12h std.

Exit plan
It was the typical winter of north india and on yet another cold night it was just me and the cutting silence of loneliness amongst this chaotic and noisy world. In a preparation for the glorious quest lying ahead of me I mustered my strength for the final time to take a shower with the chilling water. I followed the regular scientific way of normalizing the body temperature to prevent a thermal shock to the body by rubbing the cold water at the time when the temperature is believed to be the least in a 24 hrs cycle. It was 2 AM and with the body and mind ready, I allowed the chilling water to hit me like shock wave of an explosion. Eyes were getting wet with emotional outburst of losing the comfort of a roof on the top of my head. Uncertainty was introducing itself to me. That outburst was probably my final one as there was no space for weakness after a few hours to comr. I stood there under the cold water for half an hour in the same position, eyes gazing upwards into the oblivion, lost into the unknown. Suddenly I remembered about the Maps that I was supposed to carry along. My room, a witness to a tremendous transformation of a curious kid into a grown up with unending and unanswered questions, looked so unfamiliar suddenly. I knew I didnt belong here. On the table was my favourite book and probably the only thing that seemed sane. Study lamp was concentrating all the light on its pages and it was calling me to dive into it again and get the final boost to take the lunge towards greatness. Failure and humiliation seemed a near certainty but it was the least of concerns. There was only one Goal to reach Bangalore from Punjab with not even a single penny in my pocket. The maps to guide me through the trains were ready, sole pair of clothing to cover my body was ready and the time (a witness to everything) was ready to witness yet another dramatic event. Hours went past and it was sunrise and my toughest night with myself was brought to an end by the mighty sun. Mother woke up and it was time for me to turn into the studious science student of 12th standard and to continue the deception to my parents by opening the physics book on top of my true companion. She came out of her room into the lobby with tired body and legs. Her eyes a proof of her yet another sleepless night. She gazed upon my room at the first floor and called my name with a trembling voice Anshu. Tears started dropping and it was an uncertain but consoling voice that tried to hide the tears. Beta, You are still awake, do you want a glass of warm milk ? must have been a long night for you studying the whole night. no mumma, I m ok, I replied. What a relief it was for her to hear her only sons voice. She felt her prayers were answered and her son would continue to reply the same way every morning. She wiped her tears of worry and went into the kitchen to continue her daily household work. I thanked god for bringing joy to her (temporary it seemed though) and prayed to continue that after my

departure in the afternoon. A few more minutes later dad woke up with a worried face about the uncertainty of future and the fear of separating from his young son. And house was abuzz again with News readers reading the Morning news out loud on the TV. With Mom, Dad and elder Sister gone to their school, office and college respc. It was time for me to prepare the final assault on the luxuries that I had enjoyed all my life and end my association with them. Noon was set as the time to begin an epic journey to Bangalore. It was just two more hours to go and suddenly a phone call made me aware that my destiny lied 33 Kms away from my home instead of 2512 Km.

How it all began