from nobody to best buddy - a preview
TRANSCRIPT
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 1/21
FROM NOBODY TO BESTBUDDY
A ousand Mile Journey
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 2/21
About Notion Press
Notion Press is a Self-Publishing platform to write, publish
& sell Print books and eBooks around the world. To learn
more, visit www.notionpress.com
FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY is a product of the
Notion Press Author Incubation Program.
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 3/21
FROM NOBODY TO BEST
BUDDY
A ousand Mile Journey
LOVEKUSH SINGHANIA
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 4/21
Notion Press5 Muthu Kalathy Street, Triplicane, Chennai - 600005
First Published by Notion Press
Copyright © LOVEKUSH SINGHANIA 2013
All Rights Reserved.
ISBN: 9789383185689
This book is sold subject to condition that it shall not by way
of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold or hired out, circulatedand no reproduction in any form, in whole or in part (except
for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews) may be
made without written permission of the author.
This book has been published in good faith that the work of
the author is original. All efforts have been taken to make
the material error-free. However, the author and the publisher
disclaim the responsibility for any inadvertent errors.
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 5/21
All incidents, characters and events in this
book are ctional any resemblance to any living
person is purely coincidental.
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 6/21
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 7/21
CONTENTS
Acknowledgement
1I had to start somewhere, ain’t it
6When the young kid ventured out
16e rst steps of the beginning
26e air smelt of love, hatred and fumes54Back to the future
65e lull after the storm
85 A freefall into nothing
95I desperately look for some light
102What goes around doesn’t come around
113e encounter that I feared
118I win for my friend
122I hate the after-dinner study sessions, damn it!
127I am ignorant and stupid as well
134 A solution causes confusion
138 Venturing into the unknown151e Co-ed dream comes true, only just
158Girls and problems co-exist, don’t they?
170e rst love story in a boy’s land.
179Such a cowardly thing to do
184How the hell am I alive today?
189We wait & wait & wait & wait and nally BOOM!
197Fun with Balloons
206Bells ringing, romantic feelings and more
211Princi screws my class and I retaliate
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 8/21
215e rst meeting goes all wrong
218 A birthday that ended at stinking feet
223My apology that was due
231 A second love that I fell really hard for
235My heart almost erupts open
239My second love, without an underwear
243 A Tailspin to Disaster and Suicide
254Finally… Life surprises when you least expect itto
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 9/21
Acknowledgement
THANK YOU…
Dad & Mom, for a life that has seen the light of this day,Kamal Bhaiya, Krishna Bhaiya, Anamika Di, Shilpa Bhabi, foryour unconditional support during times when I was going
nowhere,Vignesh, for drilling into my head, the reading-habit,Shweta, for giving me a base to build on, Nishith, for being my rst real friend,Shiva, for helping me with ideas, pre and post writing,Yash, for tolerating me even when I bored him,Shanti Aunty, for giving into my demands, and providingme with an honest feedback,
All my mates from school, for you have provided me withmemories that never fade, memories that form thecornerstone of what follows...Every person who has been involved with the book and hashelped me with ideas, criticism and support, your nameshave not gone over my head, it’s just that If you arereading this, be sure that I am thanking you in my head,
Notion Press, for the platform that has enabled me to reachout to the world. And, Nandini (Choti), for being more excited than me during theentire period of transforming ideas into text, as well as,a support that I couldn’t have done without. I denitely cannot thank you enough.Shankar, Prabhu, Koushik, Noppodon, for being what I
needed you guys to be. Without you guys there wouldn’thave been a book, as there wouldn’t have been a life. Nishanth, for being the reason behind the creation of this book, for being everything I didn’t want you to be,because, if you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have had a best buddy.
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 10/21
Guys, this one is for you.
FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 11/21
I had to start somewhere, ain’t it
I was seated along with 180 odd students in the largeand spacious multi-purpose lecture hall. It had been acouple of months since I completed schooling and now Iwas a student at Law School. e lecture in progress wassociology, which is precisely the medicine one requires forinsomnia.
As usual, I had taken a seat at the far end of thehall and hid myself behind a pillar such that the professorwould not be able to see me dozing o. is is the thrill of attending lectures in large halls, as one almost always goesunnoticed. I was almost starting to dream when a suddencommotion woke me up, as so many of my classmates werelate and were rushing into the hall. I was irritated to theextent that I thought of walking out of the hall, to the restroom and dozing o there. Seldom do we follow what ourheart says, I wondered later.
For the moment, that is not important. I say thisbecause what happened next is more important. As I waslooking around at the students entering the hall, a girlpulled a chair and came and sat next to me. Unlike in lmswhere a gorgeous belle is always in line of the hero, do not
expect me to describe a similar incident in my case.Nonetheless, a girl was sitting next to me. You might
wonder what is so special about a random girl sitting nextto a guy, but let me drive home its importance. I havebeen traveling alone by train and by bus for more than 10years now, and in all those years it has never happenedthat a girl – leave alone a good looking girl – has comeand sat next to me (even at cinema theatres). I hope youhave understood the gravity of the point I am trying toemphasize. Coming back to the present situation, the girlsitting beside me was just as restless and uninterested inthe class that was going on as I was. I thought it would dome no harm in starting a conversation.
“Hi.”
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 12/21
She turned to me and I thought ‘Not bad.’ She had a
round face, a small nose and I don’t know why I noticeda mole under her lower lip. I guess this is a genuine malecharacteristic.
“Hi,” she replied with a strange look on her face, asthough I had asked her to make out with me straight away.
“I am not interested in the boring nonstop nonsensethat is going on, and from the look of it, I believe you toowant to run out of here… isn’t it?” I said with the hope
that she would reply in the same vein. When she spoke, Iwas shocked and it left me disheartened.
“How does it matter to you whether I am interested inthe class or not?” she said with such a erce attitude thatblew me o.
at was like a hammer blow. Girls, I swear, are themost intimidating creatures alive.
“Okay, I’m sorry!” I said.“Better be.”Put o by the very unpleasant incident, I tried to turn
my attention away from her. I even tried listening to thelecture ‘…identity of man. It is very dicult for a personto answer this question to himself. Who am I? What is my identity?’
Who am I? What kind of a question is that? I thought,
as any human being, with a sane mind would happily blurt out his name on being asked this question. My mindwandered to other thoughts, about lms, hot actress’ etc.
I opened my bag and pulled out an album of photographs. I always carry this album with me, as onelook at the pictures in it, and I smile, my smile slowly turns into laughter as so many exciting memories ash
across my mind, and my happiness reaches crazy heights.is album contains my school life. All the wonderful
memories come ooding to me as I ip across the pictures.Memories of my life at school are my most prizedpossession and the thought that nobody can delete thatpart of my life is the most comforting thought I have.
2 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 13/21
As I was smiling and ipping across the pictures in the
album, I heard a voice beside me say, “Can I have a look?”It was her, the girl who had just insulted and rebukedme. She sounded quietly friendly now and I had twooptions: 1) take my chance to counter and get even withher and 2) forget about what she had just done and giveher the album to see. I fail to understand why the humanmind stops being rational in such cases and gives in to agirl’s demands, in spite of the fact that the same human
mind had been at the receiving end just a while ago.I believe by now you would have assumed that I choseoption 2. Believe me, that is no fun. I just gave her a coldsmirk and smiled sarcastically.
“I thought you were neither interested in the lecturenor in talking to me, and I am not game for another coldsnub from you,” I said.
“I’m sorry, but you are a total stranger. I mean youwere a stranger and I was a little apprehensive about that.”she replied with a look that betrayed the aggressivenessthat she had exhibited a few moments ago.
“Stranger! My God! at is as insulting as it can get.We study in the same university, for God’s sake!” I wasbeing a little dramatic.
“I’m sorry na,” she said again, ever so sweetly, that it
almost made me forget the current situation.“Do you have a boyfriend?” I asked her.is had thrown her o guard and she was completely
taken aback.“What the hell is that? Is this what you always ask the
girls you meet?” I had expected that from her.“Bloody pervert!!” She murmured loud enough such
that I could hear.“Do you have a boyfriend – yes or no?” I asked again“Alright! To set the record straight, I have a boyfriend
and am very much committed.” She seemed to be really put o by me.
“Congratulations on your relationship. e point I wantto prove here is that you obviously would not have known
LOVEKUSH SINGHANIA 3
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 14/21
your boyfriend since your birth. As a matter of fact, your
boyfriend was a stranger to you, until you met him, right!I’m a stranger as well. In fact all people are strangers untilyou meet them and learn about them,” I whispered with atone that would have blown her o.
“What I fail to understand is why girls in general arealways so judgmental, especially about guys,” I added as anafterthought.
I guess she had not expected me to respond so
aggressively, just the way I had done now. She looked atme for a while and nally said, “Okay, so can I learn aboutyou and get to know you better, if that’s the only way forme to take a look at the photos in the album.” She smiled.
“No.” I gave a sarcastic smile.I gave her the album, and the boring lecture suddenly
became fun. I told her about my friends in the pictures,
a short gist about my life in school and she told a littleabout her life as well. As I ipped the last photographin the album, she said, “Your school life must have beenwonderful, with so many friends staying together, likeforever.”
My school life is one part of me, my life that I’mvery proud of. Generally, I’ve always heard people say thatthe years in college are the best part of one’s life. No
oence to them, but I totally disagree on that. Schoolingis that part of life where we start an incredible journey from being innocent souls to discovering ourselves. It isthis journey, along with all the beautiful experiences thatcome packaged with it over a longer period of our life thatmakes it the best phase of an individual’s journey, more soin my case.
inking about my days in school and talking about itgives me a high. is was a chance for me to drive homethat point once again, so I said, “It wasn’t just a wonderfullife. It was wonderful in every aspect and I always believedthat we were the selected few, at that point of time, givenan opportunity to grow up in heaven. Perfect bliss! It waswhat I call, ‘A thousand mile journey’.”
4 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 15/21
Having got a sneak preview into my wonderful past,
I believe she wanted to know all about it. She askedme rather excitedly, “Can you tell me more about yourthousand mile journey? I’m really excited and want tolearn about it.”
“Well, sure I can do that, but you will have to spend alot of time with me, the stranger, if I’m going to tell youabout the best part of my life,” I replied in the armative.
“at will not be an issue and… Mr. Stranger, I’m
Shonali.”“I’m Luvkush, and please don’t ask me the meaning of
my name or whether I have a twin brother,” I said and weboth laughed about it.
LOVEKUSH SINGHANIA 5
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 16/21
When the young kid ventured out
As a raw 10 year old, I had mixed feelings about joiningBeaumont school located at Ooty, which was apredominantly Christian residential school, run by Catholics. One part of me felt happy at the fact that I hadsecurity in the form of my brother who was in standard11. However, another part of me was scared (and scared
as hell) of the fact that originally, I would have to bealone and face all kinds of tricky situations by myself.
As a kid, I was basically dumb, timid (shy would be anunderstatement). First timers usually labeled me a boreand interestingly, I felt comfortable being alone, ratherthan being confronted by a huge group and leaking in my pants.
My fears were quickly washed away as I immediately made friends and made friends for good. A couple of new joinees who seemed to be out of place, unlike me,became my rst friends in Beaumont. Just to put thingsin perspective, do not be shocked at the fact that I madefriends immediately and without any hiccups. e plaintruth is that those guys took the initiative and sat medown and spoke to me and made me feel comfortable. As
for me, I don’t think I had the balls to open my mouthand talk. Yeah, I was such a bore.
Cherian and Yohan were the guys who took upon themthe burden (unconsciously though, I rmly believe) tobefriend me and talk to me. I guess if they had known thatI was a girl in the guise of a boy (shy as hell), they wouldnot have taken so much risk with me. I can’t believe I wassuch a lousy character back then.
“Hi,” Cherian approached me as I sat on my bedlooking lost and pale on my rst day at school. I lookedaround to ensure he was speaking to me.
“H… Hi,” I responded in fear.“Do you remember me? I sat beside you at the entrance
exam.”
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 17/21
I looked at Cherian in bewilderment and wondered
whether I had met him before. I couldn’t recall any meeting with him.“I… I don’t remember man.” e words almost didn’t
come out of my mouth.“What man, you only helped me in exam and I got
admission to this school. How can you forget?” Cherianshocked the hell out of me and I looked around again,hoping that nobody heard him say that.
“No man, I didn’t help you.” I defended myself like agirl.
“Yohan, come and meet Luvkush. He is the one whohelped me get admitted to this school.” Cherian turnedaround and signaled to Yohan, reducing me to the size of a snail in the process.
“Hi Luvkush.” Yohan waved his hand from a distance
as he came to my bed.“How did you help him in the exam man? Didn’t you
get scared?” he asked and I froze at the stories I had noidea about.
“I… I didn’t do anything man.”“Don’t worry man, I won’t say about it to anyone. And
now that Cherian is your friend, I am your friend also,” Yohan said and oered me his hand, a smile to go with it.
For the rst time in school I felt reassured.My class teacher in standard 5 was a pretty lady,
whom all students liked and I guess very few fantasizedabout. Even at my tender age, I found Miss Alice to bereally beautiful, but I swear in God’s name that I did notthink anything beyond. I was too immature to know whatfantasy was all about. Maybe, today I would have totally
dierent ideas.e annual sports meet at Beaumont, I learnt is held
during mid-July. One week into my school life, andpreparations had begun in earnest for the same. Similarto every other school in India, and for the purpose of thesports meet, we were divided into three dierent houses. Iwas randomly selected and thrust into the Gregory house
LOVEKUSH SINGHANIA 7
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 18/21
(the other two houses were Beaumont and Parker, and I
learnt that the houses were named after the founders of the school) like I was some piece of junk. e authoritiesmust have seen in me, a worthless, no-value prospect andfor the heck of it must have shoved me into the realms of the Gregory house. How terrible of them!
e selection trials for the sports were upon us andthat is when I dropped a bombshell. I remember hidingmyself in the washroom when my class was called for
the selection trial, to save myself the embarrassment of alaughing stock. What I totally ignored was the fact that,by doing so, I was being a total jerk and proving to theworld and myself that I was in fact a no-value prospect.God, who hides himself in a bathroom to prevent runninga selection trial?
“Why didn’t you come for the heats man?” Cherian
asked me in the dorm that evening after my stint in theloo.
“I… I was scared. I didn’t want to run.”“What man, waste fellow. Getting scared to run in
heats, huh… ha… ha…” he laughed and I wanted to hideagain, lock myself up forever and not face the world.
“Wait, I will complain to Mr. Joseph (dorm warden)that you did not run in heats,” Cherian said and I almost
shat my pants. I should have stayed in the toilet I guess.“Please man, you are my friend know, please don’t
complain man.”“Okay, okay, but where were you hiding while heats was
going on?”“I… I was on the ground only man, hiding behind a
tree.”
“Ha… ha… ha… why are you afraid of running man?Nobody will remove your shorts while running… ha… ha…”Cherian laughed and I went into my shell, desperate formy humiliation to end.
“Yohan got selected for the 200m race. He runs fastman,” Cherian said, and a pang of jealousy shot through
8 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 19/21
my spine, even though I had no business to feel jealous
after I shunned myself from participation.e sports festival concluded and Gregory house werecrowned the champions. My contribution to thechampionship was zilch, which I believe might have helpedtheir cause, rather than me doing something stupid, andproving to be a casualty.
It was time now for serious business as our rstterm exams followed immediately. Life is pretty funny and
shocking when its various elements do not seem to comply with our normal state of living. When we are throwninto a world outside our comfort zone, we pretty muchresemble sh out of water. At my previous school, I wasvery comfortable in my space, because, I am going to reveala fact that I rmly believe, you will not believe. You mightas well laugh at it, and I shall gladly allow you to do so.
Until that point in my career at school, never did I failto come rst in any of the school exams that I had written.Exam after exam, I consistently stood rst in my class.
Are you able to believe this shocker? I know it isimpossible to digest what I have mentioned, but I’m notleaving you with any other option, than believing it.
My rst sets of exams (Mid Term exams) in Beaumontwere over and I had performed as well as I could. Given
the fact that I had never stood second and below, Ihad taken it for granted that I would be the academicking in Beaumont as well. Miss Alice had evaluated ourperformances and in the process of distributing our marksheets in class one day enhanced my belief of becomingthe king which further made me y.
“I have had a good look at your performances and
have been able to identify students who I believe willconsistently do well in the exams. I am already awareabout the old students who perform well and the samestudents are at it again this time as well. ere is one boy though who has really impressed me most. Luvkush, I amreally pleased with your exam results and I want all thenew students to follow him as an example. Have a look
LOVEKUSH SINGHANIA 9
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 20/21
at your marks.” Saying so, Miss Alice handed us our mark
sheets.Well, surely I had to have come rst in class to warrantappreciation of such high order. I was being congratulatedby all the guys, and yeah, you guessed it right: I was in theair, ying, in outer space and lost in an imaginary world,
when suddenly I heard a voice from behind “Luvkush, 8th
Rank.” I came crashing down to the earth. My ight inimagination lasted only a few seconds.
My rst reaction was that I must have heard wrong.Surely there must have been some mistake. I took a lookat my mark sheet and it was written there in bold ‘RANK – 8’. I sat back and tried to forget the moment, tried tolive in the moment, but momentarily everything seemed
to be a blur. 8th rank! What will my dad think about me now? I thought. I was really shattered by the thought that for
the rst time in life I had not stood rst. To make mattersworse, tears rolled down my cheeks, and I was really beinga girl then.
“Hey, congrats man,” I heard one of my mates frombehind say to me.
“anks man,” I responded without turning back,wiping away my tears.
“Hey Luvkush, great man, you are the topper amongthe new boys of our class. Miss Alice likes you the most,” Yohan said something totally irrelevant, and I didn’t wantto respond to his comment.
“Shut up man, Miss might hear what you are saying. I
have got 8th rank only, my father will kill me.”
“Ha… ha… you got 8th rank man. Why will your fatherkill you? Are you Einstein that you will come rst every time?”
I didn’t respond and went back to analyzing my so-called terrible performance.
Looking back, I cannot help but roll over with laughter,that I even had insane thoughts like what will dad think
10 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY
8/22/2019 FROM NOBODY TO BEST BUDDY - A Preview
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/from-nobody-to-best-buddy-a-preview 21/21
FROM NOBODY TO BESTBUDDY
A ousand Mile Journey