The hostel is almost empty, the rooms have gone quieter,
there is no rush on dadu’s shop, bishu da’s day canteen is not opened today, no
one is playing music, there are no laughs beneath the Bodhi tree, no one is
sitting on the MTR benches, the old campus seems to be meditating quietly
disturbed only by occasional noise made by dry leaves which helplessly blows
under the force of wind. Few autos are coming and students are leaving one by one,
some formal handshakes and some sincere goodbyes, some meaningless all the best
and some silent thumbs up with wet eyes followed by one last look at the same
building where countless memories were created in past few months. It started
with a bang, loud and clear and it is ending much more silently.
Just a day before the situation was drastically different.
There was rush and commotion everywhere. Students were running here and there.
Some were enjoying the company of their friends while some were being tour
guides to their parents explaining every building and its history. Parents’
faces were beaming with pride and students were finally happy that they have
given the ultimate happiness to their parents. Everyone was trying to capture
as much of this moments as they can, people were clicking photos, making
videos, taking selfies. There was so much noise which can be followed only by
such stark silence.
The campus is not sad, it has learnt to control his
feelings. It has sad goodbyes to many batches and it will continue to do so. It
doesn’t display its emotions now, it is rock solid now, it doesn’t suffer in
silence anymore, silence is the way it bids good-byes to batches because 2.5
months later it has to clean the slate again. New batch will come, new stories
will be created, the drama will continue and the campus has to become strong
again to withhold all the drama and then silently say goodbye to that batch
also. Such is the plight of campus, it is part of all the pictures, it is
tagged in all the photos and yet it has only silence to offer in return, the
most mature way to say goodbye.
I intentionally booked ticket a day later, because I wanted
to witness this silence. Here I am sitting in my room, the room which witnessed
my ambitions, my hard work, my frustration, my desperation and much more. The
room which pitied me for being so vulnerable and the room which congratulated
me on my accomplishment. It has done the same for countless people, some of
them might have been very successful leaders in the corporate now. Mayank
Sharma will leave it today forever and 2.5 months later it will find its new
resident who will bring his own culture to the room. He will stick new posters,
he will play different songs, he will host different people here. Every room
has his story which it never shares, the room respects the privacy of its
resident.
The professors are habitual of this silence. They have
talked to many students informally yesterday perhaps for the 1st
time and asked them to keep in touch though they know most of the students won’t.
They know they have taught bunch of mature professionals who might never
remember them again. Yet they know that they have contributed to shape the
future of the country once more and they will continue to do so. They are
liking our photos and videos on social media which they have done in past and
they will continue to do so for the future batch. They are also enjoying the
silence.
This silence is enlightening, this silence is defining, this silence is tranquilizing, this silence has to be earned, no one is entitled for it. This silence is the testimony of all the noise that was there for past 18 months and this silence is the reward for it. This silence is music, this silence is memory, this silence is a beautiful poetry, this silence is spirituality, this silence will be followed by noise and like yin yang they complete the circle of life in XLRI.
The campus looks beautiful today, it is sleeping now, it is
resting, it has worked hard enough, it needs rest now, it has to prepare
himself for the future. The flowers are desperately trying to cheer up
departing people by their colors and smell, the trees are shading leaves in
sadness, the wind is slow and smooth and occasionally stirs up few memories.
The eating places will be shut for next few months now, workers will be gone,
cobbler won’t be here, they will rest too and then the circle will start again.
New faces, same story. Hearts will be broken and people will be shattered and
then someone of something will bloom life again into them.
In the end, everything will make sense. Every story,
complete or incomplete, will give a meaningful conclusion. Whatever happened,
expected or unexpected, predictable or unpredictable, painful or happy will
open new ways and people will ride on new experiences from the experiences they
have got here. In the end, you don’t hold any grudge, you let it go, you find
peace, you don’t carry any baggage, you are silent from inside like the campus.
You pack your bag, you say goodbye, and then you are gone, you become part of a
frame then, you become 1 of the many pages in the history, you become a story
which is there in the book and those who care about will read and others will
ignore.
XLRI, here I am saying good bye, enjoying the silence and thanking you for it after all the noise. Thank you for accepting me as a part of your glorified history.
