The Drum roll....
Hello mates, this is a story that deserves a blog post. This past Saturday, i.e. the the 23rd of January, 2010, was my satanic baptism, as my good friend Ashutosh quoted. It all started a week prior to that fateful day when my laptop started giving me a lot of trouble. Although my laptop got back in shape way before Saturday, the idea of having a night out with my Kalina friends coupled with that of alcohol was quite a tempting thought that had precipitated in my mind during the course of that week. Plus, i was cocksure that i was in good hands, considering that Ashu was supposed to be around for this occasion. Then a perfect lie had to be concocted in order to keep my mother in the dark about what her son was about to do. The lie was simple and virtually foolproof- i had to get my laptop formatted post the 6.30pm lecture which would take a good 4 hours, which meant that i would need to stay over at Ashu's while my other good friend, Rahul Jiwane, fixes up my ailing machine. It was the perfect alibi. Then came the unforgettable evening. I had been to their room just once before, and as it turned out, it was not an easy place to find the second time. So after getting lost and realizing that i had taken the wrong lane, i walked back and somehow managed to reach their room. Their place is at a 15-minute walk from the Mumbai University, and falls on the famous 'Kalina lane'. It is quite a busy street, flooded with pedestrians heading their way to work, or just to chill out. After walking on that road for a while you will come across a modish bar- TWO STAR, which by the way is a popular hangout in the area and is almost adjacent to Ashu's place. I reached their room at around 7.30pm to find my three friends-Rahul [Salunke], Kaustubh and Ashutosh lying sprawled across their respective cots in their respective pyjamas while watching the TV. Jiwane who according to my mom was busy taking care of my laptop, had taken off to Goa to celebrate after learning that he had landed a great job with a CTC of 6.5 lacs at RCF, thanks to an exam he had given a few months back.
If Jiwane's vacant bunk thought that it was going to spend the night alone, it turned out to be a poor guesser. The room was a cosy little place, the quintessential bachelors' apartment. All their clothes were hung up on the string attached to the two walls parallel to Salunke's bed. However, it was a lot neater than i expected. The four beds were very well-positioned to the outline of the room. After watching the news for a while, Salunke headed out to get some ice and cold drinks, whereas me and Ashu went in search of the much awaited liquor. We walked for a while, checking out the area while Ashu explained to me which road ended where. On our way back, we stopped at a wine shop which was at a modest distance from their room. We bought 3 bottles of Old Monk, a quarter each. That's correct mates, after crossing the wine-line and overcoming the beer-fear, it was time to hear the drum roll..! Then we stopped at another shop to buy some snacks, or may i say 'Chakna' in this case.We stopped for the third time at a general store to buy a few transparent plastic glasses as we were falling short of those, and drinking rum for the first time called for the rule of staring into the liquid through the glass. Salunke was back with the ice and Thums-up in a jiffy. We gathered in the middle of the room in front of a small table where all the apparatus was placed.Then came the epoch-making moment. The bottle was opened by Ashu with his elbow in a way which i don't really seem to remember. The reddish-brown liquid flew smoothly into our respective glasses, followed by the soft-drink, and finally, the ice-cubes. As we raised the toast to the present and the future [which seems quite bleak at this moment], Kaustubh announced that no one should put their glasses down before taking a sip. We followed the orders. That first sip was just about fine. I was told by Ashu later that he had made my drinks extra-light. The thums-up was dominating the taste, and hence i relaxed, thinking that i was going to have an uneventful evening. Boy, was i in for a surprise..!
The television went off after a while as the need to get entertained had found new means in the form of the alchohol-virgin who was getting laid. Two drinks later, i started feeling light-headed. The magic was doing its work. All my senses seemed to be shifting to the slow-motion mode. Life started to seem a little easier. Sensing that i was close to start 'flying-high', Ashu told Kaustubh to take me out for a walk as he wanted to recharge his cell or something. To my shock, i wasn't able to stand straight. When i tried walking, i struggled to maintain my balance. It was real bad; but it felt real good. With Kaustubh making sure that i don't run into a person or a car, we walked for a little while and came back. Ashu told me later that the walk helps after getting drunk as it breathes some fresh air into your tired body. After returning, i gulped down two more glasses, taking my score to 2/3rd's of a quarter. That is all it took for me to hit rock-bottom. I still vividly remember what i was saying, but the way in which i was rambling was a scene right out of a bollywood film. I realized this the next morning, when i was shown the 39-minutes long video that the three other kooks had taken. I was screaming and yelling and singing songs...! I even dialled Prachi's number at 10.30pm in the heat of the moment, but thank goodness she didn't pick up the damn call. When i tried to walk on a line, on the carpet, i managed to walk everywhere else except on the line. At one point of time, i found myself talking to my shirt. I have always loved that shirt of mine, but not enough to have a conversation with it. Anyways, the funny part comes in next.
After finishing all the three bottles, Ashu came out as the clear winner, hands-down, in terms of the quantity consumed. While i was the only contender for the 'going bananas' award. Then, strangely enough, i started demanding more liquor. In fact, i kept on insisting for another bottle, until Ashu's brain uttered the word 'Eureka!', sotte voce. He took me out for a walk again. However, this second time was a lot worse than the first. Ashu literally had to carry me the whole time, as i was in no shape to walk on my own. I was walking in the middle of the road for crying out loud..! It was Ashu who pulled me in before the newspapers could get a run-of-the-mill story of another hit-and-run case the next morning. This walk was a longer one, and as told by Ashu later, a much needed one too. On our way back, Ashu pointed out the closed shutter of the wine shop putting an end to my incessant requests of more liquor. The next day i was told that the closed shop which Ashu had shown me was actually a shop where watches get repaired. I should've known better, which wine shop in the world closes down at 11pm on a Saturday night...???? I missed this one, but i still had the presence of mind to mention that we could still enjoy another glass at TWO STAR. But Ashu brushed it away, and vetoed the idea by saying that it was closed too. Needless to mention, he was lying again. I came back into the room requesting the other two to join me in demanding more rum. Ashu said that that night i was too drunk to notice how concerned and surprised he was to see me insisting on more drinks. He said that he hoped he had not made a huge mistake of introducing me to Mr.Old Monk. I had to reassure him that nothing of that sort is going to happen. Getting back to the story, i was made to have some dinner by Ashu which was actually very tasty. It was aloo-mutter, one of my all-time favorites. The food didn't end my tantrums though. I was told that no one drinks after having their meals. I finally gave up after losing all hope. The weird part was that i wanted to drink more because i wanted to stay in that ethereal world that i had found myself in. A world without pain, a world without worries, a world without sadness. After having a hazy conversation with Ashu, i managed to get back to my bunk at around 1.15am. I collapsed on the soft cotton surface below me and dozed off in a matter of seconds.
The next morning i thanked my buddies for the past night and headed out to get back home. My mom, who supposedly has the nose of a bloodhound, failed to smell a rat or the rum. It was one hell of a night. I want to thank those three again for taking care of me. As far as Mr.Old Monk is concerned, let me just say that Sir, you haven't seen the last of me..! Today i deserve to sing this song mates....we're devils and black sheep...and really bad eggs....drink up me 'earties yo-ho....!!!!!!!
Hello mates, this is a story that deserves a blog post. This past Saturday, i.e. the the 23rd of January, 2010, was my satanic baptism, as my good friend Ashutosh quoted. It all started a week prior to that fateful day when my laptop started giving me a lot of trouble. Although my laptop got back in shape way before Saturday, the idea of having a night out with my Kalina friends coupled with that of alcohol was quite a tempting thought that had precipitated in my mind during the course of that week. Plus, i was cocksure that i was in good hands, considering that Ashu was supposed to be around for this occasion. Then a perfect lie had to be concocted in order to keep my mother in the dark about what her son was about to do. The lie was simple and virtually foolproof- i had to get my laptop formatted post the 6.30pm lecture which would take a good 4 hours, which meant that i would need to stay over at Ashu's while my other good friend, Rahul Jiwane, fixes up my ailing machine. It was the perfect alibi. Then came the unforgettable evening. I had been to their room just once before, and as it turned out, it was not an easy place to find the second time. So after getting lost and realizing that i had taken the wrong lane, i walked back and somehow managed to reach their room. Their place is at a 15-minute walk from the Mumbai University, and falls on the famous 'Kalina lane'. It is quite a busy street, flooded with pedestrians heading their way to work, or just to chill out. After walking on that road for a while you will come across a modish bar- TWO STAR, which by the way is a popular hangout in the area and is almost adjacent to Ashu's place. I reached their room at around 7.30pm to find my three friends-Rahul [Salunke], Kaustubh and Ashutosh lying sprawled across their respective cots in their respective pyjamas while watching the TV. Jiwane who according to my mom was busy taking care of my laptop, had taken off to Goa to celebrate after learning that he had landed a great job with a CTC of 6.5 lacs at RCF, thanks to an exam he had given a few months back.
If Jiwane's vacant bunk thought that it was going to spend the night alone, it turned out to be a poor guesser. The room was a cosy little place, the quintessential bachelors' apartment. All their clothes were hung up on the string attached to the two walls parallel to Salunke's bed. However, it was a lot neater than i expected. The four beds were very well-positioned to the outline of the room. After watching the news for a while, Salunke headed out to get some ice and cold drinks, whereas me and Ashu went in search of the much awaited liquor. We walked for a while, checking out the area while Ashu explained to me which road ended where. On our way back, we stopped at a wine shop which was at a modest distance from their room. We bought 3 bottles of Old Monk, a quarter each. That's correct mates, after crossing the wine-line and overcoming the beer-fear, it was time to hear the drum roll..! Then we stopped at another shop to buy some snacks, or may i say 'Chakna' in this case.We stopped for the third time at a general store to buy a few transparent plastic glasses as we were falling short of those, and drinking rum for the first time called for the rule of staring into the liquid through the glass. Salunke was back with the ice and Thums-up in a jiffy. We gathered in the middle of the room in front of a small table where all the apparatus was placed.Then came the epoch-making moment. The bottle was opened by Ashu with his elbow in a way which i don't really seem to remember. The reddish-brown liquid flew smoothly into our respective glasses, followed by the soft-drink, and finally, the ice-cubes. As we raised the toast to the present and the future [which seems quite bleak at this moment], Kaustubh announced that no one should put their glasses down before taking a sip. We followed the orders. That first sip was just about fine. I was told by Ashu later that he had made my drinks extra-light. The thums-up was dominating the taste, and hence i relaxed, thinking that i was going to have an uneventful evening. Boy, was i in for a surprise..!
The television went off after a while as the need to get entertained had found new means in the form of the alchohol-virgin who was getting laid. Two drinks later, i started feeling light-headed. The magic was doing its work. All my senses seemed to be shifting to the slow-motion mode. Life started to seem a little easier. Sensing that i was close to start 'flying-high', Ashu told Kaustubh to take me out for a walk as he wanted to recharge his cell or something. To my shock, i wasn't able to stand straight. When i tried walking, i struggled to maintain my balance. It was real bad; but it felt real good. With Kaustubh making sure that i don't run into a person or a car, we walked for a little while and came back. Ashu told me later that the walk helps after getting drunk as it breathes some fresh air into your tired body. After returning, i gulped down two more glasses, taking my score to 2/3rd's of a quarter. That is all it took for me to hit rock-bottom. I still vividly remember what i was saying, but the way in which i was rambling was a scene right out of a bollywood film. I realized this the next morning, when i was shown the 39-minutes long video that the three other kooks had taken. I was screaming and yelling and singing songs...! I even dialled Prachi's number at 10.30pm in the heat of the moment, but thank goodness she didn't pick up the damn call. When i tried to walk on a line, on the carpet, i managed to walk everywhere else except on the line. At one point of time, i found myself talking to my shirt. I have always loved that shirt of mine, but not enough to have a conversation with it. Anyways, the funny part comes in next.
After finishing all the three bottles, Ashu came out as the clear winner, hands-down, in terms of the quantity consumed. While i was the only contender for the 'going bananas' award. Then, strangely enough, i started demanding more liquor. In fact, i kept on insisting for another bottle, until Ashu's brain uttered the word 'Eureka!', sotte voce. He took me out for a walk again. However, this second time was a lot worse than the first. Ashu literally had to carry me the whole time, as i was in no shape to walk on my own. I was walking in the middle of the road for crying out loud..! It was Ashu who pulled me in before the newspapers could get a run-of-the-mill story of another hit-and-run case the next morning. This walk was a longer one, and as told by Ashu later, a much needed one too. On our way back, Ashu pointed out the closed shutter of the wine shop putting an end to my incessant requests of more liquor. The next day i was told that the closed shop which Ashu had shown me was actually a shop where watches get repaired. I should've known better, which wine shop in the world closes down at 11pm on a Saturday night...???? I missed this one, but i still had the presence of mind to mention that we could still enjoy another glass at TWO STAR. But Ashu brushed it away, and vetoed the idea by saying that it was closed too. Needless to mention, he was lying again. I came back into the room requesting the other two to join me in demanding more rum. Ashu said that that night i was too drunk to notice how concerned and surprised he was to see me insisting on more drinks. He said that he hoped he had not made a huge mistake of introducing me to Mr.Old Monk. I had to reassure him that nothing of that sort is going to happen. Getting back to the story, i was made to have some dinner by Ashu which was actually very tasty. It was aloo-mutter, one of my all-time favorites. The food didn't end my tantrums though. I was told that no one drinks after having their meals. I finally gave up after losing all hope. The weird part was that i wanted to drink more because i wanted to stay in that ethereal world that i had found myself in. A world without pain, a world without worries, a world without sadness. After having a hazy conversation with Ashu, i managed to get back to my bunk at around 1.15am. I collapsed on the soft cotton surface below me and dozed off in a matter of seconds.
The next morning i thanked my buddies for the past night and headed out to get back home. My mom, who supposedly has the nose of a bloodhound, failed to smell a rat or the rum. It was one hell of a night. I want to thank those three again for taking care of me. As far as Mr.Old Monk is concerned, let me just say that Sir, you haven't seen the last of me..! Today i deserve to sing this song mates....we're devils and black sheep...and really bad eggs....drink up me 'earties yo-ho....!!!!!!!
