Wednesday 7 July 2021

Fortune Favours the Brave…! 😋

Frolic on the Go... 😋

07 July 1998 💕

#memoriesfromdiaries 

Train travel with friends is real unending fun, ain’t it?

Added fun if your friends by themselves prove to be the very fount of such fun!

Although I was not that lucky enough to be part of such memorable weekend sojourns – homeward and back, I still had my lovely friends who apprised me of all the lovely fun and frolic aboard their Vikatakavi Express!

The entire day, [on this particular day] I was all alone in my room, since most of my roomies and hostel mates had packed their bags much in advance for the extended weekend ahead [because of Milad-Un-Nabi holiday].

Every time they returned to the hostel, they always had lorryloads of stories to narrate to all of us!  

On this particular day, they narrated the story of our classmate Jovial J..., the most mischievous of the lot!

Jovial J... was always the centre of our attraction! When he was around, fun, frolic and laughter were a 100% guaranteed to all of us!

Every time he used to try out a different theme for entertaining his loyal fan base – that consists of a host of his own classmates, batchmates, seniors, juniors, and some frequent sojourners on the route as well!

This particular day, he was into ‘mimic mode’ it seems! He was quite busy mimicking one celebrity or the other with such alacrity and ease, something that was soon to be followed up by ‘cashing in’ on his role-play skills among the unsuspecting passengers.

‘How pray, did he manage to pull it off?

Well, he used to quickly change into a rumpled and ragged shirt, and then start hopping quite nonchalantly from one end of the compartment to the other it seems!

He would kickstart on this, his role-play (todays was to don the likes of a beggar!) with such devotion and dedication that in a matter of no time he starts winning hearts by the number!

[By fortuitous coincidence, it so happened that, he was capable of reciting from memory, a whole lot of good ol’ Tamil songs that moved his target audience in such mighty ways, creating waves of sympathy in their minds and hearts – songs like வண்டி உருண்டோட அச்சாணி தேவை என்றும் அதுபோல வாழ்க்கை ஓடவே… that immediately struck a chord with the audience!

Well, this was certainly his moment of triumph!

A few unsuspecting passengers from each compartment, would be so touched by the song, and moved by his plight, - that they would part with a coin or two in such rapid progression!

By the time he reaches his own travelling compartment, he’d have gotten a sizeable chunk on him, it seems!

Wait! That’s not all!

There were these passengers who parted with their penny, ain’t it?

Well, they all were in for a rude awakening of sorts, quite soon!

The moment he alights from the train, with a bevy of friends in tow, he would go up to them, [this time in his gentlemanly attire]😍and thank them for their generous contribution, leaving them in awe, in the process, it seems!

On an aside, Jovial J... was so mischievous that, he was only then quite recently taken out of the hostel for some ‘inappropriate behaviour!’

However, to all of us his friends, he had already been promoted from ‘Jovial J...’ to a ‘King!’

Coming now to expenses of the day, on 07 July 1998 -

Coffee             – Rs.  4.00

Tea & Bajji     – Rs.  3.50

Shampoo        – Rs.  4.00

Noodles          – Rs.  7.50

Phone (1st)    - Rs.   3.50

Next call         - Rs.   8.50

Ice Cream      - Rs.   3.50

Key Vocabulary – [taken from the Dictionary]

Triumph - a great success or achievement, often one that has been gained with a lot of skill or effort.

A rude awakening - a shock that comes from learning that what you had believed or expected is not true.

Strike a chord - If something strikes a chord or touches a chord, it makes you respond in an emotional way, usually because you understand and identify with it.

Apprise - to tell someone about something!

Frolic - a playful and lively movement or activity / play or move about in a cheerful and lively way.

[Eg: The Principal has been apprised of the situation.]

[PS: Jovial J...’s name has been asterixed just to protect our dear buddy’s identity! As simple as that!] 😍

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