Friday, 2nd September 2022
"Kisi ne uska outfit dekha?" someone asked.
It was the day of the Ganesh celebration in AOS, and I had been eagerly awaiting this day for more than a week. All I needed was a break from physics, chemistry, and math.
Seeing everyone in their traditional outfits was always fun, especially when you weren't particularly excited about anyone's outfit in particular.
"Kiska?" I questioned.
"Sanjana ka." , he replied.
"That one from B1?"
"Yup. She's completely different," he commented with joy.
" Are but who is Sanjana?" I questioned.
"That B1 girl… with long hair… just look at her." They explained to me, but I understood nothing.
I didn't really pay attention. I had already forgotten about Sanjana. I had only two things on my mind: eating some delicious snacks today and enjoying the Ganesh celebration. I was dressed in a yellow kurta, white pajamas, and my red jacket, earning me the nickname "Raja Babu" in my family.
The day's schedule included only two lectures: Sameer sir's physics and Meera mam's chemistry. Even the faculty were dressed in traditional outfits, though Meera mam complained that she didn't have enough time to get ready.
Between the two lectures, there was a half-hour break, during which I decided to indulge in some delicious snacks—one of the two things I had been eagerly waiting for.
A handful of my batchmates, along with the students of Batch 1, were munching, and I was still confused. What do I go with? A delicious snack could be anything: samosa, vada pav, kachori, dhokla, onion bhaji, or South Indian delicacies.
With around fifty rupees in my pocket and lots of stinginess in my brain, I decided to go with a kachori. Crushing it at the center and pouring both the chutneys with curd and sev gave it a mouth-watering look. Taking the first bite, I congratulated myself for choosing it. It's never easy to eat when you fill everything inside the kachori. With chutneys all over my cheeks, which reminded me of the Joker from The Dark Knight, I took a second bite, glancing at the buses around.
On the third bite, I noticed a group of girls approaching the shop. The one in the center stole the spotlight. She wore a lehenga with a vibrant warm red blouse and cream-colored skirt.
*It was months later that I was corrected by the show-stealer herself that it wasn't a warm red blouse but orange and pink with a skirt.
'The life of a proper senior', I thought to myself.
Both her hands were held by two girls who appeared to be my age. As she climbed the footpath, the third bite went down my throat, and I quickly commented,
"Waah bhai!! Matlab itna support chahiye kisi ko."
I didn't even know who she was, except that she appeared older than me. And I felt damn embarrassed for continuing my habit of commenting on everything and always opening my mouth at the wrong time. But to my surprise, she immediately turned to me while sitting on the bench and replied,
"Support toh chahiye hi hota hai."
She began to laugh and made me laugh too. She was soon surrounded by girls. I quickly brought my attention back to the kachori and wondered what to do after munching it. A kachori is delicious but was never enough to fill me up.
My first encounter with Naira...
Both batches were busy with their decorations. I sat in the corridor with a phone in hand, capturing a photo of the flower rangoli our group was creating. Students with nothing to do either went home or wandered around. Tired of the heat, I ventured into a classroom to cool down.
I sat alone, relaxed, which often led to arguments. And sure enough, when a short girl asked me to move so that she could pass, the benches were too close to each other, not enough to allow a person to move between them.
"Arre, if there is no space, where are you planning to go?!" I was always ready for arguments. "Now I want to go, so I'll go na?" she replied, equally irritated, glaring at me.
I had seen her before in the service lift and in the B1 classroom whenever I accidentally opened their door.