Lazy bum that I am, I've refused. But since in a few days, PRD will no longer be my classmate, I decided to honour his long forgotten pleas by, you guessed it, doing something useful on the blog.
Here's something I wrote for my blog originally. But I think it fits here better. Here's an unofficial goodbye to the college; perhaps our last post as college students.
"If they ever tell my story, let them say...I walked with giants. Men rise and fall like the winter wheat, but these names will never die.”
- Odysseus, Troy (2004)
Saying goodbye is only easy when you are glad to get away. Otherwise it is a painful task. Getting away from college is never easy. Not because it involves multiple sentimental scenes with friends and teachers, but because for most of us, it will be the last time we say “I am in this CLASS”. From the moment your days at college are over, you are, finally, really all alone. No more sleepovers in the last bench with friends, no more copying assignments from others. In fact, you are alone. Up until then, you could always have this last minute glorious hope of getting it done by somebody else, or having him/her for company in case you did not do it.
College life is a journey, a learning curve in life where you have some of the most memorable moments in life. And when it’s over, all you will have are memories. And hopefully a degree too.
Is this a goodbye letter? Yes and No. Yes because we doubt we’ll be around as a class for more than a few days from when you read this, No because we will carry around in our hearts for a long time all what we saw and experienced here.
Memories are those of the College Union Elections, Arts Day (the mimes, the dances, the songs and of course the make up), College Day (when we end up with some Chief Guest even more bored than us), Onam and Christmas celebrations (enjoyed with alcohol during the celebrations and suspensions afterwards), the innumerable times when the sessional marks ended up at the hands of parents even after you bribed the postman, the exams and the supplies, the endless number of times you copied assignments in the last bench during class hours and of course, all those times you simply had fun sitting around and doing nothing.
Goodbyes are due to our teachers, for we will never again be around raise our hands when the roll count is taken in class, nor to beg and cajole for more sessional marks. They are also due to the non teaching staff, for reasons as varied as the paying of a bill to reclaiming a misplaced calculator from the office.
To name but a tiny minority would be crime to the others, but still, here goes: Jose Sir, H.O.D, teacher, mentor and friend without equal, the Principal, Dr. U. Lazar John, the one man who could quieten the entire department by his mere presence and yet gained the love and respect of all of us for a lot of things, Fr. Jose Konikkara, Finance Manager and Hostel Warden: all it took for us to start studying at the hostel was the sound of an Enfield Bullet, Haridas Sir and the office staff and the peons, and everyone across all departments from EEE to ME who taught us: Thank You.
To the seniors who moulded us and the juniors to whom we hope we were seniors worthy of emulation: the days were wonderful, it was great to have known you guys.
We would be lying if we said college was all fun and games, and we could be really pissed off about what happened some times at college, but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world.
None of us ever made sense individually (even now), and it is as a class that we would like to be remembered, for it is as a class that we did so many things, good and bad. We were sixty six individuals who consider it lucky to have been one, and it would be quite impossible for just one of us to define the rest. So, hoping to catch up with all of you later on in life, and wishing you all the very best,
Thanks for the memories!
-For EEE, the Class of 2009: PRD, MR and HVR
