PNR NO.
650-2912923
26-12-2011 Purushottam Super Fast Express/12801 3AC
Status : Train Cancelled
My journey back to the campus began with a disappointment. I quickly got a RAC ticket the next day and boarded a sluggish train.
After 19 hours Mirzapur Road station
A girl entered. She sat on the opposite seat.
Clear skin. Curly hair. All she had in the name of luggage was a puma backpack. I am not sherlock but within five minutes it was easy to deduce she was heading for Kanpur.
She opened her backpack and took out a lab report. I could see circuit diagrams comprising diodes, transformers, capacitors , resistors, etc.
She took out a piece of paper and started scribbling a PCB circuit. She drew it at least five times, struggling to memorize it. I don't know about her but in this process I did.
Suddenly she took out her mobile and dialed.
"Hi! I have a question for you. How do you convert AC current to DC ?"
"You are in mechanical so what you might be knowing this."
I was surprised. How on earth there exists an engineering student who doesn't know how to convert AC to DC. I started giggling.
"Ohkey .. So you forgot. Chalo, tell me the applications of both."
She must have got an unsatisfactory answer.
"Hmm.. Diode kya hota hai ?"
Sudden network failure and the conversation was over. I was still giggling, but she hardly bothered.
Now, every time I travel via rail I meet a character Uncleji. This is one person who takes great interest in your life. He was sitting beside me when he started -
"Beta, kahan ja rahe ho?"
"Kanpur"
"Kya karte ho?"
"I'm a Student"
"Kya padh rahe ho ?"
"Engineering"
And then he darts a question which I wanted to avoid all this time.
"Beta, kaun se college mein padh rahe ho ?"
I paused for a few seconds ... "IIT Kanpur"
She looked at me and smiled.
Before Uncleji could ask me about my branch, placement statistics and tell me about his relatives also studying in IIT, the girl started a conversation
"You are in which year?"
"Third"
"Abhi main jisse baat kar rahi thi woh aapka junior hai."
[Oh so he was a guy. I started mentally cursing him for not answering her questions. What a shame in the name of my institute.]
"Accha .. He's in which year?"
"Second."
[Oh, a sophomore. I started cursing him even more. How can he forget ESC102:Introduction to Electronics and ESO210:Introduction to Electrical Engineering so easily]
"Accha .. Aap bataiye how to convert AC to DC?"
"Rectifier" - I quickly replied.
"Hmm .. What is Forward and Reverse Bias ?"
I started answering her and she was convinced within five minutes.
"Hmm .. Aapka junior mechanical mein hai shayad isi liye usko nahi pata hoga."
"I am also a mechanical engineer."
Meanwhile, Uncleji was enjoying this conversation.
She redialed.
"Hi! Guess what ? Tumhare sir(senior) yahan baithe hain."
He said something.
"Oh.. I should not talk to him .. Why?"
"You will get in trouble. Okey. Bye"
She avoided looking at me for sometime.
I was puzzled. This junior is behaving rather strangely. I enquired.
"What happened ?"
"He told me not to talk to you or else he will get into trouble."
Well, it was none of my business. I went into my thinking mode. But, a girl is a girl and she was a talkative one.
"Actually he got involved in a fight with his seniors recently. The day after Christmas he forgot to wish some seniors when they passed by his side. So they shouted at him and that is why he told me that he does not want to get into more trouble."
"Not possible. We are not animals. And by the way our winter break is going on and hardly there is anyone in the campus."
"He has an exam tomorrow."
"But, our exams got over in November. Our grades were finalised in the first week of December and we do not have any provision for supplementary papers for failing in a subject. You have to do that course all over again."
Her face turned pale. I could see the arrival of madness. So I thought not to delve any further in this matter.
Who knows he might be playing some kind of prank with her. But, then what bothered me was that he was using the name of my institute and I still couldn't forgive him for not knowing how to convert AC to DC ?!!
She continued..
"Once I asked him the resistance of an open circuit... he couldn't answer."
"He couldn't ?" [WTF WHAT THE FUHUGALAHHAMIYAH]
"Yes, even I was surprised. I told him IIT mein ho tab bhi nahi pata. He replied that he has other important business."
"What is his name ?"
"I cannot tell you. He may get into trouble."
"Fine. Did he invite you in Antaragni ?" [Antaragni is the cult fest of IITK]
"Nope."
"Techkriti ?" [Tech Fest]
"Woh kya hai ?"
"Leave it !" - I sighed.
"Have you ever visited our campus?" - I continued.
"Nahi .. He says ki log galat samjhenge."
"Kyun galat samjhenge. Humlog toh jaise insaan nahi hai. Has he ever visited your college?"
"Yes. He came to attend our cult fest." [Strange]
"He might have told you about the various clubs in our college."
"He told me that he studies and just plays volleyball at night."
"Is there anything he told you which is unique to our college : Airstrip, Swimming Pool, Indoor stadium, anything."
"No, He thinks that I will feel bad because I study in an ordinary college and he studies in an IIT."
"College isn't important, knowledge is!"
She paused for a bit. I could see innocence, fear, anger and many other emotions simultaneously building up on her face.
"Aap sahi keh rahe hai."
Next : She fell in love .. Just because he was an IITian ! [Part II]
She took out a piece of paper and started scribbling a PCB circuit. She drew it at least five times, struggling to memorize it. I don't know about her but in this process I did.
Suddenly she took out her mobile and dialed.
"Hi! I have a question for you. How do you convert AC current to DC ?"
"You are in mechanical so what you might be knowing this."
I was surprised. How on earth there exists an engineering student who doesn't know how to convert AC to DC. I started giggling.
"Ohkey .. So you forgot. Chalo, tell me the applications of both."
She must have got an unsatisfactory answer.
"Hmm.. Diode kya hota hai ?"
Sudden network failure and the conversation was over. I was still giggling, but she hardly bothered.
Now, every time I travel via rail I meet a character Uncleji. This is one person who takes great interest in your life. He was sitting beside me when he started -
"Beta, kahan ja rahe ho?"
"Kanpur"
"Kya karte ho?"
"I'm a Student"
"Kya padh rahe ho ?"
"Engineering"
And then he darts a question which I wanted to avoid all this time.
"Beta, kaun se college mein padh rahe ho ?"
I paused for a few seconds ... "IIT Kanpur"
She looked at me and smiled.
Before Uncleji could ask me about my branch, placement statistics and tell me about his relatives also studying in IIT, the girl started a conversation
"You are in which year?"
"Third"
"Abhi main jisse baat kar rahi thi woh aapka junior hai."
[Oh so he was a guy. I started mentally cursing him for not answering her questions. What a shame in the name of my institute.]
"Accha .. He's in which year?"
"Second."
[Oh, a sophomore. I started cursing him even more. How can he forget ESC102:Introduction to Electronics and ESO210:Introduction to Electrical Engineering so easily]
"Accha .. Aap bataiye how to convert AC to DC?"
"Rectifier" - I quickly replied.
"Hmm .. What is Forward and Reverse Bias ?"
I started answering her and she was convinced within five minutes.
"Hmm .. Aapka junior mechanical mein hai shayad isi liye usko nahi pata hoga."
"I am also a mechanical engineer."
Meanwhile, Uncleji was enjoying this conversation.
She redialed.
"Hi! Guess what ? Tumhare sir(senior) yahan baithe hain."
He said something.
"Oh.. I should not talk to him .. Why?"
"You will get in trouble. Okey. Bye"
She avoided looking at me for sometime.
I was puzzled. This junior is behaving rather strangely. I enquired.
"What happened ?"
"He told me not to talk to you or else he will get into trouble."
Well, it was none of my business. I went into my thinking mode. But, a girl is a girl and she was a talkative one.
"Actually he got involved in a fight with his seniors recently. The day after Christmas he forgot to wish some seniors when they passed by his side. So they shouted at him and that is why he told me that he does not want to get into more trouble."
"Not possible. We are not animals. And by the way our winter break is going on and hardly there is anyone in the campus."
"He has an exam tomorrow."
"But, our exams got over in November. Our grades were finalised in the first week of December and we do not have any provision for supplementary papers for failing in a subject. You have to do that course all over again."
Her face turned pale. I could see the arrival of madness. So I thought not to delve any further in this matter.
Who knows he might be playing some kind of prank with her. But, then what bothered me was that he was using the name of my institute and I still couldn't forgive him for not knowing how to convert AC to DC ?!!
She continued..
"Once I asked him the resistance of an open circuit... he couldn't answer."
"He couldn't ?" [WTF WHAT THE FUHUGALAHHAMIYAH]
"Yes, even I was surprised. I told him IIT mein ho tab bhi nahi pata. He replied that he has other important business."
"What is his name ?"
"I cannot tell you. He may get into trouble."
"Fine. Did he invite you in Antaragni ?" [Antaragni is the cult fest of IITK]
"Nope."
"Techkriti ?" [Tech Fest]
"Woh kya hai ?"
"Leave it !" - I sighed.
"Have you ever visited our campus?" - I continued.
"Nahi .. He says ki log galat samjhenge."
"Kyun galat samjhenge. Humlog toh jaise insaan nahi hai. Has he ever visited your college?"
"Yes. He came to attend our cult fest." [Strange]
"He might have told you about the various clubs in our college."
"He told me that he studies and just plays volleyball at night."
"Is there anything he told you which is unique to our college : Airstrip, Swimming Pool, Indoor stadium, anything."
"No, He thinks that I will feel bad because I study in an ordinary college and he studies in an IIT."
"College isn't important, knowledge is!"
She paused for a bit. I could see innocence, fear, anger and many other emotions simultaneously building up on her face.
"Aap sahi keh rahe hai."
Next : She fell in love .. Just because he was an IITian ! [Part II]
