It was a warm
sunny day in
August and the
musty smell of
Autumn lingered
heavy as a middle
class Sikh girl
walked into Room
13. ick braided
hair and a chubby
face indicative of
years of unfettered nourishment, wide eyes
still incredulous about her AIR 1, this room
would witness her transformation into an
aspiring pathologist campaigning against the
immigration law on the streets of Washington.
Over time, phone calls home would change
from advices about not going out at night to
booking a house in Bethesda, the plump face
would give way to a �tbit adorned arm that
showed visible signs of having endured too
many pushups. Yet there were the constants -
the Sukhmani Sahib recitation on her phone
that you could occasionally hear if you walked
in unannounced, dresses garnered over the
course of many P waves hinted at her skills
under the limelight and her old wise soul that
could comfor t you when your weekly
unannounced walk ins morphed into a
psychiatric (sometimes psychedelic) consults.
e blips were also evident - books on Indian
polity gathered dust reminiscent of the days
when IAS coaching was underway with talks
about bureaucratic aspirations, a period of
fangirling over Benedict Cumberbatch
attested by a poster, a copy of Hindu stained
with Chicken Curry that had borne witness to
hundreds of philosophical discourses and
emergency meetings convened because a
girlfriend needed sane advice. I am yet to meet
someone with a value system stronger than
hers. She guards her friendships and her baby
sister ferociously, can put a Delhi girl to shame
when she dresses for the club but her wardrobe
is stuffed with the trendiest kurtas. Last I
walked in, she was curled up in a corner reading
Goljan and hushed me when the birds started
chirping outside 10/13.
H ARSIMAR
K AUR
H IMANSHU
M EENA
e 2011
representativ
e of AIIMS
nepotistic
M e e n a
community ;
this (not so
young) lad
f r o m
Rajasthan
with lips like
that of Angelina Jolie, makes claims which
will make you re�ect the ever transient
nature of facts and people’s characters.
Multiple contrasting accounts (and
documents) exist about his age, board
marks and monetary status. Change is the
only constant in his professed motives.
Halfway through his MBBS life, he turned
into a hippie, with remarkable penchant for
all things green, once detested; like grass,
Tuborg bottles, currency notes,methi
chicken...He holds the unique distinction
of being both – the on paper and the actual
daroo secy of Pulse 2k14 and, by extension,
of 2k15. He claims to have changed and
now allegedly is the caller rather than the
“beater” who thrashes people who raise
complaints against noisy parties. He plans
to state “People’s welfare” as his life’s
motive in his UPSC interview and we wish
him luck that he’s able to pull it off with a
straight face.