Me and Five Point Someone

The art of being happy is the most difficult to master. Greed, which is quintessential nature of every person, places this art at the pinnacle. This is something many people might deny, though aware. Happiness is attainable, though the level may vary from person to person and time to time. Most of us are happy but would always reach out to be happier. We all treasure the happy moments of our life. When I write this down, I am making of treasure of happiness, which is priceless and which would be cherished.

Some time back, a question was put to me. This was the day I got my first job.

“Is this the happiest day of your life?”

“Yes!”

A month later I confronted another question. Now I had got my first salary.

“Was the last month the happiest period of your life?”

“No.”

“Why? This is all you dreamt of. This is for what you had your grilling sessions at college!”

I smiled and walked away.

Two years down the lane, I picked up a book ‘Five Point Someone’ by Chetan Bhagat. I picked the book because on the cover, just below the title it was written “What not to do at IIT!” IIT was a dream destination for many of us who came into engineering. Being the person I am, I ended up at REC, Calicut; the best in Kerala. Vimal, a friend of mine from college, said the book was interesting. It was priced cheap (just Rs.95/-) so got a copy. I came back home and dropped it on my bed in my usual fashion. Roshan, who is my roommate, picked it up and by the time I came back from my usual night show sessions with Manoj he had finished the book! This was interesting and I took it the next day morning.

The next five hours was the best five hours I had in a long long time. As I started reading the book, the entire episodes of my life at REC unfolded one by one. The day I came into college for the first time, the intimidating speech from the Principal and HOD about the regulations, my first ragging sessions (though my seniors were kind and never bothered me), the first test in which I got (along with many of my classmates) a zero, all these came before me. I could feel the wave moving inside me. The three characters in the book Hari, Ryan and Alok were there in my campus, though with varying shades. The five pointers are the mediocre students that we could find in any college. They are never bad, as put forward by our heroes, they are the ones who maintain the balance! (I used to adorn the position, until when I reached the final year, when I had serious challenge to my position and was pushed up by my classmates. I ended up 2nd in class in my S8 interns!) My Profs, did not have beautiful daughter like Neha, with whom I could fall in love with, but I made a substitution with one other in the campus! Vodka parties on the top of the ‘insti’ were exactly like f-attic (the final year hostel). Tests and assignments were tackled by the unconditional ‘Cooperate to Dominate’ policy (one does and others make copies!). (Though, one incident that happened with us was that a friend photocopied an assignment and submitted it. When questioned he just answered, even if I write it would be the same thing!) I guess because Ryan did not play any instrument or IIT did not have a band, it was never mentioned in the book.

The book made me realize that my days at college were the best in my life. All that I ever did there is so much missed in my life. The author has done a superb job by narrating the life at college. I could feel myself in every frame of the story. Chetan presented me with happiness which would be cherished for ever.

Now that I am happy, the greed in me urges to be happier by going back to college!:-)