𝓢𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓮 𝓫𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓲𝓽'𝓼 𝓸𝓴𝓪𝔂 𝓽𝓸 𝓬𝓻𝔂

Get Set Go

           "1069 km all alone, thats scary dad", I repeated as my dad didn't get me at first. Those numbers got it's meaning as I cleared the online test. To be true it was goddamn hard but somehow god casted a spell over me and that made the difference. For the interview, i was asked to exist in their college on August 2, 2019. I knew my dad wanted to come with me but he stayed back and i also knew why he did. I was put up in a situation to experience solitude. I reached chennai one day prior to the date of my journey. 

Everyone has a story 2

             The clock showed 40 past 8 when I plonked myself on the seat. My journey to Lonavala was on the next day. I stayed in Chennai Central and I lied to my parents that i was staying in a hotel. In one go from 9 pm to 4 am i completed reading the book "Everyone has a story 2". About the book, it had a good point on the perspective on how one has to deal with their own fate. I was tantalized when i read the final words of the book, "Reach for the fruit on the branches, don't wait for gravity to hand it to you.". Reading in one go was one of my wishes and that paved the way of getting red eyes and i needed to get some sleep. I took the token for the next two hours and as soon as i got the token i had thrown myself to the floor. Who cares? All i wanted was to get some sleep. At 6:10 am i was thrown out of the waiting room as the time exceeded. Two hours was not enough and I was going wild, minute by minute. My knees were up and i made my way towards my akka's house. I honked the switch, the electric bell squeezed. The door creaked on its hinges, akka showed up. "U look horrible", she said without greeting me in. I stepped in and had a quick shower. At the time, i stepped out, she was waiting for the explanation. I said about what i did yesterday. She prompted "When did u turn mad?, Dilip". The same question was asked by my friends when i said to them. Sometimes we can't put our emotions into words, anyway they never understand how it feels.

                  3 AC tier, B10 23, i checked one last time before dropping my bag. I was the only one inside the huge rectangular box. Within minutes, a lady with her two kids came in. Those kids english accent was admiring and i was sure i won't be even 5 percent of it. I put an end to my pounding heart by starting the conversation. The kids hesitated at first but after getting the approval from their mommy they spoke up. We played january, february games, no better name I got for it. I was freezing to death so i wrapped the winter shield around me. "You are funny", one of the kids commented when he saw me doing it. We said good night to each other and I headed towards my respective seat.

                The sun was up but still i couldn't get me up. I moved the curtain to stop the sun light getting in as the glasses were not opaque. The train filled up after crossing Renikunda. I squinted to see if there were any girls beside me. Shit! What i saw was, group of uncles with fat bellies. I don't know whether i was unlucky or may be the government officer did his/her duty on never show mercy policy on the passengers travelling alone. I went back to my sleep, suddenly one of the uncles unveiled the curtain and their language almost pleaded me to get me out of the place. While brushing I saw the printed name Humzafar all over the walls. What the hell! Are they thinking that was the better place to welcoming their passengers to come next time on board. 

                  The kids were not seen and i needed someone to unzip my mouth, my phone lost it's network so I couldn't call anyone. I tried to speak with those uncles but they didn't speak english. I hate india for its diversity. Suddenly, i heard the dialogues from the movie "96". Eh, Tamilian! That theivame moment, I found him and shook hands with him. Aravind was his name, a six feet tall guy and no one would believe that he is a tamilian unless he opens his mouth. The clock read 30 past 4 when we reached the pune station. He said that he was there for the carnatic concert. I had known in the first place that he got something unique. I told him about my business in there. In unison we said that we were starving so we hit the subway, literally not a subway. It's a food center, probably a snack center. We had a burger each and it didn't deal with my appetite. We took a selfie and we waved hands to each other. 

Lonavala Junction

                    I got the train to Lonavala, the train made its way along the mountains, one after the other and I kept my view through the window. I reached there after an hour. "Welcome to lonavala" was flickering on the LED screen. I didn't know whether it was programmed in that way or it was due to some sort of technical error. That didn't bother me much on compared with the rain. It was raining heavily and i couldn't do anything. No ola and no signal, i became numb. I waited for the rain to stop. Yeh it did but only after 2 hrs. Thankfully i got the rickshaw and by god's grace the rickshaw wala spoke english. He took me to several hotels and i sticked with the fifth one. The receptionist greeted me by saying "Welcome to Ashoka".  I had spent one fourth of my money in there. I settled and took out my phone out of my pocket. I called my parents and said i settled. Then Panda banti called me. She always gets me inspired. A wise woman in her late 20's, always puts a smile on my face with her wise statements. Whole heartedly, a celli to me. "Main kisee bhee kemat par yoo bahan ke lie vahaan rahoonga". Pagal! that sounds better.                                                                          

Hotel Ashoka

                The alarm buzzed to pull me out of sleep. It was raining outside and off course i was shivering heavily. The jacket was on, i felt better and i wanted to take shower, bad idea in a bad place. The fit band showed it was 19°C, before i turned on the geyser. It was nice to have a hot bath in a cold place. I asked the receptionist to get me an auto and i was dressed in formals. The black turban sardar approached me to know whether i was going to great eastern. Dharshan Singh was 26 and his age was on the verge to be in for the interview. We joined hands and reached the college. It felt bitter to see hundreds lining up for the interview. We joined the que, got the id card, entered the auditorium and we filled our information and did the test part and we waited for the interview. 

Great Eastern IMS

               
               On seeing a guy, i asked" Are u a tamilian?", i saw the happiness gushing all over him. He replied "Amam bro".  Arun Kumar and Jinu were the 2018 passed outs. We had the quick knowing session before the interview. The scores were out and I got the CMBT score of 52 and i do know that was a bad score. I was called in for the interview. I took a deep breath and went through the door. The panel got 3 members and my first question was fired at me instantly on seeing my score. I smiled "Well, That thing is not going to define me". He smiled back and next i was asked to introduce myself. Whatever came to my mind, i laid out. I shared about my life with books and I told about the outline story of INFERNO as he asked me to give the outline of any one of my read books. Next few mechanical terms were asked and i answered everything. To some, i made my own theories on them. That's were the topsy turvy occurred. 

                    After an hour the results were out. I secured the 53 rank and the top 40 were in. I started to feel like a failure. I was about to cry, i tried not to but i couldn't. Happily i made my way to the washroom and cried like a kid. Yeh! That's true, i did. The fixer called me and I said what i was upto. Her words on me meant a lot to me. I sounded I was good but truly I was not. It felt I was bothering her a lot. Then the three of us went to the nearby park and I looked for the swing. It was occupied and I waited for my turn. Kids in there noticed that a kid who was no more a kid was damaging their plaything. I don't care, I wanted to get back to normal. I felt good and the three of us got settled in a stone bench. I tried not to think of my failure. I noticed a small girl with her tiny legs was kicking a red ball. She gave a good kick but her 5th kick was over the ball. She was down on the ground and she was wailing. I rushed to get her up but before me her parents pulled her up. After few words from her parents, she was up again with the ball. I learned one thing from that kid, "No matter how many times you fall but never hold back, Get up and be better than before".  Tears started to slither and I know what I had witnessed right over there.