Fast Draws and Top Drawers
Balakrishnan, Devdas, Ramdas and I were a group in college. Balakrishnan was Maths Main, the other two chaps were Chemistry Main and I was Physics main. We used to be together for Malayalam which was our second language. Except for me, the others did their schooling in Kerala and were transplanted to Madras for college studies. I was already a transplant to Madras during my schooling. Balakrishnan Balakrishnan (let me shorten it to Balak for convenience) it seems was a very good student till his school final which he completed in Kerala. Then came Devdas in his life in Pre-University in Madras and as per Balak, ruined his ‘life’! You see, Devdas was one who believed in a different kind of life from what Balak was used to, till then. Go to school, study, and play a bit of football and come back home and study. That was Balak’s routine. Devdas had different ideas, it seems. They were staying close by in Madras, near Mount Road. One evening Balak found Devdas in his house to