During my summer project in my MBA days I lived for about ten days with a bunch of guys from college. I wanted to experience the life of a hostelite. So, while I was still in Pune, I thought this is something that I should try. And experience. (Little did I know that in a years time I would be doing that in Mumbai!!)
Anways, I lived in Aundh – fairly close to the college and had my bike – the Doberman – for company. I lived at a place called Elite Gardens with a bunch of guys who at best can be described as miscellaneous. There were five to six rent paying residents – we never knew which five six among the collective group of twenty guys parking themselves there. I moved in with some of my belongings for an adventure.
Now some of the interesting things that I must tell you guys is that everyone there had a nickname – a funny one with a sound logic to why the person carried that name. So we had “Tarzan”, one who roamed around in multicolored underwear all the time. And we had someone called “Anaconda” cause he was huge and lazy, Then there was someone called “Gundhoo” cause that’s what he was. And of course, “Thakur Dedh Haath” was the guy who had fractured half his hand for half a sem. Then there was “Bhaiyya” who was the gyaani type. And yes there was “Kutta” who seemed to be everyone’s pet.
The usual visitors also had been baptised thus and we had multiple characters floating around. We had one called “Don” for the attitude he had, and there was another called the “Emperor” who was always politically “there”. There was “Sweetie Pandey” who was sweet and nice to all and he hated this name. We also had “Snowy” the darkest guy in college. Then of course there was “Frustoo” for what he felt all the time and “Phantom” who was so thin that he was part of the old jungle folklore. Then there were names that were specially coined for a few people. So we had a “Better Friend”, and girl who was “Miss IQ” with a stress on Miss! We had someone who was called “Harmless” for the way he behaved with the girls. And a girl called “Bhai” cause that’s what she used to behave like. And another was called “Mowgli” for the hairstyle she carried. Whew!
Well, coming back to the hostelite days, I discovered that it wasn’t that easy. You wake up in the morning and there’s no tea waiting for you. The paper is being shared by ten guys, the loo is occupied for a period that seems like eternity. You have to wash your own clothes and by the time you leave home for office, you are half dead. Then you quickly go the nearest udipi joint and have breakfast and tea and count you rapidly dwindling finances. Lunch seems to be like an luxury. And the evenings seem to just make it worse ‘cause you are already missing home. No wonder, I found myself back home in ten long days enjoying my parents “chatra chaya”!!!
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