Saturday, September 09, 2006

A crazy week

The crazy phone call:

"Hiiiiiii", came Riddhi's childish voice singing over the phone. "Kaisa hai, bidu?"

'Bidu ??' I told myself. 'Ise kya ho gaya ?'

'"Bol na," she persisted, "kaisa hai?"

"Main to mast hoon...bas padhai-shadai chal rahi hai..Monday se exams hai."

"Oh cool, my exams are getting over tomorrow, and I'm leaving for Cal in the evening. Aur bataa, pics kaise lage?"

She was referring to the pics that she'd sent me by mail, where she could be seen standing on the first floor railing, about to take a plunge and land on the pile of mattresses that were ready to soften the blow. Apparently, this is the newest form of enjoying life at IIM-K; that's where Riddhi is currently pursuing her MBA.

"Hey kid, you'd better take care. I know you wanna enjoy yourself like hell when you're away from adult supervision...lekin yeh kya hai...take care of yourself, please," I begged.

"Arre, don't worry," was her nonchalant reply, "I just wanted to do something wild; and it wasn't that I was the only one doing it...my friends were there alongwith me. Anyway, I wanted to tell you how excited I am. I've been learning how to ride a bike !!! And though the Pulsar is really heavy for me, I'm learning on the other bikes as of now. Ain't that cool ?"

Silence at my end.

"By the way, tu kya kar raha hai ?" continued the non-stop jabberer.

"Err....nothing.."

"Shekhar....chalo, sach-sach batao," came the warning, in a typical Mummy style.

"Errr....(gulp)...kuch nahin yaar, just having some milk....Bournvita daal ke," I confessed.

"KYAAAAA ??????? You and milk....woh bhi with Bournvita !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HA HA HA HA HA.....!!"

However, that's the truth, dear reader. The boys hostel seems to have been caught in some sort of milk-mania. Every evening now, post 11 o' clock, you can see boys roaming around with a 1/2 litre packet of milk in their hands, asking the few proud owners of kettles whether their honourable machines are available. And sometime last week, even I got bitten by the milk-bug.

Of course, only those who've known me for long (such as Riddhi, who has known me since my MBA preparatory days) can imagine the sea-change that has occured.


The crazy exam:

The first examination that I had was Consumer Behavior, and it is a terrible thing to prepare for an exam seeing that your roommate has no exam the following day. "Ha ha..I'm gonna watch a movie tonight and sleep till noon tomorrow...happy studying," my roomie gloated.

I had promised Munnu maharaj on Orkut that on the morning of the exam, I would get up early, bow to the Almighty, sing the Hanuman Chalisa, and attack the examination hall. Munnu Maharaj, perhaps having an inkling of the forthcoming doom, told me that I should also include Kali Maa in my prayers.

As destiny had planned...I woke up late for the exam.

WOKE UP LATE FOR THE EXAM !! Do you understand what that means ???

Terror !!! Disaster !!!!

And not because you know that you could've answered the paper better, in a calm fashion; but because the whole college knows about it and greets you with a smile wherever they bump into you, whether at the mess, the classroom or at Chotu's.

But, I am digressing.

The series of events went something like this....

Invigilator: (In a strict, businesslike tone) There's a student missing... (turning to Basanti, who sits right next to me) any idea where he is...

Basanti: No sir, but he must be coming in some time...

Invigilator: Hmm...ok.

5 minutes into the exam

Basanti turns and looks at Mini, Mini returns the concerned look...both thinking 'Is gadhe Shekhar ka kuch nahin ho sakta...'

10 minutes into the exam

Basanti: Sir..I'm calling him up...he might have overslept.

Invigilator: Oh well...ok..fine.

On hearing this, the rest of the class, which has been awaiting the news of their hero, much like the crowd in Julius Ceaser, chants 'Tushar...Tushar' (that's my roomie) in unanimous acknowledgement of the fact that there was very little chance that a Kumbhakaran like me would wake up at the polite request of a cell phone ring.

Basanti (screaming into the phone at Tushar): Where's Shekhar ???!!!!!!!

Tushar: SHEKHAR !!!!! (...and conveniently chucks the phone at me)

Your's truly (YT): Huhhh ??

Basanti: Shekhar...EXAM HAI !!!!! Jaldi aao...

I scrambled to the exam hall, thanking the Lord for having the premonition that this was bound to happen one day and making me run the 2 kms that I do everyday.

When I entered the exam hall, the invigilator pushed the answer sheet in my direction with a sinister Gabbar Singh like smile that said, "Aaao Thakur...aaao."

Sheesh....what a way to begin the exams !!

4 comments:

arpana said...

wat good frnds u got buddy ! itne ache doston ka saath ho , to koi bhi "late morning" cant keep u frm doing wat u want ! ** blows a kiss towards those good frnds of yours**

Anonymous said...

wow thts cool yaar ....itna celbrity style mein entry shayad hi kissi ne kiya ho aaj tak ...hope ur xam had gne well ..nd u didnt sleep inbtwn ..
shwets

ani said...

typical moti ishtyle biiii.....g :-D!!!

Shekhar said...

arpz: Sometimes I wonder WHERE I would be if it were not for these great buddies of mine !!

shweta:Arre mat pooch, main to poore mood mein tha ki Amitabh ke tarah darwaaza tod ke entry maroonga aur boloonga 'Aaj khush to bahut hoge tum ke main exam main late pahuncha hoon'....kambakht darwaaza bahut bada tha !!

ani: Moti's back !!!! :D