Bheegi Bheegi Raton Mein

Nostalgia has a way of catching you unawares in the midst of something important - the more important the work the more intense the feeling of nostalgia!

One such nostalgic moment hit me just now. I happened to somehow end up on Adnan Sami's Bheegi Bheegi Raton Mein - probably his first superhit song in Hindustan. And all the college days came flooding!

The college canteen was the place where this song used to be blaring on SONY 1600W music system - probably the favourite of the canteen contractor. Though, as I figured out later, it was the only album CD he had at that time. Alright, let me mention here that these were the days when even the CDs used to cost a bomb - I mean in the range of about 150 to 250 bucks a piece.

My classroom invariably used to be located somewhere near one of the windowless walls of the canteen. By windowless, I mean, the windows' panes were not there - either by design or they were disposed off as wasteful expense by the college authorities for the free passage of 'air' or under the pretext of maintaining habitable 'atmosphere' - one of the valid reasons those days. This was not unusual ok! There was a strong iron grill on all four sides of the canteen!! Strong. Very strong indeed. It would bend, but, it never broke. Its abiding principle was - vaaken pan modnar nahi! (which literally means, I shall bend but not break!)

I had the most royal engineering college life possible - neither the authorities nor us ever cared about the business of studying, except, when we failed our exams (which was also not uncommon). I presume that this was another of those important,defining times in my character development which taught me to stand up every time I fell down! This has stood me in good stead in life hence.

Coming back to Bheegi Bheegi Raton Mein, the song was played so many times that in spite of not liking it at first, I ended up having each word of it learnt by heart! Or should I say, by force!?! Adnan Sami - a big, fat guy -with a heavy set voice, (sounding as if a 50 kg voice was hitting my ear drums) blaring on a 1600 W system, while the professor was breaking his head trying to make us understand the thermodynamic heat cycles! That was some picture. (Ironically, the professor used to consult the notes that we used to provide him with from some coaching classes run by a retired, famous professor.)

The song iconized for us all those moments in canteen when we used to watch the lovely, junior gals (and secretly loved them) and the taporigiri we used to indulge in or the lafdas that were solved in its premises - all with this song as a backdrop! The gals, especially, loved the song when we used to sing it - thinking in our minds that good ol' adnan was our chela. The tables in the canteen, from strong mechanical hands banging on it, had given way to strong benches from the classrooms which the canteen contractor had begotten - his reason being "nahito bhi chhokralog class mein kidhar baithata hai? at least idhar to shanti se baithega na!" - gospel words I say.

The song was also blaring when I was first infatuated in my life by a senior gal. Of course, the flight of my dare in this regard was standing near her for 5 minutes during annual function without uttering a single word! Then, kitne aaye kitne gaye! I have not kept count. Jaroorat hi nahi thi as the story or should I say, stories, never changed. So many love stories of the college dudes and dudettes were formed on this one song and also, broken on the same - only to start another one the next time the song was played!

The song was blaring when the first real lafda in my college life took place - some barbie first year uncrowned college queen kissed her the then boyfriend sitting in the ruins of an under-construction college tower in the "broad daylight" and watched by a big crowd. No one knew what transpired in next few moments as there was chaos everywhere as if riots had broken out! The boy happened to be tied rakhi on by that same gal in two hours after this feat was achieved - didn't I say relationships changed dynamically then?

Come to think of it, like the supreme atman of the Hindu scriptures, during my college days, this song was omnipresent. We have all loved, hated, revered, ignored and romanced this song. To take me back to that era, I just listened to it three times back to back and I have just put it in contnuous re-play loop to be played till I get bored of doing what I am doing and go out of this room. Some trance it gives me - and I hope to some others like me.

Anyways, this is me signing off, greeting you happy nostalgic moments!