"What happened," I asked a senior. "Why are you taking us there, and what are you going to do with us?"
"Look, we are going to play night cricket over there, and trust me, it would be quite interesting to play." He said, laughing loudly.
Just a few days into the hostel, I was utterly confused as to what was going to happen next and, without further questioning, decided to follow his instruction.
It was a moonlit night!
With more than a hundred boys occupying a space that can barely accommodate even half of that, the confusion was complete. Suddenly one of the seniors raised his voice demanding complete silence, followed by an astonishing instruction from another, "Hey guys, form pairs and remember that one will act as a male and the other as a female."
A few started murmuring in protest, but they were immediately silenced by carefully planted slaps on their face. Obviously, without further resistance, rest of the boys followed that awesome instruction.
What happened next, still amuses me the most: Everyone of us were asked to form a pair and start dancing. My partner happened to be a dark and lanky fellow from South India, who is now the Managing Director of an MNC.
Dancing in the moonlight could be a fantastic idea, but never with the same sex. However, we had no option but to continue and often with a few slaps on the back for getting closer to our partners. I'm sure, most of the boys, interestingly paired, did enjoy the game, but for a few it was a nightmare.
The amusement continued for an hour with all of us gradually adapting to the situation, perhaps enjoying it too. Seniors were keeping close watch on the quality of dance and to impress them some of the boys even started treating their partners as real females. And, my own partner was one of them!
Then I heard someone shouting loud, 'Stop it, stop it!'
'Oh my God, it's warden,' said my partner. Instantly bell broke loose, with juniors jostling against each other and seniors running for cover. Warden was not alone, in fact he had brought a few staff members also with him and they were standing at the sole entrance/exit point.
Suddenly the predators turned prey and to avoid getting caught red-handed some of them didn't hesitate to try an otherwise impossible escape route: Jumping onto the extended part of the windows at floors down below.
Most of them managed to escape, but a few who couldn't were threatened with dire consequences and were asked to report to the Principal's office next morning.
With dust settling down, warden asked us to go back to our rooms and report to him the occurrence of any such incident in future without fail. Overall it was an amazing experience of an unique combination of fear and entertainment, but it would be inappropriate to say that we didn't enjoy it.
'College days' is perhaps the best period of a student's life, especially for a hosteler, in terms of learning a few unforgettable lessons. I'm sure, that adds tremendous values to one's ability to facing lif e's ruthless side with a never give up attitude.
Image credit: Janko Ferlic
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