(Part 2 of 6: Back to the Past)
A peculiar sense of nostalgia warms me up as the rickshaw makes its way through campus in the dead quiet of the night. Although it’s late, the roads are unusually empty, and the chill in the air hasn’t made way for the warm summer yet. After ages, I can finally breathe in the fresh campus air. These hundreds of acres of lush greenery is something your lungs sure sorely miss. A right turn here, a left turn there allows me a peek at the hostels in the distance. Boy, those lights in the distance do hit right home!
I’m flooded by a ton of memories as the rickshaw chugs along the unbending roads. The not-so-subtle ascents and descents remind me of my cycle, locked away in the cycle stand, rusting. Oh, the countless adventures it has been a part of! From last minute rushing to class to helping a mate to the hospital in the wee hours. To biking up to the most scenic spots in the sprawling campus to see the gorgeous autumn sunsets to sneaking out late to meet her. I cherish every memory, every adventure, and hope to relive it.
The rickshaw crosses the girl’s hostel, which has always come across to me as a fortress, impossible to breach. The crown jewel? Her. Over the last year odd, a lot has changed. There has always been an excess of time and a dearth of time, but never enough time, never the perfect time. And now, with academic pressure building and the “real world” to walk into, it’s a weird conundrum. Will it be possible to go back to the good old times? Frankly, I don’t know.
It is cold, and the fog has settled over the vast sports complex. The football pitch, the cricket ground, basketball, tennis and volleyball courts, everywhere. On a normal day, there’d be scores of people even at this late hour (profs and TAs included) playing. Shouting, laughing, huffing and puffing, united in forgetting their worries. But today, it’s just the din of nocturnal insects and the rickshaw engine breaking the eerie silence. I have always been awestruck by the tall overarching floodlights illuminating the arenas. Seeing them after almost a year feels quite majestic.
Be it the LA, the sports fields, or the hostels, merely entering campus serves as a stark reminder of what was, and what it has come to. What it could be now is masked by uncertainty. But as the rickshaw pulls onto the road leading to my hostel, a wave of optimism and excitement washes over me. In virtually no time (compared to the past year of sitting at home) I’ll be reunited with the friends who’ve become family. For all the uncertainty, how bad can that be?
My luggage is heavy and the mask is stuffy, but the watchman won’t care as I undertake the annoying task of signing into the hostel register. Admittedly, I’ve never been happier to do it. There are few people around, but luckily the night canteen is open yet. I’m not sure if the bhaiya recognises me, but I sure am glad to be able to order a steaming cup of Horlicks before I head to my room. Many would disagree, but I doubt anything is more comforting in the Rourkela winter. The perfect partner as you pull an all nighter before the endsems. Only that now, with an unforeseeable future to come, academics will have to take greater importance than ever.
Sitting at home was relatively stress free. But now there’s no room left for a lack of focus. Bagging an internship perhaps is the matter of utmost urgency, but with little lab and research experience, it’s a tough ask. Getting by tests and exams will no longer be a laid back affair either. This is something that has been on my mind for a while. How I deal with it, remains to be seen. I guess stressing over it right now won’t do me any good.
As I head towards my room I feel anxious, excited and relieved at the same time. A year back these hallways were full of life and familiar faces. Now, it is just sanitizers at every turn and a sense of abandonment. I can barely wait to reach my room and settle in as soon as possible. Ah, how I’m dreading the booby trap that awaits me.
A couple of flights of stairs and some familiar faces later, I’m at my door. Phew, I guess I made it. Mom dad will be delighted to know. Nervously, I knock, trying my best to gently signal my arrival to my perhaps sleeping roommate. In the midst of a pandemic, I’m finally back home again.
Content by Aniketh
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