Rudrapur, 2014: 9 young folks embarked on a train journey from Mumbai to the relatively unknown (to them), industrial twin towns of Rudrapur and Pantnagar. Situated at the (almost) foothills of Nainital- Delhi's weekend getaway, Rudrapur-Pantnagar, had turned into the “it” industrial hotspots thanks to about 300 factories springing up post-2010, all wooed by generous tax breaks.
To the young folks, it allowed being in the lap of nature (ok, 60 km away from it, but it's close!), quiet, peaceful lives, and a chance to spend time with yourself. For the 9 of us, it meant the start of apprehension, "Wahan karengy kya", "career progress kaise hoga", and even the most trivial one -"safety shoes and a uniform". While I didn't say it out loud, I was the happiest of the lot of the group- both my hometown and the prospective in-laws cities were 4 hour drive away, and a clear apathy to the noise and traffic, I was probably the one most eagerly waiting for this phase of my life to begin.
Let me describe the 9 of us, all fresh MBA graduates from decent colleges in the country. 7 of us were entering our first corporate experience and were coming from a 14-day induction program in Mumbai (perks of joining India's most trusted conglomerate). After the glamour of the corporate offices, all of us (I believe 46 had joined together) were "thrown" to various parts of the country, all in the manufacturing locations of the automobile wing of the conglomerate. On began our train ride, with the 9 of us getting to know each other more.
Rudrapur was the place where the entire company lived. There were two societies, one considered (unofficially), a bachelors-friendly setup and the other where the families lived (no one knows how that happened, but it just did, probably because the bachelor designate one had three rooms and more critically, 3 washrooms, which helped in the daily last minute dash to be on time in the various manufacturing plants). Our setup, after a lot of one-on-one interactions, to and fro, and various permutations, was decided: 3 flats, all 3 BHKs, the three girls in one, 6 of the guys in the other two. Preference to be given to 3 apartments on the same floor, then the same tower. Meals were to be cooked in common, rationalizing the spending. Three of us were to take responsibility for getting the groceries, and one agreed to do the finances. Things looked set, and we started our lives in Rudrapur- two adjoining apartments on the first floor for the guys, and one for the girls on the fifth floor.
Then the first split happened. One guy from the group (let's call him Garg) was a pure vegetarian and was not comfortable with non-veg food being made in the same kitchen. He moved out of the kitchen agreement and joined a nearby canteen for his meals (which usually meant skipping breakfast on weekdays since it was getting late, and on Sunday, because well, who gets up on a Sunday).
And then there were eight.
Then came the second split. One of the intellectuals of the group (not exaggerating at all)-let's call her Preeti- became uncomfortable with the guys always around, impeding her personal space. She made a case that you have your meals, then go to your respective rooms/ hang out with whoever, but do leave. That went unheard by most of us- too happy with the card games and random discussions to pay heed to her building angst. One fine day, all of us got a detailed email on our official email IDs, elaborating in detail how we had all made her uncomfortable, she was effectively losing out on money as she ate the least, and was fed up with the arrangement in its totality. She went ahead and installed her own cooktop, refrigerator, utensils, and asked the same maid who was cooking for all of us to start cooking for her, separately.
And then there were seven.
A month passed by. My roommate one day came and told all of us that he is going on a diet, and will not be having dinner at all, for the next few months. So he paused, saying he would rather make his own meals as he was primarily going for salads, juices, etc.
And then there were six.
My other roommate gradually got tired of going to the fifth floor for every meal. After skipping a lot of meals, he came to me and asked if I wanted to join him in setting up a kitchen in our apartment. He was joined by Garg (the veg guy), and me, being vegetarian myself (ok fine, the undependable eggeterian, but Garg was ok with the occasional egg being made in the same kitchen), I gave in. We then got the same cook to make food for us as well.
And then there were three.
The final setup then was this:
Garg, my roommate, and I - food cooked in apartment #12
The two guys in apartment #11 and two remaining girls from #56 together, in #56
Preeti- in her apartment #56
My health-conscious roommate- #12 cooking by himself
Cook- common to all setups
After about a week, Preeti started feeling lonely, eating alone. She thus used to join #12 for dinner, with food made in her apartment. #11 and #56 gradually tapered away as well, opting to get the meals made in the comfort of their homes, rather than moving to and fro. They, of course, got the same cook to make their meals as well.
After about six months, our beloved cook gave us a surprise—she vanished without so much as a farewell samosa. We were all thus left to either cook ourselves, go to the canteen, or find a new cook (and imagine the new permutations). Things did get settled in eventually, with all folks in #12 opting for the canteen and maggi/bread/Dominos combinations. #11 got a new cook, who specialized in non-veg meals, while the #56 girls gradually left Rudrapur altogether.
Comments
Post a Comment