My Friend Soumo The plane started to descend on the Bangaluru airport.

I'm in this city after a long gap of 15 years. Fifteen years ago I was here for joining my first job in the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. That time it was autumn season. The M.G Road was looking great in the late afternoon. The job I could not join as I got a better choice by that time. That time I stayed in a cheap hotel near the railway station. The bus stand near the station was very neat and clean. For medical check up we had to go to the HAL hospital , 10 km away from the station. Who's that tall guy ? Looks like Soumo ! 'Hi , is it Bishe ?', The tall guy in business suite came running towards me and asked for my identity. 'Ofcourse, this is Bishe, YOU Soumo what a surprise guy ! Do you live in here ?' Welcome to Bangalore , my hometown ? and we hugged like real long lost friends. Will you please ask your friend to come to our home or will be all night talking here in this airport, the decent lady asked from behind. Soumo introduced me to his wife Sila, they are coming from Delhi in the same flight. Soumo & Sila works for a big FMCG giant in Bangalore. Soumo is the regional manager whereas Sila is the training executive . For the last 15 years they are in this city. I had to go to their house at M.G Road first. Soumo promised to drop me at my hotel on Monday morning an hour before the seminar. At night Soumo and I was catching up on our 15 years gap. ...At college Soumo was a lonely student. It took me 3 years to know the reason behind it. We were in third year student then. That was summer of 92 and our mid semester examination date was just declared . I was at the 2nd floor balcony watching the badminton games being played at the court just below. Soumo was walking past our room. That time three students used to stay in a room. My room mate Shyamlal and Manish were not at room. Since the date is already declared , after dinner we all started our preparation for the examination. The advantage of being in a hostel is that preparation for examination was always interesting & intense. It was need less to say that all tough studies & preparations used to happen in the dead of nights. We used to prepare till very late night. On Saturdays sometimes we used to stay awake whole night preparing for the examination. Tonight Shyamlal declares that we cannot continue without smoking a 'Murshidabadi' bidi. Smoking was then a macho thing. But it costs too much so cheap bidi was the solution. Debu had a stock of good quality bidi all brought from Murshidabad. But Debu and all his room mates are fast asleep tonight and they locked their room. Had Debu been awake , he would have happily shared a bidi each for us for our intense studying tonight but waking him up and surely he would turn us down forever because he loves sleeping.

Manish said he can do it in a different way. 'How ?', Shyamlal demanded to know. Manish showed us the open window. Debu's room was just above this room. Through the border less open window ,Manish put himself out and then holding the rain water pipe he pulled himself up on the lintel of our window. Then like an insect he perched on the open window of their room. He grabbed Debu's tin of bidi which was sitting on the table. Grabbed a few bidis and then reentered our room. We were watching him spellbound. A slip and he would have landed on 24 feet ground below with broken limbs. Manish says, ' Janu this is nothing , I can climb 50 feet coconut tree in ten minutes but I feel bad for stealing. Tomorrow morning first thing I've to confess to Debu '. After smoking a bidi each we continued our study. Next day morning Manish broke up the stealing to Debu. Initially Debu got angry but seeing Manish's naughty face he could not contain his laugh. Manish promised that he would never again steal bidi from Debu. But Debu made Manish to promise that he would never recourse to climbing wall for bidi, his life was costlier than bidi. 'But my conscience is costlier than my life' , Manish pronounces. Next day in the evening Shyamlal discovers that his calculator was missing. We searched the adjacent rooms as Shyamlal has a habit reading in groups in every floor. Wherever he finds a group is studying he would join them but nowhere his calculator was found. He also told us that two days back he last used his calculator. Hostel life was far more precious than a mere calculator. Soon Shyamlal bought a latest fx-81 casio calculator much less power hungry than his earlier fx-39 calculator. The semester examination was over and we all got good marks. A month later there was a foot ball match at the oval ground with the students from the adjacent poly technique college. There is a history of this football match. Their hostels and part of our hostels are situated very closely, Every year we used to have fights with the Poly technique students. Most of the time the issues were trivial. They made noise whole night during our examination or vice-versa. So next day we find a poly technique student at the college more and gave him a couple of slaps. He returns with a team at the Jalpaiguri town, finds an engineering student and returns the slaps. Sometimes it used to be hand fights on the college more . This went on for years. The administration came to know about it. Both the principals sat together for bury and hatchet and a friendly football match was arranged. Since then every year with fight or without fight we used to have a friendly foot ball match just after summer vacation. Most of us were at the ground. The match ended with we as usual lost to them. They really play it very good. In the dining hall Bhimsen declared that his calculator was missing. We all were at the field ,there must be someone from outside. But the guard says that he did not see any unknown face entered the hostel that day. I just made a mental note of students whose faces were not seen on the ground that

day.

A week later Sital from civil engineering lost his calculator. That day all civil students were busy at the industry visit. A few month later I lost my calculator so was Mrinal lost his. Why it's all from 3rd year students ? and why none from other batch is facing the same problem ? Mrinal says , 'simple it's one among us'. I was making a mental note of all the incidents and every time I was disturbingly finding one man staying close to the incident or passing by the site. Our 3rd year second semester was over. The mathematics paper was very tough this time. Only 5 students could secure the qualifying marks , I was one among them. The principal arranged for a math reexamination. After re-exam the result was out and we all got good marks except the Math paper which was just passed. The fourth year or the final year in any engineering college is the pinnacle of campus life. You get a single room , a separate hostel and above all you get a different status all of sudden in the entire campus. There is not much parental overseeing from the matron and you suddenly feel like an air of pride & self confidence all around. The mess boys or the canteen boys who used to consider you a mere sophomore student so far suddenly giving you extra respect. In a few more months and you will be out and earning a good money & status in the society. But 4th year is the year when you have to be extremely careful about your grade, project works and grand viva. For some this is a year for tough studying but for many like Krishanu , Somesh this is the year for more mouj and masti. The so many stealing of calculators forced us to keep our rooms under lock and key as there was no lockable almirah in the room. A month is barely passed and Somesh lost his calculator. Mrinal asked , 'Somesh are you sure you lost it yesterday ? I have not seen you ever used calculator even in the exams too. You always sit behind Ramesh and use your ingenious cheating tricks to copy from...' ' And last night when you returned from your friend's house at town you were smelling alcohol' , Mrinal revealed further. 'F... you Murai, I used it yesterday morning, Soumo was there and I asked for the book of 'Bivan' from him, I left it on the table and after coming from town it's not there', Somesh tried to be reasonable. I shocked at the mention of Soumo's name. Later that evening after dinner I called upon Mrinal and together with him we went out walking up to

the workshop area. I told Mrinal all about my suspicion. Then lets check up his locker, Mrinal was very serious now. But how can you do so without a valid reason ?, I asked. 'Hmm , We have to steal his key and then search his locker' , Mrinal suggested like Sharlok Holmes. Suddenly I recalled Manishs climbing capacity. Together we confided Manish and Manish told us then when Soumen would be out for dinner he would climb down into his room from the roof which was easier as the windows are big and the roofs are low height. He would keep a rope for safety. He would just make a peek into his locker and would come back in no time. We were tensed through out the evening. At 9 PM Soumen proceeded for dinner while Manish & Mrinal were patiently waiting at the roof for my signal. Manish descended from the roof on to the landings of window of Soumen's room. We were patiently waiting. After few minutes Manish came back and climbed the parapet wall of the roof. His shirt damaged from the muck at the corner of the window . From his hip pocket he produced two calculators one was Mine and another was Shyamlal's fx-39. We were speechless at our discovery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Later that night we confronted him and he pleaded the guilty. All the calculators were discovered from his locker . Sandeep with his heavy masculine body controlled the mob so that nobody could abuse him physically. We unanimously ordered him to leave hostel. He pleaded us not to inform this to his home or the matron else he would be rusticated. Next day he left hostel with all his baggage and started staying in a mess at the town. The student council made no fuss of it. But one question hunted me for the next three months Why die he keep all those goods in his locker ? , why didn't he clear them ? Three months later the 4th year first semester took place. We all made it OK but Soumen silently got back in two papers in electrical engineering. It seem people have forgotten his existence. Clearing two back papers in final year along with all other activities was really very tough and that too staying in town was next to impossible. That day I was returning from town when I meet him near the Deepti cinema hall. I wonder how he comes from so far away. He requested me to come to his mess once. Together we entered the small tin roof shack where he was staying for last three months. The place is covered with liters and books. The tube light is not working. The voltage is very low to light up the small bulb. He comes back with a cup of tea for me. I was sipping from the cup when ..

 I know you think I'm a thief and I deserve this but just for God's sake believe me for a moment that I'm suffering from a disease called kleptomaniac, I steal for adventure & amusement ,not for a living, here are books and cuttings all about it , at times I tried to cut my hands to get rid of this pang but I could not , He was crying & breathing hard after saying this much. I silently picked up a magazine and tried to browse thru' some pages. It says kleptomaniac is a disease and it all fell in places now. It also answers my questions why he was keeping all the stolen goods with him - just for feeling fun and adventure. I silently picked up my bag and left his mess. Next day in the student council I asked for help for Soumen. I told them all about the 'kleptomaniac' disease he was suffering from. I also told them that studying from mess was not possible for him to clear all the back papers. 'But if he steals again, who knows ?' , Sandeep was right on the bone of contention. We have to find out a solution for that, Mrinal has something in mind. He has to keep his room open for everyone, Mrinal proposes. The council agreed to it. Accordingly next day in the class I told him the precondition for coming back to the hostel. So against everybody's will Soumen was brought back to the hostel. Despite every efforts from few of us , everybody tried to look him down. During lunch or dinner he would come last. For the remaining five months of our precious hostel life there was no more untoward incident. However, he never locked his room again. During the whole winter vacation he stayed back at the hostel preparing his back papers. Some times in the evening he would come to my room for discussing some project works. I was from mechanical engineering and he was from electrical engineering. I was in no way could help him academically but he would come only for talking with me. Nobody seem like talking to him. The final semester was over but we kept our celebration on hold till the grand viva next day. That was the last examination. In grand viva any professor can ask anything to test our knowledge. The performance always happen to be shameful and of utter frustration. Like eagles all the professors would be watching to find out your weaknesses and then pull you down and thrash your pride of four years of learning engineering. We all had our shares of frustration in the grand viva. Surprisingly Soumen had a better day today. The evening was waiting for grand celebration. Many of us had our first taste of drink that night. In next one week we left the campus one by one for the last time. Soumen stayed little more to clear his project works. The day before I was due for leaving the campus , Soumen came to my room. 'So you are leaving tomorrow ?' 'Yes , you ?' , I asked. 'I have to stay till month end to complete my project works' , He said non nonchalantly.

'That day I did not tell you something which I want to tell you now, will you please listen ?' 'Go ahead , I'm listening ' , I said while packing my baggage.

'That day I decided to end my life , I was roaming aimlessly in the town when I saw you coming that way. Immediately I thought that since you had caught me stealing then you must know that you had indirectly ruined my whole life to end it finally. Instead I asked you for help and like a real friend you had made my life that night. I am great full for your friendship. You all have cured my nasty kleptomaniac disease. I'm a free man now , I don't need to steal anymore for fun and adventure..'. I came near him. His eyes were moist and sullen. We hugged. Next day Somen came to see off me at the Jalpaiguri road station. That was last when I saw him 15 years back. Today here in Bangaluru it seems we all are going high in our professional life. Next day after my seminar Somen came to my hotel and picked up and took me to a grand show room of his chain. He is a very big man in this chain. He showed me the entire show room. Next he took me to another star hotel of Bengalure where his wife was waiting us for dinner. We dinned here till midnight. As the two buddies were little high on whiskey his wife drove us back to my hotel. Before seeing me off at my hotel Somen gave me a small packet. 'Buddy , what's this nonsense ?' , I was little high on whiskey. 'Don't open it till you are inside your room' , Soumen pleaded. 'Then I won't open it at all ', Whiskey was high in me now. Soumen open the pack and from inside he pulled out a pair of very costly designer wristwatches. Mrs. Soumen now came forward and said, 'It's actually not from your friend but from me , your friend has already had a jewel friend in you since 15 years ago. No jewel can measure that friendship. It's from me who want to extend friendship to your wafe now . Please accept it for you and your wife just as a remainder of our love and your friendship for us. 'Happy friendship, Buddy' , I feel my eyes are moist now. S. Bera Powai