WE WROTE AS NO ONE WROTE TO US

Anjana, Indu, Rachel and Tahira were bosom friends during their college days. They were studying for Masters in a reputed College where admission was restricted to girls. It was fun and frolic for the girls at the college. The teachers liked them very much because they were toppers in their class. A major irritant in Women’s Colleges those days was that all letters that reached the college addressed to the students were censored. The letters without exception were opened and read by teachers. They were then delivered to the addressee through placement in the letter holder in the recreation room. Intervals saw the four friends converge at the recreation room. They would talk, laugh and make fun of each other or any one else they happened to meet. There were elaborate discussions over the films they had been to, the ornaments and dresses each of them wore and of course of the teachers and their idiosyncrasies. Their attention would then be drawn to students in the college. Vanaja was an under graduate student. She was a brilliant all rounder. She had excelled in studies as well as sports. She held a state record in high jump. She played basketball where she had consistently been a top scorer in the tournaments. As the sports calendar was spread over the whole year, Vanaja had to intermittently stay away from the college. It was Anjana who had spotted the letter addressed to Vanaja in the letter holder. The letter was lying there for more than two weeks. Curiosity forced the friends examine the letter. It had already been opened by the teachers. There was no one else in the recreation room. Though they knew it was incorrect to transgress upon the privacy of another individual they had no inhibition in going through the letter. It was from Gopinathan transcribing his admiration of Vanaja. Gopinathan, a civil service aspirant, was a University rank holder in Economics. He was considered a genius in the subject. He had been invited by the college authorities recently for motivating the students to aim for excellence. It was evident that he was deeply in love with Vanaja. Indu felt very bad that there had been no response to a letter that portrayed emotions eloquently. The friends put their heads together and conceived a reply. They drew lots and Tahira was chosen to impersonate Vanaja and pen the reply. The letter was an admission of love and affection Vanaja had for Gopinathan. Blissfully unaware of the designs of the conspirators Vanaja was at that time at Chandigarh participating in the national meet. The reply made Gopinathan happy. He was quick in his response as he had discovered that the girl he had chosen for himself was prepared to share her life with him. When the friends read the reply they became afraid of the consequences that might fall upon them, Gopinathan or Vanaja in case their prank became public. They refrained from carrying on with what they had begun as a joke. The friends took a solemn oath that they would never ever disclose to any one else their role in the Vanaja versus Gopinathan conundrum. Promises are never kept. Solemn oaths are meant to be discarded with impunity. Rekha who taught in the same college some how got wind of the hoax played by the four bosom friends. Rekha decided to keep what she had learned to herself as the joke had gone no further. The four friends went their separate ways after they finished their course. They had no difficulty in landing good jobs. Despite their busy schedules they made it a point to keep in touch. They were regular participants in the old students’ meet at the college. Rekha had become Principal of the college. The friends had liked Rekha teacher very much when they were students. Quite unlike other teachers Rekha teacher was very jovial and friendly with her students. Rekha was a legend as she had never scolded any student and yet had the uncanny ability to make students understand what she had been teaching. The friends were there at the old students’ meet on the eve of Rekha’s retirement from service. Rekha revealed that she was aware of the prank they had played while they were in the college. Rachel replied, “Ma’m, we wrote because no one wrote to us.”