This story can only truly be appreciated if you have watched Inception and/or stayed in a hostel room with clueless loosers..
Level 1 – The Exam Hall..
"Let me ask you a question, you, you never really remember the beginning of a dream do you? You always wind up right in the middle of what's going on. just that you are there at that moment and this is your reality... “ Deepak stared at the pen, the seat on his hand s glistening on the top like a diamond. The exam paper was in his hand , and the very first question was from that dreaded middle chapter no one really looks at... Was this a dream.?? .He didn’t remember how he got here, nor why he was sitting in such a silent hall. so different from the noisy classroom he was used to. People around him were staring at their papers, some of them morose, some of them weeping, ,...and that bloody geek Sushant had already started to write like there was no tomorrow... Man this must be a nightmare!! He looked to his right, to see his trusty sidekick Rakesh, pot and potty buddies, hostel mates, chaddi dosts, last minute scramblers and all.. Deepak was giving him a smile, a crooked one at that... “Do you think all this is real?”.. I looked around, and hell, it all felt real.. The examiner, Mr Chaterjee, for instance, was staring at me, the way he usually does when he spots trouble.. Pens had started to flutter across papers now, an it seemed as though the place was coming alive.. “Are you sure its not a dream?” Deepak was sounding serious now. “Give your totem a spin!!” He said, pointing at the pen.. I had seen the movieenough times to realize that , if, infact, this was a dream , the pen would go on spinning and spinning ... I spun it, hoping it would take me away from this god awful place...
Level 2- The hostel Room
Pink Floyd was playing in the background.. The air smelt damp and of drying underpants, there was a poster of Lucy Pinder on the wall and the Calendar was set to a month somewhere last year.. Surely this must be my hostel room.. Rakhee (as I sometimes called Rakesh) was watching “educational videos” on the computer, past 2 p.m... There were two other loosers passed out on my bed, their faces not so clear. Rakhee looked at me, his eyes the usual mischievious self.. “Dude, these videos are average man, got a much better collection back at my room.. Anyways no point looking now, I am gonna watch Inception again, man that movie messes with your mind.. Dream within a dream within a dream.. Amazing.. Hey you done with that? “ He was pointing to the bottle in my left hand, which I didn’t realize was there till now.. I was sitting on the floor, Beer, chips and a half eaten tandoori chicken was scattered around, along with some newspapers and a Fluid Dynamics book.. Damn the TEST!! Man was I gonna get ass fucked tomorrow in the Hydraulics exam .” Surely you are not thinking of that stupid test!” Rakhee said, reading my mind as usual.. “Take this brother, and you will realize that this was all a dream, within a dream”. He handed me a roll of pot, and i dragged at it, the room already spinning around.... I was already halfway down the tunnel when i heard Rakhee say from a distance” A dream within a dream...”
Level 3 – The party..
Sanjanna’s party, chicks all around, booze, party music, sweat, DJ, romance in the air, and a whole fucking week left for the hydraulics test.. Man this inception thing was taking me places.. Sanju was the centre of attraction , wearing a mini skirt and drawing all the attention. Man do I wish I had the guts to just go talk to her, than just sulk around in the backgroubnd and drown beer after beer as Rakhee got within a striking distance of her.. She was gonna be mine someday, Sanju was. I was about to go for the kill when she turned, and looked directly at me. Our eyes met, she gave one of her trademark killer smiles, and soon shewas walking across the dance floor directly towards me. Now this was a dream, I thought.. Or was it? I mean , wasn’t i lying on the floor of my hostel room, beer in one hand, pot in the other, a shining example of a wasted hostelite.. Wasn’t there a talk of a Hydraulics test somewhere, a certain Mr. Chaterjee? And wasn’t Rakhee going on and on about some dream within a dream within a dream? All these thought were wiped off immediately as Sanju stood directly in front of me, our eyes locked together and our noses nearly touching.. I was about to experience the happiest moment of my life when I felt THE KICK.. a sharp smack acrossmy head that was threatening to split it into two...
Back to Level 1- The Exam Hall..
Mr Chaterjee was now breathing down my neck, His long hand poised to strike me again at the back of my head... The pen (Totem.. Sheeshhh) had stopped spinning and was lying on the fucking exam floor... “Exam hall me pen ghumakke ke khel rahe ho kya battameezzz.. Agar paper nahi deni hai toh Get OUT!” The teachers nose was flaring , and he looked damn pissed.... Rakhee was sitting there, hardly able to stifle his laughter as he showed his hand into his mouth... “ Aur yeh TOTEM WOTEM kya hai.. Koi nayi whisky ka Brand jo tune kal piya tha!!!” The last words he literally spat out... I sat there,, half dazed, the effects of the weed still not completely worn off.. The teacher stormed off.. mumbling words like.. “indiscipline”, “ Waste ofparents money” and “ Drug addicts”.. Rakhee now had tears in his mouth and he was pointing at the pen, lying on the floor, lifeless, mouthin the words.. Totem totem.. BASTARDDD!! Half the exam hall, ie 60 kids , were staring at me, as though i had just performed “Chikni Chameli” wearing a tank top... And my thoughts were still lingering around the Leornado Di Caprio / Christopher Nolan masterpiece... Inception..Rakhee was right..Man that movie can mess with your mind...
