Chapter 2: The Lion of Punjab and the Changing Fate
That bitter swallow of dust and insult had broken something inside Anurag. He was gathering the pages of his torn diary when a heavy and resonating voice pierced the silence.
"Oye chote! What happened? Why are you sitting on the road like this?"
Anurag looked up. A gleaming white open jeep stood before him, with a shining brass lion fixed on its bonnet. A well-built young man stepped down from the jeep. A saffron turban on his head, a thick beard on his face, and a spark in his eyes like the first ray of the sun. He was Mandeep Singh Gill—the face of Chandigarh University, whom friends called 'Friend of Friends' and enemies called 'The Lion of Punjab.'
With trembling hands, Anurag pressed his diary to his chest. He stammered as he told the whole story. As Anurag spoke, Gill's mustache twitched with anger. He placed a hand on Anurag's shoulder and said affectionately, "This city doesn't give you a path through crying, chote; here, you have to snatch the path. And as for these city-folk... remember, their very existence comes from the soil of the villages."
Gill made Anurag sit in the jeep and took him straight to the college canteen. Anurag was stunned by the sight there. As soon as Gill stepped in, dozens of boys sitting there stood up from their chairs. Voices of 'Sat Shri Akal Paaji' echoed from every direction. Gill struck a table and said, "Oye kake! Bring two teas and samosas, my brother has come."
That day, Anurag felt what 'Power' truly was. Gill wasn't just a student leader; he paid the fees for helpless students and fought for their respect. On the other side was Jeet, who established his dominance through drugs and corruption. The enmity between Gill and Jeet was old.
There was something in the air of Chandigarh that slowly killed the 'Pindu' (villager) inside a person. The same happened with Anurag. After that first afternoon of insult, when Gill held his hand, Anurag understood that in this city, those who walk with their heads bowed only get dust, while those who walk with their heads high get a 'Salaam.'
In the next few months, Anurag changed completely. Living with Gill, he had learned how status is earned. Now, he wasn't seen in loose village kurtas, but in expensive, well-fitted shirts and dark jeans. The innocence had vanished from his eyes, replaced by a strange spark and 'arrogance.' Now, he didn't come by bus, but on a gleaming black Bullet. When the roar of his Bullet's tires echoed on campus, people would turn to look and whisper— "Look, Gill's right-hand man is coming."
Anurag had now become the right hand of Gill's team. Whether Gill was paying a student's fees or helping someone, Anurag stood behind him like a shadow. He had tasted 'Power.' He liked it when juniors called him 'Bhai' and the canteen path was cleared for him.
But amidst this glitz and glamour, Anurag's heart still revolved around one face—Jasmeet.
It was strange; Anurag had fallen in love with the very girl who had humiliated him. He felt that since he had changed now—since he had money, a Bullet, and a brother like Gill—perhaps Jasmeet would accept him now. He would watch her for hours from the library window. He started buying expensive perfumes and gifts for Jasmeet, but couldn't gather the courage.
One evening, when the redness of the setting sun was falling on the university buildings, Anurag decided that today he would speak his heart. He parked his Bullet right next to Jasmeet's car. Jasmeet was standing with her friends, laughing.
Anurag put his bike on the stand, fixed his shirt collar, and approached her with a pounding heart.
"Jasmeet... can we talk for a minute?" In Anurag's voice today, a glimpse of that same old Anurag appeared.
Jasmeet looked him up and down. Although she was a bit surprised by Anurag's changed look, the arrogance on her face hadn't lessened. "Yes, speak. What is it?"
Anurag took a small velvet box out of his pocket and held it out to her. "Jasmeet, when I first came here, you said something to me. I changed myself... only for you. I love you very much. Will you become a part of my life?"
A sudden silence fell over that corner of the campus. Jasmeet's friends started looking at each other's faces. Jasmeet let out a cold laugh and flicked the box away from Anurag's hand.
"Love? You? Oye boy, a person's 'Standard' doesn't change by changing clothes or riding a Bullet. You are still the same Pindu whose diary I threw on the road. Nonsense! Don't know where these people come from, forgetting their status. You don't become a brand just by wearing branded clothes, understood?" There was the same old venom in Jasmeet's voice.
Anurag's face turned white. He felt as if someone had stripped him naked in the middle of a crossroads. The laughter of her friends pierced through Anurag's heart.
"Don't talk about status, girl! Otherwise, no one will be left in this city to measure your status!"
A roar echoed, and everyone's eyes turned toward the gate. Gill was stepping down from his open jeep. There was blood in his eyes. Seeing Gill, the faces of Jasmeet's friends turned pale. Gill had such dominance in the entire college that people hesitated even to speak in a high voice before him.
Gill walked with heavy steps and stood right next to Jasmeet. His shadow loomed large over her.
"Listen to me, Madam! Anurag is my younger brother. The village you are badmouthing, it's the soil of that very village that fills your father's lockers. You will reject him? How dare you! Girls like you are not even fit to wander around him." Gill's style was so overbearing that Jasmeet's eyes lowered.
Gill placed his hand on Anurag's shoulder and challenged Jasmeet, "After today, if you come in his way, remember that Gill's friendship is as sweet as his enmity is bitter. Come on chote, time will show these city-folk their status. Let's go have tea."
Gill left from there taking Anurag with him. Anurag was sitting in the jeep, but his eyes were watching the funeral of his love lying on that road. That day, the lover inside Anurag died, and a 'Rebel' was born. He understood that love isn't found by asking, but by making the world bow with 'Power.'
This was the beginning of Anurag's path from which there was no return. Now, he only wanted revenge and strength.