“Come September” was the favourite number of Gopalan. He was not a connoisseur of music but the month of September was significant to him. He played host to the students of Centre for Excellence in Ameerpet, Hyderabad, which prepared students for NEET examinations long term coaching. The students preferred Gopalan’s residence as it was close to the study centre. Gopalan always welcomed fresh batches as it meant the jingling of coins in his pocket, but the last September was hard for him, as he had to play host to four naughty boys, Nag, Vineeth, Sandeep and Rakesh. On the very first day itself, the boys had a taste of his attitude when Lakshmi, Gopalan’s wife, asked the boys to have a second helping of cream meringue. Gopalan said, “Oh, no, dear boys, don’t get me wrong. Cream meringue is just fine but I think of fatty acids.” Rakesh looked at…
