It seemed as if everyone living on the campus was participating in the competition. Even the boys working in the kitchen would cut cucumbers and tomatoes for the salad, trying to aim with the knife as if they, too, were earning points for better knife skills.
In the mornings, every boy on the field would become like the archer Arjuna. All that could be seen was the eye of the fish, nothing else. Everyone's focus had narrowed down to just hitting the target.
But today, an amusing incident occurred in the afternoon. The boy from the mess was returning after serving tea to the chief in his room when he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He noticed some movement in the corner bathroom. Wondering who could be there at this time, he passed by and was stunned. He returned to tell his companion that two people were bathing together in the corner bathroom. The door was closed. The other boy looked at him in astonishment as if to ask, "Is this really a time to be bathing?"
"Who knows, but I saw it myself. Two people are locked inside."
"Who is it?"
"I don’t know, but when I passed by, I saw one boy entering. His head was covered with a towel, so I couldn’t see properly."
"So what? Maybe someone went to bathe because they couldn’t in the morning," the other boy said carelessly.
"No, man, when he entered, there was already someone inside. I saw their hand," the first boy insisted.
The boy laughed loudly and then said, "You should stop your detective work. No woman or girl can ever enter here. Do you know, the chief doesn’t even let the washerwoman in? One day, he sternly told her father that only he was allowed to come to pick up and drop off the clothes, no one else."
The boy looked a bit flustered but then said, "I’m not saying a girl was inside, but someone definitely was. That's all!"
"Maybe some boy went in to apply medicine or give a massage? They play and jump around all day, maybe they needed something!" The boy thought for a moment and then added, "Remember the other day when we had chili fritters for breakfast? What did one boy say?"
"What did he say?"
"He said, 'Why do you make double-flavored breakfasts? One taste comes now, and the second one comes tomorrow morning!'" The boy burst out laughing.
Then he said, "It could also be that some boy was applying medicine to his backside."
The conversation was cut short as the boys started coming into the mess for food. Both of them quickly got back to work. As the selection time for the competition drew closer, the boys' enthusiasm continued to grow. By now, they had learned many new things—wearing clothes properly and saying "thanks" and "sorry" had become a habit. They had also become more serious at the dining table. Gradually, those rural and tribal boys began to transform.
In their free time, they would walk around wearing new, colorful clothes. Either they were clean-shaven or had neatly trimmed beards. Many boys hadn't even started growing facial hair yet and were busy grooming their hair.
But when they came to the field for practice, they would throw their entire strength into it like fierce warriors. One better than the other.
