A Train to Catch

“Hey! I am hungry; I got to go for a Pizza. “, said Jassi at around 4:30 PM.
“Where are the other guys? Aren’t we getting late? I mean we have a train to catch at 6:30.” I expressed my concern.
“Yash and Samira are ready and waiting for us. You call Jitu and remind him for he will take another half an hour with his usual “getting-late” habit.” Jassi replied.
It was a messed up day in office for almost all of us. Jassi had worked the whole of last night to meet some terrible deadline.
“I am going to the Dominoes across the road. You guys reach there and we’ll get auto-rickshaws.”He said.


Another half an hour and we were down on road with our luggage well set on top of our backs. Jitu had arrived with Ronak late by only 15 minutes. Jassi had got his Pizza packed by now. Within all our efforts of hiring rickshaws for railway station and not overpaying them at the same time, we couldn’t do better than 5:45.
“It’s just 45 more minutes. How the hell do you think we’ll make it given so much of traffic on road?” I asked. “Chill man... I think we’ll make it in time.” replied Jitu.
“Don’t worry Saab! It takes only 30 minutes to reach Nampally” said our rickshaw driver with a degree of confidence.


The six of us started in two rickshaws for the railway station. But a real time problem seldom solves in best time. Thirty minutes wasn’t even the average. Suddenly, it started raining with heavy winds flowing opposite to our direction. The weather would have definitely been fun at any other occasion. But now, it was a real pain for us and the driver.
“We can’t make it to Hyderabad railway station now. It’s bloody impossible. Let’s try to catch it in Secunderabad. It takes another half an hour for the train to reach there.” I said to Jitu and Ronak who were with me in the rickshaw.
“Sounds good, let’s ask others to do the same.” replied Jitu.
In a matter of moments I was busy calling Jassi in the other Rickshaw.

“We need to head for Secunderabad”, I said to Jassi “Let’s instruct the driver to take the next left”
Isn’t it that sometimes the constants in our poorly framed equations turn out to be variables resulting into a totally wrong calculation? We instructed our driver to take the next left for Secunderabad but he refused.
“Saab, you negotiated for Nampally. I’ll take you to Nampally only” said the driver in a firm voice.
“We will pay you whatever you want but take us to Secunderabad railway station” said an arrogant and over-confident me.
“No Saab, I’ll drop you to Nampally only.” He replied and repeated the same in all my attempts to appease him. A mixed feeling of anger and frustration gripped me. Jassi’s rickshaw had already taken the left turn to Secunderabad and it wasn’t wise for us anymore to convince our driver. He had already driven too far along the first route. But ten more minutes of drive filled some air of relaxation into my lungs.
“We kicked our brain cells for free.” I thought.. “We’ll reach well in time. We are just 3-4 KMs short and we still have 15 minutes”


It couldn’t believe my luck when all of a sudden our auto-rickshaw stopped with a gentle sound. It did not take us much time to guess that it had given up. We could no more bet upon it. I felt like murdering the rickshaw driver but somehow acted civilized. But I could feel the rise of adrenaline in my blood.
It’s just 12 more minutes.” said one of us.


Another hunt for a rickshaw started. No Luck! Every rickshaw seemed to be either full or not willing to earn. I thought of asking the status of the other half of us and called Jassi.
“Hey Jassi, I am sorry but our rickshaw has stopped in between and we are figuring out alternatives to reach in time. You go ahead.” I said as soon as I got my call connected.
“Our Rickshaw has stopped too. I am pushing in an attempt to restart it. I guess we’ll have to change it too.” He replied with a surge of laughter. I was sure he would not joke at this moment. I felt puzzled at the way we were getting fetched into a sequence of unlucky events.
“We’ll still try to make it. Just try to reach somehow” I replied.
Suddenly a voice from behind came. “We have got another rickshaw. Let’s go.” It was Ronak.


Another attempt to defy time started. We had exact seven minutes and the driver was the most confident guy for his position. He was driving really well and taking all the short-cuts he could to make us reach just in time.
“We are less than a kilometre from here sir”, he said after driving really fast for about five minutes. Another 5 minutes left. And suddenly his rickshaw stopped.
“What happened?” asked an anxious and desperate me.
“The Petrol is over sir. I have lost the key to the petrol tank and can’t get it filled.” He replied.
“Let’s get another rickshaw” I reacted fast and prompt. We had no time to think. The clock in my cell-phone showed 6:25.


We couldn’t find one single rickshaw or taxi around and our luck was very obvious by now. I requested one of the trolley-auto-rickshaw’s to help us reach the station, but all in vein.
We needed a miracle! A Goddamn miracle!
Suddenly a saviour came in the form of a person who was having his auto-rickshaw parked in a garage to get it serviced. But he realized the need and somehow got his vehicle started and running for us. Two minutes left and we had no other choice than to bet upon him. With some serious limitations of not being able to change the gears well, he made us reach the parking of Hyderabad railway station.
“That is it.. We are here.. Let’s run now” I shouted. The three of us ran without uttering anything next.
We entered the station and figured out the platform number. A bridge to cross and we were there.
“That’s our train on the other side”, I chuckled.


But how could things be so simple for us next. It was 6:32 already. A blow of signal and the train started. It was like we could see our much deserved award being denied to us. I ran as fast as I could, stepped down the over-bridge and jumped into a fairly accelerated train. Wow! It was so relaxing to be in. I had done it.
“But wait a minute,.”, I said to myself..“Where are the other two guys?” I looked behind from the door and they had given up after running for a while. I couldn’t let this happen. The train had to stop. An impulse aroused and in the very next moment I pulled the chain. I never knew it was so simple. Just a mild pull and then a large sound of some vacuum-cut and the train stopped. The passengers sitting in the compartment looked at me in wild amusement and a bunch of policemen ran towards the coach. I immediately left the coach and went to the last connected coach I could go to in opposite direction. I did not want to trap myself into another round of trouble by getting caught next. I had made the train stop for nearly five minutes and I knew the other two would have boarded comfortably.

My cell-phone rang next. It was Jitu. “Hey, where are you? We have boarded the train. Come to S-9. You have the ticket with you.” He said.
I breathed in some more fresh air and said, “You stay there. I am coming. Let me check how well Jassi’s half is doing for Secunderabad”. I cut the phone without listening to Jitu next and called up Jassi. He was not picking up the phone.
“Pick up the phone damn it! I need to know where you are. You do not catch the train at Secunderabad, and we are screwed”. No response. My phone rang again.
“Hey, where are you? I need you here urgently.” Jitu said from the other side as I picked it up.
“Just coming”, I replied.
I started looking for Jitu and Ronak as I passed through the inter-connected sleeper coaches one by one.
“Here he is. But why the hell is he accompanied by these cops?”. It wasn’t for some nice reason for sure. For a moment I thought that they had somehow figured out my pulling the chain and were waiting for me.
“Where were you? These guys are accusing me of having pulled the chain. I can’t believe this.” Jitu was sounding very upset.


So, a new story got framed now. The cops caught my friends for the simple reason that they were the only ones boarding the train when the chain was pulled and they should have the explanation. But the good thing was that neither the cops nor the two of my friends had guessed it so far that it was me who had pulled the chain. My inner self and respect for the law started pushing me for a confession.
“Confess your deed and pay the fine. Be a responsible citizen. This is the way to go.” I was repeating this aloud to myself.
Meanwhile, Jitu was arguing really bad with the cops for the simple reason that he was not guilty and still being charged.
“Give me the proof for your accusation or get someone to testify. If you are not able to prove it was me, I’ll show you next. Lemme have a look at your badge – B.N. Raju. I remember your name very well.” He sounded really pissed off as he spoke.


“Testify! What if he takes us all to the same compartment in which I had pulled the chain and the passengers sitting their identify me.” The whole scene was not getting driven in the right direction. Jitu had unknowingly misbehaved with the cops and the matter was out of our hands now. It’s not that the cops believed us after all this. One of the cops was constantly talking on his walkie-talkie device to some senior officer in Telugu. We sat quite all this while.
He broke the silence after a while, “You want to say anything next, say it to our ACP. He is waiting for you at Secunderabad railway station.” My face turned pale. Things would have been really better if I would have confessed earlier and given away the fine.


My phone was ringing. It was Yash now. “Ya , Where are you?” I asked.
“Where are you? How long will it take the train to reach Secunderabad? Our driver is saying that it will take another half an hour for us to reach there. I think we are not going to make it” She sounded tensed.
“We have boarded the train. But did you say half an hour. We are about to reach in 5 minutes. ” I said. “I am sorry then. We are not getting the train.” She replied.
I cut the phone and sat dumb. “We are not going without them.” I said to Jitu “Let’s get off at Secunderabad.” There couldn’t be a more troublesome day for us. We still had to deal with the cops next. Jitu started riding them really bad.
“Let me meet your ACP and I’ll tell him. You have troubled innocent people. We have not done anything like pulling the chain and we are not frightened. You hear that,, you irresponsible cops !! We have done nothing and we are not frightened.” Jitu was loud and angry. I had no other option than to shut my mouth up. I couldn’t be as confident as he was. But I had to try something.


“What do you want from us? Is it the money?” I asked the cops in a deliberate attempt to know their intentions next.
“Pay the challan and we’ll leave you” one of them said.
“We are not paying you a rupee. We are meeting your ACP. Take us to him” Jitu shouted.
The cops really started losing their grip now. Jitu was vibrating truth in his behaviour which could not be acted otherwise. On the other hand, I was totally robbed by fear. It was safe for me not to speak and let him deal with the matter. What if somehow the true story comes up now? We still had to deal with a senior cop and who knows how well we will do there. Secunderabad station had arrived and the train had stopped. We stepped down to the platform from the coach. One of the cops went to look around for his senior leaving three of us with the other one.

“We are going to the AC coach as we have our reservation there. Where is your ACP?” I asked.
“He is coming.” The cop replied.
“Will he come after we miss our train? We are going to the AC coach.” said Jitu, his voice marked by anger.
“Ok,, one of you stay here and others go. We’ll follow you there.” said the cop. It set me relaxed for a while.
“Let Ronak stay”, I said. Me and Jitu took the entire luggage and walked towards the AC coach.


“Here it is - B1.” said Jitu. The coach was right in front of the main entrance of the railway station at platform no. 1. Jassi, Yash and Samira were nowhere to be seen. The train was about to signal when we saw a “Sardaar” rushing towards me with heavy luggage in his hands.
“It’s Jassi.” I couldn’t feel better without shouting it loud.
“Let’s get in. Where is B1.” He said as he arrived almost running to me.
“It’s right here in front of us” I said and the five of us took no time to board the train next.
“Where is Ronak?” asked Yash.
“He probably is in some sleeper coach with the cops. They are charging us for having pulled the chain.” I replied.
“Have you pulled the chain” asked Samira, her voice marked by surprise.
“No, we have not.” I replied. I did not want everyone sitting nearby to know it.
“This is ridiculous. How can they do this.” She said.


I took Jitu aside next and told him the truth and asked him to instruct Ronak to pay the challan and let the matter go. He called Ronak who was equally adamant on the other side and instructed him to settle the matter by paying something to the cops.
And this is how Ronak settled it. He said to the cops, “We have not pulled the chain. But since you are troubling us, and you have to reply with a challan to your senior, I am paying you the money. Take it but don’t cut it in my name. Cut it on some random name.”
The cops were very pleased to do the same. They escorted Ronak with due respect to the AC coach next. It was a moment of relief for all of us.


“Where is the Pizza I got packed” asked Jassi in a mood to change the topic.
It’s here with me”, replied Jitu and we attacked the Pizza like anything. What had happened in last one hour was the experience of a lifetime for us. And we had not missed the train.

Bachna Ae Haseeno

Remember the great classic of the 70s - “Choti si Baat”. A young and naive lover does not know how to express his feelings to a girl. He follows her for days without achieving even an introduction or a seat next to her in a public bus. He is a complete looser until he goes to a “Colonel Julius Nagendranath Wilfred Singh” who has some deep wisdom of his age to pass on to his disciple... and guess what, this brings fortune to our character and he is able to win the war of love and we witness a “Happy Ending”.

Let’s turn the page to today and we witness yet another young and fresh lover who carries some “killer instinct” and is never tired of wooing as many girls as possible. “Bachna Ae Haseeno” is a story which ideally mirrors the manners of modern metro youth which is so casually driven when it comes to relationships. Our protagonist is a perfect six-foot, six-packed young man who has all the feathers in his cap to make him an ideal bachelor. And unlike our 70s story, he has got some unborrowed and inherent art of seduction with which he swings in love with women all the time. Though our story ends up with our character realizing the essence of true love and giving up his dignified “Casanova” status, this does not always find a mapping in a modern urban lifestyle.

Honestly speaking, who doesn’t want to be a character like the one in “Bachna Ae Haseeno”? Indian men were never so serious about having a six-pack or getting branded wears or for that matter going to a gym. They never had such a strong concern for appearance and such a high disposable income to spend on lifestyle. The dictionary was never richer with terms like “Metrosexual” and “Retrosexual” and never were “hot” and “cool” spoken of in the same sense. Having a girlfriend is a social statement these days and you simply don’t want to be outcast. And believe me things were never this simpler. You do not strictly have to fall in love to have a girlfriend. It’s no more an intractable problem and you have got some deterministic algorithms – some as simple as asking a girl out to the nearest McDonalds or Pizza Hut. And did you get worried about signing up some commitments? Don’t you worry! You can easily get away in the end with a statement like - “I do not know the reason but somehow I have lost feelings for you” - like you have had some feeling before and you are so sorry to say that. Or something like - “I think I should be honest to confess that I am no more loyal to you. You deserve someone better than me.” Your honesty will pay and you will break apart to flaunt your ex-girlfriend count. And it’s statistically proven that this has no negative impact upon your candidature for the next girl.

One of my girl friends wanted me to learn some lesson from the movie which coincidently had the actor working for Microsoft. Though a seriously working guy at Microsoft barely gets so much of free time to move around looking for girls, I would definitely miss no chance of doing so if I have all the luck. :P ........ So here is the lesson that I learnt - "You should flirt with as many girls as possible but wait for the final call until you get someone like “Deepika”. :) " Keep Moving till then.......

@ the speed of Thought

“To function in the digital age, we should develop a new digital infrastructure. It should be like the human nervous system. Organizations need to have that same kind of nervous system--the ability to run smoothly and efficiently, to respond quickly to emergencies and opportunities, to quickly get valuable information to the people who need it, the ability to quickly make decisions.”
This is an extract from the book “Business @the speed of Thought” written by Mr. Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft and one of the great pioneers of this century. In this book he has envisaged a world where digital tools will be used to reinvent the way we work and where information flow will be as fast as thought in a human being. With the proven might of internet and the concept of digital money, we are very well able to appreciate his vision and foresightedness.

Gone are the days when slow and steady used to win the race. And if you are so impressed by the rabbit-tortoise tale, let’s sign a bet and we’ll have a race again. Believe me, the rabbit will not be a fool to sleep this time. In fact he won’t even think of the tortoise being somewhere in the race. He will run even faster to beat his own previously set record. So, this is the new story my friend. Even those who are at the top are busy competing with themselves and setting better and finer records. They are expeditious and obsessed with “Speed” like Mr. Gates.

The theory was very pleasing to my mind and I got completely overwhelmed. I do not know whether I exhibited a keen discernment to the theory or not but I too started fantasizing speed. How cool would it be if according to Einstein’s theory of relativity we could convert ourselves to energy, travel at the speed of light and then again convert ourselves to the same mass? In practically no time, we could travel anywhere on this earth. But wait a minute… Speed of thought is a higher metric than the speed of light. We can reach the planets millions of light-year away in a matter of second with the speed of thought. And it’s not just this definition of speed that we are talking of. Speed is an evaluation parameter associated with most of the events around us. It has always been an ardent desire of the human race to defy time and one of the proposed solutions is “Speed” – the effective utilization of each unit of it. The world is not just about achieving something; it’s about achieving something fast. It’s not just about getting things done; it’s about getting things done fast. And look, we have started realizing our desires come true. We can do so many things at the click of a mouse.

After so blissfully attaining this enlightenment, I started having problem with so many things around me which were slow, dull and dumb and which in my honest opinion did not deserve to be where they were. I mean, how could I travel eight kilometers from my home to Microsoft campus in a “Vikram” which looked to me like an excellent museum quality material? And how could it take a train 40 hours (best case) to make me reach my hometown which is good enough time for Britney Spears to last a marriage. And how could downloading with a BSNL connection be so slow? And how could trains be so late and traffic is so busy? Don’t they have any respect for time? Can’t they just “speed up” to meet the standards?

On Thursday, Feb 14, 2008, when roses and cards were abounding all around with no one for me to give one to, when couples were flaunting their mutual bliss in dimly-lit restaurants, when love-birds were holding hands and showing affection in parks and by the lake-side on the eve of “Valentine Day” … I received a mail which was a reply to my progress report to my senior team lead. It read “The target end date was 5th Feb. It’s slipped by almost 7 days. Moving Forward, I would like to see upfront notification if there is any slippage in task” ….. And I felt like replying …..Come on! You got to be kidding me. How can you be so serious? It’s just 7 days. I didn’t use to finish my projects till one night before my demo in college days and never did it happen that I was asked for one single explanation. And it’s not that I was sleeping all this time or playing soccer or watching movies like I used to do at IIIT, my beloved college. I just couldn’t “speed-up”. Oh …. Stop! Did I mention “speed”?

This too is “RACISM”.

Today accidently enough while checking out India’s score against SriLanka, I tuned in to one of the news channels which was staging a debate on “Regionalism Vs Nationalism” in the aftermath of a sickening statement by a morally retarded politician and followed violence against a particular community (termed “North Indians” this time ). Kudos! I said. One more good reason to divide the country when we are all shouting this widely spelled term called “Globalization” at the peak of our voices. And why do we feel attacked and assaulted when someone calls us “Racist”? (The recent Harbhajan - Symonds episode)…. We are “Racists”! …. And we are proud to be so … It’s just that we are not ready to accept but it has been our legacy.

I do not know the precise definition of “Racism” but basically it’s “discrimination or prejudice based on race”. Recently, I was introduced by one of my friends to a group of his friends with a rather unintentional teasing remark in the end that “he is a Bihari”. Well! Of course I am … but I was not able to appreciate this comment at that point of time. It’s absolutely not that I do not feel pride in my roots. It’s also not that I want to skip out of an image of a common “Bihari” and turn sophisticated. It’s just that I expect someone to use this term with a degree of respect which to my utter dismay I have never been able to realize in practical experiences. And let’s face it! “Bihari” is an abuse which is widely used by a bunch of arrogant and irrational people living in some of these metros for taxi-drivers and hawkers who according to them have dirtied their land and should be kicked out for a better and healthier social living. And did I say just a bunch of supercilious people? Well there are a few intellectuals as well who have very well turned on national debates in the past. Khuswant Singh, the well known author who had resigned his Rajya Sabha seat after “Operation Blue-Star” is definitely not a clown. His comment that people from Bihar and UP are spoiling Punjab had been a cause of discussion in parliament. And there are numerous such instances to quote. Mohammad Azharuddin, the ex-Indian captain once reacted saying “Biharis are thieves” on getting his cap stolen by a fan while playing a cricket match in Jamshedpur. Ironically, he himself ended up betraying his country in match-fixing episodes turning out to be a traitor. And I definitely need not mention what keeps on happening in Assam and Maharashtra.

I have had experiences of my encounter with this highly opinionated class of people. All they think is Biharis are rough, rude and ill-mannered people who drive taxis or own foot-path shops in Delhi and Mumbai with the exception of a few who crack civil services or become politicians. And that’s what they think about Bihar as well. And all the time I hear these people showing disrespect to the terms “Bihari” and “Bihar”, my heart yearns in pain and I feel like attacked personally. Am I not polished and understated like them? Yes I am …. Can’t I speak good English? Forget it … I have seen lots of them exhibiting their sickening sense of the language at public places in these metros just because they have to show off ( the good old aphorism ..”All that is English is rich and civilized”), Am I not educated? Well! I am a software engineer with Microsoft... Do I need to mention more? At all these occasions I feel like racially abused the same way an average Indian feels when ill-treated on a foreign land. In fact, what Bihar is on the map of India, is India on the world-map. How does it feel like to an average Indian when Mr. L.K. Advani or bollywood actor Bipasha Basu is ill-treated in US and when Punjabis in Canada are abused and insulted, the Canadian government recently banning the use of “Kaur” as surname being an example? And do you know why we are insulted? We, as Indians are insulted for the same reason you insult a Bihari in India - for grabbing away jobs, for driving cabs and for owning shops and dhabas. India and Indians have a rich culture. Agree! Remember Manoj Kumar singing that song in the movie “Purab aur Paschim”, ”Zero diya mere Bharat ne, Duniya Ko Tab Ginti Aayi “……. you feel Proud to listen to the song.. Isn’t it? So the next time you feel like abusing “Bihar” and “Biharis” , better take into account these facts:

· Three major religions of this world have flourished in Bihar namely Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Patna is the birthplace of Guru-Govind Singhji … ( Khushwant Singh should better know this) . Buddha had got his enlightenment in BodhGaya, Buddhism being the fourth largest religion in the world. Mahavira, the founder of Jainism was born in Vaishali , Bihar.
· Modern Bihar has originated from the kingdom of ‘Magdha’ where the Guptas and Mauryas ruled during the “Golden age of ancient Indian History”. Famous mathematicians like Aryabhatta and “Bhaskara”( who invented numerology and “Zero”) studied and researched in Patliputra in the dying years of Gupta Empire.
· “Nalanda University” situated in Bihar is the oldest university of the world where students from the whole of Central and East Asia came to study some 1600 years ago. Chinese travelers “Fa-Hien” and “Huen-Tsang” who came to study here have left the only scripted proof of the “Maurya Dynasty”.
· Undivided Bihar (comprising of Jharkhad) had most of the mineral resources this country has. So all those arrogant fools who think Biharis are eating away their resources in Mumbai and Delhi should better study some economics that how they are benefiting from the resources Bihar is providing to the country. But why would they? I know many of them who eat biryani in a five star hotel without knowing that rice is grown in the farms.
· Do you know that the first president of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad was from Bihar? And that the nationalist movements in India started with the “Champaran Movement” in Bihar. And that Bihar has been the center of these nationalist movements ever since (JP’s Movement)? And that it’s a land of great Hindi poets like Ramdhari Singh Dinkar and Nagarjun? Well better do not know because every time you make a racist remark against “Bihar”, you are abusing these great people.

It’s true that the recent politics in the state and the land disputes have left people jobless and deprived, violence due to caste disputes has resulted into a degraded civic sense but that is mostly due to illiteracy and poverty. And I can give lot of statistics to prove that Delhi tops in the count of rapists and women assaulters. So, the so called civilized people, please stop acting like you are the only ones whoe deserve to live in these big cities,, and next time you shout “racism” on getting your ass kicked in US or Canada, think how ill-behaved you are to the people back home. Stop abusing “Poor and illiterates” ……. This too is “RACISM”.

Wish I could bend time...

Today I am feeling lonesome like hell. Its round about midnight and there is no one in the cubicles nearby. It’s not that I am a workaholic and I like sitting late hours at office. I am a careless freak who doesn’t mind avoiding work till the last moment or till the time adrenaline in my blood rises to a level which is irresistible. And I am not interested in any of these solitary pursuits too. But due to some inherent inertia in me, I am feeling nostalgic.

My senses are not ready to believe that those good old days are gone, that I would no more wake up at 8:55 in the morning to rush for a class at 9:00, … I would no more carry on my proxy business in lectures,…. I would no more do cut, copy and paste to meet the assignment deadlines, … I would no more go to a prof requesting him to cancel a quiz because we have a football match…. I would no more ask Rajesh, Rohit or Bhalla to “Tripathi” or “Punjabi” for dinner…. I would no more have endless discussions on AOC matches, on who defeated whom in a one on one or through a feudal attack…. I would no more chat with my roomy Vivek about girls a day before exams without even knowing what the syllabus is… I would no more see what’s there in the “Last One Day” download list at ftp://172.31.2.40 ….I would no more search for “xyz$” folders through Netscan ….. I would no more mimic and copy SKS, Sanyal sir and Nandi ... I would no more be a part of late night discussions on weirdest of topics…I would no more hear a “Namaste Bhaiya” from a CC or Hostel guard… I would no more tease Puneet by calling him “Puns” and “Vikash” by calling him “Pappu”….. I would no more spend sleepless nights in CC playing age or counter strike… I would no more go to Jassi’s room to watch WWE matches or action movies or to have discussion on a Topcoder match… I would no more check my IIITA –mail 200 times a day ….I would no more spend nights in front of library rehearsing our dramas…. I would no more go to Civil Lines by the 6:30 bus and return by the 9:30 one… I would no more go to the canteen at midnight in the month of December to eat ice-cream… … I would no more play cricket in the hostel corridor with guards threatening us of warden…I would no more mess up my room in whatever manner I like…I would no more ask for Utkarsh's or Pathak's notes during exam season ... I would no more have empty pockets so that I would ask someone for money… I would no more have a fight with a 6’2” tall and 350 pounds Vaibhav Rastogi…. I would no more feel the tense moments due to high career aspirations… I would no more eagerly wait for a new episode of “Prison Break” or “Heroes” … I would no more watch a mithun movie like “Gunda” and mug up the dialogues....I would no more abuse the mess food all the time… I would no more go to “PipalGaon” early in the morning to have “Chole-Samose”… I would no more sit on the stairs of Allahabad University cricket stadium to explore a serious side of my inner-self....I am no more a part of it…… I am not at IIIT.