It has been quite an eventful week, and believe me, I had no inkling of any of the events since I had barely been home for more than 3 weeks for the last 3 years. First, you pack up from IIT, college life ending in a matter of minutes and the feeling of having paid one's dues missing altogether. In true IITian fashion, all packing issues were resolved in the last hour before departure, and it is probably one habit which I shall be absolved of in the near future (almuni experiences warn me to the converse). After a much hallowed ride in the 1st class compartment of the Mumbai local with a dear friend and sifting through the multitude of platforms on CST, the realization dawned on me- College is over! Not so soon, echoed didi's rail vibhaag, and the summer special made my last Mumbai-Jhansi trip for a while a rather special journey, one to remember, by halting between Kalyan and Igatpuri for 2 hours! I would later learn that this was a pre-journey check, and more abrupt halts were peppered throughout the journey in a train lacking the basic facilities of waiters selling drinking water!
Ultimately, I came home, unpacked, and stripped down to minimum clothing in order to withstand the scorching North Indian summer. The monsoon may only be 2 weeks away, but those 2 weeks couldn't come sooner for a region which regularly makes headlines due to the spirited battle between the ruling BSP government and Rahul baba, as they blame all and sundry for the rot in Bundelkhand. Sadly you losers, what you are fighting about is my hometown. With the only development coming in the form of pukka roads and 16 hours of power supply since I was gone (perhaps broadband internet can be included here, but I am tempted not too), Jhansi is to Bundelkhandis what Miami was once to the Cubans. So what is the big fuss in the title of the post all about?
Turns out, my decision to enrich my brain some more (fancy term) and 'expand my horizons' came to naught in front of suspecting uncles and aunties, and even distant relatives. The queries are rather fundamental in nature- Beta, IIT main jaakar padh liya, naukri bhi lag gayi. Ab naukri karo, kitni padhai karoge? PhD to yahi se kar lena, 20-22 hajaar main ho jaati hai!
As you'd expect, all efforts to explain that this is not a 20-22k worth 'sit at home-pay a bribe-get a doctorate' PhD are useless when the well-wishers have your greater interest (read Marriage) in mind. Moreover, my trusty scooter that ferried me to many a last-minute school dashes and coaching trips has winded down considerably in horsepower. In a sign of overjoyed surprise, it did try and push upwards of the 50 kmph mark on a return trip, but sadly age has caught on to another long time friend. What else? How about the stray dogs on the street. What is so special about strays you may ask, for they are as much a sign that you are in India as stray cows (and pigs in MP). These strays are of the pedigree once the great Jesse Owens might have run against. They'll give you a nice 'run' for your money, and will escort you right to your doorstep for half a kilometer. And the easiest way to get a file noticed is to, as you have wrongly guessed, espouse a long relationship or acquaintance with the person in charge. Bribes are for novices!
With my internet finally working, I look forward to sharing more of my hometown tales with you. Beware, all posts are subject to more of such interesting incidents, like the one where we reached the cinema late and missed our first day show of Samundar ke lutere- Ek anokha rahasya.
Real catchy lyrics I must say!
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