Our college is situated on a hilltop, during rainy season or in winters it looks like some dream place, clouded and misty gives, an illusion of simla or mussorie. Just an illusion as it’s the one of the most infamous areas of Gwalior. Better known for kidnappings and murders. Girl’s hostel was just next to the college while for boys they have to live down the hill. Any movement to hostlers was restricted after 4.30 or at the most 5.0 pm. Even on Sunday we have to be back by 5.00. Such a dreaded place it is. I love morning walks, have been doing it since I was a kid. My grandpa used to wake me up early in the morning and took me with him to fetch milk from the nearby village. So this habit, I just cant leave it. When I came there, was very upset, simply because my morning walks were restricted. Tried everything officially, from convincing warden to taking special permission from HOD. Nothing worked; finally I managed to persuade the guard on duty. He agreed but only if I leave after 6 and comeback by 7. That was more than enough for me. I used to walk or jog alone, sometimes a friend of mine accompanied me, sometimes.. because this idea of jogging at 6am in the winter morning (read summer too) fascinated no one. During winters as I have told you its dark in the morning and sometimes I felt it is unsafe to walk alone. So I started pampering my friend, in no way she was agreeing, so I gave her an option of morning tea. Tea lovers so we were, she agreed. It was January end, winter started receding and mornings were beautiful. One Monday we left for morning walk and talking about several things reached too long. At last we remembered that we have college to attend, we started climbing fast. Then as they say. some people are bound to be beaten by habits. We saw a thelewalla just starting his day, preparing tea. Without thinking that we are getting late we stopped there and ordered tea, till he prepared tea, my friend gave him a shot”bhaiya adrak daal dena” and then again we got busy with our discussion sitting on the stairs of temple. We didn’t realized, none of us noticed that an auto came there, diverting from its route and stopped behind us. She just thought and murmured” yaar ye auto mein subha-2 kaun bhakt aaya hai! Log bhagwaan ko chain se sone bhi naihn dete” suddenly we heard a very familiar voice>>Shweta, Parul.chalna hai ooper? The very moment we froze there, holding tea kullhads in our hand, trying to hide them just could not dare to look at her for few seconds. Somehow I regained my senses, “maam aap chaliye hum bus 5 min mein taiyar hkar ate Hein” She was our HOD. After that all sorts of stomach cramps which we had never heard of, we felt for the next five min, reached hostel somehow. Everyone left by then. We decied not to go to the college. For complete four days we stayed at hostel passing time somehow. Fifth day we reached college, we thought she might have forgotten by now. We were wrong, she used to call us everyday, send them and she was told that we were sick (by dutiful friends of ours). The moment we reached in the class came the fatwa, knowing very well that something unpleasant is going to happen we entered her room. My friend she was sensible enough to close the door completely and lock it from inside to prevent voice going from outside. Then She took her position in front of the glass door so that outsiders cant see that we are being scolded (she is quite fat, her fatness helped us save our dignity). And then we received the worst scolding of our lifetime. I knew nothing would work, we were caught red handed; had someone else given her the information I would have dodged her and corrected her informer too. But she saw it herself. She started in typical mother like tone: at 9 in the morning you were having tea at a thela? With loweres and tea shirts? Is you college canteen that bad? Is this the way girls of reputed families behave? Don’t you have some common sense and social sense? What the peopled passing by would be thinking? Whole medical college boys would be having a free show on your part> this I remember, and hear, after that what she said we could not get, except “get lost and get out”. We came out and composed ourselves very quickly, entered the classroom, cool and calm, everyone asked what the matter she’s been calling you daily? Nothing she wanted to discuss when to schedule second internals? I replied, we smiled at each other and regained our seats.

Now so many years have passed, we got what we wanted, everyone is settled in his/her respective fields, but no get together, it’s not possible. There was a time when we had no money cold drinks were ordered on sharing basis. Now that a cold drink doesn’t matters, there’s no one to share. Life has given everyone everything, but something is missing. What is it? May be a kulhad tea with a friend!