It was yet another tiring day in the semester. The Electronics and Communication
students of fourth semester of Guwahati Engineering College were planning to mass bunk
Professor Manjhi’s class as usual. There was no point in attending a lecture where the teacher only looked at the blackboard and never once made eye-contact with the students. To add to that, he had a voice so soft he was barely audible. Zaheer, Himansu, Gurpreet and the others were ready with their carom boards and chess boards for the long summer afternoon in Hostel number 3. But there was a glitch; Ismail was ready with his notebooks, all set to attend the class no one was interested in. He was busy combing his hair carefully, which barely existed.
As always, Zaheer had a solution.
“Yaar, Ismail, have you tried the latest brain tonic which our seniors recommended?
The one which made Madhusudan da (da or brother) the topper always?” Zaheer asked
casually.
“Arre, no. Do you have it? Please give me some.” Ismail pleaded.
“Here, we all tried it. It works.”Himansu offered Ismail the bottle which contained the brain
tonic.
Ismail drank from the bottle eagerly and immediately. After a few minutes, as Ismail
was about to go out, Zaheer stopped him. “Wait, yaar (friend), in this condition you can’t
attend any class.”
“In what condition? I am fine” Ismail said confidently.
“But you are drunk, man” Gurpreet informed Ismail.
“What?!!! How??!!”
“Well the tonic you drank just now was no brain tonic, sweetheart…It was brandy. Brandy
made Madhusudan da the topper always.”
“Oh my God!!! Why did you not tell me before? Am ruined. Allah will never forgive
me!!What have I done????” Ismail was aghast, and sat down on his bed in horror.
Himansu sat near Ismail and put his hand on his shoulder, “Arre, are you feeling giddy? You
will…Very soon.”
Ismail said in a worried tone, “Arre, yes. I feel terrible. Giddy. My head is spinning.”
The three pranksters traded sly glances with each other. The plan was working. Ismail would not be able to rain on their parade after all. There would be no one attending Manjhi Sir’s class. By now Ismail had laid down on his bed. What he was actually feeling was a bad case of nerves, helped by the fear instilled in him by his three classmates. It was a purely
psychological effect on the pompous Ismail. He was moaning in pain, as if he had actually
drunk a full bottle of neat brandy!
“It’s the effect of hangover, yaar. No problem, it will go away by tomorrow. We all tried it.
How could we leave you out? You are our friend after all, aren’t you?” Gurpreet told Ismail.
“You guys have ruined me. If my parents come to know they will throw me out of my home.”
“Who will tell them? You?” Zaheer asked coolly.
“Well, I can tell them if you like,” Himansu offered. He was Ismail’s neighbour.
“Arre, don’t!! Please….”
After dilly dallying in this way, and by the time Manjhi Sir’s class was over, the three
decided to tell Ismail the truth. “Arre, you never drank any alcohol, yaar. So chill. It was just a practical joke. What you drank was brain tonic, nothing else,” finally Zaheer informed
Ismail. Ismail heaved a sigh of relief. He wasn’t angry, just happy that he was not drunk.
Himansu and Gurpreet started a game of chess. Zaheer was standing by the window,
deep in thought. Thanks to his friends, his mind was diverted from his sorrow, which always found a place in his heart. But he could never forget her or the fact that she could never be his. Zafreen. The name was etched in his heart, which belonged to her the day he first saw her. He could never forget her almond eyes, and her sweet voice. Her lovely black tresses that cascaded down her shoulders like a brisk waterfall. Her graceful strides around the library. It was the end of third semester exams when he had decided to confess his feelings to her. Gathering courage from his friends, who pushed him to confide in Zafreen, he went up to her. As usual she was with Lavanya. Lavanya excused herself, and walked away. Then she turned and flashed a thumbs-up sign in Zaheer’s direction. Zaheer smiled happily, feeling that destiny was in his favour, and the stars were smiling upon him.
“Zafreen, how was your paper?”
“Fine. Yours?”
“Not bad.”
“OK then…I got to go.”
“Wait, Zafreen. I have to tell you something.”
Zafreen didn’t seem very eager to listen. “Okay.”
“Zafreen, I wanted to tell you this since the first semester. But never found the right time to tell you what’s in my heart. I like you. I love you. Ever since I saw you on our first day in
college. You were wearing a pink churidar (a type of Indian dress) on our first day,
remember? How lovely you looked! I like everything about you. Your speeches inspire me,
your singing keeps me awake every night. Your…”
“I am really sorry, Zaheer. But I can’t love you back,” was Zafreen’s curt reply.
“Why? I know you are better in academics and extra-curricular activities. But I can hone my talents too. I will try to live up to your expectations, Zafreen.”
“It’s not that, Zaheer. There is nothing lacking in you. But my reason for refusing you is
personal. Please try to understand. Please.”
With that, Zafreen walked away, leaving a million questions unanswered in Zaheer’s
mind. Zaheer looked after her till she disappeared from view. She never once turned back, as he was hoping. He would never know that Zafreen was weeping silently. Her tears wouldn’t stop. She briskly walked away because she knew that if she would look a second more into Zaheer’s eyes she would break down. She would become weak and confess that the storm in his heart was raging in hers too. That she loved him as much as he loved her. That she wanted to spend every waking hour with him. That she wanted to die in his arms.
Zaheer never felt so alone in his life. When he reached his hostel, everyone was busy
packing their bags to go home for vacation. Himansu and Gurpreet gathered round him,
clamoring to know what had happened. When they came to know the truth, they were
furious.
“She won’t find a better guy than you, mark my words. What an attitude she has! Forget her, yaar.” Himansu was fuming.
“Himu is right. What has she got? Just a few marks ahead of you. And she thinks she is some princess! You are our cricket champ. The guy for whom every junior girl has feelings,”
Gurpreet added.
“No. She is one in a million. There’s no one like her. And she must have some reason for
refusing me. And I am nothing compared to her. She has every right to reject me,” Zaheer
said quietly.
“Don’t say such things, lover boy! We are with you. You propose Junaak. She has a big crush on you. Then Zafreen will know your worth,” Gurpreet said enthusiastically.
“You guys have lost it. Why should I ruin Junaak’s life for a stupid revenge? And I will
always love Zafreen, no matter what.”
“As you wish, bhai (brother). Now forget all this. It’s the end of exams, guys! Cheer up!”
Himansu said in an effort to change the topic.
The holidays went by like a season in fast-forward mode. Soon it was the beginning
of fourth semester. Zaheer was brought out from his reverie by a slap on his back. Himu was near him. “You are still brooding over Zafreen, aren’t you?”
“No, no…” Zaheer vehemently protested.
In the evenings, students would gather in Shiladitya Sir’s place to witness a game of
chess played between the two great personalities of GEC, Shiladitya Sir and Kishore Das Sir.
Both were brilliant writers. It was a game worth watching, as exciting as any football match
between Brazil and Argentina. But today there would be no such session. The reason was a
brawl that had taken place between a few Assamese students and two Bengali students. The Assamese boys had called the Bengali ones ‘outsiders’ when actually they had been living in Assam since decades and were as much a part of Assam as them. They had also beaten up the two Bengali boys. Shiladitya Sir looked grave. “Today is a very sad day in the history of GEC. Never before has there been such a shameful incident. You people have let me down. There is absolutely no reason why people of different backgrounds cannot live together in harmony. Well, we have lived that way since time immemorial. So why this sudden change?”
Kishore Sir didn’t utter a word. But his eyes said it all. He was in the depths of despair.
Soon afterwards, things returned to normal and the chess sessions continued till
midnight, and usually in a draw.
A Maths class was going on that day. Das Sir was teaching Fourier Series. It was a bit
complicated. Ismail got up to ask, “Sir, can you please explain how you obtained the first
formula?” Sir peered at him over his horn-rimmed glasses, “Bapu re, you can understand all these things later. Now you just learn it by heart.” The whole class guffawed in laughter.
From then onwards, Ismail came to be famous as ‘Bapu re!’
That afternoon Ismail asked Zaheer, “You know what? I think I love Suhana.”
“Arre, yaar, Bapu re, I strongly feel she loves you too,” Zaheer egged Ismail on.
“No, yaar. I think she likes you. Not me,” Ismail said, crestfallen.
Suhana was their junior who was actually madly in love with Zaheer. She chased him
everywhere, looking for excuses to talk to him, or be near him. She would turn up wherever he went. Zaheer avoided her like the flu, running far from her. So when Ismail confessed his feelings to Zaheer, he was overjoyed at the opportunity. If he could get Ismail hitched with Suhana, he would get good riddance from her.
“Trust me,” Zaheer insisted. “It’s my gut feeling. And my gut feeling is never wrong. She
adores you. I’ve even caught her stealing glances at you.”
“Really?”
“Of course! I suggest you propose her immediately. Or someone else may win her over.”
“You’re right. I will make my move tomorrow.”
The next day Zaheer was eagerly waiting for Ismail to propose Suhana before classes
started. Without delay, Ismail approached Suhana and called her aside. Suhana relented.
“Suhana, I have to tell you something important,” Ismail began.
“Yes, tell me, Ismail da?”
“Suhana, I have to tell you something important….” Ismail repeated, sweating profusely.
“Ismail da, do tell me. What is it?”
“Suhana, I will tell you something. You be ready for it.”
The bell rang at that moment and Das Sir walked into the classroom. Ismail and Suhana went into their respective classes. Zaheer cursed under his breath.
The next day Ismail asked Zaheer, “Bhai, I have a wonderful plan. Let’s go to the
movies; you, me, Suhana and Rukshana. There I will pour out my heart to Suhana.”
Zaheer was only too eager to comply. “Of course. Anything for you, my friend.”
So the four of them went to watch “Chal Mere Bhai” in Anuradha Cineplex. Zaheer was
dying of the suspense. Will that idiot be able to propose to Suhana finally? Or was he
destined to be stuck with her?
During the interval Suhana and Ismail went out to get popcorn. Interval was over, the
movie began. And, yet there was no sign of the two. At the end of the movie, Zaheer called
up Ismail. “We are in a different row. We’ll meet you outside. Wait for us,” Ismail said.
“We???!!!”
“Me and Suhana…” Ismail said shyly. Zaheer and Rukshana found the two, (Ismail and
Suhana) seated elsewhere, away from them. And what was he seeing? He couldn’t believe his
eyes. Suhana was resting her head on Ismail’s shoulder and his arm was wrapped around her!
So, finally the two were together. Zaheer was free after all.
It was evening time during a day in the sixth semester. Gurpreet had brought a bottle
of beer to the hostel room. When Zaheer entered their room, he saw the bottle. He was firm,
“Listen, Guru, what you do and what you drink is none of my business. But please don’t
drink here. Please take that bottle out or I will report to Warden Sir.”
Gurpreet and Himansu immediately went out, carrying the bottle with them. It was time for
the evening namaaz (prayer). Zaheer was regular in offering his prayers.
Soon after that incident, Gurpreet and Himansu hatched a plan to teach Zaheer a
lesson he would never forget. Zaheer’s principles, his outlook and his different nature came
in the way of their fun-filled activities. It was a Sunday and Zaheer had gone for a bath. He
was singing in the shower, happily. Himu and Guru collected all of Zaheer’s clothes and put
them in his trunk. Then they carried the trunk outside. Himu brought a ladder and laid it
across the wall that led to the roof. Then he climbed the ladder, carrying the trunk with him
and reached the rooftop. He then dragged the trunk and placed it on the roof. Then he
climbed down the ladder. They carried the ladder back to the store-room and then came back into their room. They started playing Ludo, completely immersed in the game, as if nothing had happened.
When Zaheer came out in nothing but his towel and started looking for his clothes, he
was flabbergasted. All his clothes had vanished! He immediately asked Guru and Himu if
they had done anything. Both replied, “What will we do with your clothes, bhai?”
Late in the evening, Himu finally revealed where he had hidden Zaheer’s clothes. Zaheer was furious. He went to the store-room and brought out the ladder. Then he placed it across the wall that led to the roof and brought down his trunk. He refused to speak to the two conspirators for a whole week.Later at the beginning of the last semester, Zaheer took Lavanya aside and asked her if Zafreen liked someone else. Or if she had any feelings for him. What Lavanya narrated left Zaheer speechless. “No one has ever been to Zafreen’s place. She never encouraged it. But one day she broke down before me. The reason was her mother’s illness,” Lavanya began.
“The reason she never invited us to her place is her mother. You see, her mother has a serious mental disorder. So grave is the problem that she is chained to a bed to prevent her from hurting others. When she was normal, she had a dream. To see her daughter, Zafreen get married to her best friend’s son, Zaved. So although she is no longer in her senses, Zafreen has decided to fulfil her last wish. So Zafreen can never think of anyone else. She told me not to tell you this. But I think you have a right to know about her distress. And she would never have told me. But one day her tears betrayed her. I made her tell me. I am her best friend after all.”
“Why didn’t she tell me? She had to go through hell and yet, she never let all this hamper her studies or other activities. She is truly a gem. Now I love her even more,” Zaheer finally uttered.
“But remember you can’t tell anyone what I told you. It’s her personal problem. Everyone
will not understand her plight.”
“Don’t worry. Her secret is safe with me. Thanks for trusting me, Lavanya.”
“Anytime, yaar.”
Zaheer kept his word and never even confronted Zafreen. He would watch her from
afar, nurturing the sapling of love for her all the time in his heart. Zafreen married the man
her mother had chosen for her. Zaheer never married.
