Chapter 21

It was a Monday morning when Arjun reached IMI. He looked around. The campus was impressive. The large buildings styled buildings looked majestic. The garden in front was well manicured. There were variety of flowers on the bloom; from Lillis to Dahlia to Rose and what not.  Beyond the garden was an orchid with many trees planted in an organized fashion. The whole place was enchanting.

He looked around and he was thrilled to be there. He felt that he has finally achieved his dream. There was also a question deep in his mind. Will he survive here? . He took a deep breath.

He walked over to the administrative block and completed admission formalities at the institute. Then he walked towards hostel block to get his room allotted.

He was not particular about any block or any room as he did not have many of his friends joining IMI in the same batch. He just asked for a room in the top floor as he wanted to look out and enjoy the expanse of the open space behind the hostel blocks.

Then he walked out of the warden's office. He stood there near the garden and took the packet of cigarette from his pocket. He lit one.

“Hi man can I borrow one from you.” A voice came from behind

Arjun turned back. There was this boy with a charming smile

“Hi I am Sudhi” the source of the voice extended his hand

“I am Arjun.” Arjun took the hand that was extended

Arjun took the pack offered to Sudhi.

“I am from Indraprasta Institute of Technology. Graduated two years ago. How about your” Sudhi asked

“I am from Tridevpur. Studied in local Engineering School. Then worked in Tridevpur Auto.”

“Which is your room? I am in E 28”

“I am in E 27. So we are neighbours”

“That is great. Do you know that there is a party tonight for the freshers?”

“I heard about it. Hope it is going to be fun” Arjun replied

“There will be lots of booze and lots of dancing. But I am not much into dancing.”

“Oh I just don’t know how to dance at all” Arjun replied frankly

“Let us go to the room and dump our stuff. I need to crash for a while. Had a lousy train journey”

Arjun climbed up the stairs to the third floor. He opened his room. The room was furnished sparingly but sufficiently. It had a nice bed on one side, a table, a chair and a cupboard.  He opened the cupboard and arranged all his clothes inside the cupboard. He walked over to the window and looked out. He liked what he saw.Near the window was the garden and beyond that bushes; pristine green expanse that he found quite refreshing. The garden near the window had flowers with vibrant colours. The terrain ahead was open and un-inhabited up till his eyes could reach. 

He opened the window. There breeze that hit his face was mildly chilling. He shivered for a moment. But he liked it. He stood there staring out for a long time.

It was time to go and have a lunch. He wondered whether he should ask Sudhi if he wanted to join. But decided against. Sudhi had remarked that he wanted to rest.

He walked over to the dining hall. It was about five minutes of walk. He looked around. The granite structure of the hostel had a certain charm about it. He reached the dining room.

“Oh we have to stand in a queue. It is self-service” He observed

He stood in the queue. A girl joined just behind him. She looked like she was from a conservative family background from the way she was attired and groomed.

“Hi I am Arjun” Arjun introduced himself.

“Oh Hi I am Chitra. Nice to meet you.

“Are you a fresher” Arjun asked

“Yes I am” She replied with a smile

“Oh she has a pretty pleasing smile” Arjun thought to himself.

“I am a fresher too. So we may be in the same class.”

“Where did you study before?”

I am from Sasimangalam a city around one hour by flight from here. I studied in a local college called Stella Mary’s” She replied

“I am from Tridevpur. I finished engineering couple of years and worked two years.”

They reached the counter.

Arjun took a plate and offered to her.

“Oh no. you have it.” Chitra protested.

“I am meeting you for the first time. So this gesture is to show that we are friends. Plus in the place where I come from chivalry is not dead yet” Arjun replied with a naughty smile.

“Thanks.”

“Are you a vegetarian? “ Arjun asked

“Yes I am” She replied

“I eat everything that moves” Arjun replied laughingly

“Will it be OK if I share your table” He asked as served the chicken to his plate

“Oh please join me. I have no objection to what the other person is eating I am not that conservative.” She replied

They walked over to the table. They had a pleasant chat and got a chance to know each other better.

“Chitra it is good to get to know you.” Arjun told as they both finished washing their hands.

“Same here. Hope to see you again for the party in the evening”

Arjun walked back to his room. Jumped on to the bed to have a good sleep before the party. He knew that the party is going to go on till early morning. He did not want to miss any fun.

***

“ Hi Arjun. You look all fresh. Did you have a nice sleep?” Sudhi asked as Arjun walked into the auditorium in the evening for the party

“I slept like a log. Looks like you also had good sleep. Come on it is time for a drink.”

“What is your poison?”

“I prefer Rum and Coke”

“I am going to have a whisky” Sudhi replied

Arjun sat at a corner nursing his drink. Sudhi walked over with drinks in his hands. Being a charmer, he drifted along where all the pretty girls were.

In a few moments he was at the dance floor dancing away to glory. Arjun looked around and saw Sudhi dancing away to glory.

After about half an hour, Sudhi took a break and walked to where Arjun was sitting.

“Come on Arjun have some fun”

“I thought you were not into dancing?”

“Oh my conscience keeper! How could I say no to pretty women?” Sudhi retorted with a charming smile.

Sudhi pulled a chair next to Arjun. They talked for quite some time. They found that there was something that was special and bonded them together. All through their course they lived in the neighbouring rooms

They often studied together. Partied together went for picnics in their bike. Of course with Sudhi the picnics had to have his whole gang from Indrapuram and their girlfriends.

They also enjoyed pulling a few pranks on their friends. One of their pranks on their classmate Archie became part of folklore of the institute.

Chapter 20

Arjun worked hard for his entrance exam. He was determined to get it. After returning from office he spent two hours every day preparing. He knew he had to overcome the disadvantageous of his humble background.

In the meantime Chandi got married. He and his wife Susan moved into a small little house.

Arjun qualified in the entrance examination for IMI. He was called for interview. He was so excited and nervous.  

Then finally he got the magic letter. He was selected to IMI. He was on the top of the world.

He called up Rohini. For some strange reason, he wanted to break this news to her first.

“Hi Arjun. What a surprise. How come you called me today.”

“ I got admission in IMI”

“Congratulations. I am so proud of you. “

“When do you have to join?”

“Another one month.”

“Can I see you before you go”

“Yes sure. I will not go without seeing you”

“Why am I so special for you”

“What do you think?”

“What do you think?”

“We will discuss it when we meet each other”

“When can it be sir?”

“How about this Saturday?”

“I am fine.”

“Ok you wait for me at the bus stop. I will pick you up”

As promised Arjun landed up at the bus stop at 10 am. Rohini was waiting there.

Arjun stopped the bike .

“Hop on”

“Where are we going?” She asked as the bike started moving

“We are going to Chandi’s house”

“I thought we were going to sit somewhere and talk”

“Yes at Chandi’s house”

“How can we talk with Chandi and Susan there”

“Both of them are not there.”

“Oh” Rohini was both excited and perturbed

Arjun and Rohini walked into Chandi’s house

Arjun sat on the sofa

“Come sit next to me”

Rohini sat on the opposite chair

“I am so happy to finally get a chance to be alone with you” Arjun whispered

“Me too. I hope my family does not come to know. They will kill me”

“Why?”

“Don’t be so dumb. No parent can stand their daughter going alone to a house with a boy”

“I agree”

“Especially since we have not made up our mind about our future”

“That is what I wanted to discuss too”

“Are you going to propose to me”

“I thought I had already”

“How”

“From the way I have behaved with you”

“But if you say it in words, I would feel nicer”

“Rohini. I agree I like you a lot. I know you do same. I just wanted to make one point. I know your nature. You are a fun loving affectionate girl. On the other side I am a drifter, a dreamer. I am not sure if you will be able to able to live with a person like me. But then if you decide to do so, I am happy. But I may add it could be to your funeral”

“Arjun. You are crazy. What a way to propose to a girl. I think I will be happy with you.”

Rohini had that beautiful shy smile. She took Arjun’s helmet that was on the table and held it tightly against her

“Why are you hugging the helmet? Don’t you have anything better” Arjun asked with a naughty smile.

Rohini blushed and looked down. Arjun got up and sat next to Rohini. He put his hand around her. Rohini turned her face to him. Their lips touched, his hands were around her and he held her tightly. She responded willingly and they were locked into a deep embrace. Both of them were quite. Arjun’s hand slipped under Rohini’s T shirt. Rohini pushed his hand away. He was persistent. She felt the warmth rising in her whole body. She stopped resisting. He was getting bolder. His hands were feeling her all over. She was melting into his hands.

Both of them slowly leaned back on the sofa. Time just drifted.

“OH my god. What are we doing. Time to stop.” Rohini jumped up.

“What is wrong”

“Nothing wrong. It is not time yet for us do such things.”

She sat up and adjusted her top which was all dishevelled

“How long do I wait”

“Another two years I suppose. Till you finish your IMI”

“How can I hold on till then?”

“You have to, honey”

“You are so cruel”

“Drop me home now. It is getting late”

“Will you come home and talk to my parents”

“What do I say?”

“Just tell that you are serious about me. But do that only if you mean it”

Arjun walked into Rohini’s house

Her parents welcomed him warmly

“Congrats Arjun for getting into IMI”

“Thanks uncle”

“So what are your plans?”

“I have to join next month”

“Great. Come over to meet us when you have holidays”

“Surely uncle”

“Dad Arjun has proposed to me”

“But he has not asked me yet” Dad replied

“That is why I came”

“OK. Good. After you finish your studies, if both of you are keen then, we can take this forward”

“I hope you guys will behave in the meantime”

“Yes uncle”

They sat and talked for a long time

“Let me go. It is late. I need to go to office tomorrow”

“Why are you going to office now Arjun” Rohini asked

“I need to hand over my stuff. I have only one more week before I get relieved”

Arjun walked out. Rohini stood there looking at him fondly

Chapter 19

“Five years later one day I was on a bike and was on my way to college. A girl was crossing the road. She looked familiar. I looked again. It was Ramya. I turned the bike around. I stopped near her.”

“Ramya had grown up. She looked more mature.”

“Do you remember me Ramya?

“She looked up with a startle. I saw recognition in her eyes, then surprise and then happiness.”

“ Of course I remember”

“Where are you these days? I heard that you were not in town”

“After my dad died we moved to our grandfather’s house. The schools there are not so good. So we came back to town for better educational opportunities”

“Where do you stay?”

“We stay at the same house. We stay in one part of the house. The other part of the house has been rented out. Come and visit us some time. Rajesh and Mom will be very happy”

“I remember, initially they had gone to stay with their grandfather. But they were not happy there. So Mrs Chandrashekhar came back to Tridevpur with children. She took up a small job. They rented out their large house. They stayed in their outhouse. It was very creditable. The children were good in studies. Rajesh is now a doctor. Ramya has completed her law.” Uncle shared what he knew.

“I used to visit them on and off. We became good friends again”

“Now the marriage proposal.” Chandy  said

“I saw in her a younger sister. I think she saw in me a protector who is more than a friend and a brother. It happens. But I can’t see her as anything else”

“Ok I will explain to Mrs Chandrasekhar. I hope this won’t affect the beautiful friendship you guys have” Uncle commented

“Arjun get me one more drink.” Uncle asked Arjun

Arjun got up to fix another one for Uncle.

“You boys were part of the Jaycee club. What was the most satisfying project you guys have participated?” uncle asked as Arjun returned with his drink.

“I would say for me the ‘Cheshire home visits’ was the most satisfying project” Arjun replied

“What was this project about” Uncle asked

“As you know, Cheshire home was first established by Cheshire who was one of the pilots who dropped the Atom Bomb in Japan. After having seen the mayhem he caused, he set up a center to look after people who were crippled and deformed in the bombing. Later he extended this concept to a chain of homes to look after invalids and cripples who often have nobody to look after. We had one like that in our city” Arjun started explaining

“One day we visited the home as a group from Jaycees. We distributed some sweets and books to the inmates. We also talked to many of them too. The home appeared well run. I entered into a conversation with one of the officials. He made an interesting observation. He explained that the finances of the home was reasonably good and quite a lot of entities like Jaycee, Rotary and so on visited them with gifts and sweets quite often. But what the inmates missed a lot was variety of human companionship. He asked whether some of us could visit the home and spend time with the inmates.”

“We felt it was a good idea. We started visiting the home on Sunday afternoon. We would talk to different inmates. Some time we played cards with some of them. Some of them were born invalids. Some were crippled in some accident and decided to move over to the home to avoid being a burden to their families. They often liked to ruminate about their life before their accidents. I become friend to many. They used to look forward for our visit and I also looked forward to the visit to the home. I realised the value of the time we we spent at home. Many of them explained that the time we spent was much more valuable than the contributions and sweets the visitors came with”

“That is really true. We often don’t realize the value of the good health god has given. “ Uncle observed

“My young friends, I am thoroughly enjoying your stories. I am able to get an insight to how the life has changed from my time. Tell me what other interesting projects you did as Junior Jaycees” Uncle was ready for more stories. But his eyes were drooping a little and his voice was slurring with the few drinks he had.  Even then he was in no mood to end the evening.

“Arjun, I remember the scandal you guys got involved in the fashion show you guys conducted. What was it all about” Chandi was remembering the juicy stories.

“Oh that was horrifying experience. I was the secretary of the club and Tommy was the President.  We decided to organise a musical extravaganza and a fashion show. We got a well-known band called 12 BC to perform. We convinced and cajoled talked all the girls whom we knew; our sisters, cousins and friends, to join the fashion show. We managed to sell quite a lot of tickets. As the day approached we were quite confident about the quality of the program we were stitching together. We invited a few senior bureaucrats for the inauguration and to be the chief guest. We also send out invites to all the major newspapers and magazines along with special press passes.”

“We wanted the program to go without a hitch. We put together a special team with responsibility of the security. This was all the more important because of the fashion show and the participation of many girls. The program started well and went on well. As the luck, rather un-luck, would have it, one of the major fashion magazines decided to cover the program and send their photographer to cover the show. This gentleman came to the program and attempted to enter from the side entrance to the stage. The security team posted at that entrance asked for the special pass we had given. They did not have it. Then they asked for the press card. They did not have it. So the security did not allow this gentleman to enter. He tried to push his way in. In this scuffle something from the hands of the photographer fell down. The photographer was very angry. He went out with a huff and a puff with a threat that we will be taught a lesson”

“By the time this news reached us the organizers it was late. Tommy and some friends rushed to the Press Club to apologize. Some of the friends of the photographer even tried to beat up Tommy. The next day all newspapers covered the show. But in the worst light possible. The newspapers reported that the show was a flop and the hooligans were misbehaving and most of the people who participated and attended were drug addicts. They went on to add that the senior bureaucrats who had attended had left early in disgust. The truth was that they left after the inauguration as they had some other program. The reports also accused that the organisers manhandled the reporters because they did not want the reporters to witness the mess and the illegal activities that was going on there. They also declared that the press club has boycotted all Jaycee programs throughout the state.”

“My God, It would have been a disaster” Uncle responded

“Naturally. Our parents, particularly the parents of the girls who participated were so upset at the scandal. The newspapers continued with the diatribe against us for next few days. We tried our level best to placate them. We some respected people to recommend our case and also bought booze for the influential crowd at the club. Finally they relented a bit. They gave a small news item in the back pages that after detailed investigation they have come to know that the troublemakers were not Jaycee members but some outsiders and on account of the innocence of the Jaycee members, they would not boycott Jaycee activities in future”

“That was good” Uncle said

“But he damage was done and we had to live with it for quite some time”

“Now it almost looks humorous. But that taught us few lessons . The l power of the press, what the essential ingredients are for managing the press are, and  the pinch of salt we need to add when we we read newspaper stories. It has come in handy for us”

“Looks like stories can be never ending. But I am too tired. Need to sleep. What are you guys going to do now? Are you going to sleep?” Uncle asked

“No Uncle. We are going for a night drive. We will go Indrapasta Tourist home and have a coffee” Arjun replied.

“Are you guys crazy, Don’t you feel like sleeping?” Uncle asked. His eyes were almost closed.

“ After a couple of drinks it is fun to have a night ride. The cold blast on the face is exhilarating. I feel that I am flying then” Arjun replied.

“These are youngsters they have all the energy they need. You get up and come to the bedroom before you crash out on the sofa. ” Aunty caught uncle’s hand and pulled him up and she turned to Arjun and Chandy and remarked

“You already have had few drinks. I don’t think you should be too adventurous”

“Yes aunty” Both of them replied in unison and hopped onto the bike and rode away to the darkness”