Letters

When I talked about my room in the last post, this was something I wanted to write, but couldn’t do it last week.

It was the second half of my pre clinical subjects. A year and half after I joined the MBBS program. After this, you start clinical subjects. For me, this was the one semester I wanted to get it over with because this was the last time I was ever going to do Anatomy. I aced in Biochem and Physiology. I hated anatomy.

We were having study holidays.That particular morning one of the hostel mates bought sabarjilli from the local market and they were all laughing at me when I said we call it sabarjilli in Malayalam. Come to think of it, why would anyone call pear sabarjilli?

Later that morning,some of the students decided to hike up a small hill nearby to go to a temple and I joined them. BE had gone back to his place because he wanted to attend the Sekrenyi festival. In those days telephone calls were very expensive and  he had to pretend to be my father when he called the hostel in order to avoid suspicion, which was not easy with his very typical Naga accent. So he didn’t call me from his home that often. He was only away for a couple of weeks and I was busy studying for my exams.

I had worn a navy blue skirt(from my guiding days) and a light blue top that day. I didn’t go inside the temple. I sat outside and watched the monkeys making a fool of themselves. We came back in time for lunch.

As I entered the hostel foyer, I noticed everyone was looking at me. It was really strange. Then I noticed my room mate was whispering something to the group I was with and I knew there was something wrong. Then I noticed one of the temple trip group member opening the letter she was given by my room mate and I went to her and practically snatched the letter from her hand. I remember the whole world coming to a standstill. I didn’t read the whole letter. I couldn’t.

The first few lines that I read said that I was a famous call girl in Bangalore and that I charge by the hour and  have a large clientele.

I don’t remember how I got back to my room. I remember one of the lecturers coming and giving me a Valium injection. My anatomy uniexam was next morning. I wrote that exam without studying. I couldn’t open my eyes let alone study. That was what George wanted. I think it was a pay back for escaping when he came to visit me. He somehow expected that by sending an anonymous letter to every single student, lecturer, even the cleaning ladies that I will not write my exam and will fail and perhaps quit medicine.

4 days after the letter was received, my mother and George came to visit me at the hostel. Of course his highness wanted to see it for himself how his little plan affected me. I showed the letter to my mother and told her to tell George that I know it is he who sent it. My mother took George’s side.. enthoru nalla manussyan aa..ninakku vatta kind of dialogue she said. I didn’t go out of the hostel to see George. That was the second last time I ever saw him.

I passed.

George did send another batch of letters a week after college reopened. Amma would have let him know that I passed..By then I had learned to play his game. I paid the postman extra money and told him to let me know if there was another bulk mail sent out to the college, I should be told. (this was also reinforced by the classmate who was not staying in the campus) So when the next lot of letters came, my classmate and the postman collected every single one of the letters and burned it.

I had a mother, a father, an older sister and two younger sisters at that time and I had no one to lean on. I survived because I felt if I gave up, then George  would have won.

I was always alone..and that was the hardest truth to accept.

8 thoughts on “Letters

  1. Dear Sarah.. I was in boarding/hostels throughout my education period..I cant imagine how you survived this letter episode…I remember that you had written about this earlier too..Is George still alive? Did he pay for his Karma anytime? I hope so..I really hope so..

    Hugs to you for all that you survived..and to what you have become!

    • Sop: The last I know was when my mother went to his office to invite him for my wedding. I had strictly forbidden her from doing that..but her loyalty was never towards her children.

  2. LOL..Poor George will be reading all this and realise he was being a fool spending time composing so many letters

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