Once Upon a Time in

Kelambakkam …..
(conditions of a girl that
changed my friend's life.....)

By Ashwin Narayan

ON AN UNUSUAL VACATION......

12th June 2013

I was down with 4 pegs of MC whisky. As usual after the 4th peg it was a habit
to lie down a while and listen to soft music. Mind wandering around thoughts
of a job just lost and added responsibilities which were to pop up as my
marriage was fixed by January just 2 months ahead of the present day. Lying
beneath my chair was a scrambled newspaper which had its classified marked
around with red and blue ink. I was thankful for the recession for my screwed
situation. In between the fuel prices were hiking but the only thing that didn't
hike much was the beverage cost.

I had just landed from Dubai with an in between job status. The problem
wasn't IN BETWEEN JOB STATUS but an IN BETWEEN MARRIAGE STATUS. All
this time I was by my own and had no responsibilities. Just then a call came to
my phone. It was my Fiancée, Amrutha. I thought of not attending it at first,
but that romantic ringtone of my phone made me attend that call. A reason
why I was feeling good about my marriage was me and my fiancée were
having almost same frequency and she was comfortable with my so called bad
habits.

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..... Fiancée: Hi.......whatsup.....??? You didn't call me after landing thought, u
would do... is everything alright there?

Me: Hii da... mm everything good ...... just down with 2 pegs.....Thought of
meeting you by evening... so that we can talk in length...How's everything at
your end..... ?

Fiancée: Ya all good... So started boozing just after landing huh?...Do u really
live in Dubai... By the way you have started your vacation looks like you have
arrived from Saudi... hi hi (she giggled)......and u don't seem to be down by
Two.

Me : ( just gave her a giggle..... for her comment) hmmm I was just having a
peg with an Indian taste. Sorry couldn't call u... but I will make up for this... and
we will have a good start to the vacation and coming days. Don't worry
sweetheart. Just was enjoying my solitaire moment. Feeling sleepy... So we
meet tomorrow ..will that be ok?

Fiancée : Yep ok.. which colour churidar should I wear..?

Me: U are good in any colour dear....

Fiancée : (Voice got a bit feeble) mm ok....take care....

Just smiled a bit after she cut the phone. May be my parents had found a good
match for me. She was quite understanding kind. But didnt know whether she
will understand my status if I explain to her. I was confused whether to tell her
or not. I just closed my eyes for a nap.

The next day me and Amrutha (My fiancée) met at a nearby restaurant. She
was well dressed in blue churidar which was a fair match for her complexion.
From four months of her talks I had got the taste of her tastes. I greeted her a
watch, a slim Fast Track one with ample designs on the wrap. She willingly
received the gift with a 1000 watt smile....which I loved every bit of. The smile
which lasted just 5 minutes was broken with a question... " What happened ...?
anything wrong.. u don't seem to be happy.. U can tell me ,,,,,, I guess I have
rights to know about it ... isn't it...?"Question was quite comforting.... but the
reply wasnt, so I hurried up with orders. I just smiled... and hold her hands.
Food came in. Had ordered her favourite as per my knowledge a two big slices

2
of butter naan and a full chicken kadai, one of the special ones in the town.
She was naturally talkative and Thank God I wasn't much...... which helped me
hide my emotions easily. But emotions can't be hid just through talks. How can
a person having amoeba tic face like me hide his emotions. She caught me this
time and insisted in opening my mouth.

Me: Do you love me?

Fiancée : Well yes I do .... Hey wait a second did u meet your ex somewhere? I
know u had been disturbed about her sometime back.

Me: No nothing like that... this is important...... I'm sorry... I have lost my job
for a while... as in ....a problem with my contract... I'm in between job... Don't
want to lose u so didn't tell u. I know this is going to be really uneasy for u...
But please this is a momentary situation. I will sort it out for sure. Hope u are
understanding the situation.. aren’t u?

" How about a milk shake ? " ..She replied back..

"Huh? What ... I asked u something didn't I ? .. I asked her..

Fiancée: See .... things are not that complicated as u think. Even I know about
this recession thing. U forgot I'm also an investment banker. So I can
understand these things. Moreover u have a gulf experience which is surely to
help u in some way or the other. Whenever u used to call I could sense u were
never happy with your job. So u would have resigned sometime ... isn't it.
Whatever happens, happens for a reason. The only thing worrying u is TWO
MONTHS. If u panic now, u are surely to fail. Act brave dear..

I was surprised by this unexpected response by her. Now I could find I'm in the
right place. I was finding one lost friend in her. Also I came to know why girls
are said to behave a step ahead of their age. I hadn't been so much happy ever
since I lost my job. I just told one thing to her.... " LUV YOU dear. U made my
day." We parted with a customary hug.

Sun glared on my eyes next morning and since it was my vacation (so called),
Had a quick bath as the bathroom heater wasn't working. Mom had prepared
puttu and kadla (Rice made steamed cake with black gram curry ) one of the
renowned breakfast dish of Kerala. Enjoyed a perfect mother's recipe. Just then

3
a call came from an unknown number. Without blinking a second I picked up
the call.

The call : Hello Am I speaking to Mr Anand Shankar

Me: Yes this is Anand. May I know who is this

The call: Sir I'm calling from First Support Group. Had u posted your CV in our
website for the advertisement dated 12th June

Me: Ah Yes.. I had

The call : Sir your resume has been shortlisted for the post of Inventory
Engineer. Could you attend the interview by tomorrow?

Me : Yes sure. Can I have the venue details please ( I made sure my voice
doesn't seem too much desperate)

The call: Oh yes. I will be mailing u the venue at your mail id......
"anandshankar87@gmail.com" Am I correct?

Me : Yes perfect.

The call : K sir. U may send a confirmation mail for our records.

Me : Alright I will.

The phone proceeded with a smile on my face. Mom and Dad had a reason to
smile too after I conveyed them the news. But something was irking in
between. I didn't have the experience in logistics then how could they call me
up. Anyways then I had lot many bigger things to think. Just kept saying in my
mind this is your chance brother, have to crack this one. I hurried up to make
my documents ready for tomorrow. Went on the site of First Support group.
Name seemed to be a bit odd. Company website was impressive. But their area
of work wasn't related to my experience as I had been working as an Operator
in a power plant in Dubai.

The next day I woke up by morning 3 as I had train at 4. Took a Glass of milk
and went on to catch train to Ernakulam (Kochi) for interview. I reached there
by around 11:30. I caught an auto and headed towards their address Imperial
building Aluva. I was surprised to see in there just 5 people in for the interview.

4
I imagined the credibility of the company may not be at par or did I reach the
wrong address or was the info accumulated by me false. Whatever it may be I
decided to stick on as there was no way to back up from what it had been a 7
hours journey and a long awaited chance. I submitted my resume at reception.
Hardly within 15 minutes I got the call. A lavender fragrance welcomed me into
the room. But as I walked in and looked at the person who was sitting in
there... I went a bit lost...... The first thing that came out of my mouth on
seeing him was " what the...... Where the .... Hell Were
U ????????????????????????????????A flashback hovered around my mind
because the person I saw here was my closest buddy Varunwho disappeared
ever since the end of my college life.

5
 II

9 YEARS AGO.....

With a suitcase reaching half of my size with sodden eyes I was standing at the
4th platform of Kannur station with Dad and Uncle to my way to an underrated
college in Chennai with lot of hopes. Dad stern and stubborn just standing
reading a news paper looked at me. I dared not to look back as he was the
most unhappiest man on the earth that time according to me. For me this
college was just a ticket to Chennai with better hopes, but for him a shameful
stint with no other option left. With a low voice he asked “Do you need a tea or
something….” I didn’t utter a word just looking crows flying over the station
roof. Guess he understood what I meant and started sipping tea off. I was just
thinking the worse had happened what worse could happen more. An
emotional me and a very much practical Dad who had seen the best of ups and
downs in his life. The only thing that could say he is my father was the face,
rest of the things were entirely different. We were two different entities
entirely from two different world.

I loved stations and trains as much as nobody in this world would do. After 12 th
grade tuition classes I would go straight to the Bharuch railway station and
watch the trains pass by. Bharuch was one of the busiest station of Gujarat and
had a frequency of 2 trains per 10 to 20 minutes. I was getting bored but did
try to make my face in the most curious demography a person can ever be in. I
had seen the college before and it wasn’t that impressive so were my 12th
grade marks.

I just felt Chennai calling. Though I'm a Malayalee, Kerala hasn’t ever
embraced me whole heartedly. Have been an NRK (Non Resident Of Kerala) for
most of my life. I spoke one of the most imperfect Malayalam till date. Time
was now 3 pm. Arrival time of the train was by 4. Suddenly I felt a strong hand
on my shoulders. I turned back and saw a gentle fat and serious face. A Sturdy
voice came out of his throat…hi I'm Varun… u can call me Tuttu. Name and
stature didn’t match at all. In reply I said … I'm Anand..hi…. U going to join me
huh…?

6
Ya Im going to be your roommate ..he replied.

Ohk… that’s cool ..I said. My uncle had known his father since long time. We
both started sharing our whereabouts.

Me: So where u did your schooling?

Varun: SN Vidya Mandir and u?

Me: Gujarat.. Bharuch QACS…Queen Of..(He didn’t let me complete. He

seemed to be in some hurry or wasn’t probably interested in knowing ..)

Varun: Ah Ok….. So NRI quota huh and which branch? Me Mechatronics…

Me : Mechanical

Varun: You are just 5 feet and 2 inches, what u going to do with mechanical
trust me it means a lot of physique..u can join with me in Mechatronics.. I can
help u… We will rock dude..

Me : Well let me see

Just 5 minutes of talk and I was amazed by the confidence this guy had. He was
speaking as if he had already completed 4 years of engineering.

Varun: See Mechanical means physique. ECE is really tough with a lot of
mathematics. CSE is all about programming and logics. Electrical is really old …
but Mechatronics is just released … it's going to be fun. Even If we don’t do
well, we are sure to get job somewhere. Hope u understand what I mean. U
can put money on this.

Me: Are u an admission agent… just joking.. how did u get so much info. I
haven’t heard of this branch much and with the marks I have got I don’t think I
will be able to go for any of the complicated ones. Mechanical has lowest fees
also.. Im sure I will get interested in it. Also my brothers told mechanical is the
best one .

Varun: Your wish. U know u can change branch by second year. We have 4
more from the same branch….joining us after short while….

Me : Oh great all of them management quota?

7
Varun: what a stupid question is this ? If we are moving to other state for
studying we are supposed to go in some or other kind of quota isn't it… hey u
know Tamil?

Me : No.. will that be necessary?

Varun: U don’t know about Tamilians I guess. They entertain and reply u back
only if u know Tamil. Hindi, English … they don’t work u see… anyways stay
with me l will teach u Tamil…

He turned to my dad and started talking with him I'm sure I will learn
something from him I thought and was relieved someone is there who knows
place and language well. Shit I didn’t buy Tamil dictionary… I thought… what
about the other 4? They also would be knowing Tamil or what…

Just then a hand came for a hand shake… Another matured face…. Akhil Raj …
Akhil Raj…..

Akhil : Hii da..…. U are…?? I'mAkhil Raj..Akhil…. ECE…

Me :Anand..Mechanical….

Akhil : Ok…

He didn’t talk much.. I presumed him as a silent guy…. A smart and dashing
guy..with an 80s sideline hair extrusion ..much a look alike Yuvraj Singh(famous
Indian Cricketer). He had a lot of luggage as well as if he was not planning to
move home anytime and settle himself in Chennai or his family at home didn’t
want him to come back home again. His father was also quite a serious, soft
spoken person. Both Akhil and Varunstarted shaking hands and I saw him
smiling and talking which meant their frequency matched.

I started mumbling some nuts. I tried to show some attitude. Went on to the
Higgins Bothams store near the canteen and bought a magazine for myself to
read. Suddenly an announcement hooted “Passengers listen carefully Train
going be late by half an hour”. I tried to find out a seat nearby somewhere. My
uncle gracefully offered me a seat which and gestured me to sit near him. I
liked him a lot because of some reasons as more or less we shared same
character. I could be frank with him and share anything. He asked me why am I
feeling gloomy in a whispering sound. Before I could answer anything he told
8
its going to be alright, it happens and stood up to greet a new set of tallies
Vivek and Nitin. Both were cousins from same village and Kannur. Vivek a dark
tall and handsome lad with a smiley face. A face which can make the
surroundings go fun filled. Nitin on the other hand was a serious looking guy
with a question mark expression on his face. From his face it was evident he
never had travelled so long and was a natural home sick guy. Both came up to
me and we started our conversation.

Vivek : Hi…Vivek here call me Unni. Mechatronics……U?

Me :Anand Mechanical.

Nitin: hi ..I’m Nitin… call me Vava… Mechatronics….

Then they both turned to the other two and started their jovial discussions.
Fearing myself to be the odd one out I joined them listening them with great
attention. Before joining I had advices from my mom to be silent and attentive
as I was a nonstop talkative jerk with ample mistimed comedies which can tire
a discussion very soon and open up whatever is hidden inside me. I remained
cautious this time. They were talking at a jet paced Malayalam which was
sometimes difficult for me to understand. A hand came in between and gave a
pause to their discussions. A hairy black hand, a guy dark in complexion and
with a sweet smile. He wore a formal attire, plain sky blue shirt and white
pants as if he was going to attend an interview. I think that’s what my dad
referred to as a SMART BOY.

….Hi I'm Sumith …. He said. We all greeted him with a hi and a smile. And
turned to each other and continuing our discussions. He stood silent for a while
and then again in a gentle voice screeched into our
discussions…..Anjarakandi… . “…Oh Anjarakandi ..where?...” Varunasked in
reply…. As if he knew whole of that place….. Near to Anajarakandi high
school..replied Sumith ….

Now we had another guy in our discussion So we all got separated from our
parents group and started mingling. So now it was a group of different heights.
In ascending order if I could say me, Varun, Sumith, Nitin, Akhil and Vivek. Our
discussions was interrupted by announcement of train. “TO FELLOW

9
PASSENGERS CHENNAI EXPRESS FROM MANGALORE TO CHENNAI IS EXPECTED
TO ARRIVE SHORTLY ON PLATFORM NO 4”.

The train stormed in shortly onto the platform and slow down to endeavour us
into its S5 compartment where our seats were already booked by our
admission agent. I rushed to the window seat as I had a habit of watching the
train from both ends when it takes turns left and right throughout the journey.
My seat was accompanied with my dad,Uncle and Mr Rameshan (Varuns
Father). On the opposite end it was Mr Kunjikannan (Nitins Father), Mr
Sudhakaran (Vivek s father), and Mr Rajan (Akhil s father). The pairing seat on
the side was shared between Mr Vijayan (Sumith’s father) and our admission
agent Bijuettan (In Kerala ettan acts as a suffix to the names of elder people,
meaning elder brother as a respect). The other 5 AVIT candidates attuned
themselves into their respective booked seats. Few minutes just before the
train left the station Vivek came up with a serious doubt. Two seats are yet to
be filled it seems, TT has come and he is asking for the other two. Bijuettan
interrupted him,that one candidate is yet to come. He referred his name as
Shijin.

After a while train reached Pazhayangadi 3 stations away from Kannur. A tall 6
feet lad with a colloquial dress, green shirt and a grey pant. He was looking as
the most outdated amongst us. His father accompanied him to the seat. They
both greeted our parents. The most interesting thing about Shijin was that he
kept looking at the ticket and seat for at least 5 minutes as if he is crossing a
road. I could make out how careful he was. I wished if I could get this guy as
my roommate, quite calm and careful. Whistle blew and Pazhyangadi station
was off from scene and we headed towards Chennai.

My uncle was quite a socialite in our family. He loved mingling with people and
could get into tune very fast. He noticed a silent me and asked me to go and
talk with the boys and befriend them. After my dinner I went on to the
following cabin for a chat. Sumith was too generous to offer me a seat.
Varunand Akhil had been chatting from long time. Guess they shared same
interests. Sumith was listening and nodding to their talks with a cute smileand
used to turn to me with the same smile which also forced me to give back a
smile as we both didn't have much words to share. Shijin kept the same
expression all the time and never bothered to talk. Nitin and Vivek were on the
10
side sharing berths. Nitin was busy with his Nokia 1100 and he never turned up
to chat. I thought he might be too shy to talk or was busy buzzing his girlfriend.
Vivek was eating an appam and reading a malayalam magazine. He never
looked like a studious type. Probably for both of them we were from alien land.
Conversation between Akhil and Varunwas never ending and I started taking
some interest in their conversation.

Varun: Have u heard of MGR university Chennai

Akhil : Ah yes.. I had applied there but didn't get through. It is too expensive
isnt it.

Varun: Well yes. My friend Arjun is studying there. After our parents leave we
can go in there to his room it will be fun. Campus is awesome dude not like
ours .

Me: Hey come on! our campus is also good man. U know the route is covered
with full of IT industries.

Akhil :Ohh... is it..... u mean it is fully surrounded by industries huh.. that means
we are going to get settled after our 4 years he he (he giggled)......

I too gave him a toothy smile .I understood he had no idea about IT industries.
At that moment Nitin s father called him and I could hear him saying " Stop this
game u playing in the phone. Concentrate on their talks. See how smart they
are. That small guy is talking about some industries. Go and gather some
information from him." He then gestured Vivek with a frown and joined our
talks. I smiled at being called SMART. Guess he didn't knew my marks in 12th.
Anyways keeping my mom s advice at work I kept a high profile look and I
greeted them into our discussion.

By 10 o clock we had discussed enough and we could say we were now kind of
friends. More than us it were our parents who were interested in each other.
Varunand Akhil had got through very well and they went to the wash basin and
stood near the door talking. Just then dad called me for sleep I wasn't asked
whether I'm feeling sleepy or not but my birth was arranged well and it meant I
had to sleep. I had no other option and waved good night to all. Soon after
everyone arranged themselves to sleep and train lights were turned off and I
was into dreams soon after.
11
12
 III

COLLEGE LIFE BEGINS.......

By morning 7 we reached Chennai Central. I never imagined this place is going

to fetch me a fantastic four-year story when time passes by. Chennai Central
seemed much similar to the one in Mumbai, the Mumbai Central station. Both
possess a British touch in it. All of us hurried as two and three potters rushed
into the compartment. Though all were reluctant first to hand over the
luggage, later on agreed with small bargaining. We all then headed to Shri
Murugan hotel as it was booked prior to our arrival by Bijuettan. Me,dad and
Uncle occupied room no 7 as directed by Bijuettan and soon after entering the
room dad started counting money that had to be paid to Bijuettan.
Manimaman asked me to freshen up as we had to move 50 km to go for
inauguration of first batch of Deemed University the college was affiliated to. I
moved into bathroom for shower. By the time I finished dad had handed over
the advance to Bijuettan as if he didn't want to waste anytime to see me adieu
him goodbye. I could understand his mentality that time. He hadn't recovered
from the shock of my 12th grade marks, even me. After he took bath we
started off for breakfast through the crowded streets of Sokarpet. We found a
good restaurant for breakfast. During that time I realised what Varunhad told
was really true. All of the waiters were speaking only Tamil. What we knew
was only English and Malayalam. Here we didn't suffer much as we just had to
speak out the names of the dishes we going to eat. After five to ten minutes of
ordering Uncle turned up to the restaurant. Now we were at ease as he knew a
bit of Tamil and was a good communicator. After breakfast we headed back to
the hotel where we were staying. There Bijuettan and Mr Rameshan (Varun’s
father) along with Varunwere waiting for us. We six of us were to move in one
cab and the rest of them in the other. As we knew the place we were moving
to, we piloted others in our journey towards AVIT for the inaugral function of
Deemed University first batch. All were dressed handsomely. Apart from Dad,
Uncle and Bijuettan all the elders were dressed in traditional Kerala costume
which we call a Mundu and Shirt. The common thing amongst us except

13
Bijuettan and Uncle was that none other knew Tamil. Varunwas sitting just
besides driver and I sometimes felt he was driving the car or he was enacting a
guide. At almost every turns he was asking the driver in a broken tamil
language about the area and then retrieving me the same details. I kept
nodding at his points. I was amazed by the communication skills he possessed.
Before joining here my cousin brother who had completed his engineering had
advised me to develop communication skills for better placements. So in my
mind I decided to follow Varunfor the same. I wasn't fully listening to
Varunafter 25 km of our travel. Now I was concentrating on Chennai. Chennai
was too much attractive. The best thing about this city was the ambience you
get in the streets. Temples enveloped the street and prayers were being heard.
I didn't leave any temple. I bowed head to each and every temple our cab
passed by. I didn't want any repetitive experiences not for me but for dad. I
saw the pain he was in. He had lost an opportunity of MBA because of me. He
couldn't answer well in the MBA interview which was his last chance to procure
the trade while in job. His mind was haunted by my results which had been
announced just few days before. Adding to that he hailed from a family
consisting of 5 IIT graduates. He expected me to be an IITian but I ended up
being and AVITian .

Soon After we waved goodbye to the main city and entered Thiruvayanmiyur
which connects the outer Chennai to the main city. Hymns from temples were
replaced with Radio Mirchi. First time I heard a Tamil song and it was
absolutely wonderful. I enjoyed the beats of Yuvanshankar Raja. Just a mile
ahead of Thiruvayanmiyur stood Cognizant software company. Varunpointed
out in excitement to show the same. I too got a bit excited and said "
remember I told this area is full of industries."Varunnodded in acceptance. The
way narrowed as we were on IT highway which is also known as Old
Mahabalipuram Road. The way had lot of hopes for future. Guess our parents
were excited as well. But dad still seemed to be a bit lost in some thoughts. I
better avoided looking at him.

We reached college an hour later. College was more or less like an expanded
multi storey building. Varunlooked to me with a mixed emotion of despair and
excitement as I had told him the college looks like a miniature palace model
( as it looked in the college brochure). The rest of the crew joined us shortly.

14
We all headed to the college auditorium where inaugural function of the first
year students was to be held. I walked in following my dad and uncle.
Varunseemed pretty happy with his head turning like a lighthouse probably for
good girls around. I was weak in that trade and had lot of things to think
about. Even there were not much girls to stare or look on to. The other 7 were
within themselves following us enjoying the college air.

College function was commenced with a welcome speech by the college

principal and a small group dance by 4th year seniors. It was then preceeded
with a traditional Tamilian food which had nice odour and taste. Before leaving
we were given the college brochure which was folded and put to trash by most
on the roads. We then headed to the hostels to check into our respective rooms
which was booked by our agent. Our hostel was a small multistorey building.
Apart from we 7 there were three tamilian lads. One of them a huge
sumowrestler type Srinath, A nice stylish sable coloured Tamil Maran who
hailed from a rural area called Mannarkudi and a very introvert Raja hailing
from Theni near to Madurai. It was time for our parents to depart and take
leave from us. Everybody s face was a bit turned down. Just then Varuncalled
me and Akhil to the building terrace. It seemed he had something really
important to tell.

Varun: Thank God parents are leaving soon , thought they would stay for one
more day. Didn't smoke for long.

Me : What! u smoke?

Akhil : Hey come on thats common my friends too smoked in school.

Varun: (Turning to Akhil and ignoring me) U smoke ? Can see from your lips,
there is a black layer.

Akhil :Naah I don't. My girlfriend doesn't like it. Many asked me the same
question. It had been black from my childhood days. Any ways I don't mind u
smoking.

Me : ( Turning to Varun) Does your parents know about it?

Varun: Does anybody do such things with the awareness of their parents. Dont
ask silly questions.

15
Me : But smoking is not good for health....

Akhil : Ha Ha ... hey leave it..... its each one s personal interest.

Varun: (turning towards me) buddy make sure u don't say this to anyone. Akhil
u too.

Just then Varuns father Rameshettan called him and he went downstairs. I was
looking at Akhil in an exclamatory manner. Akhil smiled at me.

Akhil : I know what u are thinking. But yeah smoking is bad for health. Seeing
him I feel he drinks too. But many do things like these.

Me : That's not funny.I have to decide myself something. I haven't been with
smokers and drinkers and frankly I feel quite uncomfortable with this.

Akhil : Its upon u dude. But let me repeat again u are going to meet friends like
this quite often in life from now on. Grow up. U can't avoid all these and also
these things are not a big deal.

Me: hmm so what if he gets over drunk or gets sick due to smoking. I don't
want to take any of his responsibilities.

I was shivering while saying all these. I was hijacked by the thoughts of Varun.
It was now the time for parents to leave us to the mercy of hostel. The amazing
thing was that we didn't see our warden yet and all the parents were asking
about the same. All stood outside the hostel to meet up our warden who was
told to arrive shortly. Meanwhile we all were busy setting up our rooms. Soon
we heard a motor cycle sound arriving to our room slowly. We all went outside
our respective rooms to have a look of our warden who had just stepped in. He
was Mr Mohan senior lecturer in Mechanical. I was particularly happy about
that as I had a person to instruct and guide me in my subject. I made up in my
mind that I would tell about that drinking habit of Varunto Mr Mohan rather
than telling to my parents and his. First time I felt I was kind of smart.

Our parents got ready to leave and were happy that we all were looking happy.
Exceptions were Nitin and Vivek. Both of their eyes were wet and I could sense
an emotional person in both of them. That was obvious as both of them were
coming out of Kerala for the first time and had been living and growing up in a
close periphery. Shijin was as usual emotionless. Akhil just waved his father
16
with a smile and same did Varun. My father came to me hugged me gently and
told just one thing be brave, things will turn around well slowly. Think and
analyze before moving ahead with any decision. This is a new phase in your
life.Have faith in yourself more than God. I nodded with respect. Half an hour
later our parents left to native in wagon size cab and we waved Good Bye to
them. We all gathered in Shijin and Akhil s room for a chat. We were busy with
our conversations and finding out best suited company in each others. I wasn't
still able to reach to their wavelength as I belonged to a completely different
background and I wanted to hear more motivational talks rather than chit chat
talks in due to my present situation

Days passed we started getting used to each other. We were enjoying each
other's company and we used to walk into college in groups. Me and Sumith
used to be always in formal wears. Whereas the rest always strolled in
casuals.Akhil was the guy with style quotient amongst us and he was blessed
with good looks as well who could easily woo a girl with his charm. Its usual
you will find a bunch of bad looking guys and bad looking girls around a good
looking guy and good looking girl respectively. I was more engrossed in classes.
I wanted to get into the subject well in order to get placed and settle well in
future. First two months of our college went on very fast. Morning to After
noon classes and then Evening home and cricket. I felt more of school days
than college days. Not only me but my hostel mates also. They were hostel
mates to me more than friends as I was a bit reserved and wasn't willing to
mingle with them much. They were always fun and frolic. I couldn't see them
discussing anything serious. Watching SS MUSIC or comedy channels. Either
making fun of each other or talking about any girl or professor. When the talks
used to exceed a limit I used to go away from the company to my room. I used
to sit in front of a lecture note or book and usually fell asleep there and then. I
developed a habit of getting up early at morning 6 going to a Sai Baba temple
near by the hostel getting dressed and reading a book. But developing a habit
of studying was more difficult than getting up early by 6. While reading I used
to sleep away and later on woke up just before the breakfast. I always heard a
giggle from my Varunand hostel mates and I was a subject to their laughter
topics and mockery. I never reacted and even didn't knew how to react. I felt
sad for sure. I was more playful than them and even fun from inside. But my
fateful experiences had led me a break. Whenever I felt happy the tense face of
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my father came before me. This was the time when I realised how much I loved
him and missed him. Though remaining aloof wasn't doing any good to me but
I was feeling lot matured controlling my emotions ....at least front of a mirror.

I wasn't feeling comfortable with Varun. I had a notion about him as a drunk
yard and a smoker. He used to come late at night, almost an hour after I sleep
and gulp down the meals that I kept for him. But the good thing was he never
interfered in my things. We both were in our own worlds. Slowly I got adjusted
with his smoking habit. Actually there was nothing much to adjust. I used to
take my bed to Shijin s room who was particularly more silent than rest of the
hostellers. His silence never irked me. He used to always wear a thinking cap. I
never knew what he used to think but just like me he used to place himself on a
neatly arranged bed with some books in his hands and read something or the
other. On the other side Sumith, Nitin, Vivek and Akhil had lot to talk and they
used to settle themselves in a room which belonged to Sumith. Sumith used to
stay single as he was short of a partner as we were odd in numbers. He
actually enjoyed being alone. I wanted to be in his place sometime. I could
never see my roommate in day time. Akhil had a girlfriend and it was a true
kind of love. He used to go to nearby phone booth to talk with his girlfriend
because of privacy problems at our hostel. Nitin and Vivek were just mere bird
watchers and they were more interested in sports games and T.V. Both used to
make fun of each other and that was really fun and entertainment to watch.

Sooner we were joined by a hefty guy with a villanious look with a ciggaratte in
his mouth. His name was Arith. He occupied Sumith s room and I could see
Sumith was the unhappiest person on the earth at that point of time and the
most happiest one was Varunas he got a company to smoke and booze. They
instantaneously became friends. But Arith was far more serious than Varunas
he owned a business back home in Kozhikode which had recently undergone
some crisis. So he was behaving in a more matured way than us. Varunand
Arith already had started matching up their frequency.

Not Sooner my problems started. One night Varuncame to room drunk. I used
to sleep in shijin s room but somehow that day I was lying on my bed in my
room too tired after college. He came in and asked me to move from my bed. I
just smiled. Thought of not giving much reaction. He pulled my arm. I pushed
him back. He kicked my bed, took his blanket and went outside to sleep. I didn't
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bother much. I was feeling uncomfortable with his character by now. Next day
He came to me and looked at me with a wince. I pretended not to notice much
and continued folding my dresses and arranging my room.

Varun: Hey I'm sorry for last night. Was pretty drunk brother. Hope you
understand my situation. I was stressed out. Weekend owes a drink isn't it.

I just looked at him unsympathetically without showing much concern. Guess

he understood my reaction and headed to bathroom for a bath. He came out
after bath with his face still in an awkward position. As he Dressed and took his
cigarette I interfered in between.

Me : Listen brother thing is not about you drink , you smoke or whatever but
the thing is the reactions you give after that as if no one on the earth does this.
I'm sober which doesn't mean I don't know about these enjoyments. I'm not
stopping you from anything but I guess everything has limitations. If I wish I
could move out of this room and stay with others but I'm not doing all this as
I'm trying to adjust with you. So please understand and stay in your limitations.

Varun(annoyed) : You are taking this far serious than it is. You need to grow up
man. Look around college guys other than us. This is really common. I'm sorry
to tell you that you are still a child. You are here for four years. You won't be
getting these four years again. From the time I saw you, you are lost
somewhere. You are not in the peace of your mind. Don't Know what is wrong
with you. You are not even able to understand what is fun and what is not. Just
look around, you aren't even mingling with our boys. I don't have much to say
take care. Will meet at night.

I was in a bewildered state by his talks. Was thinking how a guy who never
even talked with me for so much time could know my state of mind so clearly. I
was kind of impressed and now knew this guy was not all the time within
himself. He does observe his surroundings. I was feeling I could find a friend in
this drunkard. That night Varuncame to room in a steady condition. He though
drunk was behaving in a pretty normal manner. Took his dinner and went early
to bed. I thought to move into bed the same time. I wasn't much sleepy. Just in
Varunpopped up from sleep and started in with a conversation.

Varun: Hey you slept?

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Me: Nope.

Varun: Did you feel bad about what I said this morning? I'm pretty frank in
what I say.

Me : It's ok I left it by the time you went out. Anyways how was your day and
what all you did ?

Varun: Nothing much went to city to meet my friend Arjun who is studying in
MGR university. Well he is kind of your character. Sober character. No drinks
no smoke. I just want to advise you mingle with all. Your schooldays are over.
It's time for you to find out new people and new places apart from studies.
Why you stay so aloof? What is there to think so much about at this age.

Me : Dude... I hadn't been like this before. I have my own problems. To say in
short. My family consists of well educated persons mostly IITs and Doctors. I
couldn't fulfil my father's dreams. So kind of it sticking at the back of my mind.
This may not seem for you much but I have my own problems. It's long time my
father has talked with me.

Varun:Thankfully my father didn't have much expectations on me, neither me

on myself.

We both Laughed whole heartedly and slept. This was probably the first time I
felt an ease within myself. I realised that thinking about anything than a limit
makes life worse. I was finding a serious friend in him. Next day I started my
day on a positive note. Got up early not for studying but for a new beginning.
Things changed up for me. I had got into my original mode. I was now more
casual and was accompanying others in their jokes and pranks. That month
went quickly without much events until a new entrant came into our college.

IV

20
 A STORY BEGINS......

We 8 were having a really good college time. All time fun. I was now more and
more enrolling myself into the activities with all and had developed a comfort
zone with all of them. Our main Sit out place was Akhil' s room which seemed a
comparatively bigger one than us as it had less no of luggage mainly as Shijin
was a miser himself and carried the fewest of the luggage.He just had a big
suitcase beneath his bed which was locked and chained as if kept in a train
compartment. In between our talks also I used to see him glance at his suitcase
in between. Seldom did he ever come with us for shopping to buy dresses or
other household items. Problem with him was that he used to think more than
we people. He never liked to share things with anybody nor he used to be close
enough with us. I had let his company long back by now. But it was good to
have a cautious and silent buddy like him with us. Vivek and Nitin had been
maintaining the same tempo as before. Their jokes were far too good and had
a colloquial touch in them. One thing was clear that they could never ever live
without each other. Their main point of jokes and prank was on Shijin in order
to irk him a bit. Shijin was also quite short tempered. Every night it was a
custom to assemble Akhil 's and Shijin' s room and hear some annoyed
feedbacks from the latter. Akhil on the other hand was as cool as ever. He had
a girlfriend studying in Coimbatore who he deeply loved. He used to go to the
nearby phone booth at evening 7 and stay up there for at least two hours
talking with her. Though busy with her he never used to miss our assembly
time and show up exactly at 10 pm. He too used to make fun along with others
not only about Shijin but also others. Sumith was silent as before but did have
timing jokes stored within. He wasn't happy with Arith as far as I noticed. Their
cold war was still on. Arith on the other hand was trying to make Sumith s life
worse at room. He used to play music at high sound and smoke intentionally
inside the room. He was looking a chance for moving away from the room as
possible. He didn't like smoke much just like me and Arith was a chain smoker.
He though belonged from a country side in Kerala but had a city culture
bestowed in him with a very different outlook from others. Arith was looked
upon as an elder guy of our gang as he had lot of business experience and as
per him he was just in the college for a degree. He talked only to the point. He

21
liked Vivek due to some reason. He only used to laugh on jokes by Vivek. Vivek
had an ability to get closer to all. He was witty but also had a caring tone in his
talks. He was more matured than Nitin and probably the most matured guy
amongst us excluding Arith. By now Vivek had learned to smoke which made
him even closer to Arith. All our nights used to end with songs by Vivek.

Though we all were a gang together, we never could spot Varunduring our
spirited hours. He had got addicted to boozing and got really good company.
He used to come late by night 11 along with our warden Mr. Mohan and the
fattest guy of our hostel Srinath, all boozed. They used to sleep on the terrace.
According to Varunsleeping on terrace had a benefit. He could wake up by
morning 7:30 without any alarm. For our Warden Mr Mohan everything was
Varun. He had got close enough to him than any of us. I could see the ability of
Varunto influence any person at any point of time. Vaishak could capture the
attention of almost anyone. In college he was the most popular guy of our
batch. Not because of studies, but the interactions. He spoke with girls just like
he spoke with us quite freely. Girls were also quite free with our gang of 8. We
had kept the name of our gang as UNMATCHABLES, just a popularity stint. We
appointed Akhil as our gang leader. We used to unite at the college canteen
and then head for our hostel rooms after beverages and snacks. Three girls
from Electronics and communication department used to join us in the canteen
for casual chit chats and gossips. Two of them were from Manipur named
Mary and Aluna. Mary was a tomboy and Aluna the total opposite, too much
girlish. Third one was Anitha. She was a Malayalee, born and brought up in
Salem, Tamil Nadu. She preferred to keep rather quite during the chat.

Days went on. Third month into our college life a new entrant came in. Her
name was Akansha. With a handful of girls in our college we all found Akansha
quite attractive. She was from Bengal. She had curly hair and features like an
actress. Needlessly to say all boys started hovering around her. She had
occupied her seat in Electronics and Communication class near Aluna. She was
noted by everyone. All the boys in the class were eager to share notes with her.
Arith and Akhil made sure they introduced themselves well. Akhil like Varun
had no hesitancy to start a conversation with a girl.

Our introduction to Akansha was during a lunch break. Since we were the first
batch of deemed university there were hardly 130 students in total in our batch
22
with mechanical and electronics and communication branches having most of
the students occupied with. During our introduction Varun was not seen. A
moment later a hand with wrist bands on it popped inside our circle.

“ Hi! This is Varun .. the same sturdy voice. Akansha smiled and gave an
acknowledgement back.

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