Trickle..

Just out of the winter chill, the Ahmedabad weather played foul on Monday morning. Apparently rains up north in Delhi had driven a chilly wind into the western reaches. All tucked up under a comfortable and cozy blanket, any alarm sounds like a blistering screech in the ears, yet the fear of an annoyed professor proves to be the kick on the bottom that gets you out of bed! With half shut eyes, a loose grip on the toothbrush and toothpaste virtually dripping off its ends, I drag myself to the washbasin - in the past year having trained to reach the correct basin even with my eyes closed, not bumping into a wall. A droopy posture, the hand moves a little, takes a break, eyes go heavy, thoughts subliminal and soon the bobbing head rocks forward and backward, a tad too much and the eyes automatically pop wide open for fear of falling! The hand eventually gives up for want of energy and the to-and-fro turns sideways, end of brushing my teeth, a few gargles *gurble* *squizzle*. Pull the towel off the hook, grab a set of underwear, and the usual stuff that goes with the showering ritual. There has been no change in the pace at which I walk, no sense of urgency as yet.

Getting into the bathroom I realise for the first time this morning that its really chilly outside, in half a mind to get out and not shower. Shorts, t-shirt off, I stand there shivering just a little, not so much of the cold than the contemplation of having to reach out for the shower knob and then stand underneath a stream of ice crystals. I conjure up the courage, reluctantly drawing close to the nozzle, arm outstretched as far as possible. The knob turns slowly, but the stream decides to surprise me and bursts out with a flourish, I withdraw back as if acid were flowing out of the nozzle, unaware that space is limited inside the tinsy-winsy bathroom and *bang* goes my knee into the shut door. I swear. Water flowing, looking amazing from a distance, not just for its beauty but also because its far away from me, yet the tiny splashes on the floor manage to reach my ankles and give that tingling and inviting sensation. With baby steps I draw closer. I have learnt with the numerous bruises that the swift stripping off a band-aid is better than the slow and painful peeling off. So I barge into the waterfall, eyes shut close - my Chinese origin to the fore :P The best way of getting inside a cold shower is with your face upwards towards the nozzle, because that saves your back - the most sensitive part of your body on a wintry morning to cold water ;) I rub my tummy, scrub my back like crazy, trying to drive away the shiver and chill running down my spine. Before long am already having fun, singing at the top of my voice, waking up other droopy souls while they brush their teeth outside cursing me to stop screaming for the love of God!

I have to confess here that the face trick was always meant as a defense mechanism against the beating of that hailstorm blowing out the shower. This Monday was different though, in the sense that those drops on my face meant something else - a sense of liberation. Its funny to explain but those few minutes underneath the shower I simply stood smiling, enjoying the water crashing against my cheeks, trickling down my entire body. I guess that feeling of standing there and having the drops tickling the cheeks fed my sleep - nope there were no hidden figurative revelations about life or anything - just loved the feeling :) I do not know why, and come to think of it, I don't want to know either since this is one thing I'd love to have remain a mystery. I do not remember how long I smiled, how long I just stood there looking up, but I do remember that sensation - which was broken by the rampant scream of my dorm mates yelling out that it was time for the lecture ;( But there are only a few things in this world that stand up to the ruthlessness of a professor and unfortunately the shower was not one of them, I zoomed off getting into whatever I could get hold of.

Since that Monday morning, showering has been what I look forward to after a long gym session, probably one of the motivators that makes me slog it off at the gym to enjoy the shower all the more, never know ;)

PS I was late for the first lecture that very Monday morning and was kicked out - but the shower sure as hell was worth it :P

Oh crap ..

Twas 2 in the afternoon, hardly anything to study for tomorrow. Would be lying if I said that I hadn't been planning on making this trip for the past few days, but something or the other always turned up. Determined on getting off my lazy bum this one time, threw my cap on and set out in the scorching sun. Was just off the ramp when I realised I had come out in slippers - just for the record I love wearin shoes - so you can imagine how awkward it felt ;) If at this point I went back to my room it would have been virtually impossible to convince myself to get all the way down here again! Ah what the hell, set out as I was, to be honest felt liberating to break a norm. Waved to a rickshaw, got turned down, and again, and again, till I finally gave up and set out on foot. Hafta say I never realised how freakin' long the red brick boundary of the campus is - kept walking but it just would not give up following me everywhere ! Passed a juice vendor, he'd diced a pineapple in a way that it looked like one of the couture hairstyles that could easily be paraded on the ramp of Milan or Paris. :P Stopped by a book vendor to browse through a few second hand reads - guess what, apparently all he's got is 'fantasy' novels - so gave 'em a pass. Do NOT judge me okay ! ;)

After about a 10 minute walk along the road, I could hear voices - well shrieks, screams, yells, and a few swear words in tween. I cannot read Gujju, but looking up at the banner to the entrance of the run-down building with fading blue walls I could easily make out the words 'handicapped' and 'disabled'. I drew closer to the entrance, slightly bent forward, slightly wary of whether I should be poking my nose too far into their premises - I guess curiosity got the better of me. All I could get a glimpse of round the corner of the gate was a couple of young boys jumping up and down frantically celebrating what appeared to be the fall of a wicket. My feet moved further into the foreign territory, unable to control their anticipation. A chalk drawing on one of the raised pedestals mimicing a wicket, and on the other side of the compound two bricks on top of each other, it was easy to make out that cricket was in progress. Its been a while since I rolled my arm over, so obviously all the more reason for me to stay. Simply stood there watching a bunch of kids, some of whom couldn't walk properly, some who appeared to be a little mentally weak, some with an arm missing and a fielder on the boundary with crutches. Nah I won't preach any sermon on learnings of life coz to be frank I don't have any. I just enjoyed watching them play, have fun, and celebrate without a care in the world. When was the last time, I wondered, when we as healthy people had so much fun ?! Am proud that I was so engrossed in their game that I actually applauded the fall of another wicket :P It was 2:35 already - time to move on since the heat wasn't getting any less punishing.

After another 15 long minutes walking down the dusty road I finally reached the destination I'd set out for. Yup, am gonna call it a destination for what else do you plan for over a couple of days ?! ;) The place wreaked of the typical fragrance of medication embroiled with beauty products - Planet Health - that's where I was. Normally I'd be glad to be greeted by two charming young ladies at the entrance asking me whether I needed any help looking for something, but this one time I'd wished they'd not been there!! Told 'em that I'll manage and was just looking around. C'mon you just don't go telling people what I'd come for - its a lil weird :P Finally reached the counter where everything had been neatly arranged to bring out the aura associated with the stuff. But alas, was life ever easy - there stood two of 'em - behenjis - bent down looking at things what I can only hope was for their daughters and not for them ! Looked as if two cows had come down for a nice afternoon graze :P I ambled up and down the galley, wondering how to squeeze tween the chitter chatter and grab hold of what I came for and get the hell outta there. The way I kept looking at that particular section, even the salesgirls got suspicious and sent a salesboy over, again to ask me if I needed help. As usual, I declined. I even tried staying close by at the closest counter, just to sneak in whenever I get the chance and then scoot, only to realise it was sanitary napkins! Can you even imagine the look on my face when I turned around just to see all three salespeople just LOOKIN at me. Grabbed a chocolate bar, put a crumbled 10 rupee note on the payment counter and swivelled outta there as fast as I could. My ears had gone all red, body itchy, and heart beating like a freakin' steam engine. Took me 15 minutes of walking back to the institute before I calmed down. Wasn't long before I reached the same blue walls again that I was calm. Don't know why but wanted to see those blokes playin still, and was a lil disappointed to see an empty compound. Its weird how small things grab your attention and when they disappear you just feel kind of weird not having them around.

Strolled back at a leisurely pace to those engulfing red walls, again to drown into the silence of the muggers. In case you're wondering when this happened, it was about 2-3 weeks back, and as far as the 'stuff' I went for is concerned - was a face scrub!! ;) I know - guys - when will we EVER learn ?! :P