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Thinking of you, Gocha!


Last evening, with just twenty rupees in my pocket, I was scanning the cafeteria menu wondering what to choose to please my taste buds! Finally, with all what I had, I picked a pastry which was of the size of a gooseberry! As I tossed it down, I was relishing that ‘once upon a time’ in my life when I was such a content being! …and I call it ‘College Days’
 J

I smile at almost every day spent in the college campus. When I look back, there isn’t a single moment which I did not enjoy; there is something nice about even the bitter experiences that I tumbled upon!

…and who has witnessed almost all of these emotions we were going through? Undoubtedly the College Canteen! It is almost every last bencher’s favorite place and so is mine! 
J It is not just a place to eat masala dosas, but also an open arena for debates, discussions, arguments, romance, gossips, lazing, kidding and having unlimited fun – a place to add different flavors to life and grow memories of friendship …through cutlets and pepsi!

I am trying to recall that one afternoon in the canteen, when one of my friends and I laughed and laughed, till our tummies ached and we almost lost our breadth. Both of us were finishing our assignments over coffee and daal-vada, while this guy, whom we call ‘Gocha’, came running to our table.

Snatching my pen and the last bit of vada, he mocked at us saying,
 “Why do you waste your life finishing assignments? I am borrowing your pen for the next 2 hours. And girls… Grow up! Why don’t you engage yourself in something fruitful – like me, who is going to write my supplementary exam? You see... it is a chance to brush your learning!” 
“We are not interested in growing so much! …and Idiot, it is already 2 O’ clock! Will they let you in now?” 
“For my level of intelligence, three hours is not required to answer an exam. So darlings, see you in a while!” 
“I salute your dripping confidence dude…!! All the best; Ayushmanbhava!!”
“Oh, Thanks sweets!”
Pode Podee…!!!” (Malayalam to English – “Go away…!!”!)

More coffee and vadas were being served. We were immersed in our assignment business. Like he said, exactly in a while - in less than half an hour, there comes Gocha.

“Huh?! I never thought you were this intelligent to finish a 3 hours paper in just 15 minutes! You are born intelligent, Gocha!”
“You don’t need to repeat facts! Uhh… BTW, here is your pen; I might need it after 6 months. Keep it safe!”
“What happened? You saw the question paper and decided to not write it?”
“Nope… The invigilator couldn’t find my roll number in the list. That is when I came to know that it is not in ‘Marketing’ that I flunked; ‘Advertising’ was the traitor. And the exam was over yesterday! How disastrous for the university, they are not fortunate enough to read my smart advertising tips and theories!”
“They have read it once and hence u r requested to repeat again - your maha findings!" 

"You bloody irresponsible brat, The Looser of the decade!!”
“Rude woman! How could you accuse me without knowing the truth? It was my room-mate bugger who gave me this false info; I trusted him so much that I did not even check my marks card...!! So, obviously, he is at fault and not me!”
“I will write a book on you Gocha!” 
“For cover page photograph, use the one clicked when I grew my hair, preferably wearing sun glasses! I look really stunning in gogs! J
":X" ":X"

Gocha… If not a book, at least I have written a blog post about you, though I know you are worth something much bigger! 

BTW, Gocha got married to the love of his life, proving that untainted love goes even beyond the barriers of language and religion. He definitely is not a looser in life, which makes me smile really really wide! 
J

Now, do you have any canteen memories to share? The floor is open to you!!


7 comments:

Shiva said...

That was a sweet memory...I could imagine "Gocha" and your responses as clearly as if I was a lazy spectator eating cutlet in your college canteen.

As for my experience, I was never a regular at the canteen though the first time I went anywhere near it, I was ragged, quite harmlessly of course :)

Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan said...

he.. thats an awesome dude over there !! Those are the kind of guys you remember long after college is over..

Anonymous said...

Would love to get introduced to Gocha. Should learn from him how to take things lightly!

Nicely, interestingly, amazingly penned!

-preeth

lostworld said...

I would've had a mild heart-atack (first if I flunked, and second if I missed the exam). However I truly admire ppl like Gocha, perfect ex. of 'don't sweat the small stuff'..hats off!:-))

Shalini Surendran said...

@ Shiva - :) :) Hmmm, so, you were one of those 'good boys', huh???

@ Dr Roshan - Exactly! I don't remember all those geeks wearing specs who spent their lives in the library (swear... i am not talking abt 'everybody' who wears specs ;)!! But I so very well remember these kinda specimens!

@ Preeth - Thanks! ...n Gocha is now a very busy family man who earns in euros!

@ Lost World - Yeah, he was such an easy going dude that the entire college loved and admired him!

Pyari said...

Shalini, I think very soon you would come up with some book as funny as "Five Point some one"!

Pink Mango Tree said...

You are an absolute Pyari! :) Thanks a lot for the boost and complan and horlicks! :) :)

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