The Locked Door

Have you ever have an experience of being locked inside or outside a room? You must be thinking what is all about being locked outside a room because everyone of us lock our room from outside while we go out. So whats a big deal in it? Yes it was a big deal for me.

Let me give some introduction before coming to the main story. When I was in Pune for my studies I used to remain as a pg (paying guest) in a doctor's house where both the landlord and the landlady were doctors. While I was searching for pg, my father found that house quite nice and he thought since the couple were doctors that would be the best choice for me to stay. I too agreed with him. Just after my father left Pune, within a few days another girl with her parents came to stay there as a paying guest. She was also from Kolkata and both me and her parents were very happy to have bong pg mates in the same house. But unfortunately she couldn't stay in my room since my room mate, another girl from Dubai had already booked her place. So the bengali girl whom we used to call Tanu stayed downstairs with her own room-mates.

The day when Tanu finally came to stay with her belongings, her parents invited me for a dinner with them. I remember, she came somewhere in the afternoon and as soon as I came to know I just closed the door of my room and rushed downstairs to welcome her. I was in my night suit, may be sleeping that time which I didn't remember now.  After I got the invitation for dinner I was very happy and again rushed upstairs to change my clothes to go out with Tanu and her parents. And here starts the story. As I was about to open the door of my room, I found that it has been locked and the keys were left inside the room. I asked my landlord to give the duplicate keys for opening. Let me say one thing that from the very first day I found the lock quite complicated. It was not a simple one. Sometimes it used to get locked automatically and we had to put efforts to open. When I asked for the duplicate keys my landlord didn't care. They said that they are busy and have no time to find the keys and didn't even bother about me. When I told all this to Tanu, she was the one who helped me. She gave her clothes, not only that, I slept that night in her room and next morning I went to college with her copy, pen and everything. I thought that after returning from college I will find my room opened but unfortunately not. Again I had to call my landlord and this time very unwillingly the lady made some effort to find the duplicate keys and opened the room. After I entered the room, I took a long breath and promised  to myself that from now onwards I will never forget to take the keys with me because its quite horrible when your room is locked with all your stuff inside and you are outside in your night suit.

Few months passed, by the time my room mate from Dubai, whom we used to call Yogi, arrived but the lock of the door still used to disturb us. We also became used to it, sometimes I used to push from inside, sometimes Yogi used to push from outside and this way we were managing somehow. We were tired of complaining about it to our landlord because those weird people never used to listen us properly. But the situation became worst one day. We were having our second semester exams, me and Yogi were studying quite late at nigh. I remember it was 12 in the night, I was about to go to the washroom which was just outside our room but the door was not opening. Oh my God, it has again been locked. Now someone from outside with the keys had to open. We immediately called our landlord and told him about the situation but as usual he didn't bother. He said us to go to sleep and he will do something in the morning. But we were sure that in the morning also he wont do anything and we will miss our exams if we cant escape from the room that night itself. Then I immediately called Tanu downstairs and told her to come upstairs and save us. She was such a braveheart. Immediately she came upstairs and started making a plan. We gave our keys to her from the window but somehow the lock was not opening and we realized that it has been broken. It was almost 1o'clock in the night, next day I had my labour law exams at 8 in the morning and I am locked inside a room. We couldn't come out from the window because it was opening towards the garden downstairs. We needed a ladder for that which we didn't have. So the only option left was to come out from the other small window which we had in the room  from where the sunlight used to come and that was opening towards the kitchen. But we had no idea about how to climb up the window to go to the other side. Anyway me and Yogi first packed our bag with a pair of clothes, books  a pair of shoes and our tooth brush. First we threw our bags to tanu from the window to the other side. Then we decided to put the chair on our study table and climb. Yogi was quite tall and so she didn't have that problem of climbing up which I had. I said that I will go first and Yogi will follow me. On the other side Tanu was waiting for us with a chair so that we didn't have to jump on the floor. But this time I had the advantage of being shorter. I somehow managed to come out of that small window but for Yogi it was becoming difficult. She took out her body but her legs got stuck. When we were helping her out, suddenly we realized that the lights of the opposite house which used to  be a boys pg, are on and they are watching the circus we are having. It was such an embarrassing moment and at the same time irritating too. But somehow Yogi managed to come out and we were free. When everything was over the landlord came downstairs and told us to sleep in another room upstairs and he will call a chabi wala next day. Next morning we went for our exams and while returning back I was having a feeling that this time also he would do nothing and I was right. My exams were on so I couldn't afford to go out and call a chabiwala and Yogi was still in college. So it was Tanu who went out and called a chabiwala while I was studying in her room. Finally the man came, broke the lock and we went in. That day I took the decision of leaving that house after my exams are over and both Yogi and Tanu were with me. Finally our exams were over and we three started looking for a new pg  accommodation before we could come home for a vacation.

Later whenever we discussed about that stupid door we used to laugh and have fun. Even today while I was remembering the whole incident I was laughing on my own but really it was a frightful experience of my life. Both the time, it was Tanu who came for the help and I will never forget the support she gave.