My alarmed father took the first train to Delhi and set about the business of normalizing my life. First things first – food. He tied up with a South Indian catering service in Lodhi Colony, and I began to receive a tiffin carrier full of familiar, comforting food. For recreation, I had a newspaper delivered every day. He took me around and introduced me to Professors and Delhi residents who were friends of friends. One of them, the eminent Prof Ramalingaswami, was later to become Director.
A senior, K. Krishnaji, who later joined the Army, took me under his wing. Another batchmate from Hyderabad, more conversant with Delhi ways and with other batchmates, became my bridge to the rest of the class. But the crowning moment came when I excelled in my first Quarter exams. This gave me confidence and the others a new-found respect. For me, it was a step towards validating my father’s prestige and his faith in me.
It began to get better. I got used to accents, learnt to deal with the weather and started enjoying my outings with Krishnaji and his friends. Our favorite weekend jaunt was to Connaught Place. We had a deal going with the usher at Rivoli Cinema. Once the show started, we’d slip him a small amount and he’d seat us in the last row of the stalls. We’d then have a cold coffee and head down to Queen’s Way (now Janpath), amble around and catch the Route No. 17 DTU (now DTC) bus back. I was flush with funds; of the 100 rupees I got from home, about 55 went for boarding charges and sundries, and the rest was to spend!
Going home for the summer holidays was a bit of a pain; the ticket window at the railway station opened only at night, and you had to camp there with bed and bedding to grab the coveted ticket. As I settled down and got into studying, I preferred to stay back… the early signs of my haunting the hospital 24X7 were beginning to show!

As told to Priya Sarkar