Everyone is fascinated by college life during and after their schooling years, but for people like Krishna, it's the course that will lead to regret. Krishna is a guy who doesn't have any aspirations or interests in life, so he follows the attitude of a typical middle-class, no-care attitude guy pursuing engineering in a college located far away from the city. His first day in college starts with an orientation about the merits of college, but by the end of the day, he experiences ragging at the hostel. The seniors treat the juniors like trash, kicking and punching them. For the first week, Krishna questions why he joined this course and college, and this question keeps nagging him. He starts convincing himself to continue pursuing technical education, even though he doesn't enjoy it. In the classroom, he pretends to listen to every lecture, but his mind wanders all around the world. He is a daydreamer who dreams all day, even about things that don't exist. Despite his lack of interest, he uses the classroom to extrapolate his creativity and imagination abilities. The semester arrives, and the exam tests their theoretical abilities. Krishna fills all the pages with knowledge he gathered from various places. After the exam, he packs his luggage to board his hometown for a week.
Chapter 2:
The cultural festival brings an atmosphere of enthusiasm and excitement on the campus. The events start around 6 PM, with pumping music, cheers from the crowd, songs, dance numbers, fashion shows, and everything else. Krishna and his friends stand on the balcony, making loud noise as part of the audience. One of their seniors is performing the next song when they start mocking him, irritating the seniors in the auditorium. The event ends at midnight, and everyone goes back to the hostel or their respective homes. Krishna's friend Sarath, a day scholar, takes his bike from the parking arena, but the seniors catch him and beat him severely. Sathish notices and runs to the hostel to alert the others. When they reach the parking lot, they find Sarath lying on the ground, beaten badly by the seniors. Krishna kicks one of the seniors in the chest, and Manoj punches another senior in the face with his left hand. Arjun drives his shoulder into another senior's chest and slams him into the wall, punching him repeatedly. Don Mahesh takes a stick found in the parking lot and slams all the seniors until it breaks. Varun helps ailing Sarath and takes him to the hostel. The incident causes a major rift between the seniors and them in the college, and they form a gang consisting of Krishna, Arjun, Don Mahesh, Varun, Karthik, Sathish, and Sarath.
As the lecture continued, a message came through the Whatsapp group asking if they could go on a trip. Karthik initiated the message and there were immediate replies of agreement. Once the period was over, everyone met at the parking area, gave thumbs up, packed their bags, and revved their bikes to head to Kerala. After a long ride, they stopped their bikes before the hairpin bend of the hill road and took some pictures to create memories. They arrived in Valparai at around 8:30 pm and had dinner at a small roadside shop where the food was cheap and delicious. Don Mahesh had five dosas, two omelets, and even took food from someone else's plate. After dinner, they planned to continue their journey into the dense region of the Kerala road but were stopped at the checking point. The officer informed them that nobody was allowed to travel at night due to the Chalakudy forest being a region of dense forest and wild animals. He told them bizarre stories about the actions of wild animals, so they decided to stay in Valparai for the night and ride in the morning. They stayed on the small cement roof of the bus stop, and their bikes enclosed the bus stop for their safety in case elephants arrived at midnight. Nobody had a perfect sleep because of the chill and the thought of elephants visiting them. However, it was an unforgettable adventurous night for everyone. They were "sleeping in the middle of the forest." The next morning, they reached the checking point and were allowed to drive on the forest road. They had a joyful ride for three hours and reached Athirappilly Falls. The falls were magnificent and the sound was a miracle to their ears. They allowed themselves to bathe in the upper part of the falls and built beautiful memories during the trip.
Chapter 4:
The trip was so memorable that the protagonist relived those moments in their dreams. They were riding their bike slowly, enjoying the scenic beauty of the forest when a heavy rain started, and those moments suddenly faded away. It was just a dream. They enjoyed those moments until Lokesh splashed water on them, and they woke up at 8:45 am. They got ready and reached the classroom at 8:59 am. They sat on the last bench, which was astrologically considered the right place for smart students. Arjun and the protagonist were fighting about their respective thalaivars and their blockbuster movies during the lecture. The professor found their argument to be annoying and busted them out of the class. They were happy to leave the class because they were last benchers, and they could continue their fight over tea and samosas in the canteen. When they entered the canteen, they saw the seniors who they had beaten earlier sitting at the table. Arjun asked the protagonist what they should do, as there were more than ten guys sitting there. The protagonist told Arjun not to show any fear on his face and just walk casually. They ordered two chicken puffs and sat back down. The senior guys surrounded them, and one tall senior guy caught the protagonist's shirt. The protagonist asked him to take his hand off their shirt, and they would sort out the issue. The senior forcefully pulled their shirt. The protagonist was thinking whether to beat or get beaten when Don Mahesh kicked the senior from behind, and he fell down beside them. When the seniors returned furiously, around 40 to 50 members from their class stood behind Don Mahesh. Manoj had a big relief in his breath. On that day, they were fortunate that most of the seniors were not in college due to their projects and other commitments. The issue between the seniors and them was sorted out with the involvement of final year
Chapter 5:
The semester exams were approaching, and it was mandatory for every student to obtain a No Objection Certificate to receive their hall ticket. While I was on my way to get the form, a black storm passed by, causing my heart to race. Everything went blank in my mind, and I was completely awestruck. Varun asked me what had happened and urged me to hurry up as the professor might have left. We went to the department and received our hall tickets without any issues. On our way back, I saw the same girl again, and I called out to her, but I was too nervous to say anything else. She told me her name was Meera, and I couldn't help but smile. I left with Varun without saying anything else, but my mind and heart were chanting her name.
Chapter 6:
It was a wonderful winter night, and I had covered myself with blankets to sleep peacefully. The sound of drizzling rain, darkness, and cool air added to the romantic ambiance. Suddenly, I heard someone knocking on the door loudly, disturbing my sleep. Annoyed, I got up to see who it was, and four to five people barged into the room, pushed me down, and hit me. I was confused and didn't know what was happening until someone shouted "Krishnaaaaaaa, Happiiiiieeee Birthdayyyyyyyu!" It was a surprise birthday party, and everyone had brought cake and decorations. After blowing out the candles, Varun pushed me into the cake, and everyone smeared cake and trash all over my face. We spent the whole night celebrating, and later, we went on an unplanned trip to Ooty to make my birthday more adventurous.
CHAPTER 7
We began our trip to Ooty riding Royal Enfield 500C. The journey had 15 hairpin bends, wild bushes, and the entire forest was covered with canopies. The sounds of wild birds, fresh air with the aroma of eucalyptus, and cold moist air breeze surrounded us. Our riders were enjoying the joy of riding uphill. We rode professionally, following one after another rider. I couldn't resist the chillness of the atmosphere, and my teeth were dancing while my entire body shivered when the cool moist air touched me. I held the handlebar tightly and enjoyed the moment of driving. The silence of the forest and the sound of the engine made the rider feel amazing. The headlight from the bike chased the darkness to find road visibility. Sathish raised his right hand to stop us immediately. Varun, sitting as a pillion rider, was puzzled about why Sathish asked us to stop. I put on my high beam and found king-size elephants standing on the road nearby, around 30m from us. Every rider switched off the headlight so that the light wouldn't distract the elephants from us. We were confused about whether to cross the elephants or wait till they moved away from the road. At that time, a truck came to rescue our journey, and we followed the truck behind its back slowly and finally bypassed the elephants. It was a heavy sigh of relief for everyone. We continued the journey on the hill for the next 2 hours, and we reached Ooty. Sathish found the best tea shop, and we stopped the engine. I removed the helmet like an ace rider. Sarath said, "Tea for everyone," and the shop owner gave us a warm welcome. It was a tiny tea shop on the sidewalk, but it was flocked with people in the early morning. I took tea from the tray and had my first sip of tea in Ooty. The tea had a distinct elaichi aroma, perfect for an early winter morning. The flavor of tea gave me a heavenly feeling. Meanwhile, Sarath took a selfie, and we smiled with Tea. He instantly posted it on Facebook and was looking for likes. "Madguy!" I said. At that time, Varun hugged me and said, "Happy Birthday, Krishna." I was damn happy about my friends; they made this birthday so memorable. When we were returning, I had a feeling of "How would my world be if Meera were with me? So many imaginations. Plenty of thoughts. The journey for tea ended.
Chapter 8:
We finished the next semester, and everybody went for vacation to their respective places. I chose not to go to my hometown and planned to stay in the hostel. It was extremely boring to be alone in the hostel without friends. I regretted staying back during the semester vacation. After a while, I couldn't bear the loneliness anymore, despite the rain outside. I wore my rainproof leather jacket, took my helmet, and headed to my Royal Enfield. I inserted the key, started the engine and heard the sound of 'tup, tup, tup.' It was amazing to listen to the sound of my Bullet. I raised the throttle and sped off at 40km/hr. Gradually, I realized the feeling of "it's better to travel than to arrive." I didn't stop anywhere and just followed my heart. The raindrops on my face during the ride were like honey on my taste buds. I forgot myself and kept riding to a place that was entirely new to me. I got lost on the way and had no idea where I was. I had forgotten to bring my mobile phone with me, which made it worse. So, I decided to ask someone nearby for directions. Just then, I saw someone in front of me, trying to start their scooter. I stopped my bike and was about to ask for directions when the person turned around, and to my surprise, it was Meera. Two things happened simultaneously. When our eyes met, there was a brilliant flash that flickered and disappeared. Then, moments later, there came the rumbling thunder, and my heartbeat skyrocketed when I saw her eyes. But she was cool and greeted me with a "Hey, Hi." I asked her what happened, and she said she had tried so many times to start her scooter but was exhausted. I offered to help her and pulled the choke, kick-starting her bike. It started with a roar, and she thanked me before asking for my name. My heart was racing, and I replied, "Krishna." She thanked me again and left. For a few moments, I couldn't recognize anything and wondered if it was all just a dream. Somehow, I managed to ride back to the college hostel and replayed those moments in my mind a million times. They were the cutest moments of my life. That night, I didn't know when I fell asleep, but I still remember the moment when my heart started yearning for her. I had decided that Meera was the one for Krishna in this birth!
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