An Incredible Journey of 4 Friends!!

The following story dates back to the incredible summer of 2005. The 5th semester University exams of our engineering course had just begun. The first 3 papers had gone well for me and 3 of my close friends and classmates - Jaidev, Amit and Viraj. We had bonded quite well in the 1st year itself and used to study together in a group for the exams.

The next paper, "Communication Skills" was after a 3 day holiday. None of us had bothered to touch the CS book the whole semester, still we were taking things easy. Reason being, this paper - CS, was in many ways very similar to the English language paper we had in our 10th/12th and hence was considered a piece of cake by us!!

The first 2 days of the 3 day study break went by in a breeze. We would sit down to study but just could not concentrate. We would either get chatting on something or the other or sleep away like a king... the time just flew by. Out of the 4 of us, at least 2 would not be in a mood to study which meant that the whole group would be distracted and CS would take a back seat.

The Day Before The Exam...

Having wasted yet another morning, we were all sitting in my hostel room having just returned after taking a heavy lunch. After an hour of incessant yawning, Amit spoke, "Let us go into the forest today!!!", looking intently at the thick forest which lay at a distance, visible from the window.

Our college was surrounded by lush thick forests on all sides and comprised hilly terrain. We 4 (Jaidev, Amit, Viraj and myself Dhiraj) regularly ventured deep into those jungles and found great joy discovering new trails, climbing trees, crossing valleys, studying the vast flora and fauna, eating mangoes, jamuns, karvands etc... Once in a week, at least, we would go out to explore the forests which many would find intimidating to look at even from a distance! Sometimes, friends joined us for a trek but they would never come back next time as they found the whole expedition very arduous. But we loved spending time in there... trekking and walking for hours... Unfortunately, it had been over a month now, since we have had one of our routine excursions as we were all busy preparing for our upcoming exams. Needless to say then, the mere thought of it had got me excited!

View from my Hostel Room Window,
the vast jungle lays beyond...

"Yeah, let's go there. As it is, we are not studying. It will take our mind off the studies and freshen us up too!", I chipped in, always eager for a break.

"You have got to be kidding me!! Break? Break is what we have been having since our last exam got over... This is simply ridiculous!", Viraj tried to take stock of the situation, looking a touch worried.

"What is there to study in CS anyways? We have not studied these 2 days because there is nothing to study!", Jaidev blurted out, most of which I thought was not true.

I suddenly intervened Jaidev, "I have an idea!!" Now they all froze because they knew whenever I spoke those words it meant that something really unimaginable was coming their way!

"Today we will carry our CS books too with us. A 250 odd page book won't pose any burden and we will study under the Mango tree for sometime! This way we get to go into the jungle and we get to study too!!", I said with an air of nonchalance while glancing at Viraj.

Viraj, the most studious of us buddies, dint look quite convinced but his love for nature finally got over him.

"OK then, let’s go! It’s been pretty long and I am myself missing the greenery and dense vegetation!" said Viraj with a faint smile on his lips and a glint in his eyes.

At about 5 in the evening, we left for the wilderness escaping through the side of the hostel through the barbed wires. Our CS books, a couple of loose sheets and a pen dangled loosely from our back pockets.

We trekked for about an hour and a half, forgetting all about the exam scheduled for the next day at 10 am. We crossed narrow paths strewn with dried leaves, passed through rocky areas, and waded through small streams most of which had dried... 

The Jungle Adventure Begins...
You can see how dense the Jungle is...
It is so gloomy...

Partners in Crime :P

Is that a Snake?? Or a creeper??

Some Sweet Moments... Frozen!

We observed the ever busy ants walking busily in a long disciplined line, red colored crabs besides a dried pond in a desolated area, prayed at the Shiva Temple which was situated in a dark cave and went through areas strewn with cacti plants...

Thorny Cacti Shrubs

We then approached the large Alphonso Mango tree which was laden with big, juicy, ripe, yellowish green Mangoes.

Amit climbed up the tree in a jiffy along with Jaidev, both of them taking care not to disturb the large ant colonies situated at the foot of the tree. I and Viraj, meanwhile stood with handkerchiefs spread to collect the booty! After we had collected some 2 dozen Mangoes, both of them climbed down.

Ant Hill (can you spot the ants?)

Usually, we would eat them on our way back to our hostel rooms and distribute the surplus amongst our room mates. But today, we decided to clear a small patch of land under the tree and relish them there itself while studying CS for a while. We collected some large banana leaves to make our seating comfortable!!

The trees towered high above us forming an umbrella that blocked away most of the light! Thus light was always scarce and at 6.30 pm, it felt like night would fall soon. We collected some dried twigs and leaves (available aplenty), lit it and sat around it in a circle.

Sunset -- Time to head back?? ..Naaaahh..!!

As we were relishing the Hapoos Aam, Viraj slowly took out his CS book. We did the same.  A subtle change had come over us. There was a fire in our eyes. For the first time in 3 days, we all seemed serious about the exam as we discussed parts from the syllabus. The fact that it was an University Exam had finally dawned on us.

After about an hour, it had gone completely dark. Night had befallen. It was unanimously decided that since we were finally studying at that place and since it would be very difficult and risky to go to the campus in that darkness, we would spend the night there itself!!!

The night was spent well, with those rough pages and pens which we had casually brought with ourselves finding use. There were plenty of doubts which cropped up but most of them were solved easily. It was a subject probably resembling the English Language paper about 70% but there was much more to it. None of us slept even for a moment that night. We knew we were too far away from the college and in too dense a part, so there was no danger about someone noticing our bonfire. The cool night breeze relieved us greatly from the blazing hot summer that we were witnessing at that time. Thousands of fire flies kept glowing in perfect sync flashing greenish yellow light in one corner every few seconds, the toads croaked all night, the insects created a ruckus, the dogs barked often at a distance... But nothing deterred us from studying. There was no frivolous gossip, no time passing. By the time the first rays of the Sun broke through, we had finished off CS as also the Mangoes!!

We were done with the subject in just one night... a subject we had not even bothered to touch during the whole semester! The most surprising thing was that none of us felt tired or sleepy. We felt fresh and excited... We trekked back to our hostel, each one of us took a long cold water bath and we were ready to leave to write the exam.

Trailing Back Finally..after an adventurous night of Studies! The college visible in the distance!!!

The exam went well and the rest of the papers too, soon got over. When the results were declared a month later, we 4 were in for a pleasant surprise. We were in the top 7 scorers for the subject. When others asked us how our whole group had managed to secure top positions in CS, we just shrugged our shoulders and replied "Hard Work!!!"

The hard grind and the stress associated with University Engineering Exams meant that we never studied in the forest again. That was a night which was extra ordinary and incredible in more ways than one. We did many bizarre activities during our college days but this incident still ranks right up there with others!!!

Our group still has discussions about that night whenever we meet or talk... We still imagine ourselves sitting below our favorite Mango Tree... in that dense jungle, on the night before our University exams... and coming out as Winners...

PS - This is a true story and all the photographs used are original.

PPS - This post is written for the Incredible Stories! Contest sponsored by MahindraXUV500 and Indiblogger.

PPPS - If you are an Indiblogger and like the post you can promote it here - An Incredible Journey of 4 Friends!!

Sachin TONdulkar

A Special Guest Post from my friend Leo (Vinay) who writes wonderful poems, stories and haikus at his space - I Rhyme Without Reason and is an ardent cricket fan...

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Today, the 16^th of March 2012 will remain etched in history. Not of the nation, but of the national cricket team. Oh! who am I kidding? Of course, it’ll be part of the nation too.

For one year, and four days, every match India played was anxiously awaited. Every time, he stepped foot on the cricket field, he was received with cheers, and there was no necessity for any public announcement as to who the next batsman was for the Indian team. After all, for the best part of 22 years, he was the one who guided India to many victories; his name had become synonymous with the Indian team name, and an ambassador for the game the world over. If even a single taken by this batsman was cheered, it was because the entire nation; nay, the entire world; was expecting that that first single would be succeeded by ninety nine more.

If it was Rampaul in the West Indies tour that denied him and Siddle in the Australian tour, the expectation of him to reach that century was becoming a responsibility to him. On a sultry Friday afternoon, when the clock was showing a time between four and five in the evening (sorry, I was too busy cheering, to notice exact time), Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar went past that elusive milestone of a hundredth international hundred. A lazy flick, to mid wicket, was captured by multiple cameramen, and the audience at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Mirpur rose to their feet to give the “Little Master” a standing ovation. And I joined them, to applaud the feat that might never be eclipsed.

Just around fifteen balls before, Rameez Raja in the commentary box had told something. “Come on Sachin, you are making me nervous with all this drama and dot balls.” He was referring to the carefulness with which the little master played after crossing the eighty run mark. A maiden over to Mortaza, and dot balls to both Razzak and al-Hasan… yes, the country was anxious too, and in retrospect, I wish he’d not have been as careful. A few runs, maybe even ten or twelve from those dot balls… and the match could have been more secure. Yes, the pitch was on the slower side perhaps, and the Bangla bowlers bowled well, but a little more Dhoni-esque innings, like how he played once he got to that century, that’d have been a welcome relief to both the nation’s nervousness, and also the target on board.

(image courtesy : cricinfo.com)

To the match itself, when the innings break was on, I remember telling myself, “290 against the Bangladeshis is quite a decent score”. Perhaps I spoke out loud, and my father heard… he immediately told me, “Don’t think so. This Bangladesh team is much stronger than before. Don’t take them for granted”. Golden words to live by… I didn’t take to heart, and when Nazimuddin fell early, I remember writing in Indi thread that they’re already facing Everest, and telling DS that Bangladesh will collapse. I eat my words, and with wholehearted words, I commend the deserving victors, the Bangladesh team. If it was Tamim and Jahirul who steadied the ship with a well paced partnership, it was the all round skills and power hitting of Shakib al Hasan and cool mind of Nasir Hossain that pushed them nearer. And by the time Praveen Kumar got the lucky wicket of Nasir, the skipper Rahim had hit some lusty blows to the fence off Irfan, and the match was well and truly settled.

As an avid supporter of Team India, I am truly disappointed, and I try to convince myself that this loss was just a bump on the road, that it was only that we had met better opposition. As an impartial mind, seeing from a neutral perspective, I still see the dot balls clearly... whereas the Bangla players took the batting powerplay as a launchpad to launch a frontal assault in the final 15, the Indians had gradually slowed. Maybe it was the lack of more runs towards the end that cost India this match, but a total of 290, no matter what my dad say; against Bangladesh… it could’ve been defended, right? I do hope that in the celebrations and attention that our hero (and no doubts about that, he is a hero) will get, that this loss to Bangladesh, and the collective failures in the recent past, they won’t be forgotten…

A Walk Down Memory Lane...

Childhood memories… Aren’t they some of the most precious and priceless ones that we possess? Yet, we can barely recall anything significant from our childhood days. All we remember is probably playing lagori and cricket with our friends, attending school and sometimes bunking it by feigning stomachache, fighting with our siblings and cousins, etc. Why?

Because time has a curious way of blurring out what has passed. Time causes these memories to gather multiple layers of dust and they are usually forgotten as they get pushed down, lower and lower, in the dark and deep far away unused recesses of our complex brain. Most of these memories are lost forever but a very minuscule percentage of these remain etched in our mind, as fresh, as though they were an occurrence of yesterday…

One such childhood memory which, I think of quite often is the family night walk that we used to go on every Saturday - My parents, me and my younger sister. We had this routine for many years; wherein, we used to go for a long and slow walk after dinner. We would walk as slowly as we could, lazily covering about 3 kilometers on each of those walks. What a nice little 'Family Time' it used to be, a few hours of some real and pure fun and entertainment! Before embarking on the walk, my mom would caution me – Beta, gudiya ka khyal rakhna aur hamare saath saath rehna. Though I would have barely been around 10 yrs or something, still these words would always wake up the responsible brother in me. Holding my cute little sisters smallest finger of her left hand tight, together we would step out in a new world, the real world. One of our favorite stroll highlights was the visit to the local garden. Mom and Dad would occupy a park bench leaving us both, all by ourselves to have the time of our lives. The entire garden is ours, we are completely free! We would amuse and giggle and then roll down on those soft green grassy slopes!

(image courtesy: snapshotpics.com)

We’d watch the flowers available in all shapes, sizes and colors blooming all over the garden, or stand on that wooden bridge above the small pond gaping at the milky white ducks or try to spot some fish in the water or just run around racing, trying to outdo each other in who touches that light pole first. I reached first! No, no, it was me! Hehe, how we would bicker kiddishly!

Ah!!! JOY… JOY was such a cheap commodity then!!! In those times, kids derived extreme joy and unadulterated happiness playing with an empty Cardboard Box... For the kids of today's generation, the novelty of playing with an X-Box fades away in a couple of weeks!!! Those halogen filled gas balloons, the occasional chocolate ice creams, the ferry-wheel car rides by the pavements, the multicolored icy golas with the extra juice, the fluffy pinky candy floss… I still recall, how merry it was for us, complete bliss… how we used to take pleasure in the simple sweet moments of life, unmindful of the traffic of people swarming around us, unmindful of any word – worry – ever existing in the dictionaries of life, unmindful that... time… those precious minutes, hours and seconds were fast slipping by… taking with itself all these small joyful, real moments, somewhere… far far far away from me…

(image courtesy: thewallpapers.org)

I am often left wondering - When, Oh when did we stop going for those much loved and enjoyable walks and why? Perhaps when color and cable TV infiltrated our modest home? Perhaps when tuition's assumed more importance and ate away our time? Perhaps when Dad was transferred out of Mumbai for a year?

Perhaps it was time that snatched it all away from me and perhaps it will be time that will provide me an answer someday, I don’t really know... but I think what I do know, is that I should be extending a sincere vote of thanks to the sincere souls out there for giving me an opportunity to at least relive a real childhood experience through this post! Thank You IndiBlogger and Kissan! :)

PS: If you liked reading my 100% Real Experience, Please do Vote It Up Here! Thank You :)

Rahul 'THE WALL' Dravid - His Career in Figures

Although Rahul Dravid was way above stats but still, cricket is always fascinated by numbers.

Lets have a look at his career stats below.

Also read my tribute to him here - The WALL walks into the Sunset

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF		100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	164	286	32	13288	270	52.31	31258		36	63	1654	21	210	0
ODIs	344	318	40	10889	153	39.16	15284		12	83	950	42	196	14
T20Is	1	1	0	31	31	31.00	21		0	0	0	3	0	0

The WALL walks into the Sunset

Rahul Dravid, known as 'THE WALL' for his stoic defense finally called it a day from all cricket. One of the best batsman to have graced our game, he was a gentleman in the true sense. Always fought hard, gave it his all and made it a joy to watch him bat for those long hours. Never blessed with the talent of Sachin or Ganguly, he achieved his success through sheer hard work, skills honed by hours and hours of practice and determination which was always visible on face.

His finest innings, according to me came in the Kolkata test against a rampaging Aussie team at the peak of their prowess when batting with VVS Laxman, they batted through the day denying them a wicket. This after India were following on. I always remember that day with tears in my eyes and goosebumps all over my body. What a display it was. When they walked off after the end of the day, I stood up and applauded. My Mom and Sister stared at me. It did not matter. I was proud, I don't have words to describe that day.

He was always the perfect team man. When the Indian team wanted a stand by opener in testing overseas conditions, He Opened with a smile. When the team wanted to play an extra batsman, He Kept Wickets with nonchalance. When the selectors called him for the ODI series in England last year because it would swing and seam (and seemingly our youngsters were not able to cope with them), He Went There even as he knew that the selectors would dump him again when India would play on the Indian roads. When someone was in form, He would be dropped down the order and he would accommodate with the teams request with a grin. He probably postponed his retirement after the Indian team completed their campaign in Australia so that the team does not get distracted there.

Even today when he announced his retirement ahead of Sachin and Laxman, he was happy. In spite of knowing that he was in much better form over the last few months than those two.

Rahul, The Game of Cricket will miss you. We fans will miss you. The dressing room will miss you. All The Best for your future.

"There was and is only one Rahul Dravid. There can be no other. I will miss Rahul in the dressing room and out in the middle. I have shared the best moments with him."
India batsman Sachin Tendulkar

"'I've been very lucky to have a really good association with Rahul. He's probably the nicest guy - no he is the nicest guy - that I've met in cricket. He's a phenomenal man. He loves the game with so much passsion, it's in his blood and in his heart."
Australia vice-captain Shane Watson

PS - Images courtesy espncricinfo

Whitewash Looms for Team India - Have we watched the end of an era?

As Indian famed batting line up was being swept away by precise English bowlers, one test after the another, excuses flew thick and fast from the Indian camp... It was said that the pitches were far too green, there was too much seam and swing on offer, players were injured, some others tired after playing the IPL... The hard earned number 1 tag was snatched away from them as the Indians capitulated to lose 4-0.

Pressure grew steadily on the team but it was the senior players, namely Sachin and VVS Laxman who were blamed the most. Sachin kept searching for the 100th 100 but it kept on evading the great man. Laxman looked a pale shadow of what he was in the early 2000's leading up to 2008-2009. Dravid was in imperious form on that tour and escaped backlash from the fans.

The series against West Indies came and went without any significant performance from these three players. India could not even win 3-0 against a young and struggling West Indian team at home in spinning conditions. Surely something was wrong. But, NO, winning 2-0 was enough for the Indian team... The signs were there for all to see... Unfortunately, the team were still blinded... By the IPL riches, by past performances, by thinking that this was just an aberration...

The tour of Australia was next. It was said that this is the best chance for the Indian team to win a series down under. People expected the experienced Indian team to steamroll the young Aussie team in transitional phase. As I type this at the end of day 4 of the last test of the Australian series, India are just 4 wickets away from a humiliating whitewash!

Sachin seemed burdened by the thought of the 100th 100 throughout the series. He seemed in good form in the first two tests but he always had an eye on the scorecard - "How far more to get that 100".

VVS Laxman still played those wristy flicks that defy gravity and laws of physics once in a blue moon, but more often than not his feet seemed stuck in cement. The hands went hard towards the ball instead of the soft touch that was associated with his batting.

Dravid, The Wall, crumbled match by match, bowlers finding ways to penetrate his defense as he kept getting bowled. He seemed baffled as the ball found newer ways to sneak in between the bat and the pad onto the timber. The death knell had been sounded.

"Have we watched the end of an era?", This is the question on every cricket fan's lips, whether he is Indian or just a cricket lover from around the globe.

This is definitely the end of an era, for me. These three may or may not play together in the Indian test team again. Well, they should not, logically. But I hope that they are given farewell matches. Let us, for a moment, remember that perfect straight drive from Tendulkar, the textbook forward defence from Rahul and the ball being flicked from way outside the off stump towards the mid wicket fence from very very special Laxman... I am getting all nostalgic, well lets leave that for some other time...

Three Friends, One Fiery Adventure!!!

Date - 13th October

Year - 2003

Place - D-34

Day - About 12 days before Diwali

Well, D-34 was the hideout (read hostel room) that I shared with 2 room-mates of mine, RS and PT. One night, after having the pretty insipid food served in the mess we returned to our room, discussing how we will be spending the upcoming Diwali (25th October) holidays...

RS started the conversation, "Damn, just 3 days off on Diwali! Come on, we need a real break, man!"

PT added, "Yeah, we used to get around 20 days off in school!!"

I (DS) further added, "And add to this the home sickness, I am so missing home"

Hearing this both RS and PT said in unison, "What do you think, aren't we missing home? Especially the home made food and the television and spending time with friends and family!!"

This was the conversation between a bunch of fresher’s who had just been admitted to an engineering college about 400 kilometers from Mumbai. 

Our college campus was situated at an isolated and peaceful location just off the state highway. The nearest village was 8 kilometers away. The campus perimeter was marked by barbed wires. Beyond these wires were thick forests, barren lands, fields... very little human population inhibited these areas except in remote villages...

Away from home and away from all the warmth of a family, these simple folks were missing the festive atmosphere back home and all the love and affection, not to forget all the feisty gourmet that came along with it which was conspicuous by its absence in the hostel and the college campus in general and all they wanted just wanted was a way to run out of it.

"Can't we leave early so that we can enjoy the festivities back home in Mumbai?" inquired PT.

RS responded almost immediately, as if he had been expecting this question to crop up sooner or later, "May be you are forgetting that we are in college! It’s been barely 15 days since the lectures have started... This is engineering... Not your school, it’s a hard grind here."

"You are absolutely right RS, this is not school. We can just leave... Who need’s permission eh?" I winked.

"Obviously we don't need permission, but there is only one gate in the campus from which everyone has to enter or exit. And the rector is such a prick that he has instructed the guards that no one leaves the gate with any sort of luggage/ bags without his permission!!" RS retorted!

"This is just so miserable, this is hell, well may be… even that is better" PT stammered to which RS and myself agreed resigning ourselves to our wretched fate before finally going off to sleep.

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All of that night and most of the next day, and that included the lectures too, I thought on ways that would enable us to leave a bit early. Some were downright ridiculous like bribing the rector while some others sounded absolutely impossible like leaving the campus empty handed (since we had most of our clothes and basic stuff here with us). But by evening, I was happy that all my efforts had not gone down the drain and I was ready to unveil a reasonable plan to my room-mates after dinner.

That night, soon after returning from the mess.

"Hey RS and PT! I have a neat little plan that will enable us to leave for home early..." I bubbled enthusiastically with a sly smile beaming on my face!

"You are still having flights of fantasy man! Are you not satisfied by our wasteful conversation of yesterday night! Let's discuss something new and more interesting." PT pleaded, reminding us how we had wasted the whole of yesterday night.

But thankfully, for me, RS was a little more positive, "What is the harm in listening it out? He has been pretty smart with this sort of weird ideas right from our school days!"

I started without even waiting for the nod of approval from PT as I was too eager to share my plan with the two of them, "We will leave in the middle of the night by escaping through the barbed wires situated behind the hostel. We will traverse through the thick forest and make our way out at a place 3 kilometers from the nearest village. From there we will take the state highway up to that village. After resting for a couple of hours, we will take a bus to the next town from where the trains going to Mumbai make a halt. We will buy our tickets and voila! Free birds we shall be!!!" I completed with a big wide grin across my face, expecting applause from my two dear friends!

But what I got were a couple of stunned faces and some obnoxious glares staring at me which made me wonder as if they had seen some ghosts!

"But what if we get caught? You very well know that it's allowed to leave the campus only through the front gate. The punishment is straight suspension! It might also affect our grades and term work later on..." PT finally broke the haunting silence.

"How will we find our way through that thick cover of trees and dense bushes? We will get lost for sure! Its 5 kilometers that we have to be on track... That's a lot!" RS asked, concern writ large on his face but still, voice wavering with enthusiasm.

"Who will catch us at close to midnight? It will be lonely and deserted at that time!" I pointed out with confidence.

"But what about RS's doubt? He has a valid point" PT countered, apparently satisfied with my answer to his own question.

"That's one difficulty I had thought of too." I said before adding, "We will go through the route once during the afternoon in the next few days so that we get used to it... Everyone will be attending lectures at that time... We will slip out quietly after lunch..."

"It's too... too risky!!" PT said again looking glum.

"What do you think RS?" I asked RS who had been quiet for some time now...

"I think it's doable. There is risk involved, certainly, but then without taking risks in life one cannot achieve much anyway. It's a risk worth taking... Let's go through the plan again to weigh the pros and cons.", he finished, as we both looked at PT simultaneously looking for his nod of approval.

"O... Ohk..." is all that PT could manage probably because he did not want to be left alone while we made our way out of here!!

We discussed the plan in detail that night, talking and gesturing amongst ourselves animatedly like little kids who had landed themselves key roles in a Hollywood thriller!! At 2.30 in the morning, we had re-visited the entire plan thoroughly and it was decided that we will conduct a test run of the jungle route the next afternoon. We swore that this would be our secret and would not be disclosed to anyone under any circumstances, including our family members.

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The next 3 days were spent sweating over the plan again and again at least twice a day! We would talk in hushed tones and the gate of our room would invariably be bolted from the inside at most times. The test run had been completed successfully on the 14th October thus boosting our morale and confidence.

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October 17th, 2003


After what seemed like an eternity, the day to put words into action had finally arrived. The lectures had always seemed boring and endless but today, they seemed to be taking even longer than usual to come to an end. We all tried to keep as low a profile as we could that day, returning to our room immediately as soon as the day at the college came to an end, not loitering around and hanging about aimlessly after the college hours like was a norm on the other days. Food at the mess was consumed relatively quickly and quietly.

10 PM

Approximately 2 hours to go before we attempted our dare devilry!!

Nothing much was spoken between us in those two hours, if there was, I do not remember... The bags were packed, as the clock ticked away slowly, enjoying our predicament! At 11.50, I rose up from my bedding, and taking the cue, RS and PT followed suit. I opened the door and peeped out, all was silent in the hostel corridor. I motioned to my friends that it was time to move. With thumping hearts we made our way down the stairs as quietly as possible and slipped away, into the darkness behind the hostel.

Getting through the wires was easy and before we knew, we were into the wilderness of trees and bushes and shrubs. There was a chill in the air and the cold October wind smacked us in our face. We stood motionless for a few moments as our eyes adjusted to the darkness. None of us had a mobile whose dim light could have proven handy; we relied solely on our eyes to make our way through. Soon, we realized that it was one thing to go through the jungle in the afternoon without any luggage and quite another to try and make our way through it in almost pitch black darkness with an added 8-10 kilograms weight on our backs. We moved slowly, with calculated steps, talking intermittently only to make sure that we are on the right track.

The lack of any clear pathway and the thick cover of trees were proving to be a handful as we stuttered and stumbled and felt lost on many occasions but we kept pressing forward making slow progress. The landmarks that we had noted on our test run were proving quite fruitful and one by one the large Mango tree, the huge cluster of cacti, the spread out colonies of ant-hill, the barren tamarind tree were all ticked off as we  continued our quest for freedom in haunting silence. It took us a good part of 3 hours to navigate through the maze of the dense vegetation to cover 5 odd kilometers but we eventually found ourselves staring at the state highway at some distance at 2.40 am. We decided to relax for 10-15 minutes under a huge Jambun tree to catch our breath back and also to give out tired and battered limbs a much needed rest before we commenced the rest of our journey. We laughed and hi-fived each other while stretching out our tired muscles for a few minutes!!

The rest of the 3 kilometers to the village was covered without any major incidents except when a couple of cars passed us and we ducked for cover as we feared that  it could be someone from the college and that we may be recognized and caught. By 3.30 we reached the village and headed straight for the bus depot. We were all extremely tired from the 8 km arduous journey but the happiness that came from our newly acquired freedom was far far more! There were still 2 hours left for bus which would take us to the railway station from where we would catch our train.

"We have done it! Did I not tell you it will be easy" I boasted.

"Yes... Yes, you are an Einstein!!" RS muttered, probably in the hope that I would shut up and he would catch up on some sleep!!

"It was fun too, navigating through the jungle!! What an adventure we have had!!" I continued.

"Now that it is over, it seems like an adventure. What if we would have been apprehended? Our careers would have been in jeopardy." PT said letting out a huge yawn.

"Yeah!" I said "Whatever..." and we all caught a small nap getting up just in time to catch the bus.

We reached the railway station at 8 am, booked our train tickets scheduled for 8.45 am.

"Seat number 16, it's mine." I heard a voice behind me. RS and PT looked like they had spotted UFO's about to land behind me. I turned around to find the head of department (HOD) of E&TC branch, tugging at my shirt.

He then, looking at me with piercing eyes, asked "You all are students of VJIIT, if I am not mistaken"

I almost fainted but regained my composure soon enough "Yes Sir, First Year"

"Should you all not be in the college attending lectures at this moment?" he asked looking suspiciously at us.

"Sir, actually we came here to see off PT's uncle who is leaving for Mumbai" I said, pointing to the man who was seated on the seat number 12. My sharp mind and fiery tongue were working furiously!!

"Yes Sir, we will attend lectures after lunch today as uncle insisted that I come to the station as he was alone," PT added "And since I was alone, I asked my friends DS and RS to accompany me" giving us a rare and probably the first glimpse that he too had a fiery tongue with an extremely sharp mind!!

"OK" was all that the HOD said, now looking at the man to whom I had pointed out earlier.

O God, please let this man doze off suddenly or be deaf/mute for a few moments or anything that would prevent him from hearing and answering to what was going on! I thought to myself. We were all scared to death and feared for our future!

But the man replied confidently "PT is my nephew. These are his friends who have all come to help me board the train. Actually I was feeling a bit sick and with all this luggage, I needed a helping hand. Where are you getting down?"

"I will alight at Panvel" HOD Sir replied, a faint smile escaping his lips for the first time!

"I have good company till then. I will get down at Dadar" the man said as the train let out a long and shrill whistle. The man had used his sharp mind and fiery tongue, as he had let us known where our HOD would be alighting while at the same time changing the topic.

“Phew!” I almost let that out loud only to be elbowed by RS!

"Good Bye, all of you. Study well! See you soon" the man said bidding us adieu with a wink.

"Bye uncle. Have a nice trip Sir" we all replied, arranging even our luggage under the seat, as we darted out of the compartment.

We then ran and jumped into the next coach. Once there, it was decided that we would complete the rest of our trip in the general compartment as it was too risky and impractical to travel in the adjacent compartment. We then made our way into the general compartment just before the train started. We discussed how lucky we had got that day. We alighted at Dadar and thanked the man for understanding the matter and helping us out. He assured us that the HOD was convinced that we would be returning to the college.

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30 Minutes Ago

We were sitting on a bench at the platform, chatting and laughing, chatting about the past few days of our lives. Not many passengers were seen on the platform as this was a small station and not the starting point of any long distance train. We saw a man with heavy suitcases and bags struggling to make his way onto the platform. He seemed sick and was all alone. He came and sat right next to us. We soon got talking with him too! His seat was in an adjacent coach to ours and was going to Mumbai to meet his engineer son, who was settled there. We told him that we too were engineering students and were going to Mumbai to be with our family to celebrate Diwali a few days before the official holidays began (obviously we did not tell him the way we had left!!!). He was quite friendly who seemed quite warm with us. We continued conversing till we heard the whistle of the approaching train and got up. We first got into his coach to help him carry his luggage. We were about to leave the compartment... when... "Seat number 16, it's mine." I heard a voice behind me.

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8 Years Later...

This was something that had happened in the fledgling days of our engineering careers... But all thanks to our sharp minds and fiery tongues, we escaped a severe punishment or even a suspension, had a gala time enjoying the Diwali festival with our loved ones back home, our troika became the HOD’s favorite in the terms that followed (since we were in the first year, the HOD never really bothered to check if we did attend the lectures during the days leading up to the Diwali vacations), and to top it all, we three became friends for life!

PS - This post is inspired from a true story which happened with me during my first year of engineering.

PPS - This was my entry to the contest on Indiblogger - Sets You On Fire

If You Like it then please Promote it Here - Three Friends, One Fiery Adventure!!!