A practical joke.

Life can get too monotonous out here with the case-studies to be read daily..So I decided to pull one on this popular guy(we are a group of 10 here in IIMA) called KG.

We are provided with telephones in each room with an internal 4 digit number xxkg (where x,k,g belong to (0 - 9)). So I call this guy KG..xxkg..This is how the conversation goes...

Start time: 22:15.

Me: Is the number yyzz xxkg ( My tempo really slow to reflect the typical chennaivasi and the voice a little modulated) ??.
KG: No it is ylzz xxkg...(pause)..Is this amith*?
Me: No this is Neelakantan and I am a good friend of your father.I..(break)
KG: Yes sir, please tell me sir (very attentive)..
Me: So, I have come here on an official purpose and I shall be there here till tomorrow night.
KG: Yes sir, please continue...
Me: I am based in hyderabad working at DRDL, I had been to chennai briefly and your father had requested me to deliver you a package...
KG: Yes sir..
Me: So can we meet sometime tomorrow afternoon or evening...
KG: surely sir, where are you right now, sir?
Me: I amput up at a place called vastrapur, I believe it is close...(break)
KG: It is just 1 km away from IIMA, sir.
Me: So can we meet at say the IIMA gate at around..(break)
KG:..Can I have your cell phone number, sir?
Me: (pause)..Yeah..note down..
KG: Yes sir..
Me: 98932 43527
KG: Yes sir, I got the number..Your name again sir?..
Me: Neelakantan*
KG: I will surely contact you tomorrow..
Me: Good, So kannan*, you are doing a summer programme here I believe..
KG: That's right sir..
Me: And you are a part of the 5 year dual degree course at IITM or..?
KG: Yes sir.
Me: Yeah..your father had mentioned that..You see your father and me go a long way back..
KG: (cutting me short)...Sir, I will surely call you tomorrow sir...
Me: Ok Kannan*, good bye..
KG: Good night sir..

Finish time: 22:22

Now, I had mentioned this to a guy called SS* at around 1:00 am in the night..We had a good laugh. I asked him not to blurt this out until the next day's lunch..

Come the next day...

We have this presentation by 2 groups(including KG's group), the session get's over by 11:30..
But the lunch here starts only at 12:30 pm..So we decide to head to the library. Now I got involved in searching for some journals/books for my project and by the time knew it, it was 2 pm. Hmm..SS* might have revealed the true Neelakantan to KG and everyone would have had a good laugh.I didn't think about it till 5 pm, when one of the ten guys, NJ* told me what had happened....Man did I have a good laugh..

KG comes to the common room (Dressed to kill) at 2 pm. Every one is seated watching a movie..He says.."Machan, I have to go to MDC (the telephone booth) to make a call".

Now, SS* starts laughing..He blurts out in bits that it is me and not Neelakantan who had called him..KG tries in vain to explain to the others sitting out there that it couldn't be me..he tells out the details of the conversation...SS* is thoroughly enjoying the moment..but others don't seem to understand.
As everyone gets a hang of what's going on, there is an uproarious laughter..KG doesn't seem amused..He tries convincing SS* that this can't happen to him..But SS* by now is out control, rolling on the floor...Finally KG calls the number(after 15 minutes of denial) to prove that he was right..but alas..the number didn't exist...

Well..I met him in the evening, and he still claims, that it wasn't me who called him...wow, what a day! These are tales that shall be told for a long long time to come.....

( * - These names are used to protect the privacy of those concerned).

One week past....

It's actually more than one week since I stepped foot in ahmedabad. The weather here is comparable to that in hyderabad..hot,dry winds that can give you a stroke if you stay out for not so long a time.
The room in which I am put up now is on the 2nd floor of a building that is a part of the newly constructed 'new block' in the IIMA campus. What is pathetic about the construction is all the walls are plain concrete which absorb the heat during the day and radiate it through out the night. (Also the entire width of the walkway(20 metres) in the newblock is fully paved except for some plants in the divider, radiating a lot of heat, more green cover would have helped the guys staying in the rooms ).

This problem is compounded by the fact that my room is aligned in the east-west direction and thereby I incur the wrath of the sun at around 7 am everyday when the first ray of light strikes my body, giving me a jolt of pain....
Well I have decided that terrace shall be my abode for atleast as long it is more comfortable than the room, which is quite large by hostel standards.
Thinking of my room, I miss IITM, where I have been for 4 years and will be for one more year..I am already thinking of getting back there and enjoying the relatively (chennai is definitely hot) cool surroundings that my campus has to offer.
The grub after my 40 minute run today in the campus was really amazing..salads, gulab jamuns and ofcourse lots of curds (apart from chappatis).
That's the only thing cool out here............

Grubbing like a moron

Well, that's one good thing that I have been doing here as frequently as possible in between the hectic schedule and the searing heat of ahmedabad. One of my friends not used to such extravagant food, has had more than his share of delicacies and has taken the punishment of frequenting..er..the loo. Ofcourse, he is very cautious now and we keep teasing him now and then, and that keeps him checked. As for me, I have managed to stay below the threshold, but yesterday after a 30 minute run, I gulped many servings of curds and downed lots of water and still managed to have the main course of chapattis with three side dishes, halwa and salads, due to which I have a temporary potbelly! Commented a friend of mine who doesn't run, "I have to start jogging from tomorrow, else I will put 10 kgs in 1 month"...quite possible.

IIMA

Came here on may 7th for a summer course and project. It has been hectic so far and I think it shall continue to be so for another 50 days.
Well IIMA has some awesome architecture- you can see a lot of arches around and all the buildings are built solely of brick and cement and the outer surface is left as such to give it that natural look. The campus is not very big(as compared to iitm standards), but there are many lawns out here and again amazing buildings...there is even a subway passing below a ring road connecting the old block to the new one.
I was disappointed to find that there is no dedicated track for running available, though there is a football ground which won't serve my purpose..
Anyway, I ventured out the campus yesterday to check out the gujarat university grounds. The traffic was nauseating, i guess the peak hour time, and I lost my way thanks to the directions of a security guy inside. But, that was in a way good as I got to run for a total of 20 minutes. The gujurat univ. grounds is a massive two grounds with only one of them under use for running . It was dark by the time I reached it and I decided to come back the next day to hit the track...and set it ablaze!

Raring to get back on track.

Not exactly, I could run on road as well, but that's not important. What is, is that by this weekend I would have had a week(9 days to be precise) of nonactivity, which is simply uncomprehendable....!
Well one good thing is that, I would have sufficient time to heal any residual injuries that could be lurking out there and which only show up when you run!
This last week has been tough and shall be so till wednesday when my I would bid farewell to my last endsem and heave a big sigh of relief.
I am headed to ahmedabad after the exams and hopefully shall have a good experience( running esp.) there.
All ye runners out there who have had their daily run, I envy you...it's like not having your daily cuppa of tea late in the night.