October 1996
It's time to shift rooms. I need a room to study in peace and Lister has too many distractions. Snappy, for one. To get to Snappy from Osler requires getting down 4 flights of stairs and then a 3-4 minute walk across to Lister. I'm sure that this amount of physical exertion will be an effective deterrent.
I will be entering Final Year soon and I need a change of scenery. Rahul will soon finish and leave Jipmer and Shom has already shifted out. Bong is finishing Internship and will leave. My gang will scatter and I need to move and find a new gang, preferably one that studies also.
The two hostels, Lister and Osler are identical in design but are very different in personality. Lister is more sedate while being hip at the same time but is very looked down upon by the Osler Residents. Osler residents tend to think of themselves as God's gifts to Jipmer and strut around as such. However Lister has Snappy, so that's a trump card right there.
But Osler has better bathrooms. How confusing.
I have alluded to the "Missing Day-Scholar" syndrome before and I take full advantage of this. Day scholars, the guys who live in normal houses in town, can also take a room in the hostel and many times they do this so that an actual hosteler can live alone with his absentia Day Scholar Room-mate. I find such a room on the top of Osler House and one day, I get a Tambi from the mess to do all my shifting.
I shift to Osler 428 on the Top Floor. It's called Osler Top or OT.
It's a lovely room, much bigger than Lister 229. A double room facing the sea and one can see the sea from the balcony outside. The breeze in the evenings and early mornings is cool and fresh, and right behind the building, there are tall trees just about reaching up to my window. My neighbours include 2 guys from 3 batches down, both from the North-East, called Solo and Posting.
There is Anup Pradhan, a classmate from Sikkim who constantly underlines everything he reads and makes notes of everything also. He has reams of notes which he also underlines. Issac, also from the batch of 1996 pops in every now and then to listen to my horrendous jokes ad since he is a baby junior, he pretends to enjoy them.
Also, in this wing, in the single rooms are Lobzang, who has been there for a few years, Bhargav, a few years senior, who is usually seen with one leg draped over the corridor wall (we are 4 floors up), Vinod who is writing poetry when not in Curie House waiting for Shreya, and Harpreet, the only Sardar in campus. Anupam aka Condom also lives here. Anup, Vinod, Harry and Condom are classmates. This is also useful since Final Year is a lot about weeping on each other's shoulders and crying at one's fate, things which are best done with similarly afflicted classmates.
Vinay, however, is not pleased. He had apparently shifted to Lister a few months ago because he wanted to be near me with the grand plan of us studying together. Or maybe it made it more convenient for him to run across and call me for a snappy Snappy bite. I was oblivious to this whole strategy and when I shifted across, he was livid.
"Saale, I shifted because of you and now you are moving to that hellhole Osler"....
(Note: "Saale" is a mild term)
So now we are as separated in space as we were before but in opposite hostels.
That does not deter us from going over to get our respective bikes. I am really excited. I have spoke to Radio, our JSA President who knows a dealer (Harvest Gold I think), and we go over, with 42000 Rs in cash to get my prized possession.
It's beautiful. Black, with a greenish design and what a sound it makes! Soft purring from the engine, instant acceleration, smooth as any Yamaha. It's the RXG, a new model just out this year. I take it out very slowly and drive back to campus at 20 kmph, my untrained eyes peeled on the chaotic roads. Vinay has bought a Suzuki Samurai, a fast bike with a harsher sound, but with a riding position I find uncomfortable. Both are 2 stroke bikes and I wouldn't dream of buying one of the new 4 strokes, a bike called the Hero Honda Splendour. They're just not bike enough.
I get my number PY-01H 8927 and I'm all set.
Freedom tastes sweet. Goodbye autos and cockroaches and lifts from people.
Soon, however, I learn that owning a vehicle has downsides. I have made a habit of losing my room keys every now and then and many times I've lost them inside the room and never found them again. Locks have been changed many times. I've even had to unscrew the iron latch on the door once, break locks with hammers and pliers and sometimes, have had to enter and exit the room from the narrow window ledge at the back that connects to the bathroom windows.
This latter method of room entry is now not an option since I am 4 floors up and am scared of heights.
In any case, one evening after class, I take the key out from the bike ignition and lock the handle and the key breaks. It just snaps in half, really neatly. One half is stuck inside the handle lock and I'm holding the other half in my hand. As a test, I insert this half and the handle unlocks. It's a perfect break. But now I can't start the damn thing, so I call someone over to jig the wires under the headlight. Now, all I have to do is to insert my half of the key in the handle, unlock it, remove it and put in my pocket and just kick. When I arrive somewhere, I put the bike in gear and stop it, take the key out, lock the handle and put it back in my pocket.
It's complicated, but it works for a month before I decide to get a spare made.
I have a long history of losing keys.
Life is wonderful with my lovely bike. It takes me a while to get used to Pondy traffic and in the early days, I drive with eyes wide open, quite slowly, braking every now and then and getting suitably startled at every nonchalantly crossing pedestrian. It's not a steep learning curve, however and in a month or so, I'm all set, braving the crowds and traffic like a veteran, driving at nothing below 70 and zipping in and out of lanes. Typical Indian driving. Good fun.
Vinay and I also test our new bikes in town. This testing usually involves speeding on empty roads hoping no one appears suddenly in front of us, as Pondy pedestrians often do.
So, one late evening, around 12, Vinay and I are zipping along on the empty Beach Road when some guy on a bicycle comes right in front of Vinay. The Beach Road, fortunately has a few right angled turns at intervals and Vinay went full speed at 90 degrees with his bike nearly touching the road. One second he was there, the next he had disappeared. I doubled back, completely sober now and find Vinay parked in the middle of the small road off the Beach Road bang in front of the biggest Police Station in town. It's a testament, perhaps to the Police that no one came out, no questions were asked. Nothing.
We drove back to Jipmer rather more sedately.
Later, more experienced and therefore more careless, we often race back to Jipmer from the Beach road, the finish lines being the shacks where a pre-sleep tea is the norm. This race is serious stuff. We start from the Beach road and race at full speed. The roads are pretty empty at 12 AM and it's exciting stuff.
It's not safe stuff and "PLEASE DO NOT GET INSPIRED BY THIS".
When a speed breaker looms, and soon we know all of them, I shift to neutral, ride the breaker and shift down to third for extra zip. It never fails to get me a few seconds ahead. When we reach the shacks, the tires are smoking and I can smell rubber.
The fun, however, is about to end. My Send-Ups start soon and then the Univs. There is a long gap between the two, almost a month which will leave just about 10-12 days of post-exam vacation. This is blatantly unfair since the next year is massive and I need to recharge at home. But that won't happen.
And coming up in a few days is the Forensic Grand Viva.....
It's time to shift rooms. I need a room to study in peace and Lister has too many distractions. Snappy, for one. To get to Snappy from Osler requires getting down 4 flights of stairs and then a 3-4 minute walk across to Lister. I'm sure that this amount of physical exertion will be an effective deterrent.
I will be entering Final Year soon and I need a change of scenery. Rahul will soon finish and leave Jipmer and Shom has already shifted out. Bong is finishing Internship and will leave. My gang will scatter and I need to move and find a new gang, preferably one that studies also.
The two hostels, Lister and Osler are identical in design but are very different in personality. Lister is more sedate while being hip at the same time but is very looked down upon by the Osler Residents. Osler residents tend to think of themselves as God's gifts to Jipmer and strut around as such. However Lister has Snappy, so that's a trump card right there.
But Osler has better bathrooms. How confusing.
I have alluded to the "Missing Day-Scholar" syndrome before and I take full advantage of this. Day scholars, the guys who live in normal houses in town, can also take a room in the hostel and many times they do this so that an actual hosteler can live alone with his absentia Day Scholar Room-mate. I find such a room on the top of Osler House and one day, I get a Tambi from the mess to do all my shifting.
I shift to Osler 428 on the Top Floor. It's called Osler Top or OT.
It's a lovely room, much bigger than Lister 229. A double room facing the sea and one can see the sea from the balcony outside. The breeze in the evenings and early mornings is cool and fresh, and right behind the building, there are tall trees just about reaching up to my window. My neighbours include 2 guys from 3 batches down, both from the North-East, called Solo and Posting.
There is Anup Pradhan, a classmate from Sikkim who constantly underlines everything he reads and makes notes of everything also. He has reams of notes which he also underlines. Issac, also from the batch of 1996 pops in every now and then to listen to my horrendous jokes ad since he is a baby junior, he pretends to enjoy them.
Also, in this wing, in the single rooms are Lobzang, who has been there for a few years, Bhargav, a few years senior, who is usually seen with one leg draped over the corridor wall (we are 4 floors up), Vinod who is writing poetry when not in Curie House waiting for Shreya, and Harpreet, the only Sardar in campus. Anupam aka Condom also lives here. Anup, Vinod, Harry and Condom are classmates. This is also useful since Final Year is a lot about weeping on each other's shoulders and crying at one's fate, things which are best done with similarly afflicted classmates.
Vinay, however, is not pleased. He had apparently shifted to Lister a few months ago because he wanted to be near me with the grand plan of us studying together. Or maybe it made it more convenient for him to run across and call me for a snappy Snappy bite. I was oblivious to this whole strategy and when I shifted across, he was livid.
"Saale, I shifted because of you and now you are moving to that hellhole Osler"....
(Note: "Saale" is a mild term)
So now we are as separated in space as we were before but in opposite hostels.
That does not deter us from going over to get our respective bikes. I am really excited. I have spoke to Radio, our JSA President who knows a dealer (Harvest Gold I think), and we go over, with 42000 Rs in cash to get my prized possession.
It's beautiful. Black, with a greenish design and what a sound it makes! Soft purring from the engine, instant acceleration, smooth as any Yamaha. It's the RXG, a new model just out this year. I take it out very slowly and drive back to campus at 20 kmph, my untrained eyes peeled on the chaotic roads. Vinay has bought a Suzuki Samurai, a fast bike with a harsher sound, but with a riding position I find uncomfortable. Both are 2 stroke bikes and I wouldn't dream of buying one of the new 4 strokes, a bike called the Hero Honda Splendour. They're just not bike enough.
I get my number PY-01H 8927 and I'm all set.
Freedom tastes sweet. Goodbye autos and cockroaches and lifts from people.
Soon, however, I learn that owning a vehicle has downsides. I have made a habit of losing my room keys every now and then and many times I've lost them inside the room and never found them again. Locks have been changed many times. I've even had to unscrew the iron latch on the door once, break locks with hammers and pliers and sometimes, have had to enter and exit the room from the narrow window ledge at the back that connects to the bathroom windows.
This latter method of room entry is now not an option since I am 4 floors up and am scared of heights.
In any case, one evening after class, I take the key out from the bike ignition and lock the handle and the key breaks. It just snaps in half, really neatly. One half is stuck inside the handle lock and I'm holding the other half in my hand. As a test, I insert this half and the handle unlocks. It's a perfect break. But now I can't start the damn thing, so I call someone over to jig the wires under the headlight. Now, all I have to do is to insert my half of the key in the handle, unlock it, remove it and put in my pocket and just kick. When I arrive somewhere, I put the bike in gear and stop it, take the key out, lock the handle and put it back in my pocket.
It's complicated, but it works for a month before I decide to get a spare made.
I have a long history of losing keys.
Life is wonderful with my lovely bike. It takes me a while to get used to Pondy traffic and in the early days, I drive with eyes wide open, quite slowly, braking every now and then and getting suitably startled at every nonchalantly crossing pedestrian. It's not a steep learning curve, however and in a month or so, I'm all set, braving the crowds and traffic like a veteran, driving at nothing below 70 and zipping in and out of lanes. Typical Indian driving. Good fun.
Vinay and I also test our new bikes in town. This testing usually involves speeding on empty roads hoping no one appears suddenly in front of us, as Pondy pedestrians often do.
So, one late evening, around 12, Vinay and I are zipping along on the empty Beach Road when some guy on a bicycle comes right in front of Vinay. The Beach Road, fortunately has a few right angled turns at intervals and Vinay went full speed at 90 degrees with his bike nearly touching the road. One second he was there, the next he had disappeared. I doubled back, completely sober now and find Vinay parked in the middle of the small road off the Beach Road bang in front of the biggest Police Station in town. It's a testament, perhaps to the Police that no one came out, no questions were asked. Nothing.
We drove back to Jipmer rather more sedately.
Later, more experienced and therefore more careless, we often race back to Jipmer from the Beach road, the finish lines being the shacks where a pre-sleep tea is the norm. This race is serious stuff. We start from the Beach road and race at full speed. The roads are pretty empty at 12 AM and it's exciting stuff.
It's not safe stuff and "PLEASE DO NOT GET INSPIRED BY THIS".
When a speed breaker looms, and soon we know all of them, I shift to neutral, ride the breaker and shift down to third for extra zip. It never fails to get me a few seconds ahead. When we reach the shacks, the tires are smoking and I can smell rubber.
The fun, however, is about to end. My Send-Ups start soon and then the Univs. There is a long gap between the two, almost a month which will leave just about 10-12 days of post-exam vacation. This is blatantly unfair since the next year is massive and I need to recharge at home. But that won't happen.
And coming up in a few days is the Forensic Grand Viva.....
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