Long time, No write!

It has been almost 5 months that I’ve not properly sat down to write my experience away from home. I’ve stayed away from home even before but this has been the farthest I’ve ever been. I’d at least go home and spend some time with my family. It’s been a total isolation here staying 60kms away from city and not being able to go out regularly just for one simple reason that; it’s too hot to step outside the air-conditioned classrooms and too cold to stay inside all the while. This climatic jeopardy is driving most of us insane, procrastinating and unproductive (at times). Adding to all these agonies, my phone network is drop-dead pathetic and there is nothing happening with any of them even after changing three numbers.

I’ve befriended a batch of friends who are more or less ‘normal’ and I rule the insanity ground that is well below the ground level (I meant ‘PJ’)! The least I’ve liked here is the climate and I am not sure whether it is supposed to be so lethally extreme every year. What I’ve liked the most is the campus. This place has proven to be my ‘Shangri La’ wherein I’ve identified the byproduct of my learning and that is ‘Photography’! I never knew that I’d fall in love with it and explore the heaven with my minimally equipped camera. All the options that were available on its tab have been tried and tested successfully, and I feel happy that I’ve valued what I’d brought along with me.

About my friends, I really miss those whom I’ve left behind and strive hard to get in touch with them every day.  Especially, I felt really sad when I wasn’t able to go to my place when my students called for their event which was their dream (mine too)! It was still more heart – rendering to know that one of my closest student had met with an accident and was seriously injured. He still is fighting with himself to get up and stand on his feet. I wish I was there with him and did something about it. He is a strong guy and all he needs is some goddamn support from friends which he has aplenty. About my friends here, I’ve come here with an intention that I’ll keep myself happy no-matter-what! That is why I keep cracking the most stupid jokes of all times and yet get admired (sometimes)! Most of the times I get the “BITCH PLEASE” stare and “GTFO” looks. The only thing they like about me is…….. (need to figure out yet) I don’t find a strong reason why I need to intrude in everyone’s private space, but it’s my greed that keeps me glued to them even if I tend to be repulsive; the greed of being happy all the time. I’ve been high and I’ve been low, but for all those times, I was never alone.

Our classroom sessions have been the most amazing experiences till date. Whatever I’d learnt during my MBA days, I had a hard time initially to unlearn most of the stuff, but everything I learnt here was awesome, thrilling and mindboggling. One interesting thing I discovered here was the use of a new weapon called, “Roget’s Thesaurus”! Words are in clusters and there are constellation of synonyms unused and unidentified. The song that we’re in love is “arziyaan” from Delhi 6. It has become like our daily prayer and I’ve become an official “Memory Treasurer”! I am just trying to love and live ‘my’ life at this place and that’s all. All the emotional attachments I’ve had earlier have given nostalgic inflictions and I am not that receptive to such nuisances.

What I’ve been enjoying the most in these classroom sessions are; the Mac Lab sessions which keep us chilled and quiet (because of the A/C) and the badminton sessions (because of which I stay a bit active). My normal day is like, breakfast – class – tea – class – lunch – class – snacks – facebook – dinner – badminton – assignments (if interested to do) – think whether to sleep or not – sleep – think what’s new tomorrow – sleep finally. Most of our inspiration comes from the fear of not getting a job besides studying in one of the best institutes in India. The standards to which they teach (sharing experiences as they say) is far more higher than our scale of normal understanding and it’s a good sign that we are understanding and coming up to that level. Our failures are more interesting because most of the fun we have is in that course of time.

I don’t really know how I will take my journey forward from here. The footprints we all are leaving behind will surely be our signature moves, but the only thing we’ll regret is, we’re here for just a couple of months. Another 2 months and we are out of this institute, and no more I can have a glance of the bunch of peacocks straying in the cricket stadium, a gang of monkeys howling over the mango trees and throwing those eaten fruits on the concrete pathway. No more Chhota Canteen and I can no more take pictures of fallen leaves and still objects because the next batch of PGP students will arrive soon and many new faces will be waiting to see what madness this batch has to offer. We’ve always been termed ‘creative’ in everything that we do, but sometimes we are normal and that’s completely out of sight. We too feel sad, we too are serious and most of all, we too love to be together. All the grudges we develop in this short span of time will soon because life is very hard to live alone (as long as we’re here). Hatred is always ignored and transformed to new relationships rather than despised and watered with malice.

My stay here is only with the sole purpose to make the most of it in all the possible ways. Learning as much as I can, not only from faculties, but from friends from different cultures, different emotional pallets and most importantly, from different age groups. I thought I’d not get a single friend who’d get along with me because of the age difference, but it’s nice to see that they have found the easy way out. I’ve failed yet again to tell them that ‘staying’ with me and ‘being’ with me are two completely different things. Both are never the same and they will never be. That was a ‘brief’ ME, after 5 months of “Creative” diet.