College !

I don't remember much about college. I was loner back then and I did not make many friends. Not even enemies. I was this guy who was a part of no group, sometimes by volition and sometimes by omission. So I have no fond memories to even think about let alone share. Or is there one?

Yes, there is. There is one distinct memory that I always carry around with me. Like the arm that is hinged to my shoulder, this memory is glued to my brain and it keeps me alert except when I am having one of my brain-fags, which I do have more often than not. (Note: Right now, as I am writing this, I am not having one. Believe me.)

It was my third-year summer holidays. The sixth semester exams were in the past and the class was in the brink of campus placements. Two months, that's what we got to get ourselves ready. That's the time we had to transform ourselves from being a mark-craving-teacher-hating-holiday-loving college student-pretense to a grade-craving-boss-hating-holiday-loving professional-pretense.

We started at that by moving into our new rooms in a new block(New block? We had spent the first year in college in that block. So not so new, after all.)

I was given a room on the second floor(or was it the first? I am able to settle on either) which I shared(really??) it with four others who exercising their right to movement, abandoned me and moved to other rooms in search of better company.

So yet again, I was left alone. To my walkman and something inexplicable.

Those were the times the ideologies of atheism attracted me more than the curves of Anuskha Shetty. Those were the times my bushy moustache was growing denser than that of a Iosif Stalin. Those were the times I started turning into someone I have never been before. And those were the times I was lonely.

My room was on the edge of my college campus and the adjacent medical college, my bed by the window, right over a Vinayagar temple that lay at the entrance of the med. The temple was marked neither by grandeur or antiquity. It was just any other temple you'd bump into in street corners, or on deserted highways. But it had something about it that was intriguing.

It projected an air of calmness and imparted peace into the minds of its visitors. And I really was attracted to this temple.

It opens at six in the morning and close at nine at night. Though open for over twelve hours, it attracted maximum devotees between five and eight in the evening. It must have been the gentle breeze and the fading lights or so I believe.

It was one of these leisurely evenings, I saw her for the first time. From the top. The darkness of the night and a bloody tree providing shade to the temple obstructed my vision.

She was tall. And lean. She had a maroon kurta and a blue jean. The only other feature that I was presented with was her closely-cropped dark hair. Let me tell you, it was not a boyish cut. Just closely-cropped.

I didn't know who she was. I didn't get a glimpse of her face. But I liked the way she carried herself. I liked the way she prayed. I like the way she circumambulated the sanctum. I liked the way she sat on the floor, legs crossed, hands folded.

In the less than four words, I liked her.

The next couple of months were a blast. Everyday, with my headphones on and a book open in front of me, I used to sit by my window and wait for her. The wait never felt too long even if it stretched over days(she really did skip a few days).

A thousand others visited the temple everyday. But I could tell her apart.

Days rolled, some brought happiness and others just nothingness. By the end of two months, I wasn't in love with her, I had no crush on her, and I wasn't infatuated. I was simply addicted to her.

But one day, it all came to an end. The summer holidays lapsed and I stepped into the final year by moving into another room.

Sleepless nights ensued. Food tasted sore. And I lost my mind. All I wanted was to get a glimpse of her. Once.

I had to wait for almost four months for that day.

She was dressed in a white kurta and a blue jean(yeah, the same one). She was tall and lean. And was walking towards me.

I recognised her at once even from a 100 feet away. A slight smile lit up my face. I just couldn't hold back my excitement as I walked towards her.

As I got close, this happened http://www.myorkutglitter.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/baby-cry.gif