Mysorean

First day at college. A huge crowd had gathered in front of the notice board. The crowd was mostly us, first years! I don’t exactly remember if anyone looked particularly tense or what, but we were making one hell of a noise! It was already 9AM and the classes were supposed to start at 9AM. And I was atleast twenty people away from the notice board. Some bright idiot had placed the board on the floor in such a way that it rested on the wall and the floor. So, everyone was bending down to see the board. Studiously if I ever wanted to do anything; all I could do was an instant survey (technically called a snap poll!) of the various brands of college bags in Mysore!

When I went to the time-table I realised people were first supposed to find out into which section they were put into. And then according to your section you need to look at the next board for the time-table. I was told Engineering was hardwork. Now I understood why. We complicated the most simple of things just like that!

By the time I figured out my co-ordinates it was 9.45AM. I was supposed to go to some room no. 207 or something. The class that was going on was Engineering Mechanics by KCM (koLi Manja!). I had no idea which floor that damned room was in. The officials at the office were least bothered about me. Who else do I ask? Seniors? duh…!!

207 was the first room at the end of the staircase on the first floor. As soon as I arrived outside the classroom, I heard some heavily accented english and a few complex equations. As I approached the classroom I could see a group of people standing behind the classroom from the corner of my right eye. Sensing that they must also have lost the race in reading the time-table I approached them.

One guy with big eyes and big ears was beaming from one end of his prominent ear to the other. I casually walked up to him. And when I walk casually, the swagger can be worse than Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s!

This big eyes and ears guy asked me, “E Section aa?” [Do you beloong to the E Section?]

I said, “Hun, haudu. Neenu?” [Yeah. E section. What about you?]

He answered panning his hands across all the present people, “Hun. Naavellaru E Section ee!” [Yeah. All of us belong to "E" Section]

I tried putting on the mask of the sincere student and asked him, ” Horagade nintiddre enu use? Banni olagade bidakke permission kelana.” [What's the use of standing outside? Let's go and request to be permitted inside.]

The entire group was now looking at me with a what-an-extrasmart-guy question in their eyes! The grin which was ever-present turned into a guffaw! I knew I had asked the wrong question!

Pointing to a sweet-looking guy with a cute smile, big-eyes n ears said, “Avanu iddannalla? Avanu hoda olagade ‘excuse me’ anbittu. Sakkat aagi byiskondu banda horagade” [Do you see that guy? He went inside the class saying 'excuse me'. He got scolded (by the professor) and turned him out.]

I gave the cute-smile-guy a sheepish smile and shut myself up for the rest of the time I spent with that gang. But since shutting up was never easy, I carried on a harmless discussion about CET Ranks, branches, counseling, colleges, origin, localite and non-localite, etc etc with big-ears. I understood that the entire gang of guys had done their Pre-University course together and hence they knew each other very well.

At 10Am, KCM walked out. We walked in. I found Sam sitting alone on the third bench. I walked upto him straight and occupied the place next to him. Now, there was place enough for one more only. Yeah, we were and still are fat! I spoke to Sam and explained why I didn’t attend the class. Hey! Wait a minute! The first class of my engineering course and I had bunked!! Wow! I was so proud of myself! Sam was rather disconnected with my idea of pride! Ha! Never mind! Great brains were never understood during their time!

Just then walked in the last occupant of the bench. He was dark, wide (but not fat, and that was then, now he is fat!) and wore spectacles. Sam waved to him and gestured to come and grace us with his esteemed presence. [The effect of composing wedding invites!] K walked in with all his style with a bright smile on his face.

As soon as Sam said, “Hi”. I heard K’s reply “Hi!” and almost fainted! It was as if he was saying hi to someone zipping on a motorcycle with a walkman in his ears across the Manantody Road [The road overlooking the college]!! Man, was he loud?!

Sam said, “K meet adi. Ade nanna jagadalli KSS Hostel ge baro avanu idda nodu. Ivane avanu! ” [K meet Adi. He was the one who was supposed to come in my place to KSS Hostel] Oh! so they were hostelmates!

K shouted and at the same time extended his right hand, “Oh hauda. Nice meeting you ma. Enu ninna full hesaru?” [Oh, is it? Nice meeting you ma. What's your full name?]

I shook his hand and said, “Aditya. Aditya Nataraja” [I always say that in the 'Bond. James Bond' style!]

I repeated K’s full name which was Krishnaprasad and asked him if I could call him “KP”. He shouted in reply, but I understood that he had agreed!

KP and Sam were hostelmates during first year at the KSS Hostel. After which, KP separated out of the hostel and stayed with his uncle and aunt at Chikkahardanahalli 2nd stage, Sriramapura. [He always insisted on telling his full address to anyone who asked him, "Where do you stay?"] It is an area right behind the Ashokapuram Railway Station. KP used to have a cycle (Canon Barrel Blue colour) on which he would frequent me and Shastri wherever we stayed. Though he used to sweat profusely after the Tour De France kind of journeys, his inspiration never went down even for a while. As someone has said, “Success is 99% perspiration, 1% inspiration” [Or was it the other way round?!]

KP graduated from NIE (Mechanical Engineering) in 2001. He has been with the corporate world ever since. He has worked with companies like Festo & ESMA (Abu Dhabi). Presently works in Webex as a Sales Manager handling Bangalore region.

KP, Sam, Sha and I formed a relationship. If I call it “Friendship” it sounds too flimsy. But I realise that I cannot give this any name. And I believe that if you have a relationship that you cannot confine to the boundary of a name, then it’s a relationship of the highest order. And that’s what the four of us share. We are proud of what we have with us. And intend to keep it with us forever.

The four of us have given each other strength during trying times. We have given ourselves direction when we were lost. We gave each other a mouthful when we began flying too high. We can say “Very Good” and “Very Bad” with the same intensity and be sure that it will be received with the same intensity. Yeah sometimes we end up breaking our bones, but then if you got the point, then that’s it! Whatever we are today is because of what we were during those years from 1997 to 2001. We know it and live by it!

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