BON VOYAGE

February 6, 2008

10 PM

The students in the Men’s Hostel were blowing their tops off like hooligans. No, it was not because the Indian cricket team won the world cup. But it was because we had just received the happiest news one could ever hear at our college. We had been given holidays by our beloved principal on account of food poisoning. Thanx to the condition at the Ladies’ Hostel.

Well, by the time we confirmed the news, it was too late into the night, for most of us to escape that mental asylum and reach our home sweet homes as no busses ran through the area at that time. So the only option left for us was to wait, wait and wait till daybreak. The planning began. The first bus out of Karakonam was at 4.30 AM. But since the whole college was given leave, we figured that the bus would be extremely crowded for almost 200-300 students to fit into. And so, 20 of us decided to hire a mini bus at 4 AM in order to catch the first locomotive towards our homes and not risk surviving E coli and then dying of suffocation in a KSRTC bus . The packing of bags took place in a jiffy. And so the wait for the stroke of four began. Many of us slept, trying to catch whatever little sleep we could get; many of us didn’t sleep at all.

FINALLY, the time arrived. I woke up and had to undertake the toughest job mankind ever faced. Waking up my buddies from what seemed like an eternal slumber. Somehow I managed to do it and we all got ready to leave Karakonam. We boarded the bus and as it taxied away from our main gate, I looked back and saw my darling there. I saw her eyes fill with tears from the thought that we would miss each other for a few days. Each day without seeing her is like a day without sunshine for me. She stood there waving at me. Her eyes speaking aloud to me, only my ears, that she will be waiting for my return; to be reunited in clinical love again. So I waved back at my beloved Karakonam, my eyes too telling her that I too will miss her and promising her that I will be back as soon as our classes start.

We reached Trivandrum railway station earlier than expected. We took our tickets and waited in front of the railway restaurant to open. Patience is one of the major qualities a doctor should possess and I witnessed in my friends that very quality deteriorating proportionally to their growing hunger. As the waiter opened the door, Jidhin almost knocked him over and rushed inside to get something to feed his growling stomach. As a matter of fact, we all were growing hungrier with every second passing by. The pitiful thing was that some of the girls, including our dear Parvathi, were one of the victims of the E coli attack who escaped with just a minor injury of….well, let’s just say….expulsion of intestinal contents in liquid form. But the hunger drive was too much for poor Paru to ignore and she took a calculated risk by opting for a single vada. After having food, we boarded our train and waited for the departure time, while some of our other classmates too joined us. Then all of a sudden, we saw it. The sight that brought out the evil red glow in our eyes that even the devil himself would love to have. JUNIORS. They would be traveling in the same train. Bwuhahahahahahahaaaaaaaaah……...

The train sounded its lovely horn and our journey began. We called the juniors and each group of seniors chose their prey. We tried to get Aysha’s sister too but Aysha was like a mother hen protecting her baby sister under her wings from our prying eagle eyes. So we had to settle with the unprotected juniors. I had one of the greatest urge to torture and taste their blood. But like daylight is to a vampire, the angry face of Peter Sir firing away at me for ragging, forced me to hold up my thirst. But that urge was too overwhelming to hold up much longer and finally I broke loose. I called a junior who looked somewhat harmless and started. It continued for a while until my friends sensed she might cry anytime and hinted me to stop. So we let alone the dear juniors and continued with our usual time pass games throughout the rest of the journey.

The train halted at my home station and I got off. I waved goodbye to my friends and then continued to my home. Aah. How relieving was it to finally be back at one’s own home after those tiring days at hostel.

Few days passed and we were informed that our holidays will be extended by a week. We all were thrilled at that news. One week!!!! Had the college authorities lost it completely??

We pushed through the week gladly and finally came Saturday. We were supposed to happily leave on Sunday to our dear college prison. But then came that news. Our batch alone got the holidays extended by ONE MORE WEEK!!! The same news that was heartily welcomed by all the previous week, was now dreaded by all. As the wait for the next Sunday begins, we pray to God to keep the evil claws of boredom away from us as we await the time for us to return to hostel where we may once again be forced to drink faecal water and succumb to the wrath of E coli. The trip to our destiny begins Sunday. Bon voyage my dear friends. BON VOYAGE……………………….