“I had a hearing from my back side and was astonished.”
“Did you solve the question?” that Chemistry Professor asked to Neelon.
“No Sir,” Neelon replied to that professor.
“What? Did you ever check your Chemistry book? You don’t have to study Science. This is not your School. Better you can study arts
or Commerce……………..I say, leave the Class right now.”
“Please Sir. Today is my first day. Sir, I don’t have any book. Even I don’t know which book I have to purchase…………………….”
Obviously, it can disappoint anyone.
“So, did you further attend his Classes?” Mr.Pintu asked to Neelon.
“Yes, I attended.”
“But dears, I apologized in front of him like a beggar. But, it was beyond of my comprehension, why he was treating me like that and no doubt his words helped me to score the highest marks.”
“Good, good.” everyone commented and even me.
“But everyone was focusing to that new girl. They were crazy for that girl. She was like an angel.”
“When I reached at our place, I saw that pretty girl seated inside our room with one of her friends.”
“What?” I asked to Neelon. I just astonished.
“Yes dear, even I became rigid.” Neelon replied to me.
“I had no way out to hide myself.”
“Did you talk to her?” Mr.Pintu asked to Neelon.
“Brother, you should talk,” Rishabh said to him and even I commented.
“Yes, I talked but I had no more interest.”
“My elder brother was roaring by my name, when I just stepped inside my room.”
“Did they complaint any thing?” I asked to Neelon.
“No.”
“Then…”
“Neelon, do you know them?” his brother asked to Neelon.
“Yes brother, I saw them at our College,” Neelon replied to his brother.
“So Neelon, at last you talked.”
“Yes, at last, I introduced myself.”
“By the way Neelon, what was her name?” Rishabh asked to Neelon.
“Yes, her name was Priti.”
“So Neelon, Priti was very pretty, am I right?” Mr. Pintu smiled on me.
“Next day, Priti came to our place with her friend. Not a single-family member was being shocked. They knew Priti very well. She was asking me regarding some books and she needed it, but I agreed to give those books to Priti. She had a regular visit to our place. I shared my studies with her. She had a beautiful smile on her face and me was crazy for her smile. She was from a different community and even her religion was different. My mother liked Priti very much. Simply saying, she was very cool and decent. As a different community girl, she often used English as her major language to communicate with me and with others. At our place, we enjoyed a few Hindi movies with Priti. No one had a doubt. ”
“So Neelon, what was your first sight to Priti?” Mr.Pintu asked to Neelon.
“I always shy in front of Priti.”
“Really Neelon, you are very bore,”
“No brother, I am not bore at all. I just felt that she want to say me something. I did not know whether she had any soft corner to me or not. All of my friends were being jealous on me. They thought that I love and like her. We usually used the same road to College. My friends and our surrounded people noticed my new relationship with Priti.” Neelon just smiled.
“Yes Neelon, you are right. Because you never hide our love and cough,” Mr.Pintu replied.
“It is a very common thinking. Sometime, we should avoid something. Anyway, let us know about the next,” Mr.Pintu requested to Neelon.
“Nothing was special to me. I was not being so serious to her. I assumed she like me. But, our friendship was lasted for a few months.”
“Why?”
“Our final examination was knocking at the door. So, I was preparing myself for the final examination. My native town stills a small one. We had not much more books facilities. My main target was to get a seat into an engineering Institute.
“I liked such relationship but had a soft corner to my dream and aim. It was a common middle class problem”
“Did you ever approach to her?” Rishabh asked to Neelon.
“No brother.”
“Why?”
“I was very shy at the age of seventeenth. I was very immature to that regards and like wise my life was going as usually…………..
My career was primary and that’s why, I fully devoted myself in my studies. As a small town poor boy, I noticed something about our family needs and our dreams. I had to just fulfill it.”
My friends were enjoying their lives with lot of fantasies like moving pictures, cultural programmers, politic, college union, gossip on the road and even tea stall conversations…………..I even attended sometimes when I got free. They had a lot of fun and which attracted me every time…and it was the second best phase of my life when I made a distant relationship with my all close friends and by me, it was a good enough. It helped me in my studies.
“Let us know, what was your first best phase. But, Neelon you are very interesting. I am not buttering,” Mr.Pintu asked to Neelon.
“I never think myself as Hero……………..he he….” Neelon replied.
“You are very clever,” Rishabh said to Neelon.
“Not at all.”
“Yes, sometime I am clever. This is because, for a longer time, I am answering so many questions like how, where, when, what,” Neelon mildly replied to Rishabh.
“You know Rishabh that at the age of thirteen; I was being very restless and very demanding. I had no dream ahead except my career. From class II or III onwards, most of the classes I had scored 149 upon 150 in Mathematics. When I was in class VIII, I scored just 52 upon 150 in Mathematics. Our question paper was too tough and class highest marks in that particular subject were below 70 upon 150.
My poor score helped me to change my life. My parents did not scold me even and neither utters a single tough word. I realized, my poor marks in Mathematics disappointed them and I promised myself to score more marks in that subject and will clear my concept as much as I can.”
“Neelon, that was good for you. At least, you have realized,” Mr. Pintu commented.
“Neelon, you know what?” Mr. Pintu asked to Neelon.
“What?”
“But, I am getting our modern world as a changed manner.”
“But how Mr. Pintu?” I asked to Mr.Pintu and was little bit confused.
“ Our fantasy world,” Mr.Pintu replied to me.
“Yes big brother.” I supported Mr. Pintu.
“But big brother, we are changing with time. No one can change our lives,” I replied to Mr.Pintu.
“Neelon, did you meet Priti further?” Mr. Pintu at his onion smile.
“Let me say. Christmas day was going around the world. I had not a Christian friend. Priti was a Christian girl. I thought, at least she will invite me. I was almost prepared.”
“So, did she invite you?” Rishabh asked to Neelon.
“ No, she did not invite me at all.” Neelon replied.
“Why?”
“Why, why?”
“She invited my all friends and even my elder brother whom she did not even talk ever for a moment.”
“Neelon, I am confused,” Rishabh said to Neelon.
“Leave it. Even I had an expectation. But, I did not take that matter seriously,” Neelon expressed to Rishabh.
“Just I can say, I was busy with my studies. A very good result was my target to fulfill my dream and was tensed about my career. And ultimately, I cleared my final examination with good marks and appeared for the Engineering Entrance Examination. And my happy day turned when I was selected for the Jorhat Engineering College, which was run by the Government of Assam.”
“After that.”
“Yes, after that I left the town and was on my way to fu
lfill my dream. Priti’s friends were searching me around the town. I was completely uncertain.”
“During my semester classes, I had a small visit to our native town. My elder brother was asking me about Priti whether I met her again or not but he never doubted me.”
“She is searching you brother,” Neelon’s brother told to Neelon.
“So what? I have to go back soon. Now I can’t meet.”
“My life in Jorhat was going as usual.”
“During that same year and before the holy Christmas, I visited our native town one more time. I was enjoying my vacation with my School and College mates. They were teasing me about Priti whereas we had no relation ahead.”
“One day, during my vacation and just one day before the Christmas eve her one friend came to our place and was asking me about my address. I was cheering myself. I realized something. And I was greeted by her Christmas wishes.”
“My vacation came to an end. I was preparing on my regular class notes and specially engineering drawing notes. That was my first experience outside a native town at my age. No doubt, I was feeling too bore. And on the other hand our engineering drawing was too boring. I was very poor at drawing. When I back to Jorhat, I noticed all the rooms were vacant. Most of my friends left the College already. I had a few friends there. They did not want to study there. I was enjoying alone my college days with some ragging experience. Had some fun there. Most of my friends were being dishearten for ragging…our seniors played with us at night. It was going difficult to face our seniors after our classes and it was being a tough period to get asleep during ragging days and after some days, I decided to leave that organisational hostel and started living at a rented room with two more friends.” Neelon was smoothly going on his conversations.
“Let us drink a cup of tea,” Mr. Pintu suggested.
“Story was interesting. Let us listen more.” Rishabh said to Neelon.
“Life was going as usual and one day, our land lord was shouting by my name………..Neelon, where are you? Are you there at your room? One parcel is there for you.”
“Parcel!”
“Who sent it?” I asked to Neelon.
“But that time, I was in sound sleep and was really feeling very sleepy. Everyone was preparing themselves for 31st Dec’ night. He gave me the parcel with a doubtful smile and look. I was just cheering behind him. I opened the letter with my smile as it was written on the envelope ‘OPEN WITH SMILE.’ ”
“So romantic.”
“Was there anything special inside the envelope?” Mr. Pintu asked to Neelon.
“I was feeling so shy and even scared to open that exciting envelope. It was the first letter of a girl to me, which I ever received. I had an anxiety to know and realize a romantic love letter, as most of my friends were doing the same with their dear ones. Truly speaking, I did not even read such type of letter earlier. It was from Priti and I read her all tiny letters very carefully but it was not being as usual,” Neelon replied to Mr. Pintu.
“So Neelon, what she sent?”
“ Why?”
“Tell me, please,” we just demanded.
“ One big size Christmas card with a T- shirt,”
“Wow!”
“ Was there any lines which excited you the most?” Rishabh asked to Neelon.
“Yes, a very little,” Neelon replied.
“She left her tough and a vacant expression in that letter. It had a special meaning but I was not in a position to decide any thing. I was little bit bore. I was thinking about our cast and community. I was lagging with such worthless thinking. I was no doubt very young but was very worthless to my mind. She left some questions and which was unanswered. I decided to send her a letter and on the other hand, my college days were troubling me more than enough. There was lot of works for we fresher. Ragging was one more a new experience in my life. My seniors forced me to tell the name of my girl friend. I was little bit confused. I told them everything about my love life but there was not a single person to be trustworthy.”
“At last, I took a favor from my friend. He gave some ideas to overcome the situation and my second day night at the hostel, I disclosed her name”
“Was that Priti?” I asked to Neelon.
“No brother.”
“Then.”
“I just created a name, my one illusion. Still now, I don’t hear such a name…”
“Did they belief?”
“Yes, they believed.”
“So, funny.”
“That same day night, our seniors ordered every junior to submit at least one love letter by the next day.”
“You submitted?” Mr. Pintu asked to Neelon.
“ Yes, I wrote a very funny letter to someone. Ragging is a funny thing but I got a beautiful taste.”
“Did any one help you to complete the letter,” I asked to Neelon.
“No brother. Not a single one helped me. During our lunchtime, I wrote the complete letter and which was very romantic and even I mentioned one poem. God knows, the letter was so impressive. Trust me, all of them impressed on my love letter.”
“So, funny you are!” Rishabh smiled.
“Yes, it was funny,” Neelon, replied.
“Among our a few new students, I lasted the most at that College. There were only a few friends to be left and I got confused totally,” Neelon said to Rishabh.
“I forgot to tell you one more thing.” Neelon was in his smiling eyes.
“What?” Suddenly I replied to him.
“Priti gave me one of her photograph along with the parcel.”
“She was looking so cute with her formal dresses.”
“It is so romantic.”
“But I hid that photograph.”
“Why Neelon?”
“I was thinking differently. I was missing my moments with Priti. No doubt we had no relation but she was a good girl and very helping handed. Still I remembered the last day at College. I realized her in front of me. Missing her lovely smile but my mind and my heart did not allow me to dig the relationship and was very scared for that.”
“Why Neelon?” Mr. Pintu asked to Neelon.
“I just scared for my final examination because I had to revise and finish almost all my books.”
“But, it was good brother. You were very serious to your studies,”
Mr.Pintu replied.
“I had no other option.”
“So, did you continue your study further at that college?” Rishabh asked to Neelon.
“I was unable to decide myself whether I have to stay there or not. My brain was out of my mind. I was thinking that once I not select in the forth-coming engineering entrance examination then I have to come back there again. Excluding me, just my two friends were continued their studies at that college but they had a plan to leave that college and on the other hand, they preparing themselves for the entrance examination but I had to ask my parents. ”
“After that…did your father scold you?” Rishabh asked to Neelon.
“I came home with an empty hope,” Neelon replied to Rishabh.
“I just scared to discuss about the matter with my family members but with a little bit courage, I told my parents and all other members.”
“But why Neelon?” His father asked to him.
“Dad, I want to study Aviation technology.”
“See Neelon, I don’t know what you want? Do you know properly that such course is available at our state Government colleges?”
“No papa, I don’t know.”
“Then”
“There is no such college at our place which providing Aviation Technology.”
“Then, how you could go through?”
“With an immature mind…dad, I can appear in national level examination.”
“See, I don’t have any idea. Do what is best for you. Just remember that your father is with you.”
“Dad, I will try to collect some information about that course.”
“See Neelon, being a small town boy, you have to try alone. Even I am busy with my office. My job is a very risky one. But, I can bring some national newspapers. Hope, it can help you.”
“So Papa, can I take a risk?”
“Yes, you can take a risk.” His family members supported him no doubt, but worried about his career. It was a common problem of our small town people. Now our present world is completely different. Now we are getting all our facilities through Internet, mobile technology and many more. Even such facilities are now available in our small villages. Being with such facilities, we are still careless.”