. May God never suject you to such an excruciating experience ever.

Disclaimer-All views in this post are based on real-life incidents, yet merely reflect the opinion of the writer. Any facts or figure presented in the write-up are open to debate and discussion and shall in no way be binding on the writer.


The unfortunate set of students must never have fathomed that eating healthy will lead them to probably the most horrible and excruciating experience of their lives. I am talking about the recent food poisoning (read: sprout poisoning) case in a very reputed educational institute and the mere reminder of it disgusts me to no end.

About 200 people who had sprouts that fateful tuesday for lunch would never have imagined what was in store for them. People started showing symptoms of acute food poisoning around midnight and were soon being whisked away to the nearest hospital. As the numbers grew and people began to be sent to six different hospitals, different theories crept about the cause of this pandemic which was soon identified to be sprouts. It did not require rocket science to determine that contaminated mess food was the culprit and soon media and police cordoned off the campus.

It was difficult to find out who was admitted where; such was the pandemonium at campus. I wish the campus administration had acted more promptly and had done something to restore the normality at campus. Baring a faculty or two, in my four and a half day stay at Aditya Birla, I saw nobody visiting the ailing patients from the management side. You add irresponsible, provocating and absolutely infuriating comments like “The students had partied outside and so they might have got infected due to eating contaminated food there” to that and it is enough to boil anyone’s blood. Five days have passed since that fateful lunch and yet no concrete action has come to the notice. The authorities continue to be apathetic. A day after people began to be hospitalized; students were served bread that was infected with fungus. The indifference of the management hardly surprises anymore for what is the cost of human lives in front of a million dollar contract. In a land where people sell their kin for a mere hundred rupees and where murder comes cheaper than a brand new pair of Levi’s jeans, this is hardly a thought provoking concept anymore.

So what do we do now? Surely, none of us still believe in the system, do we? I expect each one of you reading this to rise up to the occasion. It is time when we stop being mules and led by a stick, it is time to speak out and stop being indifferent to what is happening to us and to those around us. It is time to voice our concerns for ourselves, to get things done rather than sitting and expecting them to happen on their own. For those who have no clue how and what to do, just remember that together each one of us can make a lot of difference. You might not know what to contribute and how to but if and when somebody takes an initiative, be a part of it. It is not a question of the safety and well-being of a few students; it is a fight for everyone. Think over it and do what needs to be done for your well-being is solely your responsibility.