Smaal part, since my laptop died. And i wrote this one at the computer centre. Please note that, the words in bold letter are of the time when Armaan goes to Mumbai.
Part-5
Drapper's Effect
30th Sep '08, 9:38 pm, Leelavati Hospital
"Where is Rahul?" I asked the receptionist. There were many people; in fact there was a huge crowd. I was there after making rounds of police-stations and other hospitals.
"Who is Rahul?" The receptionist asked me back.
"Rahul Grewal, injured in the attack."
"I don't know."
"What? You don't know, then what are you doing here?"
"Look MR. Many people have been admitted here, and we don't have their records,"
"Just check once." I pleaded.
"I told you, we don't have."
"Check once." I banged my fist on her desk so hard that the computer kept there sheiverd.
"Okay okay," she looked terrified as if I was the terrorist.
"Sir, can you please wait for 5 minutes, I'll surely tell you about your patient." She said.
"Huh," I sat down on the bench nearby. My cell phone rang, it was Dad's call.
"Hey son, how are you?" he spoke.
"Fine dad, as usual. How is mom now?"
"Your mom is good now. You didn't call so I called you to inform."
"Ph sorry dad, have been busy in projects." I didn't tell him where I was.
"Don't study too much, Armaan. Enjoy. It's the best years of your life."
"Okay dad, bye, I'll call you back later."
"Okay, have fun."
'Don't study too much.' My dad's words. Had it been few years back, it would have been 'work hard.' But he had changed, everything had changed. I was changed. But changing the conditions doesn't change the person totally. By boiling the water, its pH can be lowered to 6.5625 but that doesn't mean that water isn't neutral anymore. It's due to greater dissociation of water into H+ and OH- ions. Like that, I hadn't changed completely.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 years back,
"How is college going?" My dad asked me. Unfortunately I was at home.
"Good." I responded.
"Dinner is ready, come." Mom called us, thank God.
"How is the food of the mess?" She asked.
"Horrible," I always answered these two creatures in one-word.
"I told you to live here only, but you chose hostel."
I didn't answer.
"I heard, there was a quiz this week?" Dad asked.
"Yes,"
"What was your rank?"
"Fir….fifteen." I didn't tell them that I had topped. You think I am crazy, yes, I am.
"Work hard, it's not good at all."
"But dad, 15 is also a very good rank among 150 students."
"Your aim should be the top rank, first position." I tell you if I had the power, I would have hit him right there.
"I topped it, now are you happy?"
Toped? You said 15th rank.
"I topped, I was testing you."
"What testing?"
"That, have you changed or you are the same now also." I finished the dinner, and went towards my room, my ole beloved room, in my not so beloved home.
"Look, what has he became now, testing his dad, I tell you, he will not go far if he…." I closed the door. I had had enough of his crappy speeches the previous two years.
The room was pretty much same as I had left it. I had especially orderd mom not to touch my stuff. I looked at my guitar, two strings broken, the same one for which my cycle had left me.
I searched for my school bag. It was thrown at a corner. I picked it up, opened. It still contained the largest collecting of my unpublished poetries, papers of few centuries old unite tests, audio cds of strings, metallica, nirvana, junoon. In my dad's opinion, Nirvana might be the best band in the world but that doesn't lead to Nirvana. Why the hell parents are like this?
Earlier the next morning, I was back at the campus.
"Where had you been last night?" Rahul asked me.
"Home."
"Why? Scared of the aatma?"
"No way." One peacefully wandering aatma of a hot chick is better than two ever-blabbering scary ghost at home.
"Okay now you go, I want to sleep." I said.
"What? Aren't you coming to the class."
"No, I am damn tired. Good Night."
"Good Morning."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At noon, I was grossing the food when Rahul came.
"Hey, how was the lecture?" I asked.
"Pathetic."
After few minutes Riddhima also joined us. I looked at her plate.
"Don't you eat brinjal?" I asked her as I was eating brinjal but she hadn't it on her plate.
"Brinjal?"
"This," I pointed to that.
"That's pumpkin, not brinjal. And I don't eat both."
"Oh, but its looking like brinjal and taste is same. I guess it's the magic of our mess."
Both Riddhima and Rahul smiled.
"I should not ask you but cant control. I haven't seen you with other girls, don't yopu talk yo them?" I asked her.
"No, I don't like talking to them. They only bitch about each other."
"We boys aren't any different. If you give me Rs. 100, I can mix cyanide in Rahul's rayta." I said.
Rahul was sipping Rayta but eventually stopped midway when I said that.
"I haven't mixed yet. Go on." I told him.
"Expect the same from me." He winked at me.
"See, that the case with you boys. You say those thing directly, face to face. But girls don't." Riddhima said.
"True," spoke Rahul and I just smiled like an idiot.
We silently consumed the food thereafter. Hell, I want getting any topic for conversation. Was it due to Rahul's presence? Damn him.
"We should leave now, people are looking for space." She said after we finished.
"Okay, bye."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Look for the aatma, tonight," Rahul told me at night.
"Are you mad?"
"You should,"
"Okay, if you say so, I will wake you up if any thing happens. And where are you going?"
"Library."
"Don't study too much. Don't you know Drapper's Effect, if you roam around and feel warm then temperature increases and thus volume increases. so if you study less then also the quantity of the knowledge grossed will be bigger than normal condition. Follow this rule."
"What the hell is this? Are you coming with me?"
"No, go to hell."
That night I was looking for the aatma at 2 am. Chhin Chhin Chhin, I sprinted out of my bed and looked out of the window. Damn, it was just a guard who chained his not-so-precious-bike on which he used to roam around the campus.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Excuse me sir." The receptionist called me.
"Yes, where is he?"
"Sir, he has been discharged."
"Discharged, but I saw yesterday him being taken to hospital at news channel."
"They must be showing old clips sir. And, yes he is discharged just now, about 20 minutes ago, just when you came. You must be happy sir, he is fine now."
"Oh yeah. Can I get his address?"
"Sorry sir, we don't have."
"You don't have anything." I was pissed off.
"Sorry sir,"
"Okay."
I left the hospital. Armaan, he is fine now. Let's go back, an internal voice came.
Should I go back without meeting him? Should I? No way. I'll meet him, I had made the decision.
Hindi TV Shows
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
41