What has Boston Gifted Me?
Yo stalkers! Like always, you came here from my instagram bio, right?
This post is a sequel to the post that I wrote exactly 2 years ago when I passed out of Medicaps - What Medicaps Gifted me? Where I wrote about the amazing people I met in that phase of life. As your intelligent mind might've guessed; I'm going to write about the amazing moments, lessons and people Boston has gifted me - exactly two years after the Medicaps post.! Buckle up, because this is going to be a long read :)
Our graduation day!
(L-R: Devesh, Me, Ritesh Bhai, Kanishk Bhai, Ashish Bhai, Him)
Scene - Saint Germain Street (67-9).. Ashish Bhai is in the kitchen cooking for all of us on a Monday.. Devesh listening to KK and Atif while I'm playing my guitar on my desk.. Him working out in the hall.. It's around 9:30 PM.
Ashish Bhai: Kya gaana lagaya Devesh bhai aapne!
Me: KK ka Alvida laga na Life in a Metro ka please.
Him: Bhai fatafat chal aate hai 2 minute me, fir baithenge.
Me: Ek number bro! *i keep my guitar, he throws his dumbbells and we run to Massachusetts Ave*
(for those who know Choice - high five; and for those who don't - you won't understand the convo lol)
Then the magic begins and we slept at 3-4. And this is how we passed the six months. Everyone had their fixed day of cooking food (mine was Wednesday).. at that time we were looking for our co-ops and refrained to spend even 5-10 dollars.. but mannnnnn!! Those days taught me the importance of money, brotherhood, and humility.. Had I not met my boys in Germain, I don't think I would've learnt a lot of life lessons anywhere else in all of Boston.. I was lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time...
Lesson 1
I'll start with Ashish Bhai.. A super humble man.. 5 years older than me (yeah I lived with people who were atleast 5 years older than me haha).. doing his second masters in Boston.. a former officer at Serum Institute in India.. I can't say enough about him. Of all the things in the world, you can learn the humbleness and the zeal to live life to extremes from him. Despite his educational background, he is the epitome of humility and politeness. Also, he is a bulked up guy - spends two hours in gym everyday.. (yes, i haven't seen him skipping gym despite knee deep snow in Boston dude). We've been on many roadtrips together. Niagara, Vermont, Acadia, Portland, Providence, Newport, and many many many more.. If I had an elder brother, I would definitely want him to be like Ashish Bhai <3.
Lesson 2
How can I be from Medicaps and not write about Kanishk Bhai.. Well, he's from Medicaps batch of 2017 (Mechanical).. THE MOST cheerful man you'll ever meet in your lifetime.. And an amazing senior.. Heights of tomfoolery (bakchodi you peasants).. and at the same time he used to study for 8-9 hours straight!! Without getting up from his chair. No wonder he's grabbed a handsome pay at Amazon.. I distinctly remember during my initial days at Germain.. I was devastated by breakup.. He's the guy who pulled me out of that phase and pushed me in the right direction.. If it wasn't him, I would've easily succumbed to alcoholism and mediocrity.. Before he moved to Seattle, I was sharing room with him.. And in those 2 months (feb to april 2022) .. I learnt a lot.. Kanishk bhai cooks the best food in the world.. We all used to wait for Friday night (it was his turn of cooking) and once we all took delicious chicken or fried rice in our plates... it was the time to binge on horror movies.. Insidious, Conjuring, Veronica, Mama, Gonjiam Asylum, Shutter, Lights Out, Bly Manor, Hill House... We all used to sit in circle on carpet (we didn't had a table at that time), turn off the lights and watched horror movies after being done with our week's assignments.. Best days..!!
This was Somewhere in Vermont; the background was literally heaven!
Lesson 3
Devesh? He's from Indore. And nobody ever saw him study during our masters hahaha.!! That MF cleared the interview with highest package in his course, i'm not kidding. He bought his car just 2 days after moving to Virginia.. If there's something known as 'living life like it's gonna end today'.. this guy totally follows it. Spent almost every weekend in clubs, weekdays in off campus jobs, days in sleeping, and nights in watching movies.. Not to mention - even if you call him at 3 AM; he'll stand with you without any question. I saw him turning from a boy to a mature man in Boston.. He lives in Virginia now and is missed in every get together.. The thing that I learnt from him is Brotherhood and the fact that everything falls in place with time.. there's no point in overthinking if you're consistently putting in efforts.
Lesson 4
Ritesh Bhai. He's 9 years older than me. When I was at the first time at Germain (came to see the house).. he offered me tea. And that was the moment I decided, no matter what the rent or even if i find a better deal; I'm gonna stay at Germain.. I was a complete stranger to Ritesh Bhai (ofc). And he asked for a tea, which is VERY VERY rare even in India. He's around 32 and looks even younger than me! I'm not fooling you. He taught me the importance of investing money, and not overspending on things that we don't need. And he addresses everyone as 'aap' (even if he's messing with you lollll).. When I was moving to Portland for my coop; he drove me from Boston to Portland with my stuff.. (man that day Devesh cooked Poha for me at 7am even though he wakes up at 1pm).. how can i not acknowledge how indebted I am to these guys..
Lesson 5
Him Sampat. One of my best mates. We both passed out in 2020, came to Boston in peak covid in Sept 2020..! And we sit almost every alternate days together either at my place or Anant's home. Another bulked up guy who is super handsome (you'll see if you meet him irl). But unlike others, stays away from gossips and social media.. We played guitar at Germain together, and still do even after we all left germain.. During the time I was searching for jobs.. he was the only person who believed in me. He doesn't owes me shit. Still that guy used to ask about my interviews everyday.. We connect on many common grounds. The thing you can learn from him is integrity.. Won't do anything wrong to anybody.. and stays away from cunningness, which is very rare to find these days.. I was on a date with someone and it was 12 at night. It striked that it was Him's birthday.. and I straightaway left to celebrate his day lololol.. And not only Him, if it was anyone else from these people - I'd do the same.
Lesson 6
Vishesh Bhai. A former sailor. Hailing from Uttar Pradesh. With a humble background. His elder sibling in the Army. Says a lot about his discipline. We had some really good conversations whenever we used to go out for walks. And of course, the stories that we all shared in common. He's another housemate who is living with me at Chestnut after Germain. Maybe due to his coop and coursework he stopped hanging out with us. But he's an amazing person, no questions raised.
L-R (Yours Truly, Him, Kanishk Sir, Vishesh Ji, The Lord)
This was in Newport at the time of sunset
Although almost everyone is separated now in different cities - we were together when we had no jobs, no money, away from home, and zero contact with female counterparts... lived a life like they literally show in Delhi Belly (I'm not exaggerating).. you should've seen our house.. no fucking sign of furniture and cleanliness.. just some guys doing their thing.. studying.. trying to figure out life while dealing with personal problems.. we were each other's family and shared every little happiness and moments of sadness. Be it breakups, financial crunches, rejections in co-op search, homesickness, and whatnot..
Of course, there are others who I will always be indebted to. Anant, Devanshu, Yogi, Kedar, Kartik, Nandu Bhai, Jiggy, Vishnu, Rudra, Saurav, Abhishek bhai.. and many others have their contribution in their own way.. Anant bhai is a beautiful human.. the one who sings when i strum guitar.. Devanshu with his calmness.. Yogi and Kartik being the ones whom I wish I met earlier.. Kedar bhai - the multitalented man who shares the same music and literary taste as me.. Vishnu and Rudra - the guys Him and I spend most of our time after leaving germain.. and others.
I've dealt with every possible situation here in Boston. Being admitted to emergency ward when a research paper was written on me (it was scary because it means I had symptoms nobody showed), dealt with loss of Sanju mama, got my first coop, earned my first Armani watches, became self dependent, had fights, had reconcilations, dated some people, got dumped by most, dumped some of them, partied like crazy, changed cities, moved back to Boston, cried, laughed, have MANY memories... but most important of all - met guys who have ambitions..
All of these guys taught me to dream big.. when you ask them everyone says really big things that are hard to achieve, which a normal guy won't even think of.. and this is something that comes inherently when you leave your country and know the cost of dreams, but also know the reward it reaps.. How many 25 year olds you know say about buying a house in next 12 months? How many 25 year olds you know who say they want to buy an Audi and literally do it in next 7 days? Almost everyone of my circle in Boston do it! They dream big, and work hard to achieve them. If there's one life lesson that I would cherry pick, it would be this.!
Jugal passed out on the floor, while everyone was discussing (i forgot what) and kanishk bhai having his biryani. Not to mention the lack of furniture lmaooo (gareebi ke din)
And these guys aren't studious or extra-ordinary.. Here's a picture of our final party at Germain.. When Jugal drank toooooooo much whiskey and passed out on the floor. And everyone overlooked it and kept being in the moment.. because we all knew that this time won't be back.. In next 1-2 years we all will have enormous funds in our accounts, will be driving luxury cars, will have beautiful and compatible partners.. but during the times when we literally had nothing and nobody.. there were a bunch of guys who were together! And that is invaluable. Not everyone gets to experience this bond in their lifetime.
To a great future! To brotherhood! To dreams! To Northeastern! To Boston!
Yours Truly,
SM
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