Expectedly Unexpected- A Novel

Part 3

The sports contingent of St. Joan's was aboard a train en route to Kanpur. While the rest of his schoolmates were sitting together, along with their sports teacher and coach, singing the latest Bollywood hits to while away time, Aakash was standing near the door of the train, peering at the scenery drifting by. As the train hurtled towards Kanpur, the quaint snow-clad mountains of Nainital aglow in the mellow hues of the setting sun, slowly lent way to more rugged, grassy plains.

Aakash was lost in thought. It'd been a while he'd been to Kanpur, his paternal home or perhaps his only home. He had faint memories of the excitement of travelling in a train not unlike this, as his parents carted him to his maternal grandparents' place during the school holidays, or even older memories of taking trips to hill stations in Himachal with his parents. He remembered the various treats that his mother took along- packs of sweets and sev, fruits and cold drinks, and the unmatched samosas of the train stations they visited. Aakash would often sit by the window, even though others around him dozed off, gazing into the scenery outside as the train moved from one city to another. His eyes would often be glued to the window, even in the dead of the night, as he watched the citylights sparkle across, exhausted people making their way home, passengers awaiting their trains on platforms piled with luggages, sometimes a soldier or two, with a huge rucksack next to them, either returning home or reporting to duty. Aakash was mesmerized by these sights. He felt as if every person, every place had a story to tell. He would think about them, often invent tales around them as the night breeze whipped through his face, and then recite them all to his mother the next day, who would pretend to listen to him lovingly, and then to his father, who'd do his best to show interest and laugh with him.

Years separated that happy Aakash and the forlorn teenager who stared silently outside now. Journeys had morphed from a pleasant part to a routine requirement. Now that he was in the hostel, and the most common trip that awaited him was going to Delhi for his summer vacations- the unbearable two months with his step-father who missed no chance to put him down, while pampering his own son with love, affection and gifts- things that money could buy, and things that it couldn't.

A loud burst of laughter erupted from the berths drawing his attention back to his teammates. His coach beckoned him over, "come over here Aakash and tell me a good song that begins with an S! These kids refuse to believe the songs in my era are legit." Aakash plastered a smile on his face and traipsed back to the berths, ready to participate in their musical game.

Early the next day, the train lurched to an abrupt halt at Kanpur Central station. Aakash and his friends sleeping on the berths were nudged awake by the impact. Bleary-eyed, they peered through the expanse of the city which was once the center of revolutionary activities in India, where schemes were designed by brave young men and women to thwart the oppressive and cruel colonial rule. Even in modern times, Kanpur boasted of a booming leather industry and was touted as one of the major cities in the country, though the sorry state of roads and the sub-par infrastructure belied the reality.

The team lugged their bags and sports kits out onto the platform. Aakash was eager to get a chance to meet his grandfather before the sports meet began. He noticed that the ground was soggy and there were puddles formed by rain. Irked, he scrunched up his nose at the sky in dismay. The sky was pleasantly overcast promising imminent rain. "Who plans a sports meet during monsoons?" He mumbled to himself as he heaved his bag over his shoulder, and started following the coach along with his team.

They boarded a couple of six-seater rickshaws and the drivers ensured they were cramped together before they rattled along the roads full of potholes towards their destination. However the moment they set foot inside the sprawling lush-green campus of Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, popularly known as IITK, they felt they'd arrived in a completely different world. Encircled by a dense forest, with trees and varied kinds of flora lining the spic and span, newly-built roads to the concrete and red-brick buildings housing various engineering and technology departments, staff housing, faculty quarters and a number of hostels spread about, it was a state-of-the-art institution. Aakash could feel his teammates ooh and aah at the sight of the peacocks tottering about freely- a rare sight otherwise. Their coach told them that peacocks were found in abundance on the campus and roamed freely. Every now and then, a couple of students passed them by on bicycles, some wearing serious expressions with nerdy glasses, some laughing and chattering amongst themselves. They all were however, some of the brightest minds of the country.