Ria and Nazia sat on their beds unpacking their suitcases quietly. Ria didn't remove her clothes but she removed a large plastic cover which she kept separately to put used clothes in. She wondered if there was any laundry shop nearby the college.
"Is there any laundry shop nearby?" Ria asked Nazia.
"No, but there is a room downstairs that has a washing machine, a television and a fridge. We can use it but we have to pay the warden."
"I have noticed something in India. We have to pay for every small thing. I mean payment just to keep something in the fridge sounds absurd to me." said Ria, shocked.
"I know it sounds funny. I can understand about using a washing machine but we will hardly use a fridge. We would be eating in the hostel canteen. Maybe once or twice we may need to keep something in the fridge and just for that, we have to pay. It sounds like the college is desperate for money." said Nazia.
It was almost eight in the evening and the girls on the second floor seemed excited. They kept moving in and out of one particular room on the floor. Some of the girls brought up balloons, ribbons and white masking tapes for decoration on the walls. A tall girl with a nose ring and black t-shirt stood in the corner of the room and switched on her laptop."Amrita, which song should we play first?" asked the girl turning to a girl who sat on a chair beside her."Manisha let's put that Ik vaari aa song from Raabta."A girl with curly black hair and dark purple glasses glared at them as she arranged paper plates on a table near the bed. She wondered what her roommate planned for them. It was their first night at the hostel and she didn't want to cause any more trouble but she a
Ria had never expected her first evening on the campus to be so eventful. She didn't think she would land in trouble with the seniors. Even though she felt happy after getting them arrested, she wondered what lay ahead of her.She didn't bring anything for the mattress because she thought that it was already provided by the hostel so she asked Nazia if she could borrow a bedsheet from her. It was the only thing she could do for the moment. Ria decided to send some money to her uncle and ask him to buy a couple of bedsheets and a blanket for her.Nazia removed two white bedsheets. She gave one to Ria and adjusted the other one on the mattress.Ria sighed as she sat on the bed. She looked at Nazia who had already fallen asleep. Ria now decided to focus on her plan. Tomorrow w
After jogging, both Nazia and Ria took baths one after the other. Ria wore a dark blue long shirt on her denim jeans while Nazia wore a long brown shirt on brown trousers. They both got out of their room and walked downstairs. The hostel canteen was separated from the regular canteen. The hostel canteen was in another two-storey building right beside the girl's hostel. This building was built in between the boys and girls hostel. The boys had to eat upstairs while the girls ate downstairs. Ria wondered about the reason for this separation and thought if the boys were so terrible to eat with.The hostel canteen had several small round tables with chairs around it. There was a small table near the door that had two large dishes kept on it. One dish had a popular Indian dish called Dal, a dish that was prepared in form of a soup. It was a dish rich in pulses and onions. Tomatoes and various
Ria missed her orientation program on the very first day. After eating breakfast she had not one but two watery stools and severe pain in her stomach. After passing stools, she went to the outpatient department of the hospital for treatment. The general physician checked and gave her medications. He told her that she might have diarrhoea if she eats the same food again. In addition to this, he also warned her that most of the hostels do not have clean kitchens and she should eat the food prepared either from home or from a good restaurant until she gets used to the spices in India. He gave her the medications for three days and also asked her to take a soft diet along with plenty of water for three days. By the time she bought medications from the hospital's pharmacy, the orientation program got over. Nazia who was worried about her called her to inform her about it. She told them that
Life for Ria took a different turn the moment she stepped inside the hostel of her college. She got two seniors arrested and the very next day a bad diarrhoea problem. She thought she could just adjust for a year and go back to America but even a day on the campus seems to be passing through loads of difficulties.She now stood on the road with a small car driving at high speed towards her. She pushed Nazia and the unknown girl away so that they don't get hit. The car stopped right in front of her.Ria could now look properly at the car. It was a yellow Audi. A tall handsome young man got out of the car. He wore a dark blue shirt on black trousers.'Eww! Yellow car!'thought Ria"Hey, you okay?" said the handsome y
Ria was furious to see Manisha and Amrita again. She could not believe that they could come out of jail so quickly. She knew that many Indian political leaders were corrupt and abused their position but she never thought that she would see it happening in front of her. Nazia too wasn't happy to see them but she somehow knew that they would return to the hostel soon. Ria wasn't sure that with them returning, she would not be able to even sit in the hostel peacefully. She was already forced to study in India, now she will have to deal with mean girls of the college.'Will my life turn into some circus because of these girls?'thought Ria."You there daydreaming, tell me how to do you think these bodies are being preserved?"A tall old man wearing a doctor's coat with long s
Nazia and Ria kept the skeleton, Mr Luck, safely in Nazia's cupboard. They covered him with Nazia's clothes. Nazia kept an open book on top of the skull. They made sure to lock the door properly before leaving for their afternoon meal. They walked outside their campus to a small but clean restaurant nearby. Nazia ate vegetable Biryani while Ria ate curd with rice. Though Ria disliked the taste, she still ate it for the sake of her stomach. She didn't say Nazia that she planned to reduce her attendance. This way she would be detained and she would not be able to write exams. However, it was too early for Ria to even miss her classes. She thought of attending for a week regularly and then putting her plans in action. "We will be having Idly at hostel canteen tonight. We won't have to
Ria found the electric panel in a small room in the back of the hostel. Very carefully she, without being caught by anyone she went inside the room and cut all the wires with scissors one by one. She came back quickly before the warden mam locked the hostel's door.There was no electricity in the hostel and she had to use her cellphone to watch where she was going. She walked upstairs slowly and very carefully. Students were now coming in and out of their room with their cellphones. Ria could see some of the students, who had backlogs, going downstairs with the books in their hands.Watching them going past her, Ria realized how impulsive she just acted. She wanted to teach Manisha a lesson but now all the students were going to suffer because of her. Nazia did warn her and even tried to stop her but she did not listen. She now re
Do people face unfortunate events regularly in life? Of course, everyone does occasionally. In Ria's case, that unfortunate event came in form of a fracture of her cousin on whom she pranked. She wore makeup and a costume to look like a ghost. Her cousin slipped on the stairs while running and ended up with a fracture. Luckily it wasn't his head that got affected but since he fell more than three flights of stairs, he ended up with a fracture in his right elbow. This unfortunate event changed Ria's life suddenly. Her parents were so upset by this that they decided to send her to India for her bachelor's in medicine and surgery. A couple of other events troubled Ria's stay in India but none were unfortunate because she managed to shine in those events among her peers. She thought she could manage her walk wearing a sari on the stage in front of her batchmate
Ria and her friends quickly rushed out of their hostel. The auditorium was in the building next to the second year building. The ground floor had two huge rooms opposite each other. This was where the third and final year MBBS students had their classes. The auditorium was upstairs. It was very huge with several ceiling fans. The auditorium also had a very huge platform. Several girls who wore sarees stood in a corner near the stairs of the platform in a queue. Ria rushed forward and stood last in the line. Her palms and soles began to sweat due to nervousness but she was relieved at the fact that the contest hadn't started. Clenching her lips, she turned her neck and looked for her friends. They were in the second row on the left side of the hall. A cooler was right next to them. Nancy and Nazia both gave her a thumbs-up as they sat down on a white plastic chair.
What is a beauty pageant? Is it just a public entertainment where judges select a girl whom they find to be the most beautiful? Or is it a contest beyond physical appeal? Pageants were platforms for showcasing women's empowerment, diversity, intelligence and leadership.Women who take part in pageants have utilized the platform to empower other women, others have also used pageants as a way to advance their careers. Although this was the meaning of a beauty pageant, it also somehow became a medium for fame for several young ladies but Miss Fresher was nothing at all compared to this.Ria realized that neither it gave any fame nor it would help her in her career. It looked like a contest meant only for popularity. Perhaps this was the reason why many of her batchmates weren't interested in participating. It would only boost her image among the students b
Ria thought all the students would be excited for fresher's day but she was wrong. Her classmates did not show much excitement. Apart from the girls who stayed at the hostel and the students who participated no one was excited. This shocked Ria. Back in America, at her school, the situation was quite different. Any competition would be something everyone would talk about and watch. Whether it was sports, singing, dancing, debate or quiz, many participated as per their interest and many would be excited about it. The hype for fresher's day here was not even remotely similar to that.The girls from the hostel who were rude to Ria now became quiet. Their acne was still visible. Few of them were so embarrassed about it that they sat at the back almost away from many. They only stood up for their attendance covering their faces with a cloth. Ria did feel sorry for them until she rememb
Finally tomorrow, the first-year students would have their fresher's day which was being organized by the second year students of their medical college. Many girls were already excited to see how the event would go but unfortunately, the girls who stayed at the hostel had a different story. Most of the girls from the hostel participated in the event and just a day before the event many of them had severe acne on their faces. They suspected that someone mixed something in the water of the washrooms. The hostel's warden asked the affected girls to freshen themselves and visit the dermatology department of the hospital. She also assured everyone that everything will be fine by evening but until then all students in the hostel will have to use water from the washrooms of the college. This almost made Ria throw up. The unfortunate moments she had with a rat appeared in her mind. Nazia too wasn't happy with this news because she disliked the
There was never a time in Ria's life when she thought someday she would wear a sari. She happily paraded showing off her Indo western clothes at weddings and festivals. Her mother made sure that she wore something that didn't offend anyone yet somehow her typical Indian aunties always found a way to complain something about her. Often they complained about her attitude and called it ego issues because she didn't talk much to them. At times they openly made fun of the way she stood and the way she sat.Ria remembered how her relatives made fun of her in one of the Indian weddings. She wore a very beautiful long skirt which had embroidery on a matching blouse. It was called ghagra choli. Though Ria wore a similar dress for various weddings, this time the blouse was heavy. Her relatives who saw her at the wedding did not appreciate her dress. Instead, they made fun of the way s
Finally, Sunday came, which meant that Ria could spend some hours away from her books to practice how to wear and walk in Sari. Dinesh would bring the sari for her and she would have to try it. He would show her how to wear the Nauvari style of sari. Nazia also agreed to come along to help her. Ria felt nervous because if she messed up something today, she would look like an idiot in front of Dinesh. This was a very important day for her because she wanted to show Manisha that she is up for any challenge and there was nothing Ria couldn't do.However, by Sunday, many first-year girls suddenly became hostile to them. Many of them were very rude and few even dared to ask her if she could walk in a sari."Don't worry about that. This would probably last until the competition. Many girls from hostel are participating for fresher's day and they think you already have an edge." said Nazia as she and Ria sat on in the corner of their hostel canteen."I don't get you,"
Nazia's continuous rude behaviour with Dinesh made him so upset that he began to make more demands. Ria is now supposed to do the physiology homework's that Professor Shruti assigned them. Ria tried to hide everything from her roommate Nazia's vulture eyes but she was exposed. Nazia, who was the female class representative, was given the task to collect homework. She immediately recognized Ria's handwriting, though Dinesh submitted the papers along with his friend. Her vulture eyes looked at Dinesh furiously and before she could say anything further, he pelted across the benches quickly."Ria, he is crossing his limit. Just stop asking him for help.""Nazia, we are only helping each other now. Once the fresher's day is over, I won't need to do anything.""Please just think once again."
Dinesh agreed to show Ria how to wear the Nauvari sari. It had a typical Maharashtrian saree draping which Ria's mother often wore in Indian weddings. Ria decided to contest for fresher's day. This wanted to show Manisha that she isn't afraid of anything and no one can challenge her. This was going to be a tough task for Ria because she had never done it before. The sari that she borrowed from Nazia was torn while she tried to walk in it but this time she was determined to do her best. Luckily, their fresher's day was postponed to the next week and this gave Ria some more time to practice. Since Dinesh did not stay in the hostel, he could bring a sari for her. Ria was very careful while selecting the sari because she didn't want to look like a clown. Of all the photos Dinesh showed her which he saw online, Ria selected a red silk sari with a green blouse. Dinesh agreed to meet her