From the corridor to Class: Moses Koul’s memory trip

I don’t know how much sense I am making; the nostalgia is really overwhelming,” says actor-musician Moses Koul aka Sharan Gujral, from the web series Class, as he takes a stroll through the corridors of his alma mater, Delhi University’s St. Stephen’s College.

Affectionately called ‘Roses with an M’, Koul vividly remembers “running across these very corridors” to make it in time for the morning lectures. The Economics (Hons) graduate recalls, “I originally had a love affair with physics and mathematics, but economics became an arranged marriage of sorts for me, that I later came to love. One of the reasons I didn’t choose physics was because my father told me that I would not have time for anything else. And that turned out to be true. The science kids used to out of labs and class after 5pm!”

A visit down memory lane is incomplete without relishing one’s favourite food from the college cafe. Biting into a minced cutlet, Koul says, “I don’t remember it being this delicious!” He then leads the way to the science block, passing by the spot where a kiosk used to sell samosas and more. “The gentleman running the kiosk passed away a few years ago; he was an institution. The kiosk was permanently closed after that,” he tells us.

Ask Koul about the college’s secret club, Woodhouse Society, and he coyly responds, “I can neither confirm nor deny whether I was a part of it. I may have left a secret mark in the college at a spot… It has been painted over now, but underneath you can see something green and interesting!”

All this while, Koul is surrounded by the current batch of students at the college, asking for autographs, pictures, hoping for a quick tête-à-tête. Calling it surreal, Koul shares, “It’s incredible — the kind of love people are showering on me. It’s really kind of my juniors to meet me here. I hope they call me as an alumni for an event!”

Much like everyone else, Koul feels his college years played a huge role in shaping him into the kind of person he is today. “I think, in college, you are shopping for personalities. St. Stephen’s can be very insular. But within this environment, you get to meet so many people with different points of view. This exploration, this understanding — I think that’s what formed the core of my personality. And I used those experiences to channel my energy into Sharan.”

On that note, Koul is quick to add that his experiences as a college student were far removed from that of the rich, confused and troubled Sharan. “I am not that dark in real life… Everyone who meets me is like, ‘Wow, you’re not that dark, troubled person’.”

Author tweets @KritiKambiri

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