I am not a vivid writer, nor the author of any popular books; so far, my write ups and literary pieces had reached only as far as my laptop, most not making it beyond the garbage can, and if I was destined to be a successful author, I was sure it would be possible only in some parallel universe where standards of literary talent were turned on their head (Author)...
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First Day in College:
17th July 2003, the second day of College for Delhi University's 2003-2004 session was the first day for me; from childhood, I had been sticking to my own habit of not attending classes at the very first day, each time I got promoted to the next hierarchy of British system of education that India followed. And being a victim of the Kuki-Naga conflict (1992-1995), the ill feelings towards the Nagas especially the Tangkhul's still persist in my mind & I never let it go away because they 're the one responsible for the direct downfall of my forefathers' wealth & legacy, that had been carried on from ages through generations to generations. So, my story would have been totally different ~ if the enmity between the two communities doesn't arise at all, in the hill districts of Manipur. I know, my cruel idea was against the ethics & principles of the Holy Bible that my Mom strictly adheres to; for the numerous teachings, prayers & sacrifices she made for my upbringing as a good Christian.
The final selected hostelers list for Kirori Mal College, Delhi University was yet to come on the College hostel bulletin, although I got admission for the 1st year Bachelor of Science, B Sc (H) Botany. In the admission brochure, the 1st day of College for the whole DU's affiliated Colleges is indicated in red bol letters as "16th July 2003". My temporary address reads: A-40 1st Floor, Christian Colony, Patel Chest, Delhi University Campus-110 007; seems like a very attractive address for a nominal Christian - who had never ever have the chance to visit Delhi University in his/her lifetime (just because it bears the prefix Christian in a perfectly Hindu dominating Indian Capital); the address, I too longed to beckon once, before - I was unaware of its whereabouts. But, truthfully speaking I would rather prefer Punjabi Bagh or Ram Colony over it, now !! if given the option to choose them after having much aquaintances with their topographical sketches.
Although, I didn't attend the first day of College, a huge knowledge about the College pour in from the websites, prospectus and senior friends. The knowledge that 'Amitabh Bachan' a bolly wood blockbuster and a good number of Politicians in the present central UPA government were the alumni of this College gave me great tidings of joy. This prepared me ready for the 1st day of College with great hopes in my mind; it was Tuesday morning straight from hell. As I lifted the thin blanket off my head gingerly, the bright red letters of the digital clock provided the only light in the room. The blurred letters resolved themselves when I touch my eyelids; the time reads 6:49 AM, my first thought was I would need to shave. My stubble was almost three days old, not having felt a razor since Friday evening (I was attending YWAM's friday fellowship in Hudson Lines near DU campus, the night when i last shaved & skipped Kuki Worship Service the following sunday, and in exchange went to the great second hand market called Sunday market/chori bazar near Red Fort/Lal Quila). Years ago, under the misguided advice of friend in school that girls liked guys with beards, I had briefly nurtured the ambition of growing one myself, but those were shelved when I realized that even when my follicles did their best, the sprouting that resulted did not resemble a beard even remotely.
I hired an auto rickshaw from Patel Chest Hospital junction and headed towards the College to reach in time & jumped down from the rickshaw after disputing over 3 minutes with the rickshaw puller for the fare, in fact that was the very first time my broken hindi finds its appearance in public debate: So, the courage I posses arguing with him so long was praiseworthy (recollecting those past memories, I now could boldly proclaim that the rickshaw puller didn't got a single correct hindi word from me). May be t'was the only reason the dispute was won by me. I showed my admission slip to the gate keeper and enter the College to attend my first class, I was late for about 15 minutes coz my Chinese digital watch's degrading battery makes the faulty. It was organic Chemistry's practical class and I was wandering, looking for the exact room where B Sc (H) Botany 1st year Chemistry practical was held but ~ amongst the ten or so identical buildings each with an added storey similar in design and structures, some one really needed to help me out.. So, I approached a giant figured guy whom I formerly supposed to be the watchdog of the College security matters like those seen in pub/disco halls in cities..:-p, but in my astonishment he too was a student of the same College, B Com Pass 1st year and was his second day in College, only a day senior to me. So, he knew nothing about the classrooms and the various departments; seems like ~ he himself was also looking for the particular room were Book Keeping classes of B Com Pass 1st year was going on. I again went straight towards the aqua-guard water filters where many throng together hoping that someone could guide me to the Chemistry practical room for sure; hmm, I could sense the presence of 3 Mongoloid faceted boys in the far corner of the other block from amongst a multitude of central Indian breeds.
As I try to continue my 2nd approach to the Bihari guy standing in front of me, out of expectation - a guy with a Chinese looks touch my solders calmly, saying!! Hi..I am Peter Tangkhul from Ukhrul, Manipur B Sc (H) Botany final year, a hosteler; " May I know your good name and in which Dept you got enrolled to"??. The first thought that struck me when he said he belonged to the Tangkhul tribe was ~ Goddamit! You frigging Klutz!!. Why the good God allowed the blood thirsty Nagas that butchered my near and dear ones at the Joupi massacre to excel well in studies at this highly priced institution and that too, the subject's I am to struggle for the next three complete years. As I felt uncomfortable with the mentioned of the word 'tangkhul', my manner unknowingly goes awkward within seconds, guess; he recognized something was wrong with me but I replied his question after a short gap.."I am Lalboi Haokip from Churachandpur, Manipur, B Sc (H) Botany, a fresher looking for Organic Chemistry's practical room". On hearing my li'l introduction, he quickly guided me to the Chemistry Dept. and warned me about the strictness of that very concern Professor-giving me his own hostel room number plus mobile number. The sympathy he showed me continued to dwelt deep down inside me until I step in, into the room to join my fellow classmates for the first time. Since, I was late for about twenty minutes by the time; roll call for the particular class was over. The Professor was busy lecturing the basics of Organic Chemistry using the giant black cemented board on the wall and after thirty minutes of non-stop lecture; apparatus, lockers, test tubes, cones, etc needed for the whole 1st year Chemistry practical class was distributed to us.
I must be honest to admit my mischievous deeds^ right from the moment my left foot touch the practical room's floor, I was preoccupied with a nonchalant mood of choosing the most beautiful lad in the class, rolling my head from one corner to the other corner of the room, trying my best to locate the cool dudes within the shortest possible time..:-p. & concluded the task by selecting a fair lean stature lad whose name happens to be Richika Kapoor, a business man's daughter whose father an Alumni of SRCC, DU & IIM Ahmedabad. (I got this valuable inf. after consulting shyly to one of my classmates during the class itself), the other two Priyanka Khanduri, a Kashmiri Politician's daughter who holds Jammu & Kashmir, Home plus Finance and Shaiya, a Manipuri girl brought up in Delhi where his father, a Professor at the prestigious Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI), Delhi works: the 1st, 1st runners & 2nd runners up respectively* as if I was given the supreme authority to select the best lad of the class.
The actual practical class went well, with each one determined with the zeal to get the best chemical reactions after three months of complete rest, post class-12 examination and in the course of the hectic practical class where all got saturated in his/her own work; a chubby friend with thick bearded face, probably hailing from the neighboring Punjab or Haryana state, standing at the middle of the 2nd row next to me, did a big mistake in his experiment by over adding "Hydrogen Sulphide" in the boiler, producing a huge dark smoke with unpleasant odor, which was indeed inhaled by my most valued girl in the class making her dizzy and unconscious, but she tried her best to act normally. I knew in advance that her head will hit the hard concrete cemented floor if not handled tight at the earliest time but still doesn't gain the courage to do so: I began to concentrated more on her than my practical work by then..within few seconds - like the sudden strike of lightning! she stooped low, so, I embraced her tight and save her from falling further; in the process touch her extremely soft and delicate tissue "her breast". I was so nervous at the first instance thinking my action was too stupid: for the very first class of my day in college, the very first touch I ever had in the highly restricted area of the opposite sex, to the one and only lady I admired in the class but many of my classmates including the Professor himself praised me for my timely action.
The victimized lady was taken to the Delhi University's health centre "WURTZ HOSPITAL" and was never seen again that day. The following day, she greeted me with big praise thanking me thrice for the Samaritan work. That very incident makes our relationship perfectly close with the passage of time and finally bloom into a serious love affairs. I considered myself the luckiest guy in the whole universe and a great many of boys in the College envy me for my beau. It somehow built up my personality to the highest level coz she is the central of attraction for the whole college and just a short glance at her figure gives you the blueprint of the latest outfit available in the nearest selected showrooms of the capital. Needless to say, she was brought up from the best school of the country Delhi Public School, RK Puram with Cl-X (92) % & Cl-X11 (96.5) % under CBSE and Peter Tangkhul, a senior friend from, Ukhrul, Manipur, moulded me academically by spoon feeding the grass root necessities and the various steps required for achieving a perfect grade in my subject that I was striving, for the whole three years, 72 % only was my final score in my B Sc and the reason behind my good grades could be fully attributed to the God sent brother Peter Tangkhul for me, who himself was the College as well as DU's topper in Botany both in B Sc & M Sc. [He is an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer posted in Uttaranchal) now].
Thus, the most beautiful lady of the College finally became my girlfriend and the guy I misjudged as my enemy earlier, rather turns out to be the only person that guides me to strive forward towards the mission I was sent for in Delhi. So, I thanked the Almighty father for providing me a pretty lovely girlfriend but asked Him to forgive me about my wicked and ill feelings towards the Tangkhul Nagas in general and to my senior Peter Tangkhul in particular.
Although, I didn't attend the first day of College, a huge knowledge about the College pour in from the websites, prospectus and senior friends. The knowledge that 'Amitabh Bachan' a bolly wood blockbuster and a good number of Politicians in the present central UPA government were the alumni of this College gave me great tidings of joy. This prepared me ready for the 1st day of College with great hopes in my mind; it was Tuesday morning straight from hell. As I lifted the thin blanket off my head gingerly, the bright red letters of the digital clock provided the only light in the room. The blurred letters resolved themselves when I touch my eyelids; the time reads 6:49 AM, my first thought was I would need to shave. My stubble was almost three days old, not having felt a razor since Friday evening (I was attending YWAM's friday fellowship in Hudson Lines near DU campus, the night when i last shaved & skipped Kuki Worship Service the following sunday, and in exchange went to the great second hand market called Sunday market/chori bazar near Red Fort/Lal Quila). Years ago, under the misguided advice of friend in school that girls liked guys with beards, I had briefly nurtured the ambition of growing one myself, but those were shelved when I realized that even when my follicles did their best, the sprouting that resulted did not resemble a beard even remotely.
I hired an auto rickshaw from Patel Chest Hospital junction and headed towards the College to reach in time & jumped down from the rickshaw after disputing over 3 minutes with the rickshaw puller for the fare, in fact that was the very first time my broken hindi finds its appearance in public debate: So, the courage I posses arguing with him so long was praiseworthy (recollecting those past memories, I now could boldly proclaim that the rickshaw puller didn't got a single correct hindi word from me). May be t'was the only reason the dispute was won by me. I showed my admission slip to the gate keeper and enter the College to attend my first class, I was late for about 15 minutes coz my Chinese digital watch's degrading battery makes the faulty. It was organic Chemistry's practical class and I was wandering, looking for the exact room where B Sc (H) Botany 1st year Chemistry practical was held but ~ amongst the ten or so identical buildings each with an added storey similar in design and structures, some one really needed to help me out.. So, I approached a giant figured guy whom I formerly supposed to be the watchdog of the College security matters like those seen in pub/disco halls in cities..:-p, but in my astonishment he too was a student of the same College, B Com Pass 1st year and was his second day in College, only a day senior to me. So, he knew nothing about the classrooms and the various departments; seems like ~ he himself was also looking for the particular room were Book Keeping classes of B Com Pass 1st year was going on. I again went straight towards the aqua-guard water filters where many throng together hoping that someone could guide me to the Chemistry practical room for sure; hmm, I could sense the presence of 3 Mongoloid faceted boys in the far corner of the other block from amongst a multitude of central Indian breeds.
As I try to continue my 2nd approach to the Bihari guy standing in front of me, out of expectation - a guy with a Chinese looks touch my solders calmly, saying!! Hi..I am Peter Tangkhul from Ukhrul, Manipur B Sc (H) Botany final year, a hosteler; " May I know your good name and in which Dept you got enrolled to"??. The first thought that struck me when he said he belonged to the Tangkhul tribe was ~ Goddamit! You frigging Klutz!!. Why the good God allowed the blood thirsty Nagas that butchered my near and dear ones at the Joupi massacre to excel well in studies at this highly priced institution and that too, the subject's I am to struggle for the next three complete years. As I felt uncomfortable with the mentioned of the word 'tangkhul', my manner unknowingly goes awkward within seconds, guess; he recognized something was wrong with me but I replied his question after a short gap.."I am Lalboi Haokip from Churachandpur, Manipur, B Sc (H) Botany, a fresher looking for Organic Chemistry's practical room". On hearing my li'l introduction, he quickly guided me to the Chemistry Dept. and warned me about the strictness of that very concern Professor-giving me his own hostel room number plus mobile number. The sympathy he showed me continued to dwelt deep down inside me until I step in, into the room to join my fellow classmates for the first time. Since, I was late for about twenty minutes by the time; roll call for the particular class was over. The Professor was busy lecturing the basics of Organic Chemistry using the giant black cemented board on the wall and after thirty minutes of non-stop lecture; apparatus, lockers, test tubes, cones, etc needed for the whole 1st year Chemistry practical class was distributed to us.
I must be honest to admit my mischievous deeds^ right from the moment my left foot touch the practical room's floor, I was preoccupied with a nonchalant mood of choosing the most beautiful lad in the class, rolling my head from one corner to the other corner of the room, trying my best to locate the cool dudes within the shortest possible time..:-p. & concluded the task by selecting a fair lean stature lad whose name happens to be Richika Kapoor, a business man's daughter whose father an Alumni of SRCC, DU & IIM Ahmedabad. (I got this valuable inf. after consulting shyly to one of my classmates during the class itself), the other two Priyanka Khanduri, a Kashmiri Politician's daughter who holds Jammu & Kashmir, Home plus Finance and Shaiya, a Manipuri girl brought up in Delhi where his father, a Professor at the prestigious Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI), Delhi works: the 1st, 1st runners & 2nd runners up respectively* as if I was given the supreme authority to select the best lad of the class.
The actual practical class went well, with each one determined with the zeal to get the best chemical reactions after three months of complete rest, post class-12 examination and in the course of the hectic practical class where all got saturated in his/her own work; a chubby friend with thick bearded face, probably hailing from the neighboring Punjab or Haryana state, standing at the middle of the 2nd row next to me, did a big mistake in his experiment by over adding "Hydrogen Sulphide" in the boiler, producing a huge dark smoke with unpleasant odor, which was indeed inhaled by my most valued girl in the class making her dizzy and unconscious, but she tried her best to act normally. I knew in advance that her head will hit the hard concrete cemented floor if not handled tight at the earliest time but still doesn't gain the courage to do so: I began to concentrated more on her than my practical work by then..within few seconds - like the sudden strike of lightning! she stooped low, so, I embraced her tight and save her from falling further; in the process touch her extremely soft and delicate tissue "her breast". I was so nervous at the first instance thinking my action was too stupid: for the very first class of my day in college, the very first touch I ever had in the highly restricted area of the opposite sex, to the one and only lady I admired in the class but many of my classmates including the Professor himself praised me for my timely action.
The victimized lady was taken to the Delhi University's health centre "WURTZ HOSPITAL" and was never seen again that day. The following day, she greeted me with big praise thanking me thrice for the Samaritan work. That very incident makes our relationship perfectly close with the passage of time and finally bloom into a serious love affairs. I considered myself the luckiest guy in the whole universe and a great many of boys in the College envy me for my beau. It somehow built up my personality to the highest level coz she is the central of attraction for the whole college and just a short glance at her figure gives you the blueprint of the latest outfit available in the nearest selected showrooms of the capital. Needless to say, she was brought up from the best school of the country Delhi Public School, RK Puram with Cl-X (92) % & Cl-X11 (96.5) % under CBSE and Peter Tangkhul, a senior friend from, Ukhrul, Manipur, moulded me academically by spoon feeding the grass root necessities and the various steps required for achieving a perfect grade in my subject that I was striving, for the whole three years, 72 % only was my final score in my B Sc and the reason behind my good grades could be fully attributed to the God sent brother Peter Tangkhul for me, who himself was the College as well as DU's topper in Botany both in B Sc & M Sc. [He is an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer posted in Uttaranchal) now].
Thus, the most beautiful lady of the College finally became my girlfriend and the guy I misjudged as my enemy earlier, rather turns out to be the only person that guides me to strive forward towards the mission I was sent for in Delhi. So, I thanked the Almighty father for providing me a pretty lovely girlfriend but asked Him to forgive me about my wicked and ill feelings towards the Tangkhul Nagas in general and to my senior Peter Tangkhul in particular.
~ THE END ~
Na jih nal le Chalpu...
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