The I.R. (Impolite Reception) Department

By Fatimah Mazhar




The international relations department is one of the finest and most wanted departments of the social sciences faculty at Karachi University. Most wanted because the teaching staff here is abundant with professionals and educators who take their job quite seriously (with a few exceptions of course). In fact, I would love to pursue my masters in this subject. The only thing that is wrong with this department is its reception room and the people in it. Let me tell you why...

Its normal for you to close your eyes when there is a dust storm, to drink water when you are thirsty and trust me folks, it is absolutely normal to feel annoyed when your I.R. teacher doesn’t’t show up on time ,especially when you are a student who has come walking all the way from the mass communication department. The very first words that come out of your mouth are mostly, “is he going to come or not?? I am not going to waste my time waiting in vain”. Then one of your sympathetic friends tries to cool you down by saying, “don’t worry, let’s go to the reception and find out”. And now, the fun begins…

Normally, institutions have big and spacious receptions with an all-time-smiling-for-no-reason receptionist. But when it comes to the I.R. reception at K.U. you might experience the contrary. The room is even smaller than the lavatory (it is right next to it). I think maybe the room’s size is the source of frustration to the man sitting on the desk because he is a man who is ready to attack anyone who comes seeking information. The I.R. receptionist wears this particular frown on his face that makes you feel that you are not welcome. He glares at you as you stumble into the room and place your hands on the desk. He doesn’t like it, and starts looking into a file that was lying on the desk lifelessly just before you came in.
You wait for the man to get through it but he doesn’t, so it’s you who breaks the ice by asking him where Sir XYZ is. He asks you the teacher’s name over and over again and then gets busy with his assistant sitting in front of him and forgets all about you. You remind his majesty of your presence by repeating the teacher’s name and then he plays the which-section-are-you-in card. You spend almost fifteen minutes explaining him from which department, class, section and shift you are from. Then he impatiently, without even checking any register, tells you to leave because “he” thinks the teacher is not going to come. If you dare to ask why, he yells at you and utters “aapko kyaa karna,class ni hy toh jaaen”.


Humiliated, you turn away from the room when you suddenly realize that you can ask him for the teacher’s contact number and do the job yourself. “aap jaaen aur chairperson se mil len” , is his irritated reply.



One word of advice people, next time if your I.R. teacher gets absent, leave immediately and don’t dare venture into ‘you know where’. It’s better to miss the class than to have his angry spit all over your face. Beware!!!

Constant vigilance!!!!!!!!!