Thillai Nagar 8th Cross Street

The lush green patch of land on either side of the bus is strangely unlike the Trichy that Ramanathan Krishnaswamy (Rama) has lived in for the last four years he spent in NIT. He is so used to the scorching heat of the place that any sight of greenery seems out of place now. Krishnamurthi Ramanujam (Krish) has seen so much grass in the last four years at NIT Trichy that he has begun to identify the place with its grass! Sitting in the same bus as Rama, he is very excited about the shopping he will do in Thillai Nagar today.

¨Anna, where is the Sony shop in Thillai?¨, Rama asked the conductor

¨Enna Tambi... SOny-aa ?... Solren... (Will tell you)¨, the conductor shot back in a high pitched voice to make himself heard above the full blast Tamil songs from latest Sivaji Ganesan hits album.

Before we get there, let me introduce Rama and Krish to you. They have both done their schooling in SBOA School Chennai. Rama wants to become a scientist in biotechnology. He aims to do research in Genetic Engineering in the US and settle there with a green card as soon as possible. Krish, on the other hand, has no particular ambitions. His aims in life are driven by his desires. Krish dreams of a life where he has no shortage of booze, fag and babes!

Although they live in the same room Rama and Krish seldom see each other. Rama is a strict vegetarian and wakes up at six, nearly an hour after Krish goes to bed. His regular day begins with a bath (trust me in a hostel like ours even this is an arduous task), Sandhyavandanam (prayer to Sun God) followed by food at mess. Krish on the other hand gets up briefly at 8:25, rushes to the 8:30 class ten minutes late (only in case he decides to resume the sleep in classroom rather than settle for a proxy), one chicken puff at the Bru coffee shop before returning to his room at 12 for another nap. He would then wake up at six in the evening for a quick round of washing before the daily routine of fag and booze (and sometimes pot). He returns to his room at five in the morning and hits the bed straight into deep sleep.

Today being a Saturday, both of them have to rush back to hostel by five. Rama goes to the BHEL Ayyappa temple every Saturday (no matter what happens!) while Krish goes to BHEL Seakings Ice cream parlor every Saturday with the girl in his life as her reporting time in Opal Girls´ hostel is extended by an hour on Saturdays. Krish has been seeing this girl (name intentionally withheld) two years junior to him in college for a couple of months and they are quite close now. The only thing that comes between their formal relationship is her existing commitment to this guy in her batch. While she prefers to see Krish as a friend and guide, Krish has been making desperate efforts to make her something more than that in his life. Sadly for him, the guy in his life (as he calls her boyfriend) does not seem to abandon them so fast.

The bus is screeching to a halt near Thillai first cross. There has been an accident and the traffic has been blocked.

¨@%£*& b@%&*%$", said Krish looking desperately into his brand new wrist watch. Krish has spent almost four thousand rupees this month and is now running on credit from Rama for the last three days. With examinations round the corner, Krish feels, it is unlikely how Rama will find the time for accounting his daily expenditures as he does everyday and in this irregualrity some of his expenses will get washed away.

The traffic seems to be clearing and the bus starts moving. ¨Thank God!¨, said Rama heaving a sigh of relief. He has made a plan to complete his class notes (he uses four different inks in them) and record work after returning from the temple and the traffic block would have seriously put him off his schedule.

¨SOny yaar kettadu? (Who asked for SOny?)¨, screamed the conductor at the top of his voice.

Rama and Krish got down from the bus. The small board across the road read ´Thillai Nagar 8th Cross Street´.

Rama crossed the road, turned left and entered the residential complex right behind the Sony showroom. It was ´Aravind Apartments´, the place where his uncle lived. He has come to meet his grandparents who have come down to Trichy from Kumbakonam.

Meanwhile Krish crossed the road and turned right. There were two shops opposite to the Sony showroom. One read ´Anand Pharmaceuticals and Druggist´ - known for selling more than just medicines, while the other read ´Tasmac Bar´. Krish took out a thousand rupee note from his purse and walked towards the shops.

What lies between Rama and Krish ... Thillai Nagar 8th Cross Street? Three months of summer? DAAD summer fellowship? or may be ... Nothing!


(Inspired by the true story of one of my friends)