A Heartbeat-Revived again

A New World

Not every story has to start with a beginning. For some are meant to experience the curse of endings. My dawn, his dusk.

"It's breathtaking Papa". I told my father, as he proudly smiled at me. The whiffs of the fresh gentle morning breeze, garnished with soothing delicate streaks of early morning sunlight and a pristine view in front, behind and everywhere till your eyes can search for. Lush blue green hills, embraced by small puffs of mist and fog, made more serene, by the glittering ALAKANANDA river, swirling and twirling at the foothills. I wanted to grasp it. All of it, all at once and never let go of it.

Like a mystical enchantress unveils its beauty, Srinagar was and still is a destination, where you can say "Eternal heavenish bliss."It's that immortally rejoicing bride of Uttarakhand that you could lose your heart at, just at her one blush. I bet, it can make you fall in 'Love at the first sight'.

"Live your life to the fullest my dear Mr.Shan Mehra. You are in college and you hadn't done it till now. Its either now or never." My father told me with a concern. A concern that his son wouldn't be, as he was in college.

I was already becoming that what he feared for me. Big nerdy glasses,no dressing sense,absent minded, withdrawn, no girlfriend, never good in sports and all those stereotypes set for being a geek. Isn't it amusing. Maybe it is for any supercool stud you have around you.As for me -it was suffocating. I wanted to be who I am, the way I should be only I can decide that. How can anyone else set an appearance code for me?

Leaving those thoughts, I stood there, along with my father, in front of an institution, spellbound by the ambience and the name that was displayed on the magnificent board at its apex. I had devoted my last three years of life to stand at that place, in that situation, to read those words:

"VEER CHANDRA SINGH GARHWALI GOVT. MEDICAL SCIENCES AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE".

When someone around me enquired from me (instead of knowing the hardships to clear a Pre Medical Test) that "It would have taken a bit of effort na?"

I boiled in frustration at the bit of effort and answered with curtsey to that blithering idiot."My dear, it is not called a bit of effort .It's called ascetics or 'tapasya', considering the level of your intellect. Self denial, self- discipline, withholding any kind of pleasure other than textbooks. Do you even understand the meaning of these words?"

With trembling hands and shaking lips, shocked enough to utter a word, as I had finally said 33 days back:

"STATE RANK 30".My whole family went mad. Drums were banged, sweet-meats distributed and stuffed in my mouth, by each next well-wisher or relative attending my home, just to congratulate me. Those who danced, lifted the home on their heads, those who earlier didn't, joined them and those who couldn't encouraged the healthy disease free folk with their claps, shouts and hurls. When I eventually got the allotment letter for this college, from the state counselling board, I saw something beautiful. My father tried his best. Still he couldn't hide his tears from me.

At last there I was, in front of the college gate .In less than 5 hours I became a student at 'GMC' SRINAGAR. In less than5 days, I was transported with bag and baggage, from RISHIKESH to SRINAGAR, safely to my hostel room.

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"Both my parents are doctors. They never let any amenity away from me. For my happiness they may have paid the enormous capitation fees at any affluent private medical college. But I wanted to fulfil their one lifelong dream -I believe I had done it; the day I saw, other than love, pride in their eyes for me."

"My father is a clerk at a private bank .Mom is a housewife. We never had a luxurious lifestyle .We just got what was seriously needed. Except for education. My parents educated me in the best schools of the city. It was more than they could afford. Still, they did it!"

"BEST SCHOOLS. Ha-ha! Education was possible because there are cheap government schools in INDIA. What we call as cheap, the rich call as cost free. Coaching for the entrance exams, was at the mercy of bank loans. What else can a cobbler's son expect?"

Many other such stories wandered in the hostel rooms, roamed in the gallery, lingered in the halls, mess, canteen, and lecture theatres of the 2013 fresher batch of GMC SRINAGAR. Accounts of struggle, experiences of dedication; but at last they were here. Happy. Ecstatic. Exultant. All at once. Glee sparkled in their eyes and the splendour of reaching their dream led to an atmosphere of merrymaking, friendship, cheer, guffawing,porn, friendly abuses,late night partying, booze and life at its best. Just a few months back they were prisoners of life in hell -Coaching class labour in India as you know it .I was in a fix, whether to start drinking or not.

While I was gathering data about shots,cocktails and mocktails-far above in the clouds, someone had planned something for me. Something neither enticing nor alluring but completely shocking.