The Certified Ks
I always believed that Places change People! I know I’m not the right person to talk about the broader spectrum of the earth geometry but lucky or not, I’ve been to many places, not as a visitor but as a resident! So what is it that makes some places good to live and others good to leave? They say you can tell what a person is, if you know from where he comes! Well, I disagree. If I say “Columbus”, the first name that pops into your head is “America” right? I bet half the people don’t even know where he comes from, do you? ;-)
At times, it’s not about who you have been, it’s about who you want to become. When a story is being told, we feel that it’s told from the beginning but it’s just an illusion. A story is always told backwards. All the events, deeds, descriptions are required because they lead you to one thing, the most important thing, the thing called The End
So here’s the end of this story…
The End
I’ve been down with fever since two days and tomorrow I have to write Math paper. So my dear friends took me to the hospital this evening, we have just returned and I’m sleeping on my bed, legs stretched, head on the pillow, math book and medicine on the table with a smile on my face!
The Story
I distinctly remember that it was the second year (of engineering if you want to know :p) and I’ve been told that it was also the exam time! (Never cared for them, so I don’t remember I guess!) That’s it, that is all I remember! Everything else is an account of collected details and a vague representation of a powerful memory! B-)
Reason why I don’t remember is → Laptop 24x7 → No food. Actually mess food, same thing! ;-) → Fever!
And suddenly everybody around me, friends of course, started telling, “Go to the hospital and see a doctor!” and then yelling, “GO TO THE HOSPITAL, SEE A DOCTOR!” and I kept replying, “Okay I’ll see the doctor but not in the hospital :-P” (An inside joke, ignore it!)
Back then I didn’t have a proper excuse for not going to the hospital and that is why, two of the friends, the “Certified Ks” took the liberty of taking me there and thankfully brought me back . . . ALIVE! If something like that happened today, I have my excuse for not going to the hospital, “I’ve survived four years of engineering with you guys, I can survive a few degrees of temperature ;-)”
So I was sleeping with my blanket and headphones on! Kashyap comes and tells, “Swetal is coming in 10 minutes, get ready and go down, he’ll take you to Krishna hospital.” I replied, “I can’t even walk and go downstairs, I don’t want to walk all the way to the main gate and take an auto from there, I’m not going!” He saw how weak I was and so he reassured me, “You won’t have to walk, he’ll take you on Kawan’s bike and as far as the matter of going downstairs is concerned, I’m happy to carry you in my hands!”
When a guy tells a guy something that looks as caring as “I’m happy to carry you in my hands!”, it’s actually to embarrass him for the rest of his life by reminding that such a thing once happened. After 5 minutes, when I still didn’t get up from my bed, he said the same thing once again, “I’m happy to carry you in my hands!” and this time I noticed the evil grin behind it! It was 10 minutes, Swetal was waiting downstairs and I was still in my bed. Kashyap repeated it again and this time I noticed how damn serious he was! I didn’t want this embarrassment, so I got up and started walking. I felt a bit dizzy and so he accompanied me to the parking downstairs. Swetal kick-started it, I hopped on and then suddenly Swetal says, “Come on sit Kashyap, somebody will need to ensure he doesn’t fall because if he did, it would be like a feather falling down and I wouldn’t realize it!”
I wanted to punch him right there, I was in a life-and-death situation here (wink) and he’s making stupid jokes! I was weak and so I didn’t hit him but even if I had, it really would have been like a feather punching a stone :D
And so began the memorable journey of three people sitting on one bike — Swetal, me and Kashyap… in that order ;-)
We were half-way through and Swetal asks, “The fuel-tank is about to get empty, where is the nearest petrol pump?” I immediately assumed the question was for Kashyap because my opinion didn’t matter to them! I didn’t even want to go to the hospital to begin with, it was against my will! I would’ve filed a police complaint if this country had an honest judiciary system! And at the end of the story, by some extent, even you would agree to filing FIR against the Certified Ks ;-)
Kashyap replied, “It’s right around the corner after we take the next turn.” and then I realized that with Swetal, “Nobody’s opinion matters!” It seems he asked the question to himself, may be his mouth ignored his brain’s opinion and uttered the words anyways :D Kashyap’s opinion was totally ignored, he kept shouting about the petrol pump to Swetal! We saw it coming, it came and we left it behind. Swetal just said, “We’ll fill the tank while we return, the hospital is just 3 km away and we have to reach there before visiting hours get over!”
And just as we reached the front gate of Krishna hospital, the bike started jolting and it didn’t even reach to the parking. Swetal threw the keys to Kashyap and said, “Park the bike, find a bottle, take an auto, come back in 20 minutes with petrol! I’ll take him in for inspection!” and this time Kashyap looked like he wanted to throw an I-told-you-so punch to Swetal but Swetal knew that Kashyap’s punch was not at all feathery. So he grabbed my hand and ran in!
I put my dying (wink) body on the couch, Doctors started doing their stuff, Kashyap was running around like fire-cracker to find an auto while Swetal was having a moment of peace! *Kamina*
And before you know it, Swetal and me were waiting with a bag of medicines at the front gate. We saw Kashyap coming towards us with a bottle in his hand, wait, an empty bottle in his hand! Swetal went berserk, “What the hell, where is the petrol? I told you to bring it!” Kashyap replied, “I just found an auto, it’s waiting over there! Wait a while, I’ll go and bring it!” Swetal disagreed and I don’t know why! There was no reason to hurry now. They went on and on, kept arguing and I was standing there still-silent-numb! This time, (without a wink) I really was feeling like I would die if I didn’t get my warm blanket soon!
Eventually, they agreed on something and decided that they would drag the bike one by one to the petrol pump while . . . I would sit on it, so I didn’t have to walk! I didn’t hear the entire conversation but I can bet this was Kashyap’s idea. Anyways, we agreed to it and by we, I mean they! Because I was only going to through the motions!
And the journey resumed! After a few meters, suddenly I saw that evil grin on Kashyap’s face once again. I visualized how he would embarrass me for the rest of my life by telling that they carried me on bike like a baby! And that was the moment, I spoke for the first time in the entire journey, “Get me down, I’ll walk!” and to my surprise they didn’t protest! My body was begging for them to say no while my mind was trying to be a hero! But the kind of kamina friends they are, they said, “Okay!” when I really wanted them to say, “No!” :’(
And so I walked, I walked with all kinds of fears! What if a stranger attacked me with a knife? What if a dog ran towards me? Would I run or just sit down right there and accept my end? I guess when the fear gets to you, the fever gets the better of you! To this date, I don’t remember a single moment of how I walked those 2 km with a fever of 104, filled the tank, got back on the bike and returned to my cozy bed! All I remember is, all that while, “The muscles and the bones were two total strangers in my body, somehow working together to keep me alive! (wink)”
And so we come to The End, “I’ve been down with fever since two days and tomorrow I have to write Math paper. So my dear friends took me to the hospital this evening, we have just returned and I’m sleeping on my bed, legs stretched, head on the pillow, math book and medicine on the table with a smile on my face!”
OR…
I’ve been down with fever since two days (and I was getting better!) and tomorrow I have to write Math paper (I wasn’t worried about it at all, it was Math for God’s sake, I would’ve done okay even with my legs cut off!). So my dear friends (now you know how dear they are!) took me to the hospital this evening, we have just returned (that’s what they told me!) and I’m sleeping on my bed (luckily!), legs stretched (you know why!), head on the pillow, math book (not going to touch it!) and medicine (not going to touch it either!) with a smile on my face! (I was actually trying to laugh on some joke the Certified Ks told Kawan but the tired muscles allowed only a smile!)
