Do you know what happens when you mix hapless nervous med students, an ineffective university, premature results, baseless speculation & some alcohol? I don’t know what you’ll call it but it’s a recipe for some drunken idiots, some tearful girls & epileptic fits. Officially results aren’t to be declared for another two weeks, but we know we can’t trust the university like that. They revel in the glory of “blitzkrieg” tactics. Just when one thinks results are far away, they drop the bomb!
But, we… we’re smarter than that. We believe it’s better to start trembling now than be carefree; why not just start crying in anticipation? We believe that a little last minute spirituality goes a long way, at least that way if things go wrong, we know who’s to blame. Why not just start spreading baseless rumours? Perhaps one will come true. If not, at least you’ll manage to infect a few others like you. There’s safety in numbers, right? If that isn’t enough, let’s call up the university day & night, asking those who couldn’t care less for info they may not have or be sure of. But, let’s ruin some sleep over it. My favourite bunch are those guys who act so smug, so carefree, that others shudder at their confidence! Can you really blame any of us? Is getting worked up over the most important results in five years a crime? Maybe we could use a little moderation of our collective pessimism.
It was about six days ago when I started to plan a lot of appointments this week & I got this sinking feeling that the results will be out right when I’m out somewhere, held up, not able to get out. There’s a good kind of anxiety I can feel in my gut, results are just a part of the reason. Frankly, I thought I didn’t care when the results are out or where I am when they do. That moment will forever be etched in my memory. Decades later it'll be a part of my "I was here (or there) when that happened kids" stories.
But, two nights back, a friend messaged starting with “Dr.…” & I was stunned for a bit. Did she know something I didn’t? Within a flash, it was minimize, new window, university website, Date of results: 28th Feb. (Phew) All was alright, albeit for the time being. Damn, I wish they were here already, I’m being pulled over to the Dark Side.
Today I woke up to a cloudy day, the unusual winter drizzle. It’s quite a setting for results, don’t you think? We’ll know by this evening. I don’t really feel the need to party after, I don't feel like getting drunk, just want a good Bailey's Irish cream to celebrate with friends, take the moment in. My romance with what I do is only just beginning & I'm feeling every tiny bit of excitement that I felt when I came here 5 years ago. Now if only the university was reading this.
till today morning i happily believed that i belong to your "favourite" group of people who are all smug and carefree before the results are to be declared...this belief was very cruelly shattered by a simple message from shilpi- "i think the results are out..muhs site blocked". there i was standing in the middle of a busy street in kolkata staring at my cell phone with absolutely no idea where could i find internet access. somehow i made my trembling hands type back a reply requesting her to check my result and let me know asap- in broken english, hindi thrown in, just about making some sense! shilpi replied telling me that it was all a rumour...theres still time. it was only then that i came back to my senses...
ReplyDeleteeham arora, now i know exactly what you mean.