When Girls Change Tubelights....

The problem was simple.

Panks wanted her tube light changed. So when she entered my room looking for someone who knew how to do it, I jumped at the opportunity. I call it an opportunity because I love changing tubelights and bulbs. Yeah, it looks strange for a hobby but I can’t help myself.

I removed the functional tube from Anu’s room (who had long ago moved out) and took out the dead one from Panks’. Now this presented a problem as the holder was a bit twisted and my position was hardly comfortable. The chair, which was in turn on top of Panks’ bed, was shaking. The simple solution would have been to fix the twisted holder with a pair of tweezers. However my enthusiasm for changing tubes is equaled by my fear of getting electrocuted. I cannot touch the damn thing even if the mains are switched off (strange combo!!!)

So there I was trying to get the thing in when Poo entered. I was so happy doing what I was doing and turned to tell her about it. I, however, forgot that the fan was on. Clang! The tube was split into half as if by a blow by Darth Wader himself. The three of us stared at the broken pieces now scattered all over the place. Shit!!

However the spirit of a tube light changer is not easily broken. While cleaning her room another idea struck!! Panks agreed.
At midnight we slipped into the guest room of our hostel, replaced the working tube there with our dead one and ran as if we had just looted Swiss bank. Half an hour of twisting and turning the holder the tube light finally fit. Both Panks and I were covered in sweat (the fan was OFF this time!). We prayed to god, blew the conch and flicked the switch on. Nothing!!! Like a madman I flicked it again and again!! No result after six hours of hard work and sweat can be depressing and with a glum and broken spirit we went to bed.
Two days later the electrician told us that it was the switch that was not working properly.

THE BULLDOG AND ME

“Do you remember?” I asked him.
“Every single bit of it.” said he.

I was talking to him after eight long years but still it seemed yesterday when I went to his place for a game of Mario.
So, did you join the WWE?
Naah, did you join the Indian cricket team?
Naah.
Well, such is life
Yeah, such is life. He sighed.

Hey, are you in touch with the other five?
No, just you.
So what happened? Where did they go?
Well you left, the Anil and Priyanka left after a month and finally Aditya. I left after two years. By that time it had become very boring.

Hey remember the time I broke your arm?
Yeah, thanks to you I got a week’s holiday from school.
And all the glasses we broke in that abandoned house!!
That was bloody brilliant!! Though I still remember the repercussions!!
We both laughed.

Those two years were the best years of my life.
Hey, mine too.
I can never forget those cricket matches. I still play, though it’s not that much fun.
You were a good player. I always picked you for my team.
We could never beat the Giant though.
Yes. What is he doing now?
He is going to get married soon.
Time flies. Yesterday he was playing cricket with us.
Flies, my dear friend, is an understatement.

Hey I see that you are committed. We were supposed to be soul mates you know.
That is just nonsense. I am still your soulmate, your better half and your best friend.
This time we cried.

Just for the record, I am still the NC lines Champion.
I want to have a re-match.
I am ready anytime you are.
Ok soon.
Good night Austin.
Good night Bulldog.
I wish when I get up I am 12 again.
Amen!

First year at BIT

You hear a lot about college from your elder brothers and sisters. You imagine this place with no uniform, no parental guidance and very little studies, in short, a place where the party never ends. But this dream bubble gets brutally popped when you enter the gates of Birla Institute of Technology (they should add a :ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK board there).

For the first five minutes you see nothing but trees, trees and more trees with hostel buildings peeking from behind done up in gay(pun intended) yellow and spotted with undies. Finally you reach your own cellular jail. And then your warden says the two magic words “IN TIME”. Things get worse with the stuff they call food and hell holes called toilets.

First day of class, hope rises again. With buoyant steps you enter the building. A swarm descends upon you- SENIORS. From the next day on salwaar kameez, oily hair and bathroom chappals become your style statement. They make you sing, dance or act the fool anytime anyplace. At night you sob your stories to parents and hope you had never left home.

After the first week something happens….something they call orientation. You get used to it. You tell yourself, “It maybe bad but it is what I have to live with now”. And then the fun begins…..

You share your sorrows with your jail mates. You form a team and have fun at Techneek. You enjoy the sad show at Fugia. You experience the joys of free SMSing. You slip off to Subarnrekha right under the guard’s nose. You learn how to study the night before the exam and still get good marks. You learn to play the guitar. You come across funny words like PMC and BABA. Seniors don’t seem so bad when they hand over notes and treat at CCD.

College campus is a place where rumors spread fast. For one whole week you gossiped about a girl from your hostel getting married even when she lived as a happy spinster in the next room. You hear one day that your room was raided and enough stuff was found to earn a narcotics officer a lifetime achievement award. In reality not even a room heater was found!!!

Suddenly you realize that this jungle is always abuzz. Drishyant, Genisis, Dope Seminar. During BITotsav you wish you had Hermione’s time turner because you have to participate in 4 events at the same time.

And now as you finish this blog entry from home you can’t wait to go back. The place has somehow grown on you. The administration may be cold and apathetic or plain non-existent (except on registration day) but the students take care of the rest. The best soldiers are the ones that take the hardest obstacle course. So cadet tie up your boots for another action packed semester !!!!!