Commuting from hostel at Churchgate to Santacruz station and from there, taking the Best Bus to University of Mumbai, Kalina campus was quite a task that took me two good hours in travelling, to and fro. Going to the university in the morning means waking up early and waiting for one's turn to get into the shower since students made a beeline to get inside. Well, it means, if you wanna take your chance, you gotta stand in front of the bathroom door with towel in hand and try to sneak inside.
It's been a regular and daily affair, waking up early in the morning and brushing the teeth, toileting..of course, waiting in the line for the morning shower. Frankly speaking, I was getting tired of the routine, and, of course, the lights going off at 11 p.m since roomies' habit of sleeping early and I was a night owl who is literally awake throughout the night. The evenings were spent at Marine Drive but, even after I reached the room post midnight, I couldn't sleep. My only solace was the handset and plugging the ear phone, so that I listen to songs, surfing to Radio Mirchi and Radio City,while lying on the bed, till I doze off.
In the mean time, I again spoke to the university authorities since they promised that they will shift me to another hostel as per my demand in Churchgate only. I was coveting the second hostel on C-Road Churchgate since it is nothing less than luxury with amenities such as TV, single room and water cooler. The plus point with International Students Hostel is that there are two bath room on both sides on one floor and one would be spared the trouble of waiting in line like movie-goers hunting for movie tickets.
In the mean time, I wrote a letter to Professor Ritu who is in charge of hostel admissions and the nice lady that she is, promised to help me. Around November, my expensive handset worth 10k was stolen in my room while I was taking a nap during the day. I vividly remember the fateful Saturday when I hardly slept and woke up early for lectures. Around noon, I was planning to catch a train from Santacruz to Bandra to spend some time at Barista Bandstand, one of ma favorite hang out. But, I decided not to alight since I was feeling drowsy. I went back to the room to sleep. I was reading a copy of India Today and slink my handset under the pillow. When I woke up after some time, my specs and the India Today magazine were lying on the side of the bed but the handset was gone. I led a frantic search in the room but no success in getting back my prized possesion. My only fault is that I didn't lock the door, thinking, that if roomies' comes, I have to wake up and open the door.
Few days later, I went to meet Professor Ritu but she was so pissed at me since I didn't attend my lectures for several months. She shouted at me in front of everybody saying, "I want an answer Vishal and please reply to me. I am very disappointed with you." Finally, she gave me the letter, not without chiding me, make sure you attend lectures since you are a brilliant student. Yay! I got my new room on sixth floor, room no. 601. When I entered the room, I saw that the wall papers were wearing and tearing off but I was happy that I got the new room that faced the girls hostel, Telang. What more can a young man wish for?! Hieeeee....Moreover, I got a view of Marine Drive and the sea breeze that flew into the room. Outside, my room there was a 24 hours cold water cooler and, of course, hot water in the geyser for bath, phone service and what's not. Life is beautiful.
The next time I met professor Ritu at the campus, she was all smiling and was chatting with a student and batch mate, Atul. Professor called me and inquired whether I got the room. I thanked her and said that I was happy with the new single room at the new hostel. She told Atul, Vishal has been troubling us to change his hostel and she smiled to me, ' ab,Theek se padhai kar." Professor Ritu was a very charming lady but she can be a tough task master, not mincing her words to scold you since she cares for her students. Thanks ma'am.
To be continued...
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