Oh Those Ten! - 5

Nanbaen Da!

Impact-wise,this is the weakest of the ten.I did not get into any tough club or conduct a Renaissance or win a Footloose place in Intrams for Byxtroczarz (Good writing needs a taste of humour even if it is awkwardly forced). The moment is about me and him sitting in a crowded bus,himself in my lap and both of us talking about why Vijay and Ajith.There is something so commonplace about it except that in hindsight,it assumes gargantuan emotional undercurrents.

Jayaprakash was called so in the First day of Tech Life.From the second day,his name became a more simpler "Kosu" appropriately reminding him of his dimunitive size.He very soon became "Just a Kosu"-a more casual and uber-cool version.But he was far from a Kosu at heart.

In the first semester exams,both of us worked hard for Maths amidst Billa,rain and Young Alumni Meet work.While everyone else left for home hastily,both of us were volunteering for Cricket matches in Young Alumni Meet.When Amma called me to ask why I was not coming home,I told her "Myself and JP are organising an important event in college" and went back to pick up balls which were hit out of the ground.That there was a sense of pride in doing such menial work is a mystery yet to be unravelled.

JP was that kind of a person who always thought about his friends.He rarely had money in his pocket and the odd day he had 100 rupees,he will ask everyone "Naan iruken vaa da.Kayendhi bhavan polam!".But Nature never respects a person's nature.In the second year,JP bunked classes at will and slept in the hostel.Sabari and Mahadevan tried to wake him up every morning only to get the appeals "dust-bin"ed.Since I was in another block and I myself was no Kandha Manokar to run to classes on time,I could do nothing but regret later.

JP got debarred owing to shortage of attendance and suddenly,a guy who had always looked like our junior became our junior.He always kept coming back to our rooms for solace.Even before a supplementary exam,he was in our block watching movie.Myself and Sabari started scolding him and chased him away to his block so that he could study.Even when he started working for Kriya this year,my fears began that his sweat should not affect his academics.He ended up working more for Kriya than myself.

What was such an affectionate relation initially became so apprehensive in my third year.I started talking less to him so that he can go and study.When he was playing cricket with us,I had to talk harshly so that he went back to Operating Systems.I so desperately want to get back to the Fourth Semester.That time when a week was off due to a true Tamilian's suicide.

February 2009.Myself and JP ran from one bus to another in Gandhipuram bus stand and when we got into one,what we got was a single seat.JP weighed a litle more than feather and so,he sat in my lap.For more than 200 minutes,I did not advise him to study.I did not frighten him about the future.We talked about girls (and even fought who was the most beautiful girl in class.Only after 2 years do I realise that everyone is beautiful),Ajith,Vijay,IPL and kept laughing for one triviality or the other.

When he got down at Salem,he moved away completely never to get back into my bus again.As said earlier,important moments in history need not have a grand flavour.I do not wish to conduct Kriya again.I do not wish to get into ELS again.I do not wish India to win a world cup again.But I wish to go for that bus trip with JP thousand times over and relive those simple yet delightful moments of love.