....And Thus it Ends

It finally came to an end, it was officially over now, and all the traces of it were removed. I am not talking about getting over a relationship, well it is a relationship, but of a different kind. I am talking about the one I shared with a building, a college. We all have been there, the relationship we shared with the premises of an institution, an office, or an apartment. And while we moved on to a different place, we could feel those memories and those moments that we had shared within its walls moving on with us. College is.... or shall I say was more like a home to us all. We spent almost eight hours there in the midst of friends we loved and professors we loathed. We spent our time in the classroom, the one place we always needed a reason to get out of. During class hours some would turn back and look at the clock occasionally wishing it ticked more faster, some would be busy circulating rumors on who was hooked up with whom, some would be busy rating the girls in the class, some would be busy hiding from the prying eyes of the professor trying to catch some much valuable sleep, and some would be busy taking down notes (yes there were some). We spent the time in the canteen risking our health tasting the stale canteen food all the while thinking who will foot the bill. We never spent, though we occasionally visited the library before exams began, desperate times called for desperate measures and visiting the library counted as one. And the seminar hall, a place that was meant for dozing off while listening to lectures from visiting faculties, and other special occasions like college ceremonies (a reason for us all to get decked up in our best suits). And it was in the seminar hall amidst the back slapping, the applauds, the cheering, and the flashing cameras that we were honored with our degrees.

But more exciting than being recognized as an MBA was the thrill of being amongst our friends for one last time in the seminar hall. The seminar hall holds a special place in my heart, and if any of my college friends were reading this, they would realize that the seminar hall was always a backdrop for a lot of special memories that have been engraved in our hearts and minds. During the initial days of college, it was in the seminar hall that we came to know each other's name on "Fresher's day", the age old ritual where the seniors in the name of welcoming you to the college made you dance to their tunes, literally. We have laughed with each other, we have danced with each other, we have sang with each other, we have fell in love with each other, and we have lived life with each other in the seminar hall.

And on a special occasion like a college cultural, we have decorated the seminar hall with the care and love with which a mother would decorate her daughter on the day of her marriage. The class of sixty was like any political party, when you have a variety of people with a variety of dynamics you would expect a lot of drama. And there was no shortage of it during our tenure at college. Emotions would run high, tempers would fly high, hearts were broken, friends were lost in those two years. And inspite of those differences when the time came for us to put up a show as a team, the best was always given. And the success was celebrated within the walls of the seminar hall with the shouts of hurrah and clicks of camera! Somehow, the walls of the seminar hall bought us together, and when we stepped into the hall all the differences were dissolved and we performed as a team. Yes there was hatred and bitterness, but they were all sacrificed for the greater good, atleast for that brief moment.

And it was here again that we all met after a year. From students who were once masters of their own lives, we were reduced to "Working Professionals" the slaves of the corporate world. There was a time when the world used to dance to our tunes, and now is a time where we dance to the tunes of the world. There was a time when we used to crib over attending lectures on "Industrial Relations" and "Financial Management" and now is a time where we are willing to give up our month's paycheck and the comfort of our office for just a day of college, for just a day of recklessness, for just a day of being students again. There was a time when we used to mock our professors, and could not stand attending their lectures, and now is a time where we would not want to leave their presence and not have enough of thanking them for having given us so much freedom.

We walked one last time to the classroom, a place where we once walked to with reluctance we now visited with the energy with which one would meet an old long lost friend. One last time we spent our time in the class, laughing at each other's jokes, wishing that time stood still. But Time was nobody's mistress, and as the day moved on we bid our adieus promising to meet sometime. We were reluctant to commit on the "sometime" for we knew that "sometime" would never come. 

Two years back we met each other as individuals empty handed, and while we departed we left as friends with loads of love in our hearts and tons of lovely memories to reminisce.

P.S: My friend from the batch of 2007-2009 - If you are reading this, post your comment with your name and registration number so that I know you have been here. Wishing you well.

Anuraag Seshadri - E-7007.