My poster was about the design of the validation instrument for herbal drugs. My school days taught me that, when you design or invent something yourself, give your name to that design or concept. I took the first three letters from Anamika and the last 3 of my name and made the name "Anatya" out of it. Anamika read the whole poster, but she didn't get that I included her name in design. Sonu read the poster, came to us where we were playing box games, and asked me, "Did you just fused your name and her name to make design name?" Anamika looked with surprise on her face. I told Sonu that it's not like that, it's just random word. Before she can create some more trouble, the poster examiner started a poster visit, and the conversation ended right there. During my turn, Anamika stood right next to me, and I started explaining things to the examiner. He was in a hurry, so I had to explain the main design, and within 2 minutes he left. He judged my 3-month work in 2 minutes and gave me a score. The day ended, and we went back home.
The next morning, I was on time and went for breakfast. Anamika joined me after breakfast, and we went for her poster presentation, where we again played box game till her presentation started. She did quite well, but she wasn't satisfied with her performance. The session was over, and it was time for lunch. The post-lunch session was about prize distribution, but it was more of a lecture on start. I took a nap to find inner peace until prize distribution starts. The only reason I was in that auditorium at that time was her. She wanted to see who will get the best poster awards in each subject category, and I wanted to spend the last few hours of joy and happiness with her. I knew the next morning is not going to be the same, and thus, I wanted to get the most out of it.
Finally, prize distribution started, and I was a bit tensed (You know the reason now. Don't give me that look please). I did not expect to get an award for the poster I presented, so I was sitting like a 60-year-old in my chair. (Un)Luckily I got the second rank in a poster presentation, and Anamika was so happy to hear that. I wanted to take her with me to receive the award, but they just announced my name. It took me 7 minutes to reach the stage (longest time taken by any person to win a prize) and get the award. I looked towards her, and she was clapping hard for my achievement. I came back, and she congratulated me again and again and again. She was a bit disappointed that she didn't win, but she was happy for me. I know you might be thinking, yeah! So what? No big deal. Well, it was a big deal for me. No one except my parents felt this happy about my achievements. You need to have an attachment with a person to feel satisfied with their achievements.
The ceremony ended, and it was time to leave the auditorium. I didn't want to, but I had to. We were about to leave when the hall was almost empty. I think even Anamika didn't want to go home early. Before we exit the door, Jaydeep and Baba came to me and congratulated. They managed to sneak one bouquet for the guest and gave it to me. I was in the seventh sky as we left the auditorium. Outside there was a tea session going on for all the dignitaries and professors. They congratulated me on the achievement since I was the only undergraduate student to get rank in the poster presentation (yes, it's a big deal. At least it was at that time.)
All these things were new to me, and my brain was out of order for those particular moments. I carried bouquet and trophy in my hands for the whole time. You might be thinking what an idiot! Why didn't you give the bouquet to the lovely girl walking beside you? Well, even I regret not doing that. I was the least experienced person for all those cheesy moments, and I kept it to myself. We were going towards parking, and one of our professors saw a bouquet in my hand. He shouted for me and asked if I wanted the bouquet and trophy both? I said you could keep the bouquet, Sir. I don't need it. That day I gave flowers to one of the professors instead of a girl. This is how you behave when you have to stay in a boys' hostel and school where talking to a girl is taboo. I wish I had given those flowers to her, the story might be different this day.
The conference was over and all of a sudden I was the talk of the town. You guessed it wrong. I was the talk of the city due to my partnership with Anamika and not because of the rank I got in a poster presentation. Umm! Well, that was also talked of town but not as much as a partnership. The girls who used to neglect me started coming to me for my opinions; boys used to give me advice on how to get Anamika. This is a widespread phenomenon that occurs when people know that you are close to some girl. Other girls start taking you seriously all of a sudden. You might be nobody for them two days ago, and as soon as they know you are close to some girl, you are their favorite topic. I don't know why this happens, but it happens. Try it someday, if you are a lonely, introvert, smart guy studying in college (Because if you are old, it is too late for experimentation and if you are the cool guy of college, well you are not going to read this book for sure). Guys started asking me how it all started and how all of a sudden this happened and some censored questions which you already know. Apart from all this, your best friends play the role of catalyst in spreading the word, without your consent. Not because they want to support you because they want to enjoy every moment of your humiliation. The moment you are talking to a girl about any random topic in the world, they will make a random sound in the world loud enough to make you uncomfortable. So the story, in a nutshell, is even I had to go through all those memories which an average guy has to go through when people make rumors of an affair between a guy and a girl.
The facebook chat was quite common now between Anamika and me. We had a few rituals which we used to follow strictly. We used to avoid talking in class to avoid unnecessary embarrassment but regularly talk on facebook. I used to leave the open-ended controversial topic in the message box for the next day after she logs out. It was working quite well with us. We had a tuning that I never felt with anyone else. No, it wasn't love yet. We were quite close friends, and we wanted to keep it like that. Within a week, she asked me if I wanted to present a poster at the Changa conference. You again guessed it wrong. I said, "I am so much done presenting posters. I don't want to go there." She seems disappointed by my answer, but I didn't want to go. The reasons were as follows:
I didn't want to give other people more content for gossip, which might stain her image. I never wanted that.
I had a feeling that if I keep on spending time with her like this. I might end up breaking the promise I made to my parents (You don't remember the promise. Do you?).
So I kept on saying No to her till the last week of the final deadline. She asked me with aggression this time if I want to go with her or not. If I don't go, she will not submit her abstract as well. Finally, I gave up and sent my abstract as well. I mean, for how long you can say No to offer you can't refuse in the first place. I sent the same abstract again (If you don't know what abstract is, use the handy search service of Google). Mostly girls submitted their abstract there, and that was the reason for my No.
It was the start of February, and finally, before one day, we planned a schedule for Changa. We decided to take the train. So I had to go to her house and pick her from there. Another girl was going to join us there, and we three had to go to the railway station. Other people joined us at the railway station, and we all started an unforgettable journey. Some were busy chattering, some listening to music, and people like me observing others doing their stuff. No, I wasn't sitting beside Anamika. We took two rickshaws, and again Anamika and I were not in the same rickshaw as well. We reached the venue and made obligatory registration. I don't understand this concept. They take money as registration fees and then promote their institution with branding. How is that kit? We reached quite early so instead of finding our spots, we decided to visit the "Vibrant Campus" which was un-vibrant at that time. Yes, Anamika chose to visit the campus, and I followed her around. Why would I be interested in college when I can focus on something else (if you know what I mean!). Binal joined us, so clamp your vivid imagination, and focus on the story. Anamika had (or have?) a thing for flowers, and there were so many on that campus. She started taking photographs of those
flowers and chanted some names of those, but who was interested in those things?
After breakfast, the first event of cartoon competition started. Anamika betrayed me in that and told me that she was the partner of Sonu in that competition. Everybody else had their partner in that competition except me. I decided to do it myself. I had no hope of winning that competition as I drew the worst painting of my life. Wiseman once said that it's the journey that is more beautiful than the destination. I was having fun, and that was more important than winning that cartoon competition (This is what people quote when they fail. everything has two sides of the coin. It depends on your point of view.) I participated in a cartoon competition because it was free and for everyone. I went there for a poster presentation, which was scheduled after lunch. There is one thing common across India; no event can start on scheduled time since the judge is always late. Anamika and I were sitting together and chatting since there was nothing to do. My other classmates were reading my poster, and the question stroked again, what does Anatya stand for in poster? I said," nothing, it's just random word."
"No, it's not. You fused your and Anamika's names and made this word. Isn't it?" I hate it when people don't give up easily. Anamika looked at me with a surprised look. She wanted an answer this time.
"Well, you can say I fused names. In my defense, all I wanted to say is I wanted a name for my model, and I was clueless at that time. If you work with me next time, I will fuse your name with mine." I tried to control the situation.
"Ooooohooooo, AaaayHayyyyy." The typical college shout cheered my reply.
Anamika was blushing inside but didn't bring it out, others started laughing, and I was a poker face. After 10-15 minutes, everything was normal, and we started playing the box game again. I knew I just fuelled the burning fire, and it will now spread in the whole batch. Finally, the judges showed up to evaluate our posters, and we came back to the station to go back home. The train arrived, and we just realized the hard fact of the Indian Railway that it was heavily crowded. For the very first time in my life, I realized why a limiting number of children people should have is essential. There were 11 girls with us, and being a gentleman, I let them enter first. Half of us were on the train, and it whistled. It was a bullfight now. Outside, people were pushing to make way, and inside, people were forced back to secure their favorite spot. Only I was remaining, and the train started moving. Anamika was looking for me and started shouting, "What are you doing, Aditya? Climb up fast. Move aside and give him a way." She was furious, and people let me came in so that at least she would stop shouting (I know you started making your assumptions like Sherlock Holmes, but believe me she was just worried for me. We were just friends. ((He is lying and you know that.)))
You might have encountered several types of people in your journey, and among them, some are annoying. We met one uncle who was around in his late 50s. He looked at Anamika and said, "Looks like there is an exceptional connection between you two. Don't worry; now, he is on-board with us. Are you relaxed now?" Turned to me and said, "She is so concerned about you. You should take good care of her." Anamika didn't seem happy to hear. This was a visible reaction; I felt the same. What is the need to point out private things? Even his tone was sarcastic. I couldn't help me hold my nerves and replied to him in his way, "Yes, uncle, there is a connection. Do you have any problem with that?" He didn't utter a single word after this in the entire journey. The compartment was full of males with only a few girls, and so people were noticing them with like they hadn't seen one since ages (It looked cool when we used to do it, but I realized the real feeling of getting stared at.) I was covering Anamika in the best way I can do, and after a tiresome journey of 3 hours, we finally reached Ahmedabad. It was late than we expected, and the streets were shining with artificial lights. Traffic was too heavy, and people wanted to reach home as soon as they can. We had to cross the road to catch an auto-rickshaw to reach home, but it seems impossible due to traffic. We waited for about 5 minutes, but it wasn't going to end. As soon as I saw some gap in the way, I started walking and told Anamika and another classmate to follow me. We were struggling to reach on the other side, and I was trying to stop traffic so we can cross the road. First time in my life, I realized why people are still interested in the question, why did the chicken cross the road? We were in the middle of the way, and all of a sudden, biker went full speed by us. Anamika just grabbed my hand and hold it tight (Most girls and ladies are afraid of traffic. You want to propose one, propose to her in the middle of heavy traffic. the answer is going to be yes, one way or another). My focus shifted from traffic to her. Now I didn't want us to reach on the other side of the road. Unfortunately, we crossed the road and took an auto-rickshaw. I dropped her off at her home and returned to mine.
I knew one thing for sure that this day was going to be a turning point in my life. It made so many things clear to me. I also knew that in the last few months of college, life is going to be full of surprises. We had a habit of discussing things that happened with us during the day. We did the same for that day as well and discussed train incident, fusing names and other small incidents occurred during the day. She was happy that I fused names and came up with a new name for that model. She also mentioned that it was for the very first time that someone had done such a special thing after such a long time. The next day, we resumed college, and it was not the same anymore. Our stories were floating in the air with some salt and pepper in it. During lectures, she used to give me a look, and I used to give her a look. However, the communication was still absent, and we used to avoid talking to each other on the campus. We decided to give no opinion on the rumors people used to spread.
◆◆◆
Chapter IV: The Romance
You were expecting this chapter from the very start, weren't you? What is the purpose of buying a book if there is no cheese inside it? People don't even purchase a sandwich if there is no cheese in it. It was the month of February, and my college was going to be completed in May, so I wanted to make the most out of the last few months of college life. I had two exams scheduled this month, GATE and GPAT. For a non-technical person, GATE is a competitive exam held for engineering students to get enrolled in a master's degree program, and GPAT was for pharmacy students. I was interested in GATE, so I was giving it, and Anamika forced me to give GPAT (Wow, such a romantic introduction for this chapter!) I had a nasty habit of not reading anything for any competitive exams. Thus I didn't have many hopes with the result as well. The reason was simple; I wanted to start my own business.
GATE was scheduled for the first Sunday of February, and the exam center was at Gandhinagar. It went peacefully, but I lost my college ID on the way back home. There was a gap of 2 weeks between GATE and GPAT, and except me, the rest of the class was too worried about it. They wrote an application to the Director/Principle that they want mini-vacation of 1 week to prepare for the exam. I signed not because I wanted to prepare for the exam, but I wanted a vacation.
On the one hand, it was a week of valentine, and on another hand, it was a vacation. I don't remember much of studying during that period, but I know how Anamika and I used to talk all day long about random things. I used to give the best of me to impress/amaze her. She was preparing for GPAT since 4th semester, so she was relaxing. I was preparing for it for the last four days, and thus I was resting. She was more tensed. She was worried that she wouldn't get into the right college if she secures fewer marks in this exam. I was worried that I would have to resume college again after this vacation is over. The exam was scheduled for 2 consecutive days and on different timing. I registered at the last moment, and thus my turn was on the last day. Anamika registered well in advance, and therefore her turn was the first day and that too in the morning. I gave her moral lecture and support, a night before her exam and said goodbye.
I woke up early in the morning to wish her good luck (if you are single, this is a golden tip for you. Mark it with a yellow marker. Right here.) I called he
r for the same, and she was amazed, not because I called her, but because I was up early in the morning (Now I am justifying the title, aren't I?), I went back to sleep again since I fulfilled my purpose. She came back and gave me a so-so response, gave me tips for the rest of the day. The next day afternoon, I got a call from her for good luck wishes and to return the favor. I reached about 20 minutes earlier to the exam center, and people were still busy reading and mumbling things. The registration process started, and people made a long queue for the same. When I reached the registration desk, the facilitator told me to put down my name and other necessary details in one printed page he provided me. I finished it quickly and waited for more information. He took sheet back, stamped it, and returned the sheet to me saying, sign it. I was like, no big deal, and I just signed above the stamp, which was reading "Reviewed By." The facilitator gave me a weird look first as if I stepped on his tail.
"Don't you see? You have to sign here and not above the stamp I put." He shouted, showing me blank space where I should have signed.
"How would I know that? You stamped and told me to sign, where else would I sign?" I tried to defend me.
"I don't know why you are here. I think you are not going to qualify this exam if you can't figure out simple things like this." I translated this from his look after my reply. I am not stupid, but sometimes things are complicated.
The last few days of February went in a flash, and during that period, bonding between Anamika and me was growing strong. We both knew that this is no longer the "Just Friends" situation. The only remaining thing was confirmation. I was too shy to ask by myself, and it seems almost impossible to me that she will ask. All of a sudden, all romantic movies and novels started making sense to me. The only difference was that mine stopped right before guy getting the girl.
May be! I Love You Page 8