that booze and the brain and the drain...

It was one usual Saturday night around 10, I Gautam and Michael were seriously planning to booze till we go out. Ravi had quit boozing just a few months back so he was busy orkuting in his room. Gautam called kunal and he was also busy with orkut. The recent intrusion of broadband had injected a strong dose of orkutmania in many of us. He had got in touch with one of his old school buddies and asked us to arrange everything and he will come after half an hour. Within seconds we were on our way to green park. Since it was the first Saturday of the month so we felt it was our duty to spend our dad's love (which was still confined in the atm) lavishly. Half an hour later we were at michael's building. Ravi also came just to give himself company and contribute to our drunken discussions (bakchodi).

Gautam opened the first bottle of Blender's Pride and took a deep smell in before pouring in our disposable glasses. I was never too sure whether he really liked the smell or it was just a show off, but it was his habit. Two pegs down and Michael rolled a joint for him self. He took a deep puff and blowing the smoke away from ravi. He asked kunal, so got any chick on orkut?

No man, I just found a school friend. Kunal replied.

And who said chicks can’t be school friends. Gautam teased kunal.

Nothing like that, he was my school topper. Kunal retaliated in tone as if he himself was the school topper.

A school topper and your friend, the combination sounds a bit weired. He teased him again and poured the third peg.

What is he doing medical or engineering? I asked out of curiosity.

IIT Kharagpur ECE. His elder brother was also an iitian, now he is in America. Salary almost 1.5 lacs per month. Beamed kunal.

Great yaar! These guys are really genius. Ravi said munching a handful of chips.

Michael who was silent and concentrating on his joint till now, gulped half his glass and said, yeah. These guys are geniuos and they are very sincere. But these materialocentric maniacs are traitors. Traitor to the country and traitor to the society they have lived in. His pitch and tone reflected the effects of grass and whiskey.

Ravi who once prepared really hard for IIT-JEE, felt a bit offended by Michael's remark .As if some one had said something derogatory about his ideal.

How can you label anyone a traitor? He has worked hard for the position, at which he is now. Everyone wants to grow, wants something better out of life. Ravi shot back.

No problems wanting something better out of life. But this doesn’t mean you should leave your country, your land, your people and your society and work for someone else, that too, when your country needs you the most. Why can’t you work for your country, your government? Michael explained with a touch of sanity in his voice.

Where are the opportunities? There is no infrastructure for research and inventions .And the government job where there is no difference between a spade and a boat. Corruption gripping the roots. The more you are corrupt the more you are successful. This loyalty and working for the country looks good in moral science books, and when you step in to work, they won’t let you work. So why shouldn’t I go and work where there is respect for my talent and sincerity. Where the infrastructure is good. Where the opportunities are more. Ravi defended himself with a more practical stance.

And we all thought this was the discussion's end and our bartender prepared one more drink for us. Michael sipped it and lit a gold flake. Sipped again and started.

You know Ravi, when I passed my tenth my father gifted me a new bicycle. A friend of mine got a new passion as a gift from his dad. He got admission in the best school in the city. I carried on in the same school. When we didn’t know the functioning of cell phones, he got a new mobile. He got a good engineering college in Pune, because his father could manage the whooping donation. My dad couldn’t so I am here partying with you guys.

Obviously he got better facilities than me. So if I get a chance to exchange family, shall I shift into his and consider his dad as mine. Perhaps I can also land in America if this happens. What do you say? He asked Ravi.

The gravity of this innocent looking query left Ravi puzzled.

But we are not talking about leaving our families. Ravi managed to say.

Why man? Why? Why can’t we have the same feelings for our motherland, which we have for our family? If you don’t want to betray your family for anything, why to betray your country for some extra dollars? I agree there may be dearth of opportunities and infrastructure. The system may have loopholes and faults. country? Why can’t you work to generate business here so that we can outsource it? Why can’t you work to make rupee stronger in the international market? Why can’t we make a better and prosperous India for our children, for the generations to come?

And suddenly the expressions of his face changed. With a wide grin he held Ravi’s shoulder, raised his glass, looked at all of us and said,” its one small life, lets repay our land first.

And Ravi was the first one to say CHEERS raising his glass of coke. We all knew who the unbeatable was, joined the chorus.