Banta, bunking & babes

Today I’m a famous stand-up artist, but once I was an average student on the Delhi University campus. Papa CJ talks to Neha Sharma about his campus life.

Today I’m a famous stand-up artist, but once I was an average student on the Delhi University campus. I went to Hindu College because that was the only college that gave me admission. I got through the sports quota because I was into hockey, athletics, cricket and almost every sport played at school level. In my trials, I had to compete in a game of chess with the national champion and I actually defeated him! He told me that I better tell everyone that I lost else he’ll be embarrassed.

The administration told me that I could do any course except Economics and B.Com (Hons). I could’ve opted for any other subject, yet I took up a course where the person who finished second-last secured 89 per cent! Later, I felt that I should’ve taken up psychology because its class was full of girls. I used to bunk college so often that once on my way to college, I felt the bus I was travelling in was flying. It was only when I peeped out that I realised that the bus was on a flyover. Imagine, I had bunked college for so long that a flyover had been constructed in that time!

My teachers obviously hated me. In fact, one of them wrote a letter to my girlfriend’s parents saying that I was a wolf in sheepskin. They soon sent her abroad! Once I coaxed my friend to go to Simla on a holiday while the exams were on. He said no and we tossed a coin. I won and we were off to Simla. We managed to reach the examination hall just in time the next day! My friend, who was a topper, flunked.

The food in our college canteen was bad. So we used to relish chola bhaturas at Chacha’s in North Campus. I loved the lemon-flavoured banta too.