Nightingales of Hostel 5

The light of the day faded away as the Sun sank down and disappeared; the stars started to ornament the darkness of the sky; the wind became cooler and caressed our faces; Nuraz was singing his favorite songs with a quiet yet clear voice and also humming in between to cover up the forgotten lyrics. We were calmed down by all of these and forgot our fears for that moment. This was during June 1997, the first month of our hostel life. Ragging was at peak and we were sitting in a corner of the roof of our three-storied hostel building (H-5) to escape from the seniors for as long as we could.

Soon, Baldev & Jahnu also joined us. They sat beside Utpal quietly, not disturbing the harmony. We all were just acquaintances (or may be a little more) and were not so frank with each other until then.

Little later, Batuk also came and greeted us all. Had it been a Hindi movie script, I would have described his entry in a more dramatic way; with little more suspense; because, he is the hero of today's story. Batuk was (is) one of the most outgoing, informative, funny and lavish person in our group. In the last 15 days, since the time we first met him, he shared many of his life experiences and stories with us that reflected his enormous courage and wisdom. I must admit, he made me realize, how naive we were in front of him. Overall, Batuk was a very interesting person to be with and was truly a Gem in every-way, except that he had a "thing" for music. I said "thing" because there's no other word in the dictionary to define "Love" which is so pure & divine that it is greater than "Love" itself. Batuk knew every word of every song that each of us had ever heard of. And it was not only the lyrics, he knew every other details including the little stories behind them. His love for music had also made him criticize some of the most popular songs. As somebody rightly said - "Being critical of art is a way of showing art respect". The other day, Batuk was explaining how he thinks that if "Hotel California" had been sung half note below, the song could have achieved bigger success. However, when I asked, how he feels about Nuraz's singing skills, he simply smiled at me with a pity look and didn't say anything. I was humbled again.

Everything was going good until one day…
When he was made to sing to all of us, as part of the ragging.

I still remember those decade long 5 minutes. 

Flashback:
Senior asked Batuk to sing something.

Batuk said, 'Would you know my name'
then he suddenly shouted: 'If I saw you in heaven?'

I was not able to understand what he meant by that.

What? What are you saying moron? Start singing!! Senior commanded.

Batuk told again, 'Would it be the same'
and shouted: 'If I saw you in heaven?'

He closed his eyes and said few more sentences -
I must be strong and carry on
'Cause I know I don't belong here in heaven
would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven?

He was trying to modulate his voice while speaking. He was out of breath at times. While shouting he used his nostrils to get the high pitch. It sounded as if someone is trying to tune the radio in a low frequency zone. The noise was quite disturbing.

SHUT THE FUCK UP! I can't take it anymore! Senior shouted and slapped him for all the torture.

Batuk later revealed that it was a song called "Tears in Heaven", he was singing. I never knew, there could a song, so punishing.

He also told us that the seniors do not understand good music.

Back to the hostel roof

Anyways, that was Batuk for you. He sat beside our talented singer Nuraz, who was also known for his short temper. Nuraz had a vein on his forehead which worked as a measuring device for his temper. The angrier he gets, the vein pops out more and becomes more distinct.

When Batuk settled down, Nuraz started his next song. The wind became more soothing by now and the sky was more magical. There was no way that a true lover of music could hold himself back from unleashing his emotions through a song, sung from his heart. Lost in the moment, Batuk also closed his eyes and started to sing along. Suddenly, we realized, the magic of the moment was not in the wind, or in the stars or even in the sky; it was in Nuraz’s voice and only in his unblended voice. Gradually, the magic got diluted and lyrics took over the tune. As if, we again entered into a low frequency zone and the radio was still on. Baldev got up and said he had something important to finish. After some time, Utpal & Jahnu also took leave as they had been assigned with some tasks by the seniors. Better late than never, I also remembered something which I had to do. Batuk was still in the meditative state and singing one after another. Nuraz had long given up and went silent. When I stood up and was about to leave, I saw Nuraz’s sparkling eyes in the darkness. It can’t be tears, I told myself to feel less guilty.  I knew, Nuraz will need to accompany him alone.

In the dining hall:
After an hour, we again met Nuraz in the dining hall. He was silent & red. I looked at the vein to confirm. Yes, it was popped up like never before. Utpal asked Nuraz if everything was fine, while grabbing another bite of dinner. Nuraz controlled his voice, yet strongly said: I got a severe headache, I’ll punch him in the face someday. On that, Utpal was about to chock and had to drink plenty of water. Nuraz remained serious till his headache was gone.