Sunday, February 26, 2012

Geleyara nageyalli

Geleyara Nageyalli

My mind was fraught with uneasiness and unnecessary worries.Everything seemed to be loosely defined -emotions, relations , friendship and interests started  slipping and I tried to reason - Why? The brain was wound tight like a rope in a tug of war.I had become a harsh cynic.

And then the perfect recipe - 2 inebriated friends , 3 impulses and some lack of sleep to top it up and there I had a trip to Lucknow.So off we went to catch up with a friend studying there and we landed in the quaint city.The air was comfortably cold and on the way to my friend's campus , the visages which flitted across were of a typical North Indian town I had watched on the big screen - houses with uncovered brick walls amidst mustard fields in half bloom and the people seemed a satisfied bunch cycling through the mist on a hazy morning.

Once we reached the campus , I readied my stomach with some piping hot ginger tea and headed to relish the royal spread.Famished that we were , we deep dived into an array of dishes , the richly burnt meat laced with generous spices just burst into my mouth but the Shahi Tudka simply suppressed all other flavors and established its royalty.We followed that up with a delicious Ghanta Paan(yes the paanwala rings a bell everytime he serves paan) and an ill-adviced movie and the uneasiness was back all over.On the way the back , the dyspepsia of mind and stomach took over and it was not just the food being thrown up.

After some sound rest , I ventured along with my friend around the campus ,ranting,while she was floating in a world of her own.And then we came to rest, savoring the delicious chai only to be disturbed as we were witnesses to an incredible birthday celebration and I was left bewildered.I was bewildered by set of bright intelligent young guys could commit acts of such crassness and which almost bordered along the inhumane.The aggression which was veiled during the day came to light in the dark of the night.The tension across the campus was palpable, and given the diversity of the people enrolled and the range of backgrounds to which they belonged and the reactions that spawned from being competitive over a sustained period , it was all quite fascinating to observe.Ah the college life doesnt remain so simple .

Then it was time to indulge and take flight , and take flight we did over a game of cards , trying to call each other's bluff and betting on set of cards vying for a flush , staight etc but it was all in vain since the winner didnt even get any bragging rights at the end of it.Amongst unfamiliar faces which became countenances of mirth , old stories retold , new stories cooked up and various mishaps laughed at , I let the rope slacken , it was time to relax.At that moment all was forgotten - ambitions , pressure , concerns - all were discarded , it was sheer camaraderie and fun.What joy!

The rest of the trip was spent on reliving my academic years on passing through the library and classrooms,listening to my friends learnings and experiences, visiting historical places like the Imambara(accompanied by an irritating goose guide), Roomi Darwaza , hogging sumptous biriyani at friend's place, spicy chaats and last but not the least - The immerthi , succulent crisp fried jalebi dipped in creamy rabdi was worth the entire trip, at the risk of a cardiac arrest though.

Footnote- But all along, amidst all the strangeness of a new city and of new people, the laughter of two of my best(and crazy) companions was panacea to the unsettled mind I had come with.

"..Geleyara nageyalli , naa kandenu katheyannu"

Kudkus and Tho. \m/