"...bass ek cutting chai"

...(Trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring!) (Yaaaaawwwwn...) (Shit!)

For the nth time I have managed to miss the "Managment Accounting" class. I knew it before I joined this college. I can't...I won't...I don't want to pass the accounts paper COME WHAT MAY! But I hate oversleeping. What was that "noise" I could hear in a distance? Lemme get closer to the door...Hmmmm? Still no clue. Closer...Nothing. Should I open the door? Ok. Just a little.

("...Chik pak chik raile...$##@#$%$%.....chik pak chik $%#@@$%.....") (Bang!)

Everything was under control. I guess my neighbours at the hostel downloaded the latest Telegu pop song and felt obliged to share the melodious cacophony with the entire floor! Theek hai bhai...three cheers to national integration! Now what? I am awake. It's raining outside. Nothing new in that. Pune has become synonymous with rains and all the jazz comes with it. I mean the slush on the roads...the rust on your bike...weeks that your laundry takes to get dry etc. etc. Anyway...all this was not my problem. It was something much more serious. Something that concerned my very reason to be. I was HUNGRY!

So I ran to the cafe. Then taste buds kind of replayed all that I could have there and one by one the entire menu was dismissed. Now what? I thought of trying the services Mr. Shivaji Rao Ganpat Rao Waghmole. Our local "vada pao / chai" vendor. As I reached him I suddenly became aware of a change in the way busines was traditionally done, something that came about thousands or years ago. The use of currency! I realised I did not have my wallet with me! (Shit!...Shit!...Shit!) Is there anyone nearby from the college I haven't borrowed money from yet? Nope.

Then I remembered something that Levis introduced in their jeans long back. Something revolutionary. The watch pocket! I fished into it with great hopes. I looked at my find. Harder. And after a deep sigh handed it over to Mr. Waghmole and muttered...

"...bass ek cutting chai"