This guy was truly admirable, with his convent accent and mature attitude. He didn’t sound like a typical Bombay boy; instead, he had the distinct tone of a Goan. We were in the same branch, metallurgy, and spent a lot of time hanging out together.
One day, I overheard him speaking on a public phone, and to my surprise, he suddenly switched to flawless Marathi. After the call, I praised him for his ability to converse in multiple languages. He humbly replied, “Hey, I’m from Bombay. I must know four languages: English, Hindi, Marathi, and Gujarati.”
Later, for unknown reasons, he started hanging out with a new group of friends and decided to move to the 4th hostel.
Written by Ajay Tankhiwale
IIT Bombay 1974 Reunion 