LIFE IN MANIPAL

I reached here on the 25^th of July. The place looked really great. The infrastructure, the students and their attitude, for once I thought wow. The college reopened, the subjects were quite impressive then the class schedule (hardly any class), wow, this is like a dream come true I thought. I was happy never did I think that this happiness was short lived.

Eventually I made friends; obviously you start off with your own classmates likewise I did the same, besides those whom I had already known, then got close to my juniors. First week went really well ragging, then parties and then blah, blah, blah. Well that’s when I started realising that this place is not the one for me. I mean, I’m not a party animal.

That’s when I thought I’ll make a life of my own here, got a friend who cares for me, with whom I can share my thoughts, fortunately or unfortunately this friend of mine is a guy. God!! That’s when I realised, people here don’t understand what platonic relation means all they think is if a guy and girl is together well there is something between them, that’s beside the point that guys or girls here in spite of having a committed relation wants to make out with some random guy or gal they find hot or whatever and if they call that’s being cool well then I don’t want to be cool I’m happy being myself, I have my principles in my life n I’ll stick to them and if that’s boring to people then yes I am boring, just that I don’t like being categorised amongst them. And the worst part is yet to come, the people who talk about you are none other than the one’s whom you consider as friends and the ones to whom you are kind of close to in class. Though here people portray themselves to be broad minded they are not, I don’t know what it is, is it jealousy or truly are they so narrow minded. After a point of time I started ignoring these things and started doing things I felt happy about, I thought enough that I have tried and kept others happy now it’s my time, well being happy for me is going for a walk o to the lake o to the beach with my friend and just spending time talking about each other’s life, teasing each other, then little bit I bore him telling about the man in my life.

I have a friend who lends me a shoulder to cry, who wipes my tears when I cry, who pecks me when I need some pampering, who hugs me when I miss home, who cares for me, who is always there for me but then its not the same as the people i need in my life are missing,. A curry without spices is exactly how my Life in Manipal is.

A heaven numbered 407

Two years back sitting in my pg room Meetha and I were deciding about moving to another place, deciding on whom all we should approach to move along with us, being quiet apprehensive about the people we were planning to choose (except for Sayu). Then one fine day we geared up our energy to hunt for an apartment. We spoke every person possible on earth. Rickshaw drivers, who used to drop us to the apartment we asked him to, watchmen of every apartment possible, who used to say “ yes there is 1 flat I guess but then it is not furnished” or it used to be “ we have a flat empty here but we don’t take students”, laundry men, who gave us the number of brokers, broker whose commission was too high for us “ you will have to pay me ten months rent as commission, which will come up to 80000 ”, %$#@&@#, huh. I don’t even remember to whom all i gave my number and the amount of times I had to change my name from Thashika to Sonia, Jivitha, Raksha and what not. Phew.

We almost gave up the idea of shifting to a flat thought we would find another pg , untill one of my friend told me that “there is this apartment and I guess you might find a flat there” , I rushed back to the pg and told about this to Meetha. The next day I bunked one of my college hours and went to this place without much expectations, took a friend also with me for a second opinion. I reached this apartment, god!!! the sight of it itself depressed me, an old building, I found the watchman sitting near the gate so like always, I went and spoke to the watchman, but this guy had some sense to direct me to this old couple . We spoke to this aunt about are requirements, she said she has a flat which is kind of furnished but then she would provide us the things we need. It was a treat to my ears when she said that. She then took us to this flat, it was a 3BHK, with the two balcony, one out of which overlooks the sea. The flat looked quite impressive but for the fact that it was dirty. Eventually, each of saw the place (Meeti, Sayu), after few days we found out that three more gals (Rakshitha, Vani ad Divya) from the pg also are joining us there.

We shifted to this place sometime in June. Dad looked at the place and was so angry with the fact that it was dirty; he did not want me to stay there even for a minute. I had a hard time convincing him that it would be cleaned. Actually it was quite depressing to see the flat so dirty. And for parents like mine, whoa it was not less than a gutter. Eventually all of us settled. Wow, it was my first ‘home’, ya ‘home’ is what I call it, a heaven of six little angels.

We were like a family. We did everything from cooking chocolates sausages to cleaning bathroom, from dancing to getting drunk and watching Sayu and Divya act crazy, screaming away to glory, sneaking people in, Man those were the days. We laughed, cried, cursed aunty Nancy, planned on gifting sexy lacy lingerie to aunty Nancy( gals this is still pending), plotted against boyfriends, got clawed by eagles, complained about leaking water tank and our room being flooded, did everything but most of it all we loved it. It was no less than our own house. Getting back to 407 after college felt like being back in mom’s arms.

When I sit in my hostel room, I feel there is something missing, the feelings of being home, that feeling you won’t feel in any other place than 407.

Now I’m just a visitor to that place, every time I go there I have to enter my name in the visitors’ book. How depressing can that feeling be of being a visitor to the place you feel your own. Except for the six of us nobody would know what this feeling is, for none of you have stayed there nor where you stay is not a heaven numbered 407.....

Have you ever come across a situation where you are very happy about something and at the same time very scared about it? Or have you ever come across a situation where your mum is very happy about you and so are you but at the same time you are scared about it as well. I know a lot must be going on in your head when I ask you all this. And if I’m not wrong, the first thought would be a ‘marriage proposal’.

Two weeks back mum told me “honey there is this wedding coming up n you’ll be coming with us and this time you’ll be draping a sari. ‘Wow!!! Draping a sari for a wedding, awesome’ my mind said but the very next minute it turned out to be ‘whoa wedding n draping a sari, shit!!!’ Wedding in coorg is great fun without any doubt but for a 20yr old girl it can be quiet scary. And when you drape a sari for a wedding it’s a biggest sign you’ll be giving to the aunties and the uncles, grannies and yes not to forget the mothers who are in search of a bride for their sons. And the feeling will be like you are the sheep surrounded by many wolves ready to pounce on you. Similar was my feeling when mum told me about this wedding.

Today When i saw myself in the mirror, I was excited about my sari being draped really well. But throughout the way I kept complaining to mom that 'I won’t know anybody in the wedding and I’m draped in a sari'. Mom just kept quiet throughout the way. As we reached the wedding hall I started feeling a bit scared looking at the people around staring at me. I thought “God, the wolves are already plotting to pounce on me” My mum then took me to this group of wolves, oops oldies, I mean. To my surprise they weren’t the wolves in fact I had them advising me not to get me married so early. Awesome!! My mind said that minute. Then mom took me to this group of aunties chatting to glory, they didn’t recognize me at first then as my mom introduced me to these ladies they just exclaimed “My god sushi!! You have got such a pretty daughter” I’m sure they would have been thinking she’ll be an awesome pair for my son o my nephew o my sister’s husband’s bother’s wife’s sister’s son, phew!! That’s how it goes when it comes to finding a bride for a guy. And I kept saying in my mind ‘aunties please do not compliment me having such a thought’.

In fact I have put them in few groups. Firstly who’ll just compliment you because you are looking pretty (best ones).Secondly the ones staring at you (spooky ones). Thirdly you have these who’ll compliment you with the thought of getting you married to their sons or nephews etc (scary wolves). Finally you have these who’ll just ask you if you ready to get married. God these are the ones I call the wolves that are ready to pounce.

Thanks to mom I came across all these people today n thanks to her again who saved me from these by saying that she won’t be getting me married so early. Now you know why this mixed emotion in me is.

“The making of friends, who are real friends, is the best token we have of a man's success in life."- Edward Everett Hale
If the above Quote is true then I must say that I’m sure of being the most successful woman on earth, as I have made the best of them, be it in college or be it with my roommates.
Well!!! I would love to tell you about the most special friends I have apart from college. I call them the ‘most precious and beautiful gems’ of my treasure. And that is what they are. When you are away from your home, you would always want the kind of people, who would give you the same love and affection you are given at home, and me being the only child was pampered a lot at home, so my expectations a bit too high(lol). Three years somehow went by having roommates calling me the most hyper active and what not, tired and disgusted with such comments, I gave up on my hopes of having roommates who would accept me for what I am, until I met these two.
It was in my second year, I was sitting in my room one afternoon, after I came back from my speaker’s club meeting, wondering who my new roommate would be, till I heard a knock at the door. This pretty girl enters the room with her family and says “Hi”. Well!!! That is when I got my 1st beautiful treasure ‘Sayoomi’, myyyyyy Sayu (that is how she addresses her dear one’s, myyyyy Thashi). A baby by nature to whom I feel like a mother, pampering, advising n lot more.
A month after that, I was going out, when I saw this new gal in my hostel hall watching TV. I met up with my guy and told him “there is this kinda hot (not the exact word I used) girl in my hostel". Days passed by, I got to know this hot girl, God!!! She is not just hot she is crazy. I was so amused that there is somebody as crazy as me and it cannot be anybody better than ‘Meetha’ or Meeti (that is what I call her). The name ‘Meetha’ or Meeta (that is how I would love to spell her name) itself tells the kind of person she is. The sweetest girl ever.
It’s been two years together, we have laughed together, made fun of each other, cried together and wiped each other’s tears, cooked together, watched movies together, laughed o’er Sayu, embarrassing her. We have been there for each other, be it giving hope to another, encouraging and being one another’s strength. From throwing water balloons at my boyfriend for breaking up with me to celebrating when we got back. Every single min they were there for me, knowing my emotions and being a part of it.
Life is more than just beautiful with these two in it. It is so much better. A day without one of them feels so empty; I dread to think of that day when both of them are not there around me as that day is not too far away. And the fun we have is coming to an end. Every moment we spent is worth cherishing for life time and if given a chance I would want to have these moments all o’er again because every bit of it is worth being a part of.
“I’m going to miss you both. Meeti like you say ‘wish we could stop the time’ ”.

29th dec 1988, the house was filled with loadsof joy.. I guess i saw tears roll down my mum's cheek when she had me in her hand. And dad carrying me around just like every proud father does. I see that joy in parents' eyes even to this day. But now when i see that i feel very insecure .....

Yesterday mum was telling me how wonderful kalpa's( my friend as well as my neighbour)wedding was. She was explaining to me about the wedding, the people around, about the groom's family, then she says " oh god!! it was an amazing wedding thashi", all this was great to hear till she came to the part where the bride had to part from her parents house. As she was explaining it to me, tears started rolling down my cheeks, thinking next time when i go home kalpa wont be there, secondly with the fear that in few years time i'll be parting away from my family. well that is damn scary...

As days pass by my insecurity grows. Thoughts like will i be able to adjust to the new family and the new person, will i be comfortable with him, is it possible for me to love a stranger because i dont know to fall in love i just grew in love with the person who fell in love with me ... n many more things like will that person accept me the way i'm, my crazyness, will i find the same love and affection of mum and dad, well!!! you never know....