The Story of a Teddy Bear

Based on actual events. All the characters in this compilation are not at all fictional. They are very much sentient like each and every one of us and are breathing as of March 28th 2015, 6:30 A.M. or so I've been told and made to believe. I've tried my best to leave the reports unaltered and unadulterated but sometimes the best of us also fail at something.

Disclaimer: The incidents compiled here contain horrific and atrocious accounts of torture on a teddy bear. The images ahead may not be suitable for children/ heart patients/ pregnant women/ extremely sensitive people/ teddy lovers.

Please proceed with caution.

Rated: PG-13.

Teddy Bear apprehended, found running with keys!

December 13th, 2014.

A compilation of the reports by various journalists in a chronological order.

01:00 AM IST, Outside Nilgiri. [By Paan Singh Tomar]

A teddy bear was apprehended today outside of Nilgiri at 01:00 AM, IST. It was caught red handed running with the keys of a vehicle. Currently the police have no information of the owner of the keys and there is no FIR filed. Even after long and extensive search of the premises, the police were unable to locate the exact position of the vehicle. There are rumours that the bear has hid the vehicle somewhere remote. The only information we have got is there are letters "TVS" written on the keys. The teddy bear is being questioned strictly in this regard.

Update 2. 01:47 AM. [By Paan Singh Tomar]

Somehow the teddy bear has attached the keys to its body, which will be surgically removed tomorrow (photo attached). The doctors say that it will be a long and complex operation which may extend for many hours.

Teddy under interrogation

Update 3. 01:54 AM. [By Paan Singh Tomar]

After rounds of torture (photo attached) the teddy bear has refused to give any names. Even after one of its eye was removed, it stayed quite. God help it! 

Stay tuned for more updates. 

Teddy Mutilated!

Update 4. 04:28 AM. [By Paan Singh Tomar]

Even after multiple mails from Teddy Rights activists and demonstrations outside the police headquarters (Room 7, OBH) to stop such appalling feats, there has been no reply from the police. They seem to be shoving the demonstrators out of their way. The owner is yet to claim the missing key. Meanwhile, another horrific photo was leaked on twitter, which showed both ears had been cut off of the now maimed teddy bear. It is extremely detestable. Oditi, one of the demonstrators was quoted saying "Maybe the bear was under a lot of pressure. Maybe it was not his fault. We will get to the bottom of this. This is totally unacceptable! Poor poor bear!" 

Want to know if justice will be served to the partners of this heinous crime, which seems to be the police itself? Stay tuned. Another demonstrator Gary (who just got a summer intern at Xilinx) said, "I know who is calling the shots in this. He will never, and I repeat NEVER stop doing what he is unless the bear either breaks and gives him what he wants or dies in the process." On asking the name of the person he was accusing, he refused to comment.

Teddy under Torture!

Update 5. 06:47 AM. [By Paan Singh Tomar]

The size of the crowd outside the police headquarters keeps increasing with the hour. Some people led by Mr. Arvind Kejriwal have gathered outside and started fasting until death marking the first political move in this case. The traffic outside is badly affected. Clearly, the case is getting traction everywhere. Among the common public, Raveesh, who was happily singing nearby with his girlfriend was asked if he did not feel any sympathy towards the bear. He said and I quote, "The bear can go f**k himself. He got what he deserved. I don't care! I am enjoying this!"

He was booed by other protesters and shouts of "sadist" and "monster" went up among the demonstrators and he had to leave the premises. Meanwhile, a new photo leaked on 4chan (attached) now shows that the bear has lost both of his eyes in the process. There are rumours of him being taken secretively into surgery for the removal of the attached key. Nobody knows what turn this story will take. This is totally unprecedented but such things can be expected in the world of social media. The abominable acts of police are now in the open. The teddy bear has clearly been scarred for life. Who is answerable? Is there something more to the story that is being let out in the open? Conspiracy theories have started budding up on blogposts all around the internet. The key still remains unclaimed. 

Stay tuned for more.

Oh My!

Update 6. 11:28 AM. [By Gary Gary]

Meanwhile, news comes from the camp of Dr. Subramaniam Swamy that the Teddy Bear was originally 'Teedas Barid', a virat hindu who was allegedly caught by Christian missionaries on his way to NBH. They changed his name to 'Teddy Bear'. 

Dr. Swamy further claims that these Christian missionaries are holed up in Room 7, OBH and torturing 'Teedas Barid' to not divulge this information. "Now only the true owner of the keys can come and save 'Teedas Barid'. Who is this chosen one who will preserve the dignity of virat hindustaan?", Dr Swamy asks. 

Stay tuned for updates.

Update 7. 01:18 PM. [By Paan Singh Tomar]

Just in, 4chan leaked a photo of the person who is allegedly calling the shots of this whole operation (attached). Police have put up a 25,000/- reward on any information which would leads to subsequent arrest of this person. It is believed to speed things up. Everywhere we have local mobs hunting the neighbourhood.

The story involving Dr. Subramaniam Swamy, which was posted by some other reporter and was getting heat initially has been proven wrong since the person in the picture looks like a typical Hindu extremist (and some say a daaku). People are now saying that the whole story about the Christian missionaries being at the behind of this is a ploy to get the real culprit (rumoured to be the Swamy himself) out of the picture. Because of possibility of religious sentiments being exploited to disrupt the "peace and quiet", the police have declared a red alert in the district. As our correspondents gather outside Dr. Swamy's house in hopes of getting some clarification/comment, people continue to protest outside the head quarters. The teddy is still said to be in the operation theatre and no one has heard anything else from the police station. Will the key ever be claimed? Will the real culprit(s) ever be exposed? Will the person in the picture ever be caught? Will the teddy survive the long and exhausting operation?

Stay tuned to know the answers.

Monster behind!

Update 8. 04:08 AM. [By Gary Gary]

The owner of the key is still nowhere to be found. Pressure mounts on the police to find the owner. Reports leaking out of the police headquarters confirm that they plan to feed the teddy bear to the dog (attached) if the true owner does not claim the key by tonight, 10 PM.

Meanwhile the monster has been confirmed to be a mere henchman of the mastermind (attached) of the plan who has been pulling the strings so far. This guy runs by the alias 'Paan Singh Tomar'. Officials say that this behaviour is a result of his future being secure and his desire of having all the fun before he moves to the next phase of his life."This should be something to remember me by", he says. Will the teddy bear be fed to the dogs? Will Paan Singh Tomar pull another pose of 'KA-ME-HA-ME-HA'?

FIND OUT IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF DRAGON BALL Z!!

Much_filter So_doggy Wow!

Apple Fanboy

Update 9. 07:08 PM. [By Paan Singh Tomar]

We apologize for getting a little bit off track. The journalist who wrote the previous post has been fired. You cannot let personal feeling cloud your judgement, not when you are in such a responsible position of power. Let us make one thing clear, we have zero tolerance for such deeds. We promise you that nothing like that will happen in the future. Lets get the right things back in perspective. The teddy bear is said to have successfully undergone the operation and the key has been successfully detached from his body. However, bandages have come up on the teddy bear at odd places (photo attached) which has led the public to speculate. No one dares to speak out loud what might have happened.

Reshmi, who was just placed at buy-hut-ke, said maybe we should try and think-hut-ke. She said "What proof does the police have that the owner of the vehicle was not the teddy himself." This has led many people to re-evaluate their initial stance and the police is even more confused than before. Even though the operation might have been a success, the bear is in a very delicate condition. There are rumours that the chances of his survival are 20-80. If he dies, who will be responsible? Since no one has yet claimed the key there are all sorts of questions being asked. The commissioner of police Mr. Harsh Vardhan Rathore, who was kind enough to pose for us (photo attached) said "We have not yet looked at the case from this angle. If the key was indeed the property of the bear, we will release him at once." On asking who will be responsible for the sorry condition the bear is in, he refused to comment.

Mr. Pani was quoted saying, "It is all about the ride." We are still trying to figure out what it means.

Will the... well f**k it. We all know and we all are waiting for it.

Stay tuned.

What the ****

Our Own Commissioner of Police

Ab.lip

Update 10. [The one never published]. 09:18 PM. [By Paan Singh Tomar]

And there we have it. A total anticlimactic end to such a big story which left the poor bear much dead. It turns out that the bear was mute from birth and he didn't learn read and write because he never went to a school. Apparently his gestures were wrongly interpreted by the police officers and they thought that he was just putting up an act or making fun of them. This caused them to loose their mind. The sign interpreter who arrived later on the scene managed to get this message out of the bear before he closed his eyes for the last time: "I saw the key as it dropped from the pocket of the owner and was running to return it to him when I was caught by the police. It is not my fault. Help me!".

(The attached photo of unimpressed Sardar child aptly captures our reaction to all of this)

Mr Kejriwal who had said that he will remain fasting until the criminal is behind the bars was force-fed some fruit juice from the juice centre in the vicinity. Watching Mr. Kejriwal drinking (reluctantly at first but vigorously later, photo attached) other AAP supporters also broke their fast and had what he had, the mausambi juice. Mr. Rajnath, the minister of home affairs has said that a probe will be led into this and the real culprits will be found out. He said that he will not stop until he gets to the bottom of this. A compensation of 50,000/- has been promised to the family of the bear which is said to be not near enough by the family members. Dinesh Yadav, the owner of the juice centre (photo attached) said "Baiya pehle kabhi nahi dekha itna saara janta. Humari bikri to hui hai par sab udhaar leke chala jaata hai, aur wapis nahi karta." Nobody knows if the AAP supporters are gonna pay him back or just treat it as one of the donations.

Anyway, this marks the end of the bear who found a key and died in the act of returning it. It is clearly a shame.

Unimpressed Sardar Kid

Dinesh Bhaiya, The juice stall owner

Kejriwal drinking

What the Conspiracy Theorists are saying (which is clearly ridiculous!): 

The Teddy bear is not alive. It never was. It is the part of a keyring of some TVS vehicle, which was found in front of Nilgiri at 1:00am on 13th December 2014.

If it belongs to you, you can collect it from this person (photo attached) in Room-6, OBH (if he still has it).

Barça Fan

Oh! and he is also a part time warg or a white walker (I always confuse between the two). Photo attached for easy identification. Knock before you enter or you get the shock of your life. Cheers!

Warg/ White Walker

Void Dream () { Dream(); return; }

“You have to promise…”

“I do! I promise I won’t, for the hundredth time. GOD! Tell me already!”

I let out a long breath.

“I keep waking up, but I don’t remember sleeping.”

She stared at me for a while, broke into a laughter which faded to a nervous smile with a hint of terror.

”What is the last thing you remember?”

“I was playing in my room as I used to in the house where we used to live when I was a small child. Even I was little. It was like I had been in my first class. It was night time. I looked outside my room in the gallery. There was a flutter in the otherwise continuous luminescence of the bulb. Guessing it to be my mother, bringing me the glass of milk as she used to in the night time I stealthily moved towards the bed and tucked myself in the covers.

My mom seemed to take longer than usual. Anyways I stayed put. But then it was too long. I had to take a peek, just a small peek and then tuck myself in again, so that my mother won’t catch me awake and force the glass in my mouth unless I gulped down every last drop of it. I slowly removed the covers from my head… my eyes… opened one and covered myself again, like a camera opening its shutter for a nanosecond. I analysed the capture. The shadow was almost at the door, but it seemed to have moved very slowly itself. And there was something off about it. I removed the covers up to the nose once again and opened my eyes. The room vanished, and the face of our maid stared right at me, inches from my face. She had a butcher’s knife in her right hand which dripped blood. She smiled like a maniac and advanced towards me. I died there. Right in my bed. But then I woke up.

It’s so absurd that I would dream of a time so long past having that maniac of a maid in it. Even when I think of now all my life seems to be a collection of dreams and dreams and dreams that I had. In fact I cannot even remember anything else at all. Just instances where I have been woken up.”

“Oh! C’mon. You are joking, right?” She whispered.

“No! I can even tell you the dream I had woken in that dream from!”

“Oh! Please don’t!” She said.

“It’s unreal. I don’t know what to do. Initially I used to think it was just a dream within a dream. But now I don’t know. Everything is so confusing! I don’t even know if this is for real. It’s ridiculous.”

She pinched me.

“Ouch! That hurt!” I wailed.

A smug look appeared on her face, relieved she said “See? It is not a dream. You don’t feel pain in a dream. You would have woken up.”

“It’s not so simple! This doesn’t prove anything. In all my dreams I feel as real as I’m feeling right now.”

“You are an idiot. It proves everything. Besides I’m telling you this isn’t a dream, so it isn’t. Now shut up about it.” She crossed her arms and jerked her head to a side, trying to seal her point.

“You don’t understand, do you? Nevermind! It was not me who brought up the matter, only you wouldn’t let it go.”

She looked at me, then away. For a long while both of us said nothing. I watched her face as it oscillated between concern-amusement-terror-concern.

“You go home now. Go to sleep. Take a sleeping pill, if you must and you’ll feel better tomorrow. We’ll talk then. Ok?”

I could see she needed reassurance more than I did.

“Ok. I’ll go.”

“And SLEEP!”

“Yeah yeah! I’ll go and SLEEP!” I said dismissively.

“Good.” She smiled again. I got up and turned around.

This room doesn’t look the same as it did the last time. She must have redecorated it or something. No, something is definitely off about it. The size of it, the furniture… Was it the same when I entered? Oh! How did I come here? My god! WHERE AM I?

I turned around again and faced blankness.

“Hey! Where did you go?” I shouted.

What is happening?

I turned again. Blankness. I strained my eyes to get a better look in the darkness.

Oh God! What is happening?

Panicked, I made a move towards the direction where the door stood a moment before.

For a split-second I couldn’t understand what had happened. The foot did not hit the ground as it was supposed to. The ground seemed lower, lower and even lower and then there was no ground, there was nothing. Legs swinging, I tried to grab hold of the surface on which I was standing, but nothing caught my hands. I strained and stretched and hoped and prayed for a touch of something steady, something solid, anything at all but felt nothing, nothing but air, cold dead air rushing past me, swooshing, as I fell freely, subjected to gravity. Helpless, a scream left my lips.

NOOOOOOO...

**************************************************

I got up with a jerk. I was heavy breathing heavily, covered in sweat, awoken by my own shriek. I looked around to the familiarity of the surroundings. Old Boy’s Hostel, IIIT Hyderabad. Satisfied that it was my room and my bed that I was sleeping in, I closed my eyes and buried the face in my palms and tried to comfort myself. The respiration returned to its normal pace in a few minutes.

Thank goodness! Only a dream. The dreams were growing worse by the day.

“I have to tell someone about it.”

“But didn’t you do already?” A voice inside my head spoke.

“That was different, that was in a dream. I have to talk to someone in the real world regarding it.”

“Well, you felt real enough back then.” It mocked.

“Fair enough. I don’t even know if this is real.” I spoke to it.

“Oh God! Again?”

“No, this is real, alright.” The rational part of my brain which has the deep voice of an English butler chimed in.

“How do you know?” The mocking voice said grinning.

“Well, those surroundings were foreign, these are not. Clearly, those were the result of my over-imaginative enthusiastic cousin who tends to get active when I retire.” The butler spoke.

“What he says makes sense.” I agreed.

“We’ll see about that soon enough” The mean voice snorted.

“I don’t want to hear you. Shut up already. You’re making me feel even more uncomfortable.” I grunted.

If these voices reside in my head why can’t I take them out at my own will? Fucking parasites!

I got up, irritated. The floor was cold. I immediately fell back on the bed and looked for my slippers. One was right in front of me, the other nowhere to be seen. I looked under the bed. A dark brown ellipse covered the otherwise bright yellow base of my second slipper. A close inspection revealed that contrasting spot to be a cockroach, who probably spent the night on those bright grounds. I shook the slipper and it clumsily left its sleeping spot, cursing. I think.

“Ok, that might be real. Ha!” The mean voice mocked, again.

I placed my foot upon recently vacated space and stood up to get out. I’ll have to wash the fucking thing! I moved towards the door.

There were drums playing somewhere, faint at first then increasing in loudness. The sound seemed to come from the Gachibowli stadium adjacent to our hostel. I rushed out of my room. But then I realised the direction of the sound couldn’t be that at all. It now seemed the sound was from the next room, adjacent room to mine. I banged at the door, cursing.

“Saksham! Turn your fucking speakers off! @#$#^&^%$#”

The door opened. Nope not here. I realised.

“What happened dude? Why do you spoil my morning sleep? Always! And it is you who plays songs in the morning, not me!”

“Ugh! Where is the sound coming from then? It is definitely not me!”

“The only sound that I hear is in my brain, which is your thumping of my door at goddamn 7 am! You are a nutcase bro, get yourself tested.” He shut the door in my face.

“FUCK OFF! You’re DEAF!” I shouted.

The loudness was increasing steadily. Another door opened. Rafa appeared.

“What happened bro?”

“Don’t you hear anything? The sound of drums?”

“What sound?”

The realisation dawned on me all of a sudden. The sound was nowhere in my vicinity! Not in my room, not in the stadium, not in Saksham’s room. Nowhere but in my goddamn head!

“I think I’m dreaming.” I spoke softly.

“Come again!” He spoke.

The world grew blurry… shapes were fading into smoke…

Try to remember the last thing you have been doing. Some voice in my head spoke. I tried. And I remembered, her concerned eyes looking at me almost feeling sorry for me and the fall…

THUMP!

**************************************************

I got up with a start. There was an old man standing at the foot of my bed, he smiled at me baring his crooked teeth between his broken lips. There was something oddly familiar about the face. I had seen the man somewhere. Surely! Oh! How can this be? My heart skipped a beat, I blinked and he was gone.

This couldn’t be! There is no chance in hell!

“Oh! In hell there might just be!” The mocking voice returned.

I pulled my hair. I grabbed my slippers, which were the same shade of yellow as the night before. Or should I say, the dream before. The drums were still playing, louder with each floor I descended. Four… three… two… one. I jumped the last few steps of the lowest level and ran towards the main gate of the apartment. Next lane… I ran.

The body was placed on a white bed sheet, covered with flowers and the same face stared at me, with two cotton pieces stuffed in both the nostrils. My head was spinning. I grabbed the nearest chair.

After my head steadied a bit I got up and returned.

I looked around. I was in the PG that I had rented. Bangalore. I had seen the body the night before while returning from office.

That is a good sign.

“Seriously?” The mean voice returned.

“Not the casualty, you idiot! The fact that I’m recalling past happenings” I sulked.

“But what if it’s a dream? And what you saw yesterday also a part of it? An elaborate setup.” It said.

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore. I’ve given up! I’ll wait for it. I’ll wait till I wake up again.” I resigned.

I was at a loss. I did not know what to do...

“Should I visit a doctor?” I posted the question in my head, waiting for anyone to answer.

“Probably” The butler answered.

“No, I’ll look like an idiot.” I said.

“Meh!”

**************************************************

Three days have passed. I haven’t woken up still. Maybe that is a good sign or maybe not. Maybe I’m in a very, very deep sleep. Limbo they say? Did I meet with an accident? Am I in a coma? Is this what happens while a person is unconscious to the world?

“Nothing can help you.” It said.

I know that. I know all of it. Probably it’s best that I should wait for this terrible nightmare to get over. Yes, wait. Wait and see what unfolds next…

The Story of Ramesh @ IIIT-H

These are some fragments of the life story of Ramesh. If you choose to proceed, please don’t abandon him mid-way. If you feel offended by some part(s) please tell me, I’ll reprimand Ramesh at the earliest and ask him to change his statement or flash that part out of his memory.

All suggestions for modifying any part(s) of the story are welcome. If they are interesting I’ll incorporate them and tell Ramesh his story is more interesting that way.

Note: This is meant for people concerned with IIIT Hyderabad, but I don’t mind you reading, so go on.

Disclaimer: The views expressed are of Ramesh, and Ramesh solely. I'm just a mediator, narrating the happenings.

The day arrives. Ramesh sets foot inside the main gate of the prestigious institution. He was a bit nervous. Nonetheless, he felt elated.

The day has come. All my efforts have finally paid off. After two pathetic years, I’m a college student.

He had been working really hard for the past two years, preparing for engineering entrance examinations. The results came out. Even though he did not get a good rank in JEE, he fared better in AIEEE. He was happy. And why wouldn’t he be? He was going to one of India’s top notch engineering colleges, IIIT-Hyderabad.

He remembered the words of his one of his teachers “Just these two years my boy! Once you get into a good college, life becomes very easy”.

The time to enjoy my life has come at last!

What a fool! He didn’t know it yet, but he was in for a surprise…

He finished the registration, and proceeded to attend the orientation ceremony.

There was someone talking about the importance of research, studying regularly and the qualities of an ideal student. Ah! He couldn’t care less. He was there sitting on the red carpet looking at the unfamiliar faces which would soon be his friends. But suddenly something caught his attention: Someone said there was a mandatory 85% attendance in all the courses, including Physical Training.

What? They cannot be serious! This is too much. Isn’t there a percentage like 60-65 for this sort of thing everywhere else? And Physical Training? Huh?

But he didn’t bother about it for long. He had so much on his plate at the moment.

They're just saying this to scare us. Yes, that is it.

******************************************************************************************************************

Two months passed.

The sentience of Ramesh has observed a reduction by 7kgs, thanks to morning physical activities. They have successfully enabled him to be worn out in the morning classes. He has very well screwed his Mid-semester 1 examination, Mid-semester 2 is on the way.

He has had two trips to the local doctor. The doctor reported the cause to be too much exertion. “Get some rest boy!” doctor said. And rest he did.

******************************************************************************************************************

Three months passed.

An excerpt from Ramesh’s all-in-one notebook (deciphered from a scribble at the back of the notebook to the best of my abilities):

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CLASSES MISSED:

DLP – 5. SHIT!

C-Pro - 5/6 (not sure). F**K!

Maths1 - Don’t remember! L SHIT_MAX!

.

.

DEADLINES:

C-Pro: Tonight. 5/10 questions left. I’m screwed!

DLP: Tomorrow. Start now!

.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He makes a mental note:

If(activity==class || activity==pt || activity==somehow_related_to_academics){

Proceed();

}

Else{

Printf(“Are you a fool?\n”);

Exit();

}

5pm.

Classes over alas!

Ramesh is sitting in the workspace. He is exhausted. He sends a mail to the course instructor for extending this deadline for him because he had some difficulty in understanding a concept and got that only very late.

10pm.

He missed dinner (Couldn’t care less about it!). Remaining questions 4/10.

Refreshes Inbox.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unread mails (4).

LOST ID CARD                                                  manishchandra.kumar@students.iiit.ac.in

Talk on #$%^*%$#@#$%...                        satyajit@iiit.ac.in

.

.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

His head was throbbing.

He’ll probably understand my plea…

Hopeful, he goes to OBH D-21. Lies down on the bed.

Lights out.

Next Day: 10:00am.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unread mails (7).

.

.

Reg. Deadline Extension                              someone@iiit.ac.in

This would be unfair to other students. This cannot be done.

>Res. Sir,

>I’m Ramesh, a 1^st year student. I’m enrolled in the C-Pro course…

.

.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shit! I shouldn’t have slept. I’m an incompetent fool! That assignment had a weightage of 7%. I’m officially f**ked!

******************************************************************************************************************

A semester passed.

Ramesh did well in the exams (thanks to his IQ) but lost grades in three subjects. He fell short of attendance by one class in two and two in one.

I’ll explain my situation to the Dean today. I’m sure he’ll understand.

4pm. After waiting for two hours, he is finally let inside the office.

The dean is staring at his laptop screen and is looking very busy. He quickly glances at Ramesh with a state-your-purpose-within-three-seconds look.

Ramesh stumbles but regains his balance quickly. Words don’t quite come clearly out of his mouth:

“Sir, I.. I came to you so that… actually… I lost my grades because I missed one extra class in…”

“I know what this is about. Students like you come to me all the time. Be careful from the next time. You can go now.”

“Sir, please sir, it won’t happen again… Just this time…”

“Look, I’m very busy. I know brats like you. Start attending classes instead of spending day and night watching movies. Go now and study!”

He exits the room. A tear came rolling out his right eye. Why right? I don’t know.

But I agree with you. He is a fool, couldn’t manage his time. What a LOSER! Crying like a girl! Ha!

******************************************************************************************************************

Three semesters passed.

Time flew. His indifference grew with time. He got his grades trimmed now and then due to his “lazy” attitude. It felt like no one really cared. He knew the subjects, at least he thought he did, but it seemed that the attendance policy presided over everything else. The number four, which was the allowed number of absents in a course, seemed to fly by unnoticed.

Sometimes, due to working late in the night for an assignment/project. Sometimes due to something else. Once in a while he even missed morning classes because he watched a late night movie. He said that it was too much and that he needed to relax his brain. Duh!

******************************************************************************************************************

Five semesters passed.

He is a six-pointer. He had found means to be content with that. He didn’t bother much, until lately.

He had applied for an internship position somewhere. He said he was really interested in the work being done there and felt as if he could significantly contribute towards it. He got a mail notifying him of being rejected for the position due to a low CG.

“But I have a solid background. CGPA is in no way a measure of my capabilities!” He cried.

After blaming himself for being inconsiderate of the rules, he sought to curse the system.

Sense of belongingness towards the institute they say?

He first thought that he’d go about explaining “the stupidity of strictly adhering to some inflexible rules when something much bigger was at stake”. He’ll change the system he resolved, but then, thought better of it. In another parallel universe probably, where he wouldn’t have missed that one/two extra day(s) of classes, things would be different.

Anyways, I’ll get somewhere or the other. I’m sure of it.

******************************************************************************************************************

But I’m not so sure right now.

I believe in his capabilities and I think he’ll subsequently find himself in a place worthy of having him. Not today, not tomorrow but sometime in the future, yes.

Time will tell us more of what happens of him. If you’ve bonded a little with him, include him in your prayers. I will try to, in mine! J

Awake in a Dream?

A cold gust of humid air hit my face. The thrust of air was somewhat dragging me sideways as I struggled clutching the iron that I was holding even harder. Somewhere deep inside me I knew that I couldn’t let go. I just couldn’t.

I opened my eyes. The landscape was fast receding. I was swaying occasionally. I looked around to find myself hanging off the door of a railway compartment. I shuddered. How the hell did I reach here, I thought. I lunged back and retreated into the compartment. I sat on the first empty seat I could find and tried to remember what had happened.

“No, you cannot fool me. I’ll recognise you at once” The man said. The other looked at him, smiled and said “Appearance is very important but so is the body language. I tell you, I change my body language and behave differently keeping my appearance very much same as now, you’ll have a hard time recognizing me”

Silly people, I thought. I couldn’t concentrate. I moved further inside the compartment.

I tried thinking even harder about the last thing I could remember doing but, I felt blank. Out of all efforts, I tried to recall what I have been doing lately. I remembered that I were to leave for my home in a couple of days. Oh yes! I might be going to Mumbai. Yes, from there I was to get on a connecting flight to Indore. But wait, I was supposed to get on a flight to Mumbai. Why the hell was I on a train?

I was utterly bewildered. If I was on the train, where was my luggage? Where was my ticket? Where was my mobile? The increase in humidity implied that we were close to Bombay, but how the hell did I manage to avoid TC throughout the journey?

I never before seemed to have lost the track of time or place so dreadfully, nor had I the problem of sleepwalking. Nothing made sense, unless it was unreal. Unless…

Of course! It was all a dream. Everything seemed explicable now. A feeling of happiness dawned over me. I was awake, in dream. Really awake. I had always wished for this to happen. I wanted to be in control of my dream from a long long time. But it so happened that the realization of it all being a dream always came to me with consciousness. Boy! How hard I tried to go back, every time, but was never able to return to the dream once I had set foot in the materialistic world. But, today was my chance. Indeed.

I wanted to observe, what happens. I wanted to see if what we see in a dream was a reflection of the thoughts in our minds, things we have learned, bits and pieces of our sub-conscious. When I think now, of what I might have observed, nothing comes to my mind. It was as if a virtual machine was running inside my mind. Naturally, the processing was bound to get slower. It seems now that the ‘write to memory’ subroutine was totally wiped out in the process.

The first thought that came to me was, what would happen if I jumped out of the train. Will my reverie be broken? It seemed like a logical explanation after what I had seen in ‘Inception’. If I die in my dream, I would wake up before actually dying. It had happened to me on previous occasions. I had returned just from the brink of death to find myself thanking the Gods for it had all been a dream. But never before I was in control of what was happening. Never before I was conscious.

But, what would happen if I didn’t wake up? What would happen if I died in the dream? Will I die in the real world? Will I go into a coma? Will I find myself in Limbo? ‘Curse these science fiction texts’, I said in my mind.

I wanted to get out of this dream. Its strange that only when we get out of a problematic situation we think if given the chance to be in it again, we would have done this and that. But when actually in it, the first instinctive response is to get out from the nearest exit door. So instinctively, I wanted to get out of this fucked up dream.

I saw a boy about my age sitting contently a few seats away. The face looked oddly familiar. I felt that he and I had something in common. We shared something. The same dream, perhaps?

I approached him and asked directly “Do you know this is all a dream?”

“I think so…” He said. He was bewildered.

“So you think we are sharing the same dream?” I asked. It sounded ridiculous.

“I don’t know” The boy said. It was clear that he couldn’t make sense of it either.

“Have you had dreams like this before?” I asked again.

“I don’t remember” he said with a sorry smile.

“Okay, here’s what you will do..” My brain was working very fast. “When you get up from the sleep, you’ll search ‘Tarang Goyal’ on Facebook and send a friend request straightaway. Don’t delay man! It’s important that you do so as soon as you get up. If I get a request, it’ll mean we really were sharing the same dream! This would be big!”

I felt a painful sensation on the right side of my neck and shoulder as if they were under pressure. I tried to rotate the hand, but couldn’t. It felt that something heavy was lying on it

I could hear faint voices in my head. The voices of my friends. Were they aboard? It didn’t make sense.

“I raise the pot to 150” Bonda said.

“Shakal se dikh raha hai, Bluff kar raha hai saala” Rafa replied.

“Esa hai to call kar, ch**** ” Bonda retorted.

Obviously, they were playing poker. Oh yes, I was in my dorm. Of course!

I opened my eyes and looked around. The lights were on. I was lying sideways on the right half of the body. Book one of “The Song of Ice and Fire” was lying on the floor by my side. I looked at the table clock. The Simpson was still making its way out the dial.

I grabbed my mobile and opened the Internet browser. I logged into Facebook. 3 Notifications, 2 Messages and 0 Friend Requests. I felt sad. I threw the phone on the table, changed sides, closed my eyes and went back to sleep, trying very hard to go back to the dream I came from!

Happiness to sadness... or reverse?? o.O

"Bola tha maine?? ki apna mobile apni jeb main rakha karo... samajh to aata nahi hai, sunna hota nahi hai, ab to main tumhe 1100 hi dilwaungi..."

"Didi ab to wo aane band ho gaye hain..."

"koi nahi main to wahi dilwaungi... 2nd 3rd hand, jo mile..."

"Suno to..."

"Mujhe kuch nahi sunna."

Hmm... now you must be wondering whats going on... let me answer, I lost my phone. Not a big deal!! is it?? probably not, par galti ki hai to ghar waalon ki daant to khani hi padegi... jel ka paani to peena hi padega... poshampa bhai poshampa!!

And here is my sister scolding me...

Now I was wondering ki gaya to gaya kahaan...

Summer vacations, function at home, home flooded with relatives, khushiyon ka mahaul... and I lost my phone. Was about to leave to drop didi to airport when I couldn't find my phone, searched the whole house as fast as I could but nothing... the devil was definitely ringing but I dunno where. Well I had to leave fast and so I did, leaving the whole search and rescue operation in the hands of my worried mother and my cousins... I could see what was forthcoming...

"Arre kuch nahi hota didi..."

"Kya kuch nahi hota?? kitna mehenga phone tha..."

Chalo achchaa hai gum gaya, anyways the devil was troubling me, now I'll get a new one... I was excited, keh hi to rahi hai kaunsa wo mujhe 1100 dilwayegi ;)

After a while, when the scolding subsided, I breathed a sigh of relief only to find out my sister's mobile ringing, a call from home, asking where the mobile was seen last and if I could remember where I'd left it, I told them the possible room. Actually I had no idea. I could picturise in my mind what would be going on in the house.. and with the phone call, didi's temporary "temper" returned with a blast! well.. I tuned out of it.

* * * * * * * * * *

Around  9 pm, when I was sitting in the garden in front of my house with my leftover cousins, I expressed my excitement over the lost phone, actually over the likely arrival of my new phone, and they told me how the search operation went, they were all around the house, ringing the mobile mercilessly wherever it was, searching through dark cupboards only to find some old forgotten mobiles... the thought that one among them could become my future mobile, gave me a chill... hey bhagwaan ghar waalon ko samjhana... Still I was sure... more kinda hoped.. that I'd be bought a new mobile... helped my spirits get high... a flicker of happiness spread onto my face...

"Tarang bhaiya.. dekhna aapka mobile mil jayega... aap sapne dekhna chod do..." my small cousin sis teased me, poking her large tongue out of her little mouth.. I frowned at her immediately but couldn't stop a quick smile.

While gossiping late night with them I slowly felt asleep, fantasizing about my new mobile in my sleep, aisa hoga, waisa hoga... I could see me choosing between htc one... galaxy s3... lumia... loosing a mobile is not bad at all...

The day after, we had plans.. really nice ones... we were gonna go to a movie show, then to the gaming zone, bowling, horse riding (a plastic one :P) and probably eat at the mall. I was happy... I'd go to reliance digital... yes I would...

* * * * * * * * * *

"wow! not bad.." I said halfway through the movie. Out of the hall, retreating to the restroom. I hastily checked on the spare phone handed to me before leaving home just in case and BOOM!!!

"What the f***".. I had it here... here in my damn pocket for god's sake.. man!! loosing two mobiles in the span of less then two days... I truly was messed up...

I had checked on it during the movie... yes I had.. shit!! I ran towards the screen number.. what was it... I scratched my head... 5.. yes 5... its gotta be there, on my seat.. the world was spinning... god help me!!

I was running towards the screen, all I could see was the gate to the hall...  let it be there!! and BUMP!!! I bumped head first into a bulky lady at the corner...

"watchaaaoouuutt!!", screamed the lady in agony..

"sorry sorry sorry aunty!!" I yelled... I had no time to stop and apologize.. had to reach in time..

The gate was coming closer.. Just in in in.. I thought and BANG!!!

Yeah!! that had to happen... seriously man.. apparently someone closed the door right on my nose..

Why does everything.. f***in everything bad has to happen to me today!!
I regained my balance in a while and slowly ascended the hall's stairs.. I'm not running now.. whatever the hell happens.. I thought.

Decently sitting on my seat was the devil as though mocking me... I smiled and rubbed my disoriented nose... "You gotta be kidding me!!Thank god!" I said... Maybe the day was not too bad..

I picked it up, checked on the missed calls... yes there were 3... all from my mother's number...
I'll call back once the movie finishes.. I thought...

* * * * * * * * * *

Coming out of the hall, happily chatting about the movie, I remembered about the missed calls, yeah I have to call now, I thought and so I did...

"Hello.." the fruitier version of my mother's voice came from the other end..

"Haan mummy aapne phone kiya tha??"

"Haan beta, tumhara phone mil gaya.." she was definitely happy...

"Kya... matlab wow!! achchaa hua.. ek minute.. kaise.." I could see my cousins staring at me quizzically.. I remembered the face of the lil cousin sis from previous night... kya yaar!!

"Arre wo tum kisi room main bhool gaye hoge.. tumhare baba ne apna luggage pack karte samay galti se daal liya..."

"Achchaa... to wo kahaan hai abhi??" I dint know what to say... maybe I was happy.. maybe not..

"Gwalior main.. koi aayega to leta aayega.. achchaa movie kaisi thi??"..

After the phone call ended I told everyone... I could see the "I knew it" and "Hehehe bechara.." kind of faces on them... never mind!! every dog has its day...

I was sad.. The feel of having to hold the oldie was not good at the moment... I saw the entrance of reliance digital a floor above and a poster of htc one-X besides it... ah! pain!!

* * * * * * * * * *

Anyways, I tried to see the better part of it.. or I should say I tried to console myself... atleast my personal data was safe... I had removed the phone lock at home... everything was so exposed... all passwords "saved" on the mobile..

I remembered the times when we were together.. the unfailing companionship it had provided me in lonely times or in lonely places of course except for the times it had no battery!!
It had been my music player, net dongle, pocket dictionary or I should say encyclopedia, a gaming station and what not... Maybe its coming back was not so bad after all...

* * * * * * * * * *

Twelve days have passed, the small buddy is likely to arrive tomorrow... whatever I say... I missed it... possibly because I dint have any other phone on me or being with it for a year comes into account, I dont know... All I know is that I'll have a phone again tomorrow... whatever the hell it may be...