Not So Common Boy

Maybe the silence needs some firm reason sometimes, to break the fence of loneliness, the quiet stillness, and the thirst of never-ending demand of something unknown. This need has reached today at its utmost level and thereby comes this write-up.

A story of “not so common boy”. I don’t want to directly jump to the main part of the series of unforgettable events in this roller coaster, remarkable journey and therefore, let’s start this way…

Assume, you are alone on a planet with the only creature of your species and others are just the crowd of stupid, busy, and unhealthy people. People who look similar but way different from your biological, mental, and to some extent physical appearance. You have to live with them daily, happily and sometimes even if you feel annoyed, you are helpless to do anything good for you. What will you do? You can’t shout, can’t totally spill your heart out to someone of your kind cause you are the only living species. You are free but bound with the limitations of others, not yours. Disheartened still happy, annoyed still quiet, scared still brave, and talking still silent… this would be the condition of that poor creature. Isn’t it?

I was one of those stupid, busy, and unhealthy category sapiens living happily without ever thinking and realizing someone similar living with me is just built differently. This journey begins July 3, 2014. A small boy attending his classes as usual in school times suddenly gets an opportunity to participate in inter-district series of events and did well in his genre. He was not alone. He was part of 15 students’ school contingent who went to compete and got a podium finish in almost all the events. There only, in the contingent team was a two-year senior boy with thick lenses and huge brain size, countable hair, and strong voice almost winning all the quizzes one can think of in the country, with glory attached to his name.

I guess many of you are confused with the protagonist of this story. He’s not the small boy but that senior of him with innumerable quiz awards. A boy who was initially new to the system of similar-looking creatures but was himself very different in his biological and mental makeup. Initially, the junior hesitated to talk to him, but nearly seven years of the same contingent definitely forces you to break up the bars of silence and being introverted. The name is Souhardaya Dutta. My hands started trembling, eyes a little wet while typing this name..so henceforth, I’ll call him DB (Dutta Bhaiya as I called him with this name recently till 19th January). He was cool, out-spoken, and crystal clear in his thoughts and action. From introvert junior to badmaash friend, when did this transition happen, even I don’t know.  Winning over college fests, getting all answers correct in quizzes, and being true to everyone is what he is known for. But I will tell you that part of the journey where not many but few limited people exactly know the difference in his living and his life. 

Now, come to the chilling summer of Kota city, 2019, I was enrolled in a coaching institute and got a call from DB regarding coming to Kota for JEE preparation provided he was dropper. He also enrolled himself in the same coaching where I was and every evening we debated on the better teaching methodologies of our faculties. Okay, before that… He was searching for some hostel or PG to reside in, and so I made him come to my PG to continue the lost contingent after school days. I still remember the first night of his stay, the terrace was leaking cause the ex-student of that room damaged the ceiling very badly before leaving the PG, and it was fun, to be honest. Anyways the night passed and the next day I took him on an evening walk to make him familiar with the shops, nukkads, and streets of Kota and even used him to get unspoken and unknown treats and mind that plural word “treats”. How and when will talk someday later. But that was the only day I got an unrealized party from him. Henceforth, he understood my manipulation techniques and the tricks didn’t work. Anyways, he now knew every local area and every evening it was the must-to-do thing to have a cup of tea no matter what happens for him. Evening tea and outside food was his addiction. Not because of bad mess foods, but just a bad habit he had. Now, why did I call DB built differently is because of his mental and physical well-being. He had extremely powerful lenses all day with him except for 5 in the morning plus his mental health was not so good. His optical and mental health mostly relied on medications and a big plastic box with all his medicines always remained with him. Outdoor foods along with thousands of other medications definitely won’t make his health and immunity better and certainly, that happened. He was an extraordinary boy. A boy who never shared his pain of being unfit to anyone, sometimes not to his parents. Only since my room and his room were attached by a window and I lived with him, did I know the seriousness and support he really needed. He was an uncommon boy cause living with monthly headaches, immense body pain, and fortnightly fever, however, still being perfect to the outside world and managing all his work himself was the abnormal thing to do. His face with so little hair, the big spects he wore and the kind of life cycle he had was really tough. Today, every little thing from small fights to making fun of me, from stealing my clothes at Kota to avenging the same, from eating outside together to repenting for why I ate sometimes with him outside, from getting doubts in integration to solving his doubts in thermodynamics and equilibrium, and from asking POC for my college fest to relive the same role recently last week… they all comes like a thunder hitting so quickly that I can’t find a space to hide and handle myself. 

I know, today this uncommon boy is not there to read all these, nor will I get someone to make fun of everything I do. This journey was not very well described because there are some very important characters in this story to be mentioned and incidents as well but maybe someday I’ll share their role and my experiences also. 

The only reason behind writing this is… You really do not know when gonna happen what and how. You never know, when those small habits of eating outside foods, relying much on medications, and small frequent fevers and headaches can turn into something disastrous and take you to the fate which no one can even think of in dreams. You never know, how much your close friends, your family, and your parents love you and what value you hold for them. You never know, the person who appears normal might be undergoing immense torture from within and sometimes the problem is such that you can’t really relate to, and hence, they prefer not sharing it with anyone. 

I still remember, whenever Dutta Bhaiya used to get fever and headaches, I always scolded him for eating so much of outdoor foods, and at times my elder brother used to tell him, “aap ka din jyada nahi hai lagta hai”... and maybe you never know, when those words can turn up into reality. I’m sad not because my DB is no more, but because his journey did not reach its conclusion. It is incomplete and I did not expect this journey to end this way. I am also helpless cause I really want to talk to you Dutta bhaiya, want to share my end trimester experience as we discussed we’ll do after 4th Feb, but I can’t even after willing very badly. I know you won’t come, you won’t talk and no matter how much you say, a person’s death is just his body end and not his soul… it’s difficult, really difficult to accept this too early. I may be going out of context by now..so will end up here.

If there is the existence of souls, stars or any such thing, I’d like to convey this to you Dutta bhaiya: sorry for not being a good junior, a nice friend, and may be unknowingly sometimes not understanding you. And thank you, to add something good to me, and to teach me so much.

This is all about this uncommon boy, Dutta Bhaiya. Story ends uncompleted... February 2nd, 2022.