Nuts.

Around the 3rd week of December 2006.

Evening classes aren't always fun after a day's work, especially on those days when your patience limits are knowingly tested countless times. Again it is not your usual classroom, where people are around your age, take a year or give two. My class room has people so old we actually stood up upon their entry the first day. Evening classes aren't fun; I go because I need some attendance registered to have my exams written.

It was one of those days when we had just been to a new semester and of course my manager had sat on my nerve through the day. There was this new girl in my class, in a black salwar, mid 20s was my guess. I learnt she was from the previous batch, after a year's break from college.

I noticed her, not only because I let my eyes wade through the class room to keep myself from drowsing, but the fat girl was standing up for every little thing. Nuts! She had doubts on almost every line, nuts! She was pulling the classes long, the lecturer was getting impatient, soon it was time to leave and the girl was still in conversation with the lecturer.

It never got better, whenever she was in the class, even in the midst of an almost audible boo and a blatant sigh from the lecturer she dragged with her doubts and the after class discussion; our classes usually end at 09.15 pm. Nuts..


Around mid 2000.

Sheth was at college doing his diploma, specializing in Computer sciences when he first saw Maha, well may be he heard about her first. Maha was a sensation at her college, she sang, she danced, she lectured, she was vociferous on stage, she topped the class, period, she was beautiful.

For obvious reasons she made little but very close friends and for every one else, including Sheth, she was another arrogant BITCH. Maha didn't seem to mind, her exploits continued, to the last day.

Sheth had to struggle finding a job when he left college, the IT industry hadn't grown then. When he finally had a job with a firm, he found Maha had been working there for almost a year then. Sheth had to work under her.

Soon Sheth found out Maha wasn't what he had thought she was, she helped him accustom to the job, stayed late to sort his problems, was always backing him when relegated. He liked her, She protected him like a big sister; he enjoyed the cuddle, albeit to a few people's envy, until that morning when she passed out.

Maha was diagnosed with a form of epilepsy that would soon rake her brains out of what ever it stored. After a week when Sheth met her, she didn’t seem to recognize him she was scared and he had to constantly remind her that he was her colleague.


November 2007.

I could only smile as Sheth finished telling us the story of Maha.

Sheth soon changed jobs; Maha was a little better but was never her original self again. Sheth said she still sang beautifully but a year at the hospital had destroyed her once lean physique, hampered her memory, her face.. I stopped him from saying anymore.

In a while the class started, Maha was shooting her doubts already, the boos and the sighs started and only the two rows around Sheth were silent. Nuts..