Hey folks … Look who is back …    … Missed me all this while ???? … C’mon speak up …… lol .. So I am going to presume that you did miss me ….

Okay .. Enough of prating … There was a reason behind my absence for so long ( though I kept apparating back and forth at fixed intervals ) …. I was , somehow , under the impression that I need to alienate myself from anything and everything that could act as a means of distraction in the so called laborious process I was undergoing …. But its better to live a short life on an island than die a centurion in a cave …. Thanks to some serious advice I was given , I have understood  that in order to taste the success , I need to love the process … the every tit and bit of it … the very gist of it … and stop treating it as a burden rather than something engrossing …. And guess who was the one behind this golden advice …. None other than my alter ego … 

So here I am … Many things have changed since we last met … This interval was nothing different from the usual “Life” … Marked by many ups and downs … Peaks and valleys all the way through … Many faces unveiled … Many misconceptions cleared … And most importantly , a hell lot of new people in my life ( yes you , all of my “bootcamp” friends ) …

Once out of the school , I never thought I would experience any such thing as Summer Camp ( though the CL faculty termed it as a “Boot Camp” ) … The classes were scheduled from 9 to 7 .. for 21 days( I know that makes you say things like OMG and WTFH .. ) … Same was my reaction … How the hell these 21 days will pass …. Jai sir had a logic behind all this … According to some XYZ medical research , if you do a particular thing for 21 days in continuum , it becomes your habit …. And obviously , he was trying to assimilate this stuff called “studies” into our routine … Fair enough ..!!!

As it turned out , I never knew how these 21 days flew away … very much like everything , it ended before it hardly started … Amidst the quantitative aptitude , we were adding up the people in our friends list ( not virtual , but real ) …. Amidst all the verbal ability , we were having the time of our life interacting with each other …. On one hand , we were inculcating the basic skills required for interpreting data , and on the other , we were mocking away all our worries in air … The logical reasoning never appeared to be so logical until then ….. Learning can be fun .. yes it can surely be .. And this is what Jai sir knew perfectly well …. He knew , all the way , what he was doing and boy did he do it well …!!!!!

The process which appeared to be intolerable at the inception , turned out to be a roller coaster ride in the end …. A ride with a lot of twists and turns … Twist was when I found out that I have a crush on someone … Turn was when , later , I discovered that she was already in a relationship ( :heartbreak:    ) …. And guess what … One of my batchmates bet on the fact that I would not skip coaching even if someone offered me a free movie …. lol … Turned out that she lost the bet and I won a free tour to the nearby theater .. Looks can be quite deceptive you see …. I might fare well in the tests but that doesn’t go ( by a long way ) to show that I am a book worm ( though I admit that I was one , once ) …. Anyways , a free movie is a free movie … Lady Luck … Keep showering these fortunes over me ..

Now on a serious note …. CAT is approaching … and that too very fast …. There is a positive plus a negative aspect about my preparation , as of right now  …. The negative aspect is that I am lagging behind in few areas … And the positive aspect … The positive aspect is that I know that I am lagging behind in few areas    …. I just need to buck up and see it through right until the very end …. Its a hard nut crack … But some things in life come without a shortcut , this being the one  …

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Just a while back I was chatting with one of my school mates after a long time . Infact , I was chatting with her for the first time . We were in the same class for many years , yet we never talked to each other . And two years after school , we were talking like the best of friends meeting after a long time .

Amidst all the conversation a question she threw at me forced me into some thinking . She asked ,” Why you never talked to me in school ? Was I so bad ? ” . I kept searching for words , but didn’t find any . In the end , I threw the same question back at her . She instantaneously replied ,” Because I thought you were a very reserved person and don’t hold any interest in socializing . Plus , you looked so full of yourself and your ego .”

I was shell shocked to hear this . This was the very same reason I never tried to strike a conversation with her in my school days . After we talked for some time I realized that she was miles away from what I thought her to be .

It is nothing more than ” Let him/her approach first ” type of thinking which prevent us from interacting with few people . The result being us conjuring a completely false image about the other’s attitude .  We never talk to each other because we are not sure whether the other is interested in talking to us or not . And in the end , we end up being complete strangers to each other . Who knows we could have been great friends .

Going back in time , I remember quite a few faces I never really put an effort to start a friendship with . When I look at the “acquaintances” list of my life , there are quite a few people who could have so easily been in the “friends” list , or even in “good friend” and “best friend” list .

This may be  just a chat with one of my old class mate , who has now moved from my “acquaintance” list to the “good friends” . But this has caused me to repent for what I have not done . The person on the other side of the line might have been waiting for me to take the first step . I would have been blessed with a much much larger friends circle had I not hesitated , had I approached them .

Better late than never . Its time to Return to the Past . I am going to search for quite a few names now ( on Orkut , Facebook , Google … anywhere and everywhere )

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3 days back (in the hostel)

Cena (Abhinav) : Everyday when I am done with the coaching , I make my way to the Chaat Corner in the market and help myself with a plate of Golgappa .
Me : I just love Golgappas . I can eat as many as you bring in front of me .
Cena : Whatever amount it may be , you won’t be able to overtake me .
Me : Are you sure ?
Cena : Of course .
Me : Then why don’t we see it for ourself . Lets have a Golgappa Competition . Eat as many as you can . Losers to pay .
Cena : Done .

2 days back (on the way to gym)

Cena : By the way . Have you ever entered into such a competition earlier ?
Me : Yeah I have .
Cena : So ?
Me : So what ? I won . Isn’t that obvious ?
Cena : What was the number ?
Me : It took me 57 to win .
Cena (with a shocking look ) : I back off .
( I smiled . I knew he was an easy opponent )

A little later that day (in hostel)

Ashu : Harry . Why do you make so many cock and bull stories ?
Me : Which story ?
Ashu : You said you went upto 57 . That’s a white lie . When will you give up your habit of crafting stories ?
Me : If you don’t believe me , you can see it for yourself .
Ashu : Cena , don’t believe him . He is lying . You can easily defeat him . Go for it . If you lose , I will be your one-third financer .
Cena : Lets go for it then .
(At this point , I thanked Ashu for convincing Cena back to the competition)

Yesterday (in Sector 10 … our Kurukshetra)

Me : All set for competition ?
Cena : Absolutely .

Suddenly phone rang .
Abhi : Don’t start it . We are on our way . You have got an audience .

So the stage was set . Plates ready . Chaatwaala ready to fire Golgappas into our plates .
The count started . Comments and words of encouragements were coming out rapidly from the spectators ( Abhishek , Vivek , Raghav , Vibhuti , Ashu and Faraz) . The soldiers were standing steadily in the battlefield .

1…5….10….20…30….

No signs of giving up yet .  Audience was split into two corners , encouraging the contestants to live up to the situation . Counting was not to be stopped .

31…35…40….50….

Half Century . Excellent . Everyone thought that we will hit a century . But at this time , I started losing it . I knew its not long until I vomit it out .

51…55….56….57…..

I was a goner by this time . The magic number 57 strikes . I knew I won’t be able to hold it any further .

Vivek : Harry . Do you give up ?

I nodded . And the nod was followed by the vomiting . My stomach was unable to endure it . I lost the battle . Cena was celebrating . We shook hands and like a lost warrior , I made my way to the stairs of the nearest shop and helplessly , I kept looking at my friends having their own share of Golgappas . ( Hoping that atleast they would eat like Homo Sapiens . Afterall , it was loser to pay )

Cena : I never thought I could eat so much . No matter . Well tried .
Me : Yeah Yeah . Well tried indeed . Now give me the bill . (making my way to my wallet , pondering over the bill)

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