WHEN A STRANGER CALLS......

PROLOGUE
october 31st:
This is something people don't generally expect from pretty damsels in college,as these are the wonder years,
girls titivate in a bid to become the next beauty pageant winner..(atleast this is what one draws from
the movies.)
Girls turned up at 12 in the common room not to sashay and sway,dressed in attire of Dracula, Noorie ,Satan and some Pillow ghost monsters..
but to dance deviously and to mumbo jumbo to
the tunes of "du hast mish".."aaja gufaaon mein aa"
HALLOWEEN they call it in the west,just gave another of those countless reasons to act whacky
see it to believe it!




sweet november 1:
" you play cricket?"asked R
my reply"oh yeah"
"then come ,we should form a team"said R.
my reply" excuse me! i thought you just asked if I booked the tickets?"
I've not followed cricket since 2003 world cup..ever since the entire batting line up was gobbled up by the aussies in my jinxed presence.
But never mind..Inspired.."this googlied maiden decided to slip in the cricket gully and give a full toss to the game knowing fully well that she is as
blind as a bat"
well,apparently my cricket knowledge is limited to the hero worshipping by my friends.

outcome:
Guys in the audience shout,nag aloud!
the all girls team "Just Chamka" wins the league match heroinically with a misfielding from miss fielding(yours truly).

November 2(the real halloween strikes 2 days later):
As a part of our sunday fitness regime,my friend Lax asked if we could just take a walk!I ditched my plan of jogging,and joined her on our way to the sports complex.
We spot the same profs with milk cans in their hand coming down the way,discussing their usual topics"socio-political scenario of India"
The sports complex has its shutter closed as its "getting prepared for the sports event in the evening"(trust me it isn't a venue for any celebrity wedding!)
Sighing!on our way back the OC road,(also referred to as the lovers' lane).
The the picturesque landscape is breathtaking..the jungle and river on one side and the college campus on the other.
But this day was not the same..
A few paces away from the OC,near the crest,just where the serene road starts we look back as we have an eerie sense of being followed.
Lax and I look back to see a man who seem to have appeared behind us from nowhere..
The two of us gave each other strange looks,as we were disconcerted by what we saw..
we could read each others' mind which was like asking each other"Are you seeing the same thing that I am?"
We realised what we saw,enough to make a chill run down our spine.
The man was 10 feet away and a thin built,a localite tresspasser,height 5'5",wearing a blue green jacket,and pants,fiddling with his genitals.
The next moment we heard someone blabber something vaguely from behind.
The sheer presence of mind on the part of Lax,as she raised her I-POD,to catch a reflection of what was behind.
And She screamed"Shrill,he's closing in on us"
My reflex,I start running,frantically,as I think Lax too will do the same.
It's then that Lax shouts and yells"shrill stop,don't run"!
I see Lax with her arms akimbo,facing him,growling at him.
I did exactly the same.Growled like an animal at the highest possible decibels.
The stalker runs back into the wild,hopping and running,like a steeplechase sprinter.
For a minute i was only convulsing.It was then that Lax told me that he had reached barely 2-3 feet behind us with his pants down!
I could only marvel at my friend's presence of mind as she worked the self defence tactics in a jiffy.
"since the guy was not too tall and muscular,he could not have done much harm to both of us,and sprinting would not have been a good solution as the
road was long and desolate,the only way to defend would in this case be to overpower with confidence.
our immediate reaction was to report it to the chief guard as it could be averted had a guard been in sight.
the chief guard's response was "What is meant to happen will happen,it s not within our wishes,We'll station a guard there,from 6 to 7,though he's always there at that spot noon onwards"

As we narrated this account in the hostel,some of the girls shied away thinking it was a "dirty talk",while I was just indebted to Lax and was in awe of her courage.

EPILOGUE
Folks will still romanticize the OC way,I will take time to appreciate the beauty of the place.
Had we gone to our Hstl. supdt. her obvious reaction would be"Girls should not go jogging,so no more jogging on that way"
MY REQUEST TO MY READERS:
"It can happen to anyone,anytime,anywhere,SO please do raise a voice,become aware,take self defence lessons"