The whole third week of the month of September was sacrificed at the altar of 1st mid-semester exams. For those who don’t know about it, two mid-semester exams are conducted in each semester. 30 % marks from these exams are considered in the final marks for the semester. So they are a crucial cog in the scheme of engineering. Two exams were supposed to be conducted each day between Thursday and Saturday. The whole atmosphere of the college had changed by Monday itself as students started scrambling for notes and books. For the first time, I missed the presence of seniors as there was no one to guide us or prepare us to anticipate what was coming. I was especially freaked out about Mechanical engineering as my drawing skills were atrocious.
Ashwin was the most worried person in our lot. Sulabh was mostly chilled out while it looked like Ranjan hardly cared. Since the days of my board exams, it was the first time that I had to stay up till late at night. Even the rides in the metro from home were dedicated to studies. Finally, it was all over on Saturday.
My exams had not gone so well. Mechanical engineering was my Achilles’ heel but I had also not done well in Mathematics. My Electrical paper, unexpectedly, had gone well. Post examination, we were discussing the last paper outside the examination hall when Dhruv approached us.
Dhruv and Dhriti were the first official couple of our college, though technically they had known each other since class 8th and had studied together ever since. Both came from upper-middle-class families and were fairly good in their studies. Though we were not friends exactly, Dhruv shared a good rapport with me owing to one common hobby of ours - reading superhero comics.
“How was the paper?” He asked
“This one was good, can’t say the same about the mechanical paper though” I replied
“Hmm” he nodded “Anyway, let’s stop discussing exams now. We have been doing this only for the last one week. Listen, we are planning a small party in the evening, just a few selected ones. Would you like to come?”
I looked at Ashwin who instantly said yes. I too nodded in affirmative.
“Don’t mind but I am not inviting Sulabh and Ranjan. Sulabh’s tongue is loose and there will be girls there so .. and Ranjan”
“Don’t worry about him. He would have said no even if you had tried to persuade him” Ashwin said.
“Who all are coming?” I asked curiously.
“Dhriti and me, Robin, Vikas, Neeti and … Sameena. A couple of more guys can join”
Ashwin punched me so hard on my shoulder that I almost fell down.
“What are you doing?”
In reply, he just smiled.
Ashwin has become my confidant now. Even though he was a bit reckless sometimes (for example, a moment like this) I trusted him. He had that naivety about him that screamed the word ‘loyalty’. So I had basically told him about the gentle crush I had on Sameena and in the moment of heat, he had not been able to control himself.
Since that day in the Physics lab, I hadn’t had much interaction with Sameena. It was difficult to find an opportunity to speak in the lectures. On the other hand, she was in a different tutorial group so we couldn’t even speak during tutorials or labs. Mostly there had been just a short ‘Hi’ and nothing more. So yes, this small party was a very welcome suggestion as it might have given me a chance to converse with her. Ashwin and I gave our consent for the party which was scheduled to begin at 6 in the evening.
Using different modes of transportation, we reached the designated place – a new restaurant nearby Airport road which catered to the college-going youth. We found a place where we could all settle around a big table and converse. I deliberately chose a chair across Sameena. Ashwin settled into the chair next to mine. After a brief time spent settling down in the respective places, the next few minutes were spent in the deliberation about the food to be ordered. That took another 10 minutes as multiple suggestions were given and rejected. I didn’t care much about the food. I was enjoying the vibes in the atmosphere. This is how college life feels like, I thought. In between, I would steal a glance at Sameena, who was talking animatedly with Neeti about something.
For the next half an hour, we had an absolute blast as the conversation flowed from one topic to another. There were rounds of intermittent laughter upon some humorous comments. I didn’t speak much and Sameena too talked very little, but Ashwin had a blast. He was having a lot more fun and even though he had not been very popular in the college so far, I was sure that more people will know about him from tomorrow. As the orders got a bit delayed, few guys started getting impatient. Dhruv asked one of the waiters and he said that it will take another 10 minutes.
“Hey! Let’s use this time to see the creative side of the people. Is Anyone up for it? Can anybody sing or recite poetry or something like that?” Dhruv said.
“Anshu can sing. I have heard him singing so many times during labs”
Ashwin’s comment took me by surprise. Yes, I had a habit of singing to myself, mostly when I was alone. But I had never considered myself a good singer. And I didn’t even know when Ashwin noticed me.
“That’s great,” Dhriti said “let’s listen to one”
“I mostly hum to myself. I am not exactly an accomplished singer” I said a bit hesitantly.
“Dude” Dhruv tried to calm my nerves “Nobody is here to judge you. We all are just trying to have a good time here. C’mon, let’s rock and roll.”
So I stood up and after a brief deliberation came up with a song that a lot of college-going people love humming to.
“Gulaabi Aankhen jo teri dekhi, sharaabi ye dil ho gaya ..”
And very soon a lot of them joined me, clapping and singing the bits in between. One song gave way to another and so by the time our orders arrived, we had a wonderful 10-12 minutes of singing interspersed with merriment. I glanced at Sameena a no. of times as my face moved from one direction to another in perfect harmony with my singing. She didn’t sing in the chorus but she was clapping as well.
Everybody clapped as I ended my first public performance and the very next minute we began gorging on the delicious food placed on the table.
As we ended our first college party later in the evening, a couple of guys and girls complimented me for my singing. But the best compliment came as we came out of the restaurant and started dispersing. As we waited for the auto, Sameena came up to me and said
“You have a beautiful voice. It was a really nice performance from you”
“Thanks” I smiled a bit sheepishly. It was a stupid reaction but since the compliment came from Sameena out of nowhere, it caught me a bit off guard as no one had ever complimented on my singing in this way.
Sameena’s compliment kept flashing through my mind for the rest of the evening. Whenever that happened, a wide grin would break upon my face. My sister noticed it and promptly doled out an uncalled for jibe ‘You’re going nuts’. But I hardly cared. This was by far the best day that I had had in more than a year and the adulation for my singing was like the icing on the cake. I was happy and that was all that mattered.
It was that evening when all the prejudices and regrets about the place I was studying in vanished. I was finally at peace with the decision that I had made a month ago.
To be continued ...
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
