An unusually special day. No, it was not a holiday. It was a day when the lab was almost full. The competent reader must have understood that there must be an assignment submission deadline. Looking at such a lab, Prof Chopra had once remarked, “The lab has become a fish market.”. He had waited for a moment and then continued, “But it is still better than a desert.”.
Some students were busy with debugging, some with report writing, while some in copying. bhOndOO was irritated. That day, he had received minimum marks in Modelling and Simulation’s second assignment. He had seen students making fun of his marks. Already disappointed, when he entered the lab, he stumbled against a chair and fell down, hearing a loud laugh. He wanted to beat everyone, but seeing Shami, he kept silent. Moreover, he had to finish (and start) the assignment. But given a chance, he was ready to take revenge.
According to the Law of Silence Wave, a time arrived when the lab attained a pin-drop silence. Within five seconds, the silence was broken by a tune of Jhalak Dikhla Ja. Everyone started looking at the source of the sound. It was bhOndOO’s mobile. Some girls ignored, some made faces, while some remarked, “Utha na!”. BenJi shouted, “bhOndOO, pick up the phone yaar!”.
bhOndOO looked at BenJi, then picked up the mobile, saw “Home” displayed, and the conversation started.
“Hello.”.
“Hello Beta, I am Papa speaking.”.
bhOndOO kept silent for a second, and continued, “Yes, Papa.”.
“Your voice is not clear.”.
“Mobile signals do not reach inside the lab properly. Tell me, why did you call?”.
“Beta, don’t mind. But, Mehra Uncle just wanted you to meet his daughter once. I know you don’t want to get married to her. But it is only a few months and you would start earning. Moreover, it is a friendship of generations. We should not say no right away.”.
“Okay Papa. As you say.”.
“So, are you ready to meet the girl?”.
“Yes, Papa.”.
“Good Beta. That’s really nice. Is it possible for you to come here in Diwali? I know you have course work, but these things are also important.”.
“Okay Papa. I will come in Diwali.”.
“Oh! So nice of you. I will send you the railway tickets soon.”.
“Okay Papa.”.
“Beta, your voice seems very low. Is everything fine?”.
“Yes Papa. Don’t worry.”.
“Beta, your school friend Amol was asking for your mobile number. He is coming to Bangalore for job hunting and does not have a place to stay. Your mother knows that you don’t entertain him, and hence wants your consent before giving him the number. What do you say?”.
“It is okay Papa. You can give him my mobile number.”.
“Okay Beta. Your mother will talk to you in the evening. Take care of your health.”.
“Okay Papa. Bye.”.
“Bye.”.
bhOndOO disconnected, looked at the mobile, then looked around, and shouted, “Whose mobile is this?”.