College

This weekend I went back to my old college.

(Inspired heavily by the opening line of Rebecca)

Down the familiar lane I went, the bike jerking around a little almost like it was fussing “Where have you brought me mistress? , I’ve never been this way before”
True , the last I went down this lane , I had had my old bike , my friend of 7 years. Now , he was a toughie , he knew that he had to heave him self down with a puncture right in front of the mechanic’s garage , he had to run until he exhausted his last drop of petrol a safe 100 meters from a petrol bunk!Ahh the red bikes of today, spoilt, I tell ya! Gimme my old Kinetic any day!

“Parking for students” the board screamed.. there used to be a WELL here! That used to be filled by a motor! Mother of all Ironies!

I sauntered along into the main gate, I forget which was the last time I walked into a building without involuntarily flashing an access card…

The old workshop

Carpentry, Welding, Sheet Metal, Filing

Semester 1

RM in a khaki workshop dress looking around stealthily to see if there were any seniors around to rag her.

Sadistic sauntering senior: “Hello”

RM: *Panic stricken face*

SSS: “Which semester are you in?”

RM: “Been here long enough, am in the second semester!”

RM runs, stumbling on the rocks, clutching her black bag and her beloved Dovetail joint

Khandala

Our pet name for the building that never got built while we studied there. A large building that was open on all sides, we used to be served food there during fests .. Show your ID card, get a lunch coupon and get served bad food!

Fest times remind me of the treasure hunt that we went to. S and I almost reached another city by the time we figured “Zen speaks” referred to Zen motors that was a km away. We came back to the starting point a good hour later than the others and had the gall to yell at everybody that our bikes had lower horse power than the guys’ and it was unfair to declare a guy a winner!

Fest times also meant that the deadline to reach home was stretched a little to 10 PM. This was the time when the gang of hooligans I studied with mutated and developed strange strains of chivalry. They would valiantly fight to escort us to a harmless coffee stall at 6 in the evening, talk to the parents and say

“Hello Aunty! This is R, RM’s friend”

To which the mother would reply: “Which one is this?”

R: “I’ll make sure she reaches home safely Aunty, do not worry”

PPP: “Yes, R, tell her to study well also, her marks are worrying me more”

R: “ yes yes tch tch”

RM: “ Ok , wait , I’ll call your Ma!”

And how could I forget that kid who got drunk and kept throwing mud over himself while yelling out “Who’s that! Who’s that throwing mud on me!”

I watched, fascinated, from my safe fortress, two big burly shoulders in front and a tinier one next to me. Good, Vi was watching the fun too...

And then there was V. It was the day of the FEST! And there he was , sitting ALONE! My heart bled for him. Poor V! Why was he ALONE! His troubles reached unimaginable proportions in my head and I ran towards him, Bharat Mata Ishtyle , whatever it was he could tell me , RM, the savior of everybody who was alone on the day of a fest!

V: “Err Hi”

RM *Plonking herself next to him and gifting him with a thump on the back*: “ We are all sitting there”

V: “ I saw”

R saunters in

R: “He’s taken the shabhari mala thing …he’s sitting here ‘coz you’re not supposed to touch women when you take it up”

V: “Oh let her be, she’s just a kid”

I can’t remember another time when I’ve felt so happy and so miserable at the same time …

Dental block

Almost Bermuda triangle like. We were forbidden to venture into the Dental Block … “Go there if you wish to have your hall ticket confiscated” was the unsaid rule.

So what did Vi and I do? We went there after the last exam of that semester.

RM: “Are you scared?”

Vi: “Not yet , if you are , we could go back”

RM*gulp*: “I’m never scared”

Vi: “hey , isn’t that the ’tronics HOD?”

RM*gapes*: “The big fat cheat ,Vi! Maybe they have illegal dealings here that they don't want us to find out…smuggling maybe?”

Vi: “ No idiot , he’ll recognize us and that’ll be the end of it all …. RUN”

The Office Block

RM:“I want my hall ticket , number 9888923”

Attender:“Shortage Ide” (You have shortage)

RM: “What shortage”

Attender: “What can it be? Petrol?”

Turned out EnE lecturer marked me absent for 15 classes ALL of which I attended! And she, obviously unaware of my plight chose that time to go on maternity leave.

RM: “That lady!! Horrid lady! I sat through all her $%$ classes!”

T: “Hush, don’t use bad words, she’s pregnant!”

RM: “Sure, I hope there’s something called divine retribution and someone flunks her kid!”

As it turned out, she lived pretty close to college and I could get a signature from her. Hall ticket nightmares drive people into doing crazy things. Like knocking on 35 doors to find out if a pregnant EnE lady resided there (I didn’t know her name either)

College had its share of surprises and shocks as well. Like the girl who asked the Trig lecturer WHY Sin (0) =0.After 3 years of Trig, there should be some things that you should give up on, right? Well, what do you know my friend, Princeton; yes yes, the last I heard of her, she was doing her MS at Princeton. And how about the guy who had a zillion crushes, got into at least 3 scrapes a week? Heppily married like they say. Yes, with a child in tow!

Like I’ve always said, college is my happy place. A place that is associated with happy thoughts-Of youth, of dreams, of ambitions, of innocence, of life and most of all, of friendship. A place where what I wanted was no different from what could be. A place of many firsts and many lasts. My happy place :)