The Tech Nut at IIT-G : Chapter 7

We came back to the T-junction, and waited. Soon after, a taxi came from the Married Scholars’ direction, and came to a halt in front of us. It was an Omni and there were 7 of us in the back.

It was a tight squeeze. Not unheard of, but tight nevertheless.

On the way to G.S. Road, we completely freaked out. It was Aishwarya, Vishaka, Karthick, Shikhar, Siddharth, Amit and me. Siddharth had come, because by now, the opening ceremony was over. We could’ve attended it, but the dharna was much more fun! Anyway, we went nuts. We snapped a lot of pictures.

Karthick and I were the main perpetrators – making noises of different animals, including chickens, goats, pigs, lions, monkeys and parrots. All of us screamed and waved at people outside. We also sang at the top of our voices. I’d got my mobile, which was only serving the purpose of an alarm clock, reminder and music player, in Guwahati. It was one of the most fun rides of my life. Vishaka got quite sick of me towards the end, so I relented a bit.

Also, everyone came to conclusion that I’m a slowpoke of the highest degree. Which to a certain extent is true. I talk slowly, thinking about everything I say twice or thrice. I do stuff slow, thinking of the pros and cons. I’m also a really patient guy, and can wait in line for ages, unlike Aishwarya, who gets really snappy.

It was too late to go shopping. We had decided this back in campus itself. We were basically going out to dine. We decided on a Pizza Hut, because it seemed the only decent eatery around. It was in a semi-mall, called Dona Palace or something. While we were waiting for our pizzas and garlic bread to arrive, Aishwarya and Vishaka decided to have a look around the place. Soon after, they came back, and without letting ma’am know, called me as well. More like gesticulated frantically from behind a pillar.

The next day, 5th, was Teacher’s Day, and there was an Archies’ Gallery on the first floor. Not to mention a Baskin Robbins on the ground floor, next to Pizza Hut (smacking my lips). Anyway, we decided on a slightly smaller than huge card, so that we could hide it in Aishwarya’s bag. We wanted it to be a surprise, and we couldn’t take a huge card along into Pizza Hut, cause ma’am would notice. Vishaka also bought a birthday card for her friend, partly cause there was a birthday, and partly because we needed decoy proof to show that we did buy something in there.

We ate our way through 8 pieces of garlic bread and 4 medium size pizzas. What I found most alarming was the hand dryer in the washroom there. It really gave a blast of air so powerful, that it could’ve turned our turbine without the ruler attachments! I prefer no sauce with my pizza, just oregano and chili flakes. Then, we all bought ice creams from Baskin Robbins. It was the best ice cream I’d ever tasted in my LIFE!!!. Especially the wafer. I’d taken a jumbo scoop

At the school’s expense.

The journey back was equally fun. We all played dumb charades. Quite a few wacky movies turned up! It was quite late by the time we reached back, and I was feeling really sleepy. Aishwarya also sneaked out the card, so that I could get it signed by the other guys. Karthick and I had a challenge to overcome first…there was a huge stick insect outside our room. Not exactly menacing, but not exactly cute and cuddly either. Eventually, we ended up playing a tag-team match with it! One distracted it, while the other unlocked the room.

We had to put everything in order, cause we had just dumped our stuff in our room, and left to meet the girls in the evening. But, as we were putting everything away, the lights went off again. Eventually, I fished out my pod, and we used the backlight to arrange stuff. Then the light came back, halfway through unpacking. A sigh of relief turned into a groan, as it went off again. This cycle continued till about 12:30 AM, by which time, we’d unpacked, gotten sick of the electric situation, walked into the pitch dark corridor and walked into a couple of people.

Around 11:45, we found Ayush, who hadn’t been able to sleep, like us. We decided to go for a walk. As we walked, the light came on and off a couple of times, and we could hear alternate bouts of cheering and booing coming from all the hostels.

We eventually came to the conclusion that the guys in the hostels were nuts, and that a mad, drunk, sadistic person was at the control board of the electric board. I guess he couldn’t clear the IITJEE, and was taking it out on the entire campus.

Eventually, the light returned for good and so did we. Once we changed, I coated myself in Odomos and then plugged in the AllOut, my mobile charger (dunno why, apart from needing to get up in the morning) and my camera charger. Sleep was pretty dreamless…