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First days 18 June 1995, 22:10 [Mauritius] and the plane finally took off, from Sir S.Ramgoolam International Airport, Plaisance, Rep Of Mauritius. Sitting next to me was my Dad. I had just turned 20 a few weeks earlier but they still would not let me travel on my own. It had always been like that and they would not make an exception for this one either. But honestly, I was relieved that he was with me. I knew he would take care of things when we would reach Pune. What things ? Well, everything !! Finding a place for me to stay, get my things sorted out at the Admissions Office, University of Pune, etc.. That's how he is. I knew he would not rest till I was comfortably settled. Afterall, he would have to answer all those questions blasted at him when he would return back to Mauritius. Now, before you ask me who was going to ask him all these questions, allow me to tell you myself. My Mom, my sis, my aunties, my uncles. You should have seen the bunch of them when I was saying Goodbye at the airport. They love me and I am their son. And I could see straight away that though they were happy I was gonna start a new life, they could not smile because something would be missing from that day onwards. Especially on Saturday nights. Let's get back to the plane, shall we? I could hardly sleep. Was it excitement? Or was it sadness? Cant really say !! I mean, there I was, in an uncomfortable black suit and tie [God ! I hate dressing in such a formal way. I miss my Jeans], going to a place I had never seen before, to spend 3 years of my life, trying to get a degree in Mathematics. Well, I did not want to take any tension anymore so I checked the view outside. Hey, I was sitting on the left side and I could see the wing. Those "trucs" on the wing reminded me of my Physics A-Levels "Transport" paper. Flaps, Turbulence, Lift, etc.. Bugger !! I did not want Physics. I wanted Mathematics. The trip was smooth. But I couldnt go toilets because I was scared. Of what?? Hmm...I'm sorry guys, but when it's your first time in a plane, you are scared of everything. 19 June, 06:30 [India]. Blimey !! "Is this India??" I asked myself. The first thing that caught my (shall i say) nostrils, was the heavy smell. What could that be? How could such a smell be lingering on Sahar Airport!! Well, Ashley, you are in for a surprise! Beta, to pou bien content. Mr Rudra, a family friend, was there to greet us. We would be spending the day in a hotel, near his residence. We would first go to his place, meet his family and then proceed to the hotel. There began my journey from the airport. Direction: Vashi. And friends, O friends.. What I saw during that trip would never be erased from my memory. The foul smell during most of the journey, the humidity, flies, slums, pollution,....I could hardly breathe. "Is this India?" I ask myself again and again.. Sure, I had read that poverty is everywhere, sanitation is poor. But what I was witnessing was beyond imagination!!! Had I made the right decision coming to India? Well, let me convince you guys, I thank God for the day He helped me make up my mind to go to India. 20 June. Mr & Mrs Rudra, Mr Chandubhoy, my Dad and myself set off to Pune, in one of those A.C coaches. The initial bad impression that I had about India gradually faded away, the closer we were getting to Pune. What a sight !! Khandala was so impressive and scary.... I had never seen such a magestic view before. We reached Pune sometime in the afternoon, after 4 hours or so. I was exhausted but I was in Pune at last. Now, you might be asking me if Pune is different to Bombay. It definitely is. I mean, yeah, the humidity is a pain in the neck, the crowded streets do not help, of course. But it is "cleaner". Ahh, I forgot to tell you about the massala Pan. Some people like chewing gum, Indians like chewing on Pan. And believe me folks, it's not always a nice sight. Some would go spitting everywhere and if you are not careful, you can find a brown, fat spit on your clean black shoes. Well, let's go back to where I left. Once we reached Pune, we went to "Saraswatee Apartments" where a few Mauritian chaps were supposed to help me settling in Pune. Mr Rudra & Friends eventually went to check in, in a hotel, while my Dad and I, went to meet the Namoa Bros. And there, I met my future flatmate, Divey. My address [new]: 687 Deccan Gymkhana, Pulachi Wadi, Pune 411004 ! Bingo, I had a home.

My First Year, [FY], 1995-96 My Dad left me, well-settled, and returned to Mauritius on 10th July. From that point started a new phase which, now that it is over, I still envy. Shortly afterwards, I met the person who would turn out to be my best friend, Sujes ! Ha, I still remember the day when we were supposed to meet Prof Lele. That was a few days before we were going to start our FY. Sujes had that brand new hair cut which he thought was cool. Apparently, it wasnt ! Because Prof Lele didnt like it at all. But after a few promises from Sujes, [that he will change his hair style, etc..], Prof Lele was ok. Sujes got away with it. I started meeting other Mauritian FY's. Other than Divey and Sujes, I met Kammo, Anna, CK, Vikash, RK, Farah. My first year was ok. By Jan 1996, I had a new flatmate, Vikash. There are days I would never forget. Starting with "Ganapati Festival". 10 days of wild celebrations and holidays. Never seen such a thing in my life. It was grandiose, in every sense of the word! I also remember meeting Sanjyot, one of my closest friends. We started as penfriends back in 1990, and I met her in person on 25 Dec 1995 for the first time. Then there was the trip to Alibaug on 30th Dec 95. Still remember how Sujes helped the girls when we got stranded in high tide and we had to walk on those sharp shells to get back to the beach. 31st Dec was a damn painful day for all of us. Not only because we had such a hectic day on the eve [Alibaug], but also because for most of us, it was first-time-New-Year-celebration-away-from-family. But we did well. We enjoyed ourselves. Then I remember shouting at Sujes because he was pestering Vikash, my new flatmate by that time. That happened in early Feb 96. And hello !! Nobody shouts at Mr Sujes. So obviously he got pissed off and left my flat in one of those famous moods of his. We did not talk to each other for nearly 7 weeks. Yeah, weeks! But then, for Holi Festival, Kammo brought him back to my place. And everything was alright again. Another incident I would like to write about but believe me guys, I cant talk too much about it. Only my Pune pals, who will come across this page, will understand what I am saying. This is already bringing a smile to my face. It was so wicked. It happened on 24th April 96, during my exams period. I received a letter from the University's Health Officer.!! Hahaha.. Sorry, I cant help it myself. Maybe CK and RK will be keen to talk about it. Sorry guys..! The First Year was awesome. I mean, a bunch of Mauritian students, studying in Pune, trying to stick together to form a kindda family. Hmmm, We used to go to movies very often, but I must confess, apart from that journey to Alibaug and some occasional trips to Vashi [New Bombay], I never went outside Pune. And now when I think about it, I cant stop cursing myself because God only knows when I will have the chance to visit India again, or rather, will I have enough time to go to so many places while visiting India. Well, the most embarassing moment during that first year, was when some blokes were trying to set up MSA [Mauritian Student Association]. That was simply terrible. Some were even black-listed at the University because of their sick behaviours. It was such a mess, and in the end, the idea had to be dropped. Anyway, I took the plane back to Mauritius on 29th April, for my first year holidays. I reached home the following day. Some things had changed and one person was missing.

My Second Year, [SY], 1996-97 I came back to Pune on July the 7th, and started straight away with my SY. I made a few more friends such as Prits and Tingu, who were both SY students but whom I was not too acquainted with, in the previous year. And of course there were some of the freshers, like krits and Medha. I must also add people like Atal, Dinesh and Rama, who were mostly known as 'The Gots' of Vakhil Nagar. { Hi "The Gots", if you are reading this, then say hello to Paro for me }. Sujes was still around and still my best pal. In Dec 1996, my Mom, my sis and my aunty came to visit me in Pune.They stayed till 15th Jan 1997. We had a nice time. Nothing much really happened that year. But, I met a person whom I still, and always will, care for. I first met her in a Physics lab session in Aug 96. Yeah, I was still doing bits and pieces of Physics in my Maths Degree. That girl is Kulwinder [Kullu]. A girl I consider as a sister. She was doing her degree in Electronics, and the Physics class was a common place for us to meet. Well Kullu, if you are reading this bit, I want you to know that I miss you a lot. I must also add a few other people's names in here, like the twin sisters, Rani and Rajashree, whom I consider as the few close indian friends that I had during my stay in Pune.Two nice girls who were always ready to help me anytime I was stranded. SY was a hectic year, especially with the tuition classes at "Tonton" Kulkarni's place. I can still remember those days very well. The end of the SY was cool. Sujes and I used to study together as we had a few papers in common. He was doing his degree in Physics. And I bet he still remembers the days when we had to sit for Statistics papers. They were the last 2 papers which we had to sit for in SY [Apr 97], and I can hardly say that we were both well-prepared for those papers. So, it was an not-so-surprising "Panique- à- bords" situation.We had to spend sleepless nights to read 2 Stats books. And, hell !! Another guy I should mention is Vishnu. A nice Bihari chap, too good in Statistics, whose motto in life is, "treasure your friendship". Good luck Vishnu, and thank you for all the things you did for me. It's not too often I come across pals like you. By the end of April, I was back home in Mauritius for my holidays.

My Third and Final Year, [TY], 1997-98 I came back to Pune on 30th June, and 1 week later, my beloved Grandad passed away in Mauritius. Bad start.... But on an academic point of view, it was the best year in my life. It was great to be back to India. Kulu was now doing her final year in Electronics, same for Kammo. Sujes,CK and Anna were majoring in Physics. Vikash in Botany, Tingu in zoology, Prits in Geography and finally RK, Farah and myself, in Mathematics. With us three in that Mathematics class was another Mauritian guy, who was doing his B.A. His name is Roshan and as all my other friends, he has always been very helpful. "Pas vrai Roshan ? kan nou alle guette 1 film la ???". TY was pretty uneventful socially as compared to the previous years. The reason was, we were all busy with our studies and we all wanted to do well. Was it boring ??? Hell No !!! It's never boring when you are in Pune. There were still occasional night-outs in a nearby restaurant or a movie in groups, just to have a break with the routine studies. One event when I enjoyed a lot was when I [and some friends] went to Goa. We had a great time !! Didnt we Anna ? And then, of course, how can I forget the New Year Celebrations (97, into 98), at Banjara Hills. We had such a nice time. I went with "The Gots" that day. We had a wicked time.!! Sujes will tell you more about it. He was the centre of all attention that day !!! I'll always remember that final year. We were all working hard to get a decent degree. Sleepless nights just trying to remember those weird theorems [but, I confess, I enjoyed them]. Once I would reach home, after my tuition classes with the great "Andar & Samina", Vikash, CK and myself would be studying the whole night. And as exams drew nearer, the more tensed we would be. The climate [it was damn hot] did not help at all. We would usually study outside, on the balcony. Even my neighbours would help us, by leaving their lights on. My final Ty exams ended on 10th April. I was happy, and I had lost 4 Kg....! I have a special thought for a girl I can never forget. I knew her when I was in TY only. And if I finally got good results in my final exams, it was mainly due to her encouragement and help. She was my classmate, and her name is Kalpana. What can I say about her ? A very bubbly girl, helpful by all means. We would sometimes [well, almost everyday] spend most of our time in the library, trying to get those mathematical equations in our heads. And whenever I would be lazy or get bored, she would remind me of the things I dream of, in my life and which I wouldnt get if i'd flunked my exams. Thanks a lot kalpana..I will never forget those days in the library, with the temperature about 40 degrees (C), while both of us, tired, sleepy [ Me :)) ], slogging on Real Analysis, Modern Analysis, Algebra, Differential Equations, Mechanics, Pascal Programming, Numerical Analysis, Operational Research, etc.. and hogging down those theorems. My parents visited me in June 98. We thought that I would get my Degree and then we would all go back to Mauritius together. But it was never going to be the case. There was a strike going on in the University, so results' declaration had to be postponed. And guess what!! I got my results just 10 hours after my family left India, to go back to Mauritius. Most of my friends came out with flying colours. I left Pune on 10th July 98. A leaf in my life was turned for good.

And..!!! Pune [and India] is a part of my life. Plenty of memories which I will always cherish. Not everything was rosy, true, but each of them was a unique experience. Things that I have done, people that I have met etc... I would like to seize this opportunity to thank a few people who helped me make my stay memorable. Some names might have been unintentionally missed out, and I do apologize for that. Acknowledgements My family [Hoolash, Mohun, Deepchand, Reedoye]. Kulwinder Kaur, Pune. Sanjyot, Bombay. Mr Rudra and family, Bombay. Amale family, especially Aji and Tai, Pune. Jawalkar family, Pune. Lucky Restaurant, Pune. Purab Restaurant, Pune. Khokil [Hawker outside Lucky Restaurant], Pune. Mr Vilas Badhe, Pune. V.I.P Shop, Mr Hateem Hirani, Pune. Rani and Rajashri, Pune. Kalpana, Pune. Vishnu Agarwal, Pune and Bihar. AND OF COURSE ALL MY MAURITIAN FRIENDS....... © Bheshaj Kumar Ashley Hoolash