Gaadi No. 11

"A pedestrian is someone who thought there were a couple of gallons left in the tank" ~Author Unknown


I grew up in a township environment with everything: School, community center, Hospital and shopping center all within walking distance. I think I was in class 7 when we had this little ATLAS cycle with just one seat. My brother and I shared the main seat while he paddled and I held the handle and wait for it...my sister rode on the back mud guard! We rode oblivious to the people laughing away at us. Then Dad got us a bicycle each. In a colony so small and well laid out, I never walked.

Fast forward 2006, I arrived in Hyderabad for my "B.tech"(seriously) and ended up in a college 50-freakin-kilometres from where I lived. If that wasn't bad enough, I was holed up at a place where the nearest point in all directions to public transport was a 15 minute walk. I endured it all, the first year being very important for getting the "engineering" tempo going and expected things to sort out next year. It was in the second year that I actually brought it up... I wanted a bike. The answer came just as quick... perhaps Dad was worried I'd take it to college(he was right... I would've) and the road to my college sees one or two fatal accidents a day on an average. So, I gave in and forgot all about it.


Turned out it would cost me dear. Third year was the year of mini projects and "top" students that were were, we scampered around looking for code for our projects(like i said, "B.tech"). Everytime I went to Ameerpet, half the time I was standing in a crowded bus and the other half lost on streets. And to those who don't know...trying to make your way to the door in a jam packed bus on a hot summer day or walking into oncoming traffic under haphazard wires and a million banners is in one word- HELL! Ditto hanging on to dear life in a shared-autorickshaw. Ladies get the rear seats while we sit on either side of the driver grabbing a rod to escape the centripetal forces. Add to that ear-shearing music from blaring tweeters. It's embarassing now to think how I used to wait for my cousin or some friend to come by and save me the misery.

Same thing in final year too. Project work, getting record books printed, exams, household chores... hell, even the nearest restaurant is more than a kilometer away. The last nail was when I was to attend an off campus placement drive somewhere in Secunderabad. I had to start at ^ A.M from home just to be safe and walked another half an hour to reach the venue. I reached well before time but I was tired as hell(no sleep the night before, so go figure).

Last weel I bought a used Air conditioner for my brother's room. He lives in a rented penthouse suite and the temperatures are already soaring. I opted to do the installation myself and ended up walking miles and miles to get the hardware. It took three long trips to get the L-brackets, another trip to get the nails and one really long walk with bhaiya's heavy drill kit. Razzu ended up with a sunstroke. I was one short so called in Juber... he's one friend who's never let me down in dire need. The AC is up and running now, after three days of hard, amateur labor.


On that note, I think I can better answer the JOB or STUDY question now...


I like to read through most of my Blog posts like a diary. This post is written with one sole purpose: years down the line when I (hopefully) drive a nice Sedan, this post will remind me of the toils of Student life.