Saturday 7 May 2011

Transporter

On 23rd July 2007, I first set foot on Roorkee soil. Being the responsible maddu that I was, I telephoned the only R-person's number I possessed. Obviously, being a long-drawn maddu connection (cousin of friend of school-senior), the person in question was himself quite Maddu. I was with mum when I met Venkatesh Nandakumar outside the Saraswati Mandir some four years ago. And Venky told me the stories and the legends of the land. He also introduced me to the Velociraptor, who I came to know quite well during his years here.

Anyway, the two of them later informed me about how a first year is expected to behave. What they said, in nutshell, could be retold as: Be a proper Maddu who doesn't speak Hindi, wears the quintessential black and white shirt and trousers, and never looks at anything but his feet. And DON'T buy a bicycle.

To be quite frank, I was so terrified by his words that I almost sold my bicycle back home. But as time wore on, I realized that the distances were too much to be negotiated by foot. And so, filled with trepidation, I bought the black Atlas Flame which would become one of my closest companions in IIT Roorkee.
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Having dinner early that evening, I decided it was dark enough to mingle inconspicuously with the campus environs. Cool autumn breeze blowing powerfully across one's face is motivation enough to up the speed. Pedalling furiously up a speed-breaker-less slope, I was greeted by the dazzling Central Library which was as new around these parts as I was. Overawed that I was by the sights that I encountered, I made a few wrong turns and didn't make a few right ones. And I ended up getting thoroughly lost.

'Transport Engineering' was the board that I stood in front of, and I didn't know what the hell it meant. And harbouring that perennial fear of being found-out, I decided not to ask anyone the route back, which only meant that my nerves took a tremendous beating. Naturally, I did find my way around eventually but these are  the very first memories I have with my bicycle.
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Over the years, it helped me reach meetings only twenty minutes late and classes only five. It helped me climb the slope a million times, just so that I could enjoy my ride down. It helped me outrace packs of angry stray dogs and do countless other things. It is only ironic that, never having left my side for three-and-a-half years, it chose to get stolen this semester, thus robbing me of a chance to say goodbye.

Rest in peace, Cycle.

8 comments:

  1. ha ha... n eventually u wud've sold it to a cycle-pimp, b4 going, to b assaulted by like crazies....!!! :P

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  2. Anunaya,

    It's a 'He', as closest friends often are.

    Chitto,

    At least then, I'd have said goodbye! I'm afraid might now be haunted by the spirit of an unhappy cycle!

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  3. Mine was stolen during Thomso 2008 the day after I replaced its old rusty lock with a new one. :(

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  4. I never thought that people will get senti about their cycles. Hard Drives, yes. But cycles?
    But then that's what 4th year is about right?Saying goodbyes to the way of life, people and things which became your closest companions.:)

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  5. Baba,
    The longer a relationship is, the harder it is to break.

    Abhinav (which one?),
    Cycles will come out on top of those lists any day. There's a very special relationship a man has with his cycle.

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  6. A.Abhinav Malhotra
    B.What relation is that?ass to seat relationship?

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  7. I sold mine one week into my second year. Perambulating the campus on foot is so much more fun than having to drag the two-wheeler along in case you happen to bump into some friends on their way to Dominos.

    Ah, memories.

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  8. Mine still hasn't left my side. I remember spending a few days with a punctured tire and feeling quite disabled. Distances get 10 times magnified and an enormous lethargy creeps at the very thought of travelling.

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