Sunday, March 26, 2017

The silence aftermath..........

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.

To all the wonderful people I have met here who were taming their own demons like me, to all the stories that were concluded, that left incomplete and that were never started, to all the victories and failures, to all the hard work and laziness, to all the memories that will be cherished and to all the memories that will be forgotten, to all the disturbing noise and to all the calming silence, Thank you!! J

3 comments:

writer29 said...

there is nothing more heart warming then reading the story of a friend far away in your homeland as your own. Of course, people been there can feel it a lot more. But the way it is written, reading it was like silently walking with you into that campus and feeling every bit of it, seeing every bit of it, hearing the loud laughs and watching them fade away into the present moment where no one stands now. Thank you for bidding it such a beautiful goodbye, I get to enjoy two graduations with this <3 <3. Bless you champ! You are born to make history! Keep writing, keep having this wacko perspective. You always give me a fresh outlook :)

Abhi said...

Ahh!!! How much I miss my vollege days now. The last day of my college. Its do very clear in front of my eyes. As if it were yesterday and suddenly I realize its been 10years now.. :( amazing how every moment stays on.. these moments shape up for the rest of your life. Very nicely personified writeup. Couldn't have been better.

And finally its over which you started just like yesterday 18months back. My eyes welled up with memories of my days from the past. Kudos Mayank for being able write it up so beautifully which many fail to express. You have written it out for many who would have never been able to express this feeling.

Mayank Sharma said...

@Minakshi: Thank you for such kind words, yeah pretty much every campus becomes the same when a batch leaves and I wanted to capture those departing moments !! I am glad to know that people are able to relate with their own experiences !!

@abhisek: Thank you for your kind words, it's always a privilege to be one of the last person in campus to leave as you can say good bye to most people, I am happy you were able to relive your college life through my post !!