The Geek, The Stud and The Dude

My flat mates.

I think I have been immensely lucky to have landed up with these guys. Same department, same batch, same college. I couldn't have bargained for more. And so the first 15 months or so of employed bachelorhood has been fun.

The Stud. Or you could also call him the arbit enthu boy. Comes up with ideas of a 40 km cycling trip very frequently. Brought wooden planks, nails and a couple of saws one Saturday morning and made his own table (varnished it the next day!). Expresses surprise at the most trivial of things like why the door was closed at 1 o' clock at night while the three of us were asleep or like why The Geek has brought ice cream from the market. Has a collection of some of the most interesting books that you would ever come across (mostly non fiction), ranging from Roger Penrose to History of Modern Japan. Has books on origin of words, physics, mathematics, economics, socialism. You could easily spend hours browsing through his collection. Rides his Bullet with pride and has even inspired the next door uncle to get a Thunderbird! Absolutely in love with Paris Hilton and detests Shakira as if she were the ugliest creature ever born. No that would be Esha Deol, if I know him well! All the bike trips that we have made together have been memorable, especially this one. I try to keep off from the CS related discussions that he has with The Geek. They make me feel such a dumbo (not that I am any better but still!). He's in charge of bringing corn flakes and weird biscuits to home which only he can eat and actually like. My partner in 'The Geek bashing' which is a good time pass at any hour of the day. Very few Bollywood movies that this guy hasn't seen especially if it stars Govinda or Anil Kapoor or Big B or Madhuri or..... (you get it right?). Prone to sudden cravings for Gosht Ki Dum Biryani from Samarkand. The famous Marilyn Monroe poster that adorns our hall is his doing. And how can I forget. The guys a fitness freak. Dines primarily on fruits and is the only non-vegetarian I've seen who comes back from office to find the cook has made chicken curry and says, "Shit, bas chicken bana hai. Daal nahi bani hai kya....". Extremely talented photographer who keeps experimenting with his angles and so we don't have to worry when we are out on a trip. Ok, that's enough for the time being I guess.

The Dude. Curly hair. Then straight long hair. Then the pony tail. Several bandanas to go along. And of course the beaded bracelets and the wrist bands. No piercings though, still! Initially had a racing cycle along with the helmet to add to his appeal but the Bangalore traffic and dust finally took its toll. So now its a striking red Pulsar 180. Big music enthusiast and has been my partner in all the concerts I have attended in Bangalore and has done a few more on his own. Smokes and drinks. Only one glitch in his dude-ness though. Doesn't play the guitar. And so some of the girls are still alive!
Have never seen him lose temper. And always has a smile on his face. Forever game for a drink, be it alcohol or tea. So I've stopped asking "Rohan, chai bana raha hoon. Piyega?" Didnt know him that well in college but getting to know him over the last year has been good. Has been really busy of late with personal and professional matters so we miss him during the weekends of doing nothing when he's busy painting the town red. Not really. Not always anyway, but that's how we like to put it. Oh, and it's he who inspired me to go on the long walks at night, though I feel, of late I have been doing it more than him.

The Geek. My partner in "yaar kuch karte hain" discussions, and in making grand plans for the weekend and more which range from planning for a movie (Non Bangaloreans, don't laugh), to going for a eurotrip, opening a restaurant, become a politician(?)......ok I'll stop.

Weekend mornings are a good time for the family to come together. Activities like indulging in ToI bashing and read aloud sessions from ToI's glossy supplement which has articles on the "New Indian" and the "Metrosexual Man", just to name a few, are the favorites. Of late, another winner, as far as meaningful discussions go, is why do news channels (especially Aaj Tak and Star News) carry hour long, discussions on Indian Idol, Amul Voice Of India, Nach Baliye and Jhalak Dikhla Ja. We also at times contemplate over why we are watching it in the first place. But lets not get into that right now. Oh, and Ajit Agarkar too. He brings joy. Especially when he's not playing.

Coming back to The Geek, he's in charge of configuring our wireless router and is called upon by yours truly in case of any difficulties (major ones, if you thought I was dumb!) with my computer. Often he keeps coding even after coming back from office and that's the time I indulge in 'The Geek bashing' along with The Stud. It's good fun, trust me, and come to think of it, The Geek takes it well. Doesn't kill the fun, I mean. Most of my life ke funde discussions happen with him and since we were in the same hostel and I've known him closely for 6 years now, so at times we also bitch about some people who don't come online. (Ok, you're reading it and you know it's you we are talking about!)
We are the ones who do most of the ghar ka samaan shopping and paying the bills. Why am I telling you this? Don't really know.

It's almost a mini hostel that we have at No. 40, First Floor. The transition couldn't have been smoother for me. You guys are one of the better things that has happened to me in the last one year and laughing nonsensically at our silly, highly contextual jokes, pulling each other's legs, indulging in intellectual discussions at 2 in the night; all of it has made life easier. And for everyone else, there's a lot more to these three than what I have written here. It's a blog post after all and I can write only so much without making people suspicious. Or are they already!