One night atop the water tank

Again, one of those posts where names must not be taken, since the people involved may get into trouble :P. That means,I'll have to resort to nicknames.

It was my final semester at BITS. The countdown to leaving what had been (and in my head still is) the best place I'd lived at had begun. Even, the most loquacious BITSian would fall short of words to describe the breeze that made everyone stop on a hot mid spring day. The sparkle of the waters of river Zuari from every balcony high enough, the dew on central lawns early in the morning, the scamper of students through the majestic dome rushing late to labs and always walking away from lectures, and the blaze of lights in the hostels all night long. The eccentric sounds from the tennis courts where every substance known to man was tried, slowly melted away into the silence of the night.

One such night, at 11 the generators which power the campus failed. Usually, the main building was backed up. However, that night the back ups too were unusually dysfunctional.

In the blink of an eye, the 188 acre campus was pitch dark. We were flanked by a river on two sides, a highway on another and a wasteland with a deserted lake on the fourth. It must have been dark for miles that night.

I opened the door of my room on the top floor and walked out on the corridor. Flashlights, whistles, and abuse ranged from end to end of the hostel. Power cuts bought out the best banter in hostels. Words flowered in every possible language, Hindi, Telgu, Tamil and the like. A few cigarettes were lit in rebellion. The multilingual cacophony ultimately ended in a roar of laughter.

Preparations for kamu's tea party(party which had nothing to do with tea, but was rather more centered on jadi booti) were underway.

That was when Tigu called me. Zippy and Bee were with him outside the library. The four of us had been regularly hanging out recently. Today was to be no different. Or so I thought.

I walked out of the hostel to the lawns in front of the library. Sights of frisbees being thrown around, soccer being played and people just strolling around were common during power cuts.

I reached the library lawns to see these three having a heated discussion about whether the ants which were moving about haphazardly were drunk or not :|, which Zippy eventually won and then the discussion turned to how the ants got drunk.

Either way, that kinda stuff happened regularly, so I let it pass. Amidst all the whimsical talk, we hardly noticed the clock ticking by and before we knew it, it was 12 25. The girls had a curfew of 12 30 and had to head back to hostel. The lights were still out and fireflies were hustling in numbers.

As we watched the other girls heading back, Bee excitedly said to Zippy. "Stay out tonight. We'll never get an opportunity like this." At first Tigu and myself thought they were kidding, but within seconds, the tone grew increasingly serious and their voices even more hushed.

Almost in unison, we face-palmed. We knew what was in store for us. Zippy and Bee were not the kind who listened, and if they wanted to stay out, they would stay out.

Just a few days ago, Tigu and I had been part of a search party hunting down another of our female friend who'd decided to camp out at night. We'd returned unsuccessfully at 3 30 in the morning, with every worrying possibility in our heads which settled only after she texted at 6 in the morning.

But Zippy and Bee were two headstrong girls and wouldn't take no for an answer. It was futile trying to convince them otherwise. They'd listed out every possible safe-hold where they could camp out for the night, where campus security would not frequent. That left two options. One of them was the power station on the river bank. But with the blackout, that's where all the repair folk would show up.

"Tanki" said Bee.

The Tanki or the water tank was a humongous structure on probably the most undeveloped part of campus. It was a tower which rose 50 ft in the air with a capacity of about 100,000 litres.

We started walking. It was 12 30. As we passed the girls hostel, it was 12 35. The matron was still shutting the door waving her flashlight around to sight any more girls walking in and to keep out any boisterous guy trying his luck out on night as dark as that.

As we passed it, I told Zippy, "You can still make it back, if you go now". Those two dint even flinch, and walked straight on. The gates were shut. There was no turning back now.

A little into 12 40, campus security started their first patrol . We were still quite a distance away from the tank. Zippy and Bee walked in front, with me about 10 metres behind and Tigu making the rear about 10m behind me.

A security guard passed me on his bike. Holding out his flashlight. I smiled at him, although if he had turned his head, he would have see those two. I made casual talk with him about the power cut and the darkness, trying to buy those two some time to get ahead. The turn leading to the tank was in sight.

But going by foot is no match for a bike, and within seconds, his flashlight was on them from behind. "Whatever you do, dont turn around", I prayed in my head.

The flashlight turned off and the bike moved away in front and out of sight. Zippy had the hood of her sweatshirt on her head and Bee had her tied hair tucked away inside her collar. That was probably what saved their asses.

It had been raining unusually in October. The walk to the tank was through some marshy land. With only flip flops on, we risked getting bitten by the slushy creatures that ventured out of hiding to embrace the blackness around.

At 12 45, we made it to the base of the tank. Now the climb began. We were wondering if people were already on top, since it was common of people to smoke up on top of the water tank. That night was perfect.

But we found the tank empty. The four of us were the only ones there. By 1 we'd put our phones on silent and found a good back resting place for the night. We listed down every friend who'd possibly come looking for Zippy/Bee and were assured that there were none who'd bother to give a second thought. It would be assumed that they were in someone else's room.

Zippy told us that we could go back and they would manage the night. Tigu had an exam the next day and he hadnt studied jack. So he left to study promising that he'd be back with sweaters and blankets at three.

I stayed, because the place was frequented by workers all the time, and leaving them out there during the night wouldn't have been right.

The clock ticked on. 2 15 now. Sleep was taking over. The eyelids were drooping.




And then footsteps. We heard footsteps moving towards the tank. And then the unmistakable clatter of feet climbing up the ladder. Bee woke up startled. I motioned to her to keep silent. Breathing got slower. Was it Tigu who'd come earlier than promised?? Couldn't be. He was supposed to text all three of us before he left. Time seemed to slow down indefinitely. We waited with bated breath to be discovered.

The consequences of getting caught ran through my mind. We would be paraded in front of the chief warden Asuraswamy. He was as tough as it got. A semester cancelled perhaps, in my final semester. I'd have to stay back another 6 months. All the prospects of going abroad would melt. And the least significant of all, a blemished disciplinary record that I wouldn't care about.

As for Zippy and Bee, they'd be punished too. In what form I did not know. The local newsletter would have its contents for next months issue. Guy found atop water tank with two girls at night. Taking it in its meaning word by word would mean I would be innocent. I was allowed to stay out at night anywhere within campus.

But the human mind does not know innocence. Every contorted angle would be imagined. And those very contorted notions would mean curtains for me in front of the disciplinary committee.

Blocking these thoughts out, I waited for what seemed like eons for a head to pop out of the opening. None came. Maybe the sleepy mind was conjuring imaginations with us. Maybe the wind blew a few stones which rattled the ladder. Either way, we were still unknown to everyone except Tigu.

The only lights we saw were the blaring headlights of cars and trucks tearing along the well laid highway. At 2 30, the folks at the power station managed to get things going. It was as though a new planet came to life. A million blinks and a roar from most hostels indicating that we were indeed a nocturnal breed.

Tigu came back at 3 as promised with blankets, sweater and some munchies. We were famished, and the food disappeared in no time. He left within a while, having still done nothing for the last three hours.

At about 4 30, an enormous flashlight was turned on right above us. We looked up to see the headlight of a Boeing 747 of Air France. Bee in her sleep said "Yaar, light band karo "(Dude, turn off the lights). Zippy and me had a hearty laugh for the first time that night.

The airport was close by and the international arrivals were coming in. British Airways, Turkish Airlines and 3 flights of Аэрофлот (Aeroflot) went above us.

It was 6 30 in the morning and the first light greeted the early morning joggers. From the water tank, a panoramic view of the campus all the way to the river was splendid. The skies slowly changed from dark purple to a more distinct blue and slowly with the sun emerging, it turned amber.

The lake glistened in the distance and it was time to just sit back and watch nature paint its picture.

At 7, we climbed down, only to run into a worker, who sort of over stepped his authority by demanding for my ID. However, after a bit of cajoling he was convinced that we were there only for the last 1 hour to click pics of the sunrise.

We went straight to the mess, where a groggy eyed Tigu met us. He'd had a night out alright. After packing aloo parathas and a hot beverage, I went straight back. A crowbar wouldn't have kept my eyelids open that night.

As I unlocked my room, my neighbour on his way to morning classes asked me "Where were you all night?" . I gave him a blank stare, trying to think of what to say. Couldn't think of the words. I just smiled an went in. He hurried along, without any more inquisitions. I hit the sack and allowed sleep to carry me away.

Thus passed one night atop the water tank.