PART II: The Dull Days

Continued from the previous post

The classes soon commenced, made new friends. Days were just dragging by. Boring classes, teachers reaching on time, strictly taking attendance, it all made me feel like I’m back at my ‘school of restrictions’ (I studied in a Christian Convent School)! And as usual, the classes got more and more boring every passing day. We had to find new methods to stay awake in class, let alone be attentive! A few of them came up with Bingo and Housie but a breakthrough was made by my dear friend Hari Shanker- the pioneer in exploiting the use of a USB MP3 player in classroom! It was best implemented in the Electronics and Communication classes in which the teacher barely left the podium to interact with the students. In no time college life was getting to be in its true sense. Bunking classes, making proxy attendance hoaxes and mobile gaming became the usual phenomena in class.

But all this while, something was missing. A girl. I’ve always had this starting trouble in talking to anyone-particularly girls. And the same reason made me stick to the boys’ side of the class. Shameful as it is, I seldom left my bench to interact with the opposite sex. I wondered what they would feel if I ever talked to them, how their response would be. The 1st semester was coming to an end and I had not talked to more than eighty percent of the class, while a few were in their pursuit to ‘happiness’…(yes you thought it right)!!! In my case there was just this formal talk with girls, we talked about weather…
Me: ”Hey do you think it’ll rain today?”
She: ”I hope it doesn’t, I haven’t taken my umbrella”.

and studies…AArgh…
Me: “Did the assignment?”
She: ”Yeah kinda, just half way through”.

I started hating myself. Why do I even start such stupid conversations?, I used to ask myself. But it never helped. I remained the same old shy guy when it came to talking with girls. As it is said, Birds of a feather flock together, all the guys on my bench were similar to me. But there was a slight difference - while I had the urge to talk, they seemed to lack even that. It was as though they did not care. I somehow had to device a way to fill the emptiness in me. Besides all these, the thing that haunted me most was that I had not talked to my angel. I had just a few good friends among girls and I once had to pay a price for being friends with one of them. A senior caught me accompanying her back to the college bus after an afternoon Graphics drawing class. He summoned the both of us. On knowing that she was to catch the college bus, he let her go. It was the first time I was caught by a senior and I did not know what to do. I tried to keep calm and kept smiling as I approached him. I expected a cool reaction from him seeing my seemingly innocent expression! But I was very wrong. He broke the momentary silence with a roar…

He : “Enthada ithrem santhosham ninakk? Entha ninte bharya petto?”
(“You seem very glad, has your wife delivered?”)
Me: (keeping mum)
He : “Ni pennungalude koode mathre nadakkuo?”
(“Is it that you only walk with girls?”)
Me: “Illa chetta, angane onnum illa”.
(“No, nothing like that brother”)
He : “Ni mixed schoolil ano padiche?”
(“Did you do your schooling in co-ed school?”)
Me: “Athe chetta”.
(“Yes”)
He : “Veruthe alla payyanu ithrem moda”.
(“No wonder he behaves so audaciously”)
Me: (standing still, no comments for this one!)
He : “Ni oru karyam cheyyu, ninte classile ella penpillerudem perum veedum ezuthikkond nale

enne lunch breakinu vannu kanu”
(“Do me a favor, bring the details of all the girls in your class by tomorrow afternoon”)
Me: “Ayyo chetta…”
(“But…”(hesitantly))
He : “Paranja pole cheytha mathi, manassilayoda?”
(“Do as I say”)
Me: “Hmm…chetta chettante peru?”
(“Brother, what’s your name?”)
He : “PPa m@!** ninakk seniorinte peru ariyanoda?”
(“A$$***e, how dare you ask the name of your senior?”)
Me: (keeping mum)
He : “Aa po po, pinne adikam angu pennungalodu olippikkalle…”
(“Eff off, and don’t ever let me see you flirting with your girls again…”)

That was my first ever treat that my seniors gave me! I had not dared to even pass by the senior block since that incident. I had to lurk around in the college to evade from this senior. How am I supposed to ask the details of the girls in my class when I haven’t even talked to most of them? Days passed by and my senior almost forgot about the assignment he’d asked me to do.

Soon seniors got friendlier with us and the fear of them was gradually receding. Despite all the fun with boys, there still was this something missing. It even reflected in my self. The glow in my face – as my parents said- was no more there. I guessed them to suspect if their son had started drinking. So I started to fake. I always faked a smile on my face that got everyone believe that I was very happy indeed. But deep within, I was the same guy who’s bored of college life, whose dreams of a rocking college life was shattered the very first day he entered the college. Well, the only thing I liked about my new life was my hostel. Staying away from home gave me a lot of freedom which I’d always dreamed of. The camaraderie at the hostel was great. Indeed it was a new home for the lonely me. Often I felt to stay at the hostel and not attend college. College was that boring.

In no time, the mid-sem exams were underway and I couldn’t concentrate on nothing more than my text books. Night-outs, combined study, record work, last minute preparations… There was a chaos in the hostel; I would rather say an ordered chaos! The study lobby at the hostel is the place where we are supposed to study in groups. But everything except studies was prevalent there! A few of us would gather there in the hope to study over-night and we end up cracking jokes and imitating the hostel warden. It’s true we stay awake all night, but with the same page of the text book open till dawn!

The exams got over and so did the Christmas vacation. And once again I was back at college in my old state of an apparent depression. It was a period when I was hooked to several social networking websites and I came in contact with many friends and incidentally I stumbled upon one of my old classmates, who happened to be, well… to be precise my ex-girlfriend…

(To be continued...)