Elzy and I versus Mandeep and Renju duelled in the game of dumb charades; needless to say, anything about the friendly duel between friends having a shared appreciation for music, we won the game. Elzy couldn't contain her joy as she cried out in excitement, "We won! We won!"
By closely observing Elzy's brilliant miming of the movie title that Mandeep threw our way, thinking we would never be able to suspect, let alone decipher it, I could correctly identify the title of the Hindi film. And it was: "Qaid Mein Hai Bulbul." Mandeep would have nicely assumed that no matter how much we try, we will never get it. But thanks to my keen interest in old Hindi movies, until the late 1990s, we could determine the film title. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
As Renju and her teammate Mandeep looked on like cute puppies (Awwww...!) at what Elzy and I got ourselves so delighted in the game, Gnana, Suresh, and Devi laughed in bemusement, with Suresh voicing "Yo, Arindam...! Elzy...! Great going." Elzy and I revelled in our triumph like two school-going little munchkins finding a house of candies at the carnival grounds, only that I was a little taller!
I can still see in my mind's eye the stunned look that Mandeep had on his face — as if mortally wounded by something so sudden and unexpected. Renju grinned away as Daisies caught in the cool breeze that the STC campus was known to regale its guests, looking at us astonished as both Elzy and I rejoiced like boisterous school kids jumping and pumping our fists repeatedly in the air on winning the dumb charade round.
An Evening of Laughter and Longing
The evening wore on; it was not very chilly on the campus, though it was December month, and it was already supposed to be winter. We all became more composed and stayed seated on the velvet grass for some spare time while Gnana clung to his thoughts, not intending to dismiss them; perhaps he might be considering hitting the bed in our shared dorm room and catching a nightly wink before getting ready for another day in the STC paradise. Elzy sat in a zen-like posture close to Renju while we all sat close together on the lawn — a symphony of friendship.
Mandeep looked cool and fun, smiling pleasantly like a mini-celebrity strolling along the sandy shores of life. He began crooning "Mere Dil Ka Pata Tumhein Kisne Diya," a tune we both enjoyed back in the day on our music systems, putting all the songs on repeat (an endless loop, as they say these days) and listening to them nonstop. When I was younger, those Jaanam songs were always on my ‘playlist;’ I still listen to them occasionally, without fail. They remind me so much of those college days.
He once borrowed audiocassettes of Soldier, Kareeb, Afsana Pyar Ka, and Sonu Nigam pop albums like Jaan and Deewana from me. In my turn, I used to borrow from him, as I had desperately wanted to listen to the remarkable songs of Jaanam, First Love Letter, and Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee, the audio cassettes of those extraordinary movies, the music of which I grew up listening to. Melodies of nostalgia.
Always in a good vibe, Renju crooned a song about flowers blooming and swaying in the wind, feeling nostalgic about the grasslands and meadows of her homeland while the cosmic stars twinkled in the pale moonlight like pearls. Slowly and privately, she hummed another: "Dil Se Mere Door Na Jana" and appeared solemn, searching with her gaze for something from her distant past that she knew could never be forgotten.
As Renju was feeling a little down either because of being far from home or perhaps due to personal concerns, I thought, wouldn't it be a great idea to perk things up slightly more? Mandeep (Mandy for short) also seemed ever-ready to tango, sparking the idea to lift spirits even higher.
Piped up at the prospect of playing a round of Antakshari and Dumb Charade, with the tempting spread of good food at the dorm cafeteria later in the evening, Elizabeth (Elzy for short) and I got Renju and Mandeep on board and started to play, slowly singing, "Kathai Aankhon Wali Ek Ladki. Ek Hi Baat Par Bigadti Hai." Antakshari was fun as I sang the first two lines of another charming little Hindi song, "Oh Tumse Dur Rehke, Hamne Jana Pyaar Kya Hai."
Taking over from Renju, Elizabeth began to spout a strange lyric with spoken dialogue as a song, "Oops!... I Did It Again," while observing our reactions, which was one of the year 2000's greatest hits along with the debut album "Baby One More Time" that MTV and Channel V channels used to play until the twelfth of never, as we were glued to the TV set, eagerly watching the swashbuckling top-of-the-charts musical numbers being replayed one after another on those famous channels.
Mandeep grinned knowingly and said, "Britney Spears?!" as he retrieved his ever-present steel pin from his shirt pocket to secure the knit puggree on his head, checking if it was in place.
Gnana shortly said, "Elzy, feel free to proceed with singing that peculiar English song if you wish."
While Elizabeth joyfully sang, "Oops!... I Did It Again. I Played with Your Heart, Got Lost in The Game," Mandeep bubbled up significantly and hurled out as musically as he could manage, and followed it up with a musical flair, continuing with the next line of the song, "Oh Baybyyy, Baybyyy," which prompted Renju to giggle uncontrollably at him but remembering to playfully interpose continuing with the line, "Oops, You Think I'm in Love," before Elizabeth wrapping up with "That I'm Sent from Abooooove, I'm Not That Innocent." All this culminated in an incredibly delightful evening of laughter and conversational humour even as I humorously chimed in with this: "Hit Me Baby One More Time!" albeit from another song on the same album. (One thing I should note, though: Mandeep's fulltoo, fantastically mirthful intonation of "OH BAYBYYY, BAYBYYY" was something of a total dhamaal to witness!)
+*+*+*+
Devi and Suresh were engaged in a lively conversation a little way away. Suresh was likely growing anxious by the hour about his upcoming outing around the city with the stunning Michelle from London. (I'll go into more detail about his perfect dilemma in a future blog article titled "The Beauty and the Gentleman.")
We continued the flow of chatter until 9 pm when it was time for dinner at the dormitory cafeteria. Suresh and I were especially anticipating a hearty portion of the paneer dish cooked in coconut milk, which was wonderfully made by the STC's in-house kitchen, along with some chicken korma, rumali roti, butter naan, and a small amount of rice pulao and curd with plain rice before washing it down with fresh sweet lime soda.
After the main course, we decided to indulge in a couple of deliciously soft and irresistibly tempting Gulab Jamuns (that melt in your mouth like butter on a hot paratha. Ummm..., Wow!) generously dipped in a large amount of thick rose-scented sugar syrup, with an addition of malty caramel-milk or Rabdi to pour over them. We did exactly that! We ate to our heart's content.
We, especially Devi, oh! my God, ladies and gentlemen, couldn't resist the temptation of those warm, heavenly mouthfuls of pure perfection sprinkled with slices of pistachios no top, could we? (In my upcoming blog, "A Gulab Jamun Champion," I will delve into Devi's high jinks predilection for Gulab Jamuns.)
Even as I write these lines from memory, my mouth waters thinking about those brown, milky, doughy, cloyingly sweet wonders of the world. Gulab Jamun.
(To be continued…)
By Arindam Moulick
Also published on Medium.
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