memoirs

Happy and what…?


Setting: Calcutta city of joy

Sunil my elder brother and I are standing outside his college his zillion frenz come up to talk to us.

I was in school and to me these college students looked really funny back then the way the spoke their body language, happy go lucky nature and the general spread of foolishness

Right when I am standing really close to sunil feeling all conscious that all his friends were staring at me,
{Apparently most of them didnt know he had a sister, wouldnt blame them I was studying in a hostel so came home only during my hols}

One of the guys walk up to me smiling

Hey Rini Im Tom
I smile and say Hi

You are in school right?
Yes
Doing humanities right?
Yes
Come down for your hols right?
Yes again

How do u know so much? I ask in surprise
Well I just know
That was it this Mr. know it all was getting on my nerves now


So what plans after school?
Hmm…college would the gradual progression right?

Yes thats true, he said, again smiling like he knew some vicious little secret about me

Hey!!...........
He almost screamed drawing everyones attention, patting my shoulder this time (which by the way totally pissed me off I mean cmon I hardly knew the guy. what was worse was that my bro who usually is the she is my sister don’t mess with her or youre dead types didn’t seem to care)
…you should join Xavs, he said
and most of my brothers friends seemed to echo this thought, I looked at my brother and said, well I dunno let me finish school first, looking at you people it looks like life on campus is loads of fun”

Tom with his smirk look tells me :ya ya we are all very happy and gay

I was by now only half listening to what he had to say, as I was busy looking at all my brothers other friends..ahmmm..some who were actually cute

But this was too much; I just looked straight at him and said first very softly
happy and what Tom, he looks at me in bewilderment what
I repeat only a lot more louder happy and what…?, there were a couple of guys and girls standing next to me and all of them almost burst into a laughter but controlled themselves.

Oh it was a sight to see Mr. smart ass looks really shocked stammers and says
Well I meant happy and gay as in you know..

Another friend walks up and says , oh she knows she is doing humanities ,remember
How sunil refers to her as English professor

He just smiles and pats me again,,grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

As I walked back with Sunil he asks me how I found his friends

Oh sunil they are a nice funny lot, but the best is that guy Tom super crazy thank god don’t have to see him anymore

Sunil looks at me a starts laughingI wouldnt be too sure of that’
I ask why
Well he is Job uncles son in shock I scream ,What Job uncle as in Dads colleague
Yes my sweet crazy sister, he said

Well friends thats was my first meeting with Tom, he is in the military now completing his army course in Dehradun
We are really good friends till date both of us still cant get over the whole happy and gay joke. This is the intricacy of the English language and the extent to which its screwed up. Innocent little words have very different connotative meanings like for example the word sleep, in today’s world it means everything else but the act of peacefully lying in bed and closing your eyes to rest.