Proxy Attendance Ka Startup

Aarav Mehra ko us din phir se late ho chuka tha. North Campus ke gate se andar ghuste waqt usne phone ki screen pe time dekha—11:17. Attendance wali class 11 baje start ho chuki thi aur uska dimaag already ek hi line pe atka tha: Aaj bhi short reh gaya to semester gaya samjho.

Kamla Nagar ki taraf se aati traffic ki awaaz, chai ki tapri se uthta garam adrak ka dhuaan, aur gate ke paas khade security guard ka woh usual “jaldi jao bhai” wala expression—sab uske mood se zyada thakaa hua lag raha tha. Aarav final-year student tha, par college ke saath uska rishta padhai se kam aur survival se zyada tha. Part-time café job, rent ka pressure, assignments, aur attendance ka yeh daily drama—sab milke usko aisa feel karwate the jaise college education nahi, ek long-running endurance test ho.

Classroom ke bahar corridor mein khade hoke usne notice kiya ki uske jaise aur bhi kaafi log the. Koi phone pe teacher ko message kar raha tha, koi friend ko “bhai proxy de dena yaar” bhej raha tha, aur koi seedha bahar cigarette jala ke bol raha tha, “Attendance se zyada to yeh system hi fake hai.” Aarav ne us din pehli baar socha: Agar sabko proxy chahiye, to ye itna disorganized kyun hai?

Uske dimaag mein wahi se pehli spark aayi. Pehle usne socha, normal jugaad—do-teen logon ko jod lo, class ke hisaab se manage kar lo. Phir uska mind aur fast chala. Agar log proxy ke liye idhar-udhar bhaagte hain, to kyun na isko ek proper system bana diya jaye? Ek aisa system jahan schedule ho, slots ho, section mapping ho, aur koi last-minute panic na ho.

Aarav ko hamesha se lagta tha ki jis cheez ko log “scam” bolte hain, uska ek optimized version business ban sakta hai. Aur us din usne apne aap se ek silent promise kiya: Aaj se proxy random nahi hogi. Organized hogi.

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Mehak Bansal se uski pehli proper baat usi week hui. South Delhi se commute karke aane wali Mehak journalism student thi—sharp, practical, aur har cheez ka “real cost” nikalne wali. Uske paas campus ke bahar ek internship bhi thi, toh uski life ka schedule already ek jigsaw puzzle tha jo roz thoda aur toot jaata tha.

Woh Aarav ko canteen ke corner mein mili, jahan table sticky thi, chair tedhi thi, aur background mein Maggi aur samose ki smell mix ho rahi thi. Mehak ne seedha bola, “Mujhe proxy chahiye. But I don’t want drama. Bas kaam ho jana chahiye.”

Aarav ne usko upar se neeche dekha. “Drama to college khud deta hai. Main bas logistics de raha hoon.”

Mehak ne eyebrow raise ki. “Logistics? Proxy ko aajkal logistics bolte ho?”

“Branding,” Aarav ne bina hichkichaahat ke bola. “Aajkal sabko fancy lagta hai.”

Mehak hansi nahi, par uske hothon pe halka sa curve aa gaya. “Dekho Aarav, moral lecture mat dena. Main khud ethics class mein sabse zyada bolti hoon. Par reality yeh hai ki internship aur class dono ek saath chalana impossible hai.”

Aarav ne apna phone table pe rakha aur ek simple spreadsheet khol di. Section, timing, teacher, attendance status, available proxy. Mehak ne screen dekhi, phir Aarav ko. “Wait. Tu ye sab already track kar raha hai?”

“Track nahi,” Aarav bola, “optimize.”

Mehak ko pehli baar laga ki yeh banda sirf jugaadu nahi, thoda dangerous level ka organised bhi hai. Usne ek proxy slot book kiya. Bas ek favor samajh ke. Par jab usne dekha ki attendance ka kaam bina panic, bina last-minute begging, aur bina random middleman ke ho gaya, toh uske andar ka practical student jag gaya.

“Okay,” usne dheere se kaha, “this is… actually efficient.”

Aarav ne muskurate hue kaha, “Welcome to the system.”

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Do din ke andar hi unka informal setup campus ke different corners mein fail gaya. Aarav aur Mehak ne ek WhatsApp network banaya—class timings, section mapping, safe entry-exit routes, aur kaun se teacher roll call kab lete hain, sab ka data. Mehak apni journalism wali observation se patterns pakadti, Aarav un patterns ko process karta, aur dono milke ek aisa proxy network bana dete jo college ke official attendance system se zyada disciplined lagne laga.

Canteen ke corner mein unka “office” ban gaya. Ek notebook mein names likhe jaate, ek spreadsheet mein slots fill hote, aur ek shared note mein “Professor Sethi ke section mein front bench avoid karo” jaisi warnings update hoti rehti. Students aate, paise dete, slot lete, aur nikal jaate. Koi “bhai please” nahi, koi emotional blackmail nahi—sirf clean transaction.

Mehak kabhi-kabhi has deti. “Dekho Aarav, hum students ki life ko Uber-like bana rahe hain.”

Aarav bolta, “Exactly. Surge pricing bas mat introduce kar dena.”

“Tu already founder mode mein aa gaya hai,” Mehak tease karti.

“Main to pehle hi founder tha,” Aarav shot back karta. “Bas ab kaam bhi ho raha hai.”

Unki service ka naam officially kuch nahi tha, par campus mein log isse “proxy attendance ka startup” bolne lage the. Ye naam pehle mazaak mein aaya tha, phir serious ho gaya. Students bolte, “Bhai us startup ka slot mil gaya kya?” Aur Aarav ko andar hi andar lagta ki haan, shayad woh sach mein kuch bana raha hai.

Par success ka ek weird side effect hota hai—log jealous hote hain, suspicious hote hain, aur jo khud system se thakke hote hain, woh bhi kabhi-kabhi system ke guard ban jaate hain.

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Kabir “K.K.” Khan ka entry scene bilkul cinematic tha. Hostel se aata hua, clean shirt, relaxed smile, aur aisi aankhen jaise campus ke har corner pe uska account ho. Woh senior tha, society fixer type, exam ke time “arrangement” karne wala aur committee meetings mein “student welfare” ka champion.

Usne Aarav aur Mehak ko canteen ke piche bulaya. “Tum dono ka kaam chal raha hai,” usne calm voice mein kaha. “Mujhe pasand aaya.”

Aarav ne usko suspicious look diya. “Aapko kaise pata?”