Dedicated to the new people I met, who made my life even more beautiful...

"Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You'll get by....."
--Michael Jackson (Smile,2006)

I sometimes can't help wondering stupidly if the decisions I make are a gamble, an independent choice of a thread to which my life gets tethered henceforth or did I choose that because "fate" had it written down, as they say? I do not quite warm up to this concept, as I claim, quite boisterously- that I do not want something else to be in control of my life when I am working so hard at it.
Anyways, I wonder now what would have been the alternate course of events (chucking you aside, Fate) if I had turned down this internship (if truth be told, I actually didn't want to, but people forced me to, until I got quite irritated and landed here). Simple. I wouldn't have met such wonderful people and gone through the phase, that I can feel are changing my life.
Su went home today. I haven't known a more selfless, sweeter, warm and dedicated person before. I can't heelp grinning at my poor pillow, massacred in the pillow fight with her. At this time, she would have pinged me from her lab with her "miss u, love u, muah" and hearts. When I go back to our room, she would have started her weird activities, just to get a kick and a hug. And late at night, she would have woken up and said "So jao na ab, tabiyat bigadoge". She was the perfect little sis to me. I walked back to my room yesterday and stared at the empty cot and table opposite. No more of her clothes are strewn all over the room: even on my chair and bed. The room feels deserted and dead. It's then that I start feeling lonely and upset. I knew she had to go someday but now that I am actually alone and realise I don't have a single friend here, I feel really pissed. Missing her apart, unless by choice, I hate being alone. It was a terrible sinking feeling.
I have a queer habit of drinking lots of water whenever I go through any strong emotion. I walk out to fill my bottle and my thoughts are interrupted by a voice behind me..."Shundor kurti....where did you get it?' I turn around, it is a couple of pretty research scholars back from my lab, Papiya Ma'am and Priya Ma'am, people I hadn't chatted with much before. "Lajpat", I reply. And we start chatting there. New friends...yippeee!! Soon enough, they invite me to go out with them...and at dinner, we swap stories over peals of loud laughter (typical to us bengalis) as if we were acquainted since years.
Half an hour later, there is a knock on my door--Papiya Ma'am. She had brought me a pretty bracelet and a chocolate bar. I reprimand her for the formality and she replied "I want you to remember me, it is a token of my love and affection". Who would forget a sweet and warm pretty lady like her anyway? But I am touched...I just love these fast strong bondings (I do not have enough patience to follow the dheere-dheere-dosti-badhegi ideology ). She folds up her legs on my bed and we chat for about an hour. At last she goes back, saying "tumi khoob mishti bolo, khoob bhalo laglo tomaar shonge kotha hoe".....right back at you ma'am.....(this morning as I wrote this, I had a nice long chat with Priya didi too....she is damn innocent, both of us were scared of our mentor-the same scary prof and lastly clutched hands and went to him together). I feel blessed. Really. Somehow I always meet people who make me smile and keep me happy. It's small incidents like these that keep reminding me happiness is always lurking nearby....just hold on!!
I hear a rumble and walk out for a coffee. The night is cool and windy. I dont actually need it but I want to refresh those moments with friends. On the way, I chat with another new friend who is exceptionally talented but still maintains his modesty somehow (if I prefix 'geek' too, I guess you will scold me again :( :P ), who in his gentle and polite manner teaches me the importance and pleasure of being humble and remembering your roots always. In the short span of knowing him, strangely enough, he has successfully motivated me back to focus and eased my tension about the future......And P. sir too, who is god-sent for me.....
I sit at the same place where 2 weeks back, Su Khu and I got wet in the rain, sipping coffee. I then walk down the road where Anshu, Vipul, Kiran Di and I spent beautiful moments together. The vision of the day comes back to me clearly, when we shared our lives and sandwiches while I sketched caricatures. We almost shed tears laughing!!!
I look above and smile to myself. A single drop of cold drain falls on my smile. Tathastu, I interprete.
I want to thank you all for teaching me a little something by your memorable personas.......for making me glad that I chose the right thread......for making my life beautiful......for making me smile.......for sharing my life......for make me want to ask the big gamer in the heavens above to somehow let me re-live all those moments with you......for making me almost want to break out in a chant--"Encore, Life!!!"