JAB GORAKHPUR EXPRESS MET BHOPAL SHATABDI

"यात्रीगण कृप्या ध्यान दें, गाड़ी संख्या 18039 अपने निर्धारित प्लेटफॉर्म से चल कर यादों के पिटारे से होते हुए मध्य में गाड़ी संख्या 23059 के साथ तेज़ी से अपने निर्धारित प्लेटफार्म कमरा नंबर 205 पर पहुँचने वाली है। आप सबसे अनुरोध है की इस सुखद यात्रा में अपना स्थान बनाये रखें। धन्यवाद।"





 
Now, before you make a ridiculous joke and mock me for writing this, let me just stop you right there. I know this isn't how we roll. We don't do thank yous and awws and love yous. And I'm probably getting a lot of gaalis from you for doing this. But, hear me out.
 
I haven't ever said this to you, and probably never will; not because I cannot but because we are much more than those silly gestures of gratitude. Yet, my andar ki awaz wants to say this to you.
 
From a young age we all strive to form friendships, to feel that special moment of ‘oh yes, you get me’ as kindred spirits meet, cautiously at first then unconsciously a life-long friendship is cemented. To have even one two o’clock in the morning friend, on whom to call without fear of disturbing in moments of need, fear, sadness or even celebration  is a blessing indeed.
 
To me this friend is my first ever friend that I made after stepping in to the corridors of Samta ( Haan yahi naam tha humare hostel ka), the first actual roommate, first 2'o clock friend, actually she is my first mostly in everything and that list will complete this blog itself. She is the one who will always be SPECIAL to me.
 
We never called each other as friends, this word never described us and we never relate to it. We use to be each other SHISHTER ( Yup! No spelling error, its not sister). 
 




SHISHTER-SHISHTER LOVE:
 
Like any other first time hosteler, I was too scared of my hostel life, how it's going to be, would I be able to survive or would I be able make any connections?
 
When you’re shifting to a new city for further studies, it’s expected that you would moving in with someone new, you will be sharing your space with a stranger. And it’s natural to be supremely nervous, because how many new things can you endure anyway?
 
And to all my questions their was only one answer, the answer which changed my perspective, the answer which always believed in me, the answer which was there standing in my dark times when I wasn't able to recognize myself.
And the answer to me was "MABEL CHANDRA".
I met her back in the year 2016, August 20. Yes that's the date to be marked because this date changed everything in my life. She came before me holding a cup in her hand, untidy, messy hair, tea strained t-shirt, knee length shorts and a very rough tone(yes, that's true).
 
"Accha, wo tum thi jiski mummy mera darwaza peet rahi thi" she said to me.
 
And just after 10 minutes of conversation I said, "Mummy, ye toh bilkul mere jaisi hai".
 
In passing days, we got so comfortable with each other like the importance of sugar to her coffee (She hates black coffee). From being announced as the official anchoring partners of our department to be with each other in every phase like Chandra padha de yaar, Chandra mere liye ye lana ghar se, Chandra ye Chandra wo, Chal raat ko movie dekhte hai anabelle (she hates horror).
We became compatible with each other. The Perfect Companion.

 



Mabel-Mimansa tag was on everyone's lips. If anyone of us was found roaming alone, we were always asked about the other.
We understood each other by just looking in each others eyes, without having any conversation and people always got irritated with this that how you guys manage this.
 
We use to stay in one room despite being allotted different rooms, we spent almost every time together, knowing each other exploring every minute detail about the other, waking up till 4' in the morning and then getting running late for the college with our list of never ending excuses ready, "Sir wo iske pet mai dard tha, Sir hostel mai pani nahi tha, Sir mess mai khana nahi mila, Sir isko chakkar aa rahe hai". We have spend 4 years of our lives together.
 
Mabel Chandra is the person who is impulsive and when she is angry just save yourself from her otherwise you will hear the worst about yourself and in a very rude tone. She tries to distant you from her in the reaction of her anger. Talking about this, let me tell you a story.
 
One day, we fought over something and she went in her room locked herself up there (she use to do that often) went in her zone, mumbling "aaj se tera mera rishta khatam, tu tere raste mai mere raste, dosti khatam"  and me being the emotional fool started crying for couple of hours, "ki nahi ese kese kar sakti hai ye, ese thodi hota hai?".
 
I gained strength and went straight up to her (mai darti hu iske raudra roop se) and started knocking her door, "tu sach bta tu nahi karegi mujhse baat"?
 
"Nahi, kabhi nahi", She said.
 
"Kyu nahi karegi"? I asked.
 
"Mera Mann", she said.
(Humari bahut sari ladaiyo mai unke iss mann ne bahut ahem bhumika nibhayi hai)
 
"Kab tak nahi karegi?" I asked.
"kabhi bhi nahi, tu koi nahi hai mere liye", She said.
 
I requested her actual roommate Jagriti, to open the door and she did. I looked at her and she stared me with that bitch look, I opened her water bottle and poured it straight on her head saying, "ab ho gya gussa thanda ya baki hai?"
 
We began our water battle in the corridor which took its next stage of throwing the stale pasta water on each other, apologizing and hugging and then laughing continuously for next one hour.
 
We never said sorry to each other, we just went to the other person and hugged so tightly that it might choke the other. We never stayed angry for more than a day.
Our friendship was always above all the other matters.
 
In her, I saw glimpses of my mother, my sister, my friend. The time we spent together was mood lifting, the deep meaningful conversations we had, the motivation that I seek from her and the appreciation I got from her, I couldn't found that from anyone else.
Life away from home was easier together, we knew we had each other to count on, to come back to. Even our families never bothered about ourselves because we were by each others side. Her presence in my life is always reassuring.
 
Our evenings were full of Maggi-making sessions and teaching her the new recipes and
We would sit for hours and talk about what happened in class, all the complaints about the upcoming project, the giggles we shared over something funny that happened back in class. Or the intense discussions about “what is life?” It was surprising how we didn't even get to know it was 3:00 am. It was like a night stay with my best friend, every night for three years continuously.




Never have you once told me to change myself for the world. You've always accepted my goofy, intolerable, side effortlessly. You've stood by me and been my partner in crime through some of the best days of my life.
And on my worst? Well, you're probably the only one who knows how much I cry and why.
 
You've accompanied me across all my crazy endeavors, all the times I said, "chal yaar, aaj kuch toofani karte hain!" From having my back in every awkward situation to being my wing-man and cleaning up the mess I left behind, I swear, any sane person would've backed out and let go. But not you. You were there. Always.
Your home is like my second home, and sometimes it's like my first.
 
To my room, 205, and the perfect roommate, here’s to you. My savior, my rock, my human journal, my personal comedian, dancer, and my family away from home. It’s only because of you I survived those miserable days away from home.
 AND YAAR TU SPECIAL HAI, HAMESHA RAHEGI. NO MATTER HOW DISTANT WE ARE, MY HEART KNOWS THAT YOU ARE ALWAYS THERE FOR ME.
I can't finish this by quoting these lines,
तू जो रूठा तो कौन हंसेगा
तू जो छूटा तो कौन रहेगा
तू चुप है तो ये डर लगता है
अपना मुझको अब कौन कहेगा
तू ही वजह..
तेरे बिना बेवजह बेकार हूँ मैं
तेरा यार हूँ मैं
तेरा यार हूँ मैं