Nisith was last seen getting hurriedly into a taxi and saying, ‘Bye Mom, see you’ and the lady running after the car for a while was all in tears and then wiping off her temples with her very own attire known as ‘Sari’.
The all important paper Nisith is carrying in his bag which, in a way sort of unforgettable episode in his life.
He boarded a train from Guwahati, put his luggage on the upper berth. The steam engine train rolled on, after a few moment the natural scenic beauty with lush green plain land was visible, this was quite in contrast with the hilly terrain Nisith is habitual of living.
‘Yes Gentleman, where are you off to?’ a co passenger asked. ‘Well, I am going to Rourkela to study Engineering there’ replied Nisith. ‘Oh Good, Good, that’s very good, by the way how will you go to Rourkela from Howrah? Have you got a reservation already?’ queried the co–passenger again. ‘No I am planning to get down at Howrah where I will have a friend of mine waiting for me at the station. She will have an onward ticket for me. Can you tell me how to go to Fancy Market?’ rallied Nisith. The man on the other end gave a vivid description of the route by tram to fancy Market at Calcutta, known for the ‘smuggled goods collection.’ On the next day Nisith arrived at the Fancy Market with his friend Tania and they went in straight to the garments market and bought him a pair of HARA Jeans.....
Next morning Nisith arrived at the Rourkela Jn. and got into an Auto Rikshaw and asked the driver, ‘Take me to REC’ in a voice of command. It was about 6:30 AM in the morning, the auto driver asked Nisith ‘Are you coming here for the first time? Nisith said, ‘No no, I stay in Bunda Munda’, replied apprehensively. ‘I mean, are going to take admission in REC?’ Enquired the auto driver once again, inquisitively, fully understanding that Bunda Munda is the nearest junction from Rourkela. ‘No, No I have almost finished my studies’, said Nisith defensively. The Driver dropped thus him at Hostel no 2 and went away!
Nisith walking like a intoxicated and in weird fashion for not having wholesome sleep overnight and not knowing what to do next, laden at the same time with a Funky T Shirt & HARA Jeans, was quickly welcomed by a final year student; who just woke up with a tooth brush in his hand, ‘Ha Ha Guinea Pig arrived!’ screaming in a sarcastic style. ‘Hey, who are you? What you want?’ Beaming in anticipation, questioned the Hostel 2 occupant. ‘Sir, I have come here to take admission in REC’ replied Nisith. ‘Oh! Then Guess I am from which state?’ said the senior. ‘You have Solid, Liquid and Gas as well in your body but I am not so sure that you have plasma’ replied Nisith almost shivering in fear. ‘You Idiot, I have asked you, which Indian State do I belong to? rallied the senior. ‘Oh! Sorry Sir, I could not follow you earlier, I believe you are from Orissa, Sir’ replied Nisith finally, as everybody past Guwahati appeared to him as some alien, he has never seen in life and every moment he got threatened in, (thus this safest possible answer!). Quickly enough, Nisith’s state was then determined and he was left behind with the senior of his own state, who did not much care about him but allowed him to use his bath room to get freshened up and despatched Nisith to Hostel 1. In the whole process Nisith thoroughly learnt the lesson though, the dreadful result of his mistaken apprehension of overcharging by the auto driver.
Nisith showed the letter so carefully brought along with him to the Hostel warden’s staff, who quickly allotted a room for him on the fourth floor. Nisith dressed up, went to the dining hall to have some kind of bite which he was reluctant to have, primarily due to the premonition of the impending dangers he pre-conceived in his mind.
Once out of the Hostel 1 premises, he saw a few guys on their bicycle shouting, ‘Hey guys raise your hands up’ - ‘Turn One hundred and eighty degrees’ and Run, Run fast’, Nisith utterly got messed up and for a moment he forgot what this degree is all about. ‘I have come here to get an Engineering degree, I suppose, but look at the guys, they are asking me to turn 180 degrees’. Before he could comprehend the ‘degree matter’, he saw his friends have already running backwards, with books in one hand & an umbrella on the other!
Nisith attended the classes, the notable class of the day was Engineering Mechanics, he returned after having finished all classes. On return Nisith saw the hostel warden and few other teaching staff roving around, those made him feel a bit relaxed and secure. He met a few batch mates and finished his dinner. Hostel warden locked the front grill at around 10 PM and went away, to make Nisith & co all safe as no one can enter the hostel now. The firm conviction of the Warden as well the teachers was this, but that was not to be and the intelligent guys (Undoubtedly - Rengcolians) are here to find some solution to the issue.
At around 2 AM in the middle of the night when Nisith was in his deep sleep, he got wakened by the big banging sound on his door. His friend Balaram opened the door, suddenly a few guys appeared. ‘Dude, Guess I am from which state?’ Nisith not completely out of his sleep said, ‘Bunda Munda’ in a hurried fashion. Nisith was ordered to come out of the room, and then asked to sit on the edge wall of the corridor. ‘Look at this pipe, hold on to it and slide down’ ordered the senior. Nisith looked down and started to feel pain on the chest as felling of giddiness and vertigo aroused. Nisith was silent and not moving at all. On observing Nisith’s sluggishness the guy said, ‘Dude don’t worry, you will not die, take a look, there are host of guys ready to catch you down below’. Nisith took a glance and saw guys are there waiting with safety net in case of an accidental fall. Nisith however, has never seen rain water pipes in his life, although there are hell a lot of rain in Shillong, but nowhere spun cast iron water pipes are used. Nisith saw a bulging type thing on the rain water pipes at the interval of around two meters may be. The Guy on the other end frowned and ordered Nisith to slide without having to be reminded, the next time. Nisith this time remembered the God and submitting to the Almighty fully he started the slide from 4th Floor. (Taking his own soul in the pocket!) Nisith closed his eyes, allowed himself to go down and then suddenly he got stuck. ‘This is the last day of my life’, he imagined and murmured to himself. ‘Oh! God, why did I come here for the degree?’ Nisith realised that he was in heavy perspiration and slid yet again and came back to life to realise his foot getting stuck against the spun spigot, this time around left feet instead of right. The guys down below now started shouting in greater decibel asking Nisith to come down fast. Nisith closed his eyes again and in seven attempts of slide he went down till embraced by his Senior Friends, who said, ‘Welcome to the REC Rourkela’. Nisith, shell shocked! Was taken away to the other Hostel blind folded. On arrival the guys asked him, Hey? What’s your name? ‘Nisith, Sir’. ‘Do you know how to sing? ‘No Sir, I can try but’. ‘Sing anything from country to rock to pop whatever thing that suits you’ requests came from all. Nisith sang, ’Welcome to the Hotel California’ - and then once more, once more roar was heard by the sleeping occupants of the Hostel and the gathering achieved a vibrant proportion of entertainment. Nisith was given a Hotel like retreat duly welcoming him with a hot tea on a stainless steel glass, (meant for drinking water!) boiled eggs and a pastry. That of course did not come free as many thought..... But came as a reward for the wholesome entertainment provided.
Nisith thus survived with fanfare instead of nightmare as all of his classmates conceived, however, his roommate friend Rajiv one fine morning packed his bag and then disappeared. Nisith said to himself, ‘Oh! I lost a friend to whom I could at least speak a bit of my mind; ultimately he was from my state.’ Rajiv who joined in the same class as that of Nisith could not survive the ordeal of the initial crunches of the hostel life. Nisith however, reluctantly stayed on due to compulsion of being the only son of his parents to start with, but in the end Nisith started to enjoy the hostel life on its own in an entirely new environment, and reaped rich dividends on the contrary.
More than several months passed by, Nisith at times felt lonely totally deprived of his very own society and the food. And then came a respite in the form of a dinner invitation from one of the habitants of Rourkela. Nisith well dressed reached the place and to his surprise found Ankita also joined in. ‘Helow Nisith & Ankita how do you do’ uttered the hostess. ‘You know we are living in Rourkela for the last seventeen years and hardly we come across people from our state, until Rahul told me that two of the new students have arrived from Shillong to study here.’ What a pleasant surprise!
Manisha the hostess set the ball rolling and all of them got involved in intense conversation. One topic flew past another and there was an inevitable break as Manisha had to make all arrangements for the Dinner complete in all respect.
Nisith & Ankita felt awkward to start with having left behind all alone in the living room. ‘Where do you stay in Shillong?’ Ankita broke the ice and Nisith replied ‘Laitumukhrah’ with his face lighted up in anticipation. Nisith by saying that got up from the couch and went out to the balcony and to his sheer surprise Ankita also followed with grace and with softer steps. ‘How do you feel here, do you like the place?’ questioned Ankita. ‘I feel awesome and a lot lonely here, miss my mom and miss everyone of my family for that matter. Feel utterly home sick, fervently long for the dishes that Mom prepares!!! To be honest with you!’ replied Nisith. ‘Yeah, Yep, the same for me as well, excuse me’ said Ankita and headed towards the living room again but hovered around to place the toilet. Ankita started to occupy the mind of Nisith and he said to himself, ‘Oh God, give me some moonlight at least on this breathtaking evening; let someone light up my life yet again.’ Ankita returned back in the midst of Nisith deeply engrossed in thought & being unmindful.
‘Hey Guys we are just waiting a bit for Rahul to come back from Plant, hope not he is coming back only after finishing all the rolling in the Cold Rolling Mill’ – Manisha the host uttered articulately. ‘No issue’ roared both Nisith & Ankita together and at the same time. Incidentally, Rahul also hails from Shillong but fifteen years senior to both these new entrants and a NITR Alumni too, working at the Steel Mill.
Ankita came out of her shell and added, ‘I am too, fond of the kind of homely environment that prevails out here and feel more than lucky for being invited and so let us enjoy our brand of food for today, right Nisith?
This time around Ankita sat right next to Nisith and this made him externally uncomfortable but internally soothing with a feeling of concord as Nisith started to get intoxicated by the fragrance of Ankita’s hair and the sweet perfume she wore. Ankita’s neck, however, was empty and in Nisith aroused an extreme desire to fill it up with some grand ornament one day!
Nisith’s eyes met Ankita’s for a moment there was ‘turbulence in certainty’ felt Manisha the hostess and she asked, ‘Hey what about your friend Rajiv? Poor guy, he had to leave without being able to continue his first year, else we could have loved to see him over here as well.’
Two and half decades passed by without Nisith & Ankita much realising that now their only daughter studies abroad and doing FRCS in the UK. The couple arrived back at the Rourkela Jn. the very first time after graduating out of the college and boarded a Limousine sent by the organising secretary of the Golden Jubilee Home Coming. The car had a Blaupunkt system and in the FM Radio a number was being played from the popular Hindi movie of their time ‘Ek Duje Ke Liye’ and believe me that made both Nisith & Ankita become awfully nostalgic, cherishing their unforgettable delicate teenage years and thus compel them to make this candid admission of how they first met out of the campus.
