I reached the mess, which is just across, to have breakfast only be greeted by Suresh. He reminded me that it was Mahashivaraatrie yesterday and that was the day when I had been voted the hostel affairs secretary. I greeted him trying to recall if it was Mahashivaraatrie on the day of elections that year. I remembered in a moment that the same Suresh had wished me good luck on the morning of the elections mentioning that it was an auspicious day and that it would bring only success. His blessings rendered the fruits and the end of the day saw me garnering most number of votes in a triangular contest. If my contesting elections with another Suresh, MS scholar for another post, was an important event for the cause of active participation of post-graduate students in organising various events at IIT Madras campus then my winning the election was beginning of a new chapter in my life that put me in a different perspective of result orientedness. It turned out to be an exciting roller-coaster ride, an experience which I could not have otherwise.
Suresh, the cook, didn't exactly remember which post I was contesting for. Actually I was elected as the general secretary of the IITM's student body. But I'll miss the point if I ponder over the post I had held. On the election day and on the days before it, Suresh sure had learnt that it was something unusual for the phd scholars he had seen and he had seen plenty in the twenty plus odd years he had spent in cooking in the hostel mess. He has sensed an extra charge in general atmosphere in the hostel and elsewhere. On the night of elections, he had come to me and had congratulated me for the win. And today morning when he reminded me about Mahashivaraatrie and told me that I had forgotten the day, the whole thing flashed before my eyes. Smile on his face was as bright as it could be and smile on my face too was as big as it could be. Amused by his gesture, I wished him a great day. What a start for otherwise-an-ordinary day!