3. The Silent Sultan

Sid would be the first one to wake up and Sandy the last. Sid was the template good boy, wake up early, be ready for the day, wear Ironed clothes and a nice fragrance. Sandy though, would wrap things up in under fifteen minutes. Mohit woke up early, only to avoid the mess that the bathrooms would be if one woke up late, as they would be filthy. Elementary human needs like warm water, were farfetched and only way to not get caught trying to use an immersion heater, was to wake up early. Waking up was no ambition for Mohit, nothing to look forward to and everything to avoid being in a cold filthy situation.

Breakfast was Poha, Sheera or South Indian delicacies like Idli or Wada. Pratham loved Upma and he seldom ate Sheera. A cup of tea and five rupee buscuit for the sweet tooth was added as well. Breakfast unlike dinner, would be mostly alone, seldom with Pratham. Some other folks who knew Pratham would join in like Naru. Sandy would join, only for the tea, cause that was all the bandwidth he had.

Getting the first bench was never as difficult as getting the middle benches. Mohit often got company of last benchers who were promoted to the empty first benches. Asking questions was important, and Mohit tried his best to make a good impression, ask questions and be attentive. Naturally, he became favorite of most professors. That did give him some confidence, but many professors were not used to students asking questions and he was quick to figure it out.

Evenings were getting dull. Mohit found a guy, unusually quiet. Stoic. Spaced out. Sultan lost his mother when he was very young. Had a very troubled relationship with his father. Mohit once had troubled relationship with his father because his father disapproved of his taste in music. Sultan had a guitar, Sultan wanted a friend, Sultan was quite smart, Mohit and Sultan became good friends. Mohit spent long hours with Sultans guitar. Sultan didn’t have the perseverance to practice. Mohit kept on practicing and kept getting better. Music was a great escape from all the madness. In solitude with the guitar, Mohit sustained himself. Kept working hard on his studies, learnt as much Guitar using YouTube and trying to find some meaning and belief.