Salim's POV

Yesterday we slept quite late after our long conversations. I learnt John likes to smoke a lot. He frequently goes to the terrace for a smoke. He also likes to play Guitar. Harneet has a great sense of humor. Food was just edible. In the morning I slept after my Fajr Salaath and all of us woke up just in time to rush for our classes. When we were in the corridor Harneet passed a funny comment and I had a hearty laugh. I then felt as if someone was staring at me. And I saw some girls in the opposite direction. I immediately lowered my gaze without looking at their faces. All my life I tried to stay pure and I don't want to fall for any temptations at this crucial part of my life. With that thought in my mind I entered the class and found only the last bench vacant in the boy's side. So all of us squeezed ourselves in the last bench. Only when we heard somebody clearing their throat I realized that a Professor had come inside the class.

All of us said a "Good morning" in chorus. Professor started speaking in his formal tone. "Good morning. I am Dr Archit Trivedi. I will be handling 'Political Communication in the present era'. I want all of you to take my subject very seriously. I don't respect people who procrastinate. Late submissions can go to dustbins. So now everybody please introduce yourself, where are you from and your educational background. First let's start from the girl's side. "

One by one the girl's introduced themselves. Most of them were from Delhi, UP and Punjab. In the third row one girl stood up and said, "I am Jaanu Kranti from Andhra Pradesh. And I did my UG in Communication." She spoke in a very hesitant tone and sat down fast as if trying to avoid attention. All the guys in the front benches were staring at her. 

Another tall girl next to her stood up. Since I was sitting in the last bench I could see only her back. She had long black hair. It was well plaited and reached her waist. She stood up and said, "I am Kayal. I am from Chennai,Tamil Nadu and I did my Bachelor's in Journalism." Is it possible to feel something move inside you just by hearing somebody's voice? I felt an instant connection towards her. It sounds utterly stupid to my own mind but this girl did something to me. She was about to sit when the Professor spoke, "You are Kayal what? I mean what is your Surname?" To this she boldly replied, "I am from Tamil Nadu Sir and we don't have surnames."

To this the Professor again asked her, "In that case you must be having your initial which is the short form of your father's name? I have also heard few people in Tamil Nadu add their caste name to their names"

"No Sir. I don't add initial to my name. Neither am I interested in adding the name of my caste to my name."

"Why is it so? Are you not proud about your father? Why don't you want to attach your caste's name to your own name?" I was getting irritated myself with the Professor's questions.

But Kayal boldly replied, "I am proud about my father. But from a very young age I was taught to create an identity for myself instead of leaning upon my parent's identity. I don't prefer to be in the shadow of my parent's identity. With regards to my caste name, I am against caste system. I don't recognize my caste as a part of my identity."

Before she could say something else the Professor interrupted, "What exactly is your identity?"

"I am Kayal. In no particular order I am a feminist, a writer, a budding journalist, a student of Political Communication, a Tamilian and an Indian. These are the things about which I am proud about." She definitely is something.

"Okay. What do you write about?"

"I write about Politics, Feminism, Culture, Society etc Sir."

"Umm. Fine. You didn't even mention your religion as part of your identity? To which religion do you belong to?"

To this she hesitated just for a second and then replied, "That is nobody's business Sir." The Professor took a moment to hide his shocked expression. She immediately asked him, "May I sit down Sir?" He simply nodded and the next girl in the row stood up. I was a little worried for Kayal. Is she a Muslim? Is she trying to cover her identity because she is afraid to reveal her identity in this Hindu dominated place? But the name Kayal doesn't sound like a Muslim name or a Hindu name. It simply means 'beautiful' in Tamil. What if she is an atheist? There are chances for that. In Tamil Nadu atheists have such names.

 I felt a slight disappointment thinking that she is not a Muslim. But, how can I develop feelings like this when I haven't even seen her face? I think I should keep on lowering my gaze for this whole year. Ya Allah. Please guide me in your path.

The next girl spoke in a different accent, "I am Sara from Kerala. I did my UG in English Literature." To this the Professor asked, "Okay, you are like South Indian Trinity. One from Kerala, one from Tamil Nadu and another one from Andhra Pradesh. Is there anybody from Karnataka?" To this nobody replied and the Professor laughed at his own silly joke. Then it was the boys turn to introduce ourselves.

When it was my turn, I had a slight hope that she will turn towards me if she knows that I am from Tamil Nadu. "I am Salim Ali from Tamil Nadu. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Visual Communication". To my dismay, she didn't bother to turn. I was irritated with my own self. At one moment, I want to lower my gaze in front of that girl, next moment I want her to look at me. Whether do I have a brain at all?

After John and Harneet introduced themselves Professor started with the introduction class. It was boring. I was about to sleep. But I stopped myself after seeing Kayal taking notes seriously. John and Harneet didn't bother to take notes. It was very difficult to follow this Professor. His lecture was like a jumble. He started with something, suddenly got diverted into something and then ended with something else. On top of it, he spoke really fast. All of a sudden he asked, "Is it clear, any doubts?" Nobody had the guts to say anything.

He then saw Kayal and said, "Kayal would you please care to explain Agenda Setting Theory?" I immediately thought that he was picking on her. Even though it was not a very difficult theory to explain I thought he took her off guard. But I was mistaken. She explained in detail about its evolution, meaning and its role in new media. She was very fluent with her language as well as thoughts. Actually, I started taking notes from her answer. If at all if she teaches me I am sure to get above 90 in this subject. Everybody who sat in the front row turned their heads towards her. I could see the expression of awe in their faces.

 When she sat down I actually had the urge to clap for her but then stopped myself thinking about its stupidity. The Professor then asked some questions to other students and they gave some lame answers. He then asked us to write an assignment and submit it within a week. Ya Allah. Please save me. I think Allah heard my prayer because just then the bell rang. Professor left the class.

Before the next Professor could come to our class, a boy suddenly stood up from his place and went near Kayal. "Excuse me Kayal, can you please give me your notes? Can I copy them and give it to you tomorrow?" I don't know why I was shooting daggers at that boy. He is some Upadhyay from Delhi.

To this she replied, "I have a better idea. Do you have a camera in your mobile phone?"

That guy nodded. "I have an iphone, latest version and it takes amazing pics."

To this Kayal nodded, "Good. In that case, you can take a photograph of my notes. It will be very convenient for you." That guy was happy and took photograph of her notes. As soon as he sat in the bench other guys asked him to share the notes. Within few minutes, thanks to his communication skills even John had those notes and he forwarded it to me. Her handwriting was Masha Allah very beautiful. She wrote everything in bullet points. It was very easy to understand. My mind was in a dilemma, whether to look at her face or not. When two of our lectures got over and when we had a break I sat in the bench thinking that if at all if I stay back in the class I can avoid looking at her at least today.

Harneet suddenly stood up. "I like that girl Kayal. I want to go and ask her for a date." Harneet is clearly a hot guy. He was a Sikh and wears a turban around his head. His attitude, dressing sense and facial features screamed his hotness. I felt irritated. John said, "All the best" to him. He met Kayal when she was about to leave the class. I could still see her back only. I saw her shaking hands with Harneet and then leaving the class. Harneet returned with a not so happy expression in his face. John asked him, "What happened?"

To this Harneet left out a soft chuckle and replied, "She friend zoned me in a very smart way. It seems she doesn't date. But she told me that we can be friends because she always wanted a Punjabi friend. When I asked her why, she told me that she has a weakness for Punjabi food and believe Punjabis have a good sense of humor. I gave her my hand to shake, saying her belief is true and I can be good company but she simply touched the tip of my fingers with her hand. That is not a handshake at all. It seems she likes to keep her distance". Don't ask me why I was so happy and grinning. She seems to be a good girl.

Just then John spoke, "I actually like the other girl Sara. I like her accent. It is cute. She is beautiful. I will talk to her sometime today." Even though I didn't want to leave, both of them made me leave for the cafeteria. As much as possible I kept my gaze to boys only. All of us ordered for tea. Since it was Sunnah to sit and drink I found a place to sit. John left saying, "I want to talk to Sara."

The South Indian trinity was trying to move away from the cafeteria. I could still see Kayal's back only. In a way I was happy about that. I don't know what will happen to me if I see her face. She was walking and drinking her coffee/tea. I so want to scold her for doing that. It's not good for health. For a moment I really couldn't understand why I was concerned about her health. I must be going crazy. Now John was talking to them. It seems both Kayal and Sara were talking to John. After a while he returned with a smile. "Sara is really beautiful. She has a nice smile. Both Sara and Kayal are talkative girls and I think they might be good company for us." I had to smile at his observation. We left for our classes soon. I avoided having any eye contact with girls especially Kayal. I managed to speak with few boys.