The
year was 2003!
I
was residing in Selaiyur Hall, as a resident staff, in room no. 178!.
As
bachelor-Profs then, it was customary for some of us, to go out on regular
jaunts to the city either for a movie or just for a day out in the evenings,
whenever we could!
One
fine evening, after having had my evening snacks and tea in the Selaiyur Hall Mess,
and I was busy flipping through some of the newspapers that were around, that my
Prof-friend and a resident staff from another Hall, called me up, and asked me
if we could go for a great movie that had recently released in a Multiplex in
the City that evening!
‘hey, it’s already 5.50!’ I tell him!
‘but
the movie starts only at 6.30 yaar!’
Do
you think we could get ready in no time and make it to the movies this short
time?’ I ask.
‘Why
not??? If we think we can, we CAN!’ he says with conviction and determination.
I
had the hobson’s choice! To rise to the challenge was my impulsive decree of the
evening.
It
was six pm when the evening music time was gradually coming to a close in the precincts
of good ol’ Selaiyur, when we both kickstarted our Splendor Plus!
Six
pm in Tambaram! And any sane Selaiyurian would by all means tell you that
thirty minutes was highly impossible! or atleast daunting to the core!!!
I
really had to break the back of my ‘paavam’ little beast the poor Hero Honda
Splendor! (it’s NOT a Pulsar!!!)
Asking
my Splendor Plus to go at 100 is like pushing water uphill with a tardy rake!
No
way would it oblige!
There
were at least a dozen traffic signals that we had to cruise through, and after
crossing a decent six of them, we were nearing the grand Pallavaram signal, when
we saw the unfortunate thing unfold!
Well,
the traffic light was showing amber! (well, yes, before it
could turn red)
My
pillion-buddy says, “macha, pull it off! You can do it! Just move on! It might
take just micro seconds to whiz past!”
He
coaxes and goads me, even as I am still caught in a double bind, between the proverbial
devil and the deep sea!!!
But
my conscience’s diktat got the better of me, and i applied JAM on the brakes!!!
rightaway!
You
see, my pillion-buddy least expected this sudden momentary swing of mind on my
part, and he was caught off-guard!
He
being a little on the fluffy side, (Selaiyur Mess?) I bet you can now imagine
the scene!
I
applied jam on the brakes and the next micro-second my pillion-buddy, was sitting
majestically pretty almost on my head with little intention of getting down all
by himself!
From
a distance, I could grab a wink of the traffic cop sincerely ‘busy’ with his
daily evening routine of getting potential sponsors for his next cuppa coffee!
Before he could make us sponsor his cuppa, our friend was ably assisted by a
few good samartians in getting down, and I was almost chutneyfied to say the
least in the process!
Then,
I told him, ‘macha, I think we can’t make it today!’
Still
he persisted! So we proceeded!
Well,
well, well, en route our eyes landed on something to which we were seasoned
regulars! - our all-time favourite Restaurant Buhari, was busy attracting
customers with delectable irresistible offers on dine-ins!
There
was no way we could dash through this offer! Of course, his taste buds (and obviously
mine too!) started working over-time, and so we both decided to call it quits
to Devi, and instead settled for the spicier one!
We
ordered and ordered! By the time we finished it all, a decent 90 minutes had
flitted us by!
But
we were one happy lot when we made our way back to good ol’ Selaiyur, with
tasty reminiscences of the tandoori chicken and chop suey and what not!
The
next morning, as we both were taking our morning walks in the play fields, he
quipped,
‘Macha?’
“Yes!”
He said, ‘Macha, can we make it this evening to…
I had always known his grand passion for cinema! So eagerly waiting to give an obliging nod, I continued…
‘To?’
I asked, in all eagerness…
“To
the King Metro restaurant!!!!” he said nonchalantly without an iota of fret or
agitation!
He
had totally resolved and made up his mind!
And
so did I ;-)
PS:
this post by the way, is a noble tribute and a nostalgic salute to the good ol’
bachelor-days and its attendant discursive practices ;-)
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