I set on for my journey to an entirely new life on 13th October 2007, with a huge luggage with me (I wonder whether I was being sent for studies or driven away from home forever.) That day I didn't go to my hostel. The very next day, 14th October 2007, I reached hostel after traveling on a road where one would shake his spine on the humps and bumps of the so called national highway. My hostel is around 25 kilometers away from the main city. Everywhere around the college campus was only fields and farms. No one to see, no noises to be heard and nowhere to escape away. A completely peaceful (then silently haunting) place where one could easily study in the calm environment provided we went there for studies.
How the hell you could give the room allotted to me to somebody else?
That was my first conversation with my warden. And shockingly, he didn't know that I had already been allotted that room on my first visit at the time of admission. Still I managed to keep my luggage in the same room just to find a face that was in no way interested in staying with me. That was the very first moment I called out in my heart, Oh Mumma-Papa, where have you sent me?
Hi, myself Pawan. What's your good name?
That was the very first introduction by one of my dearest fellows now, Pawan Maheshwari. He was the one with whom I felt that people can talk to me here. Because when you step out of your home for the very first time, you wonder whether the world is gonna talk to you or not. And when somebody talks to you, you feel you are not all alone. Well, I realized that all of us had left their homes to study there and all would be as uncomfortable as me. Still, that was my tendency not to talk to strangers at once.
Gradually many of us met with each other and by the night, around eight of us were sitting by volleyball court in front of room no. 13-14. Yes, this 'Room no. 13-14' was the usual nomenclature people used since it was one the most popular groups since the very beginning. Room no. 13 was allotted to Manu and Abhijeet. And Sagar and Pawan were there in room no. 14. All others such asa Sudhanshu, Rohit, Vatsalya, Rohan, Manish, Anwar and myself (only if I haven't forgotten to name somebody who was present there since the very beginning) used to have fun for the whole day and some of us even whole night in room no. 13, even Sagar and Pawan would leave their room to gossip in there. Sometimes even six-seven of us would sleep together on just two iron strip beds which used to bend like boats by the morning. (And now I wonder how I don't get space on a double bed meant only for two).
First night in the Student Mess was horrible for all of us, finding something to eat out of that so-called homely food. But food was not at all significant that day since the very next day, i.e. 15th October was our first class where we would meet the administrative and faculty members and of course, the most important, the residents of the other huge building around 100 feet away from our hostel. We now call it as GH (abbreviated Girls Hostel).
Do I know you? Have we met at the pre-medical test center? Where are you from? May I have your number please?
These were some of the quite usual questions for a couple of days in the college among both the genders. Gradually, as MBBS started trying its strength over us, these questions subsided and gave way for new questions as Hey, whats fishy between them? Do you know she is committed to him? Are they really seeing each other? Do you feel he would be able to woo her?
I didn't, at that time, understand why everyone was in a damn hurry to impress the opposite gender. (And now when I have understood that, there's no use of knowing it).
During all this running over everywhere, studies were lost somewhere. But yes, we used to visit library almost everyday, just in case if someone from GH would pop up with a doubt in Anatomy in her small innocent mind. Of course those innocent, cute and studious chicks (who used to re-do their lip glosses every five minutes even in the library) had some doubts in Anatomy. But they used to get their doubts cleared only by the guys with the hardest and hottest anatomies. In due course of time, everyone was studying everyone's anatomy, leaving aside our Anatomy theory books.
I remember I once thought that medical college was not meant for me since I would never be able to fit into this frame of a juncture striving hard for everything (except studies). But yes, we started studying soon, since that was also a part of the very strategy to achieve our ultimate goal (any hot friend from the GH). Meanwhile, studies had found their importance, so did I. Just because of my so-called caring nature, Manu once spontaneously called me Bhaiya (meaning elder brother) and soon many of those who used to call me by my name earlier, started calling me Bhaiya, Big B, Abhi Bro etc. I enjoyed that feeling of being called so since I always wanted, beside my two very loving elder sisters, to have a brother over whom I could shower all my love and care like that I had received from my parents and elder sisters ever since I started understanding things. By a very short span of time, I had got many younger brothers who gave me love and respect and got, in turn, love and care from my side.
Life had started showing me the golden days it concealed in itself for me.....
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