The Thrilling Experience of a Time Travel
A memoir on Euphoria 2016. Reunions are a reminder that the spirit in us is not subject to the laws of entropy
“Nostalgia rewinded and Euphoria unbounded.” That pretty much sums up what I felt on the afternoon of 26th December 2016, as Euphoria 2016 drew to a close.
Thirty years ago, providence made 240 students from across India, come together at the campus of NIT Bhopal to commence their 5 years of graduate studies in various branches of engineering as well as architecture. Lucky me, I was one of them.
The campus was an expanse of greenery with tree-lined roads spread over 650 acres on top of a hill that overlooked the city of Bhopal, India. It included student accommodation which we called our home for the next 5 years, with attached food courts that tickled our taste buds. The food court extended into a recreation hall that always hummed with gossip amidst the backdrop of a 42-inch television. It wasn’t too long before homesickness became a thing of the past for me and for most of us. Living in the hostel was like living in a large house with an extended family.
Graduation day finally arrived for us and with it the time to say goodbye. It was a collage of emotions as we parted. The emotions came from the memories of good times spent together, the excitement of beginning a career in life or starting further studies in a new college, and the denouement that the days of experiencing comradery together are finally over.
“When shall we meet again? Together?” The question rang in my mind. It was in everyone’s mind.
Years went by. Life happened. But the spirit that united us never flickered. Playing hide and seek, it alighted softly in the month of Dec’2015.
A bunch of friends from our batch got together on a wintry Friday evening, in a quaint little restaurant in downtown Bhopal. The conversations centered around how to commemorate our group spirit in a once-in-a-lifetime event. As the evening wore on, the details could not completely be thrashed out, but the decision was clear to everyone.
As they ambled to the waiting buffet, the mood was pensive. “How do we contact everyone spread over 15 countries?”
“About half are on social media,” said one flipping open his phone. A wave of excitement rippled through everyone as they sat once again around the round table.
Kudos to their one-year-long meticulous planning and hard work, the event finale was finally scheduled. The invitations and the logistics plan were promptly sent.
When I glanced at the invitation, it was a moment of exhilaration. However, I had other pressing work coming up at home which led me to reconsider my decision to travel 8000 km to attend the reunion. Eventually, encouraged by my wife, I took the decision, for which I would always pat myself on the back.
It was as if our alma mater beckoned everyone and an ethereal pull, led 180 of us from every corner of India and the world, to come together after 25 long years, to relive the joy of a lifelong friendship. The tryst with our past began.
I landed in Bhopal close to midnight on the 23rd. The check-in was pretty much uneventful, like the calm before the storm. That did not deter the excitement in me that was building up to the event. The dilemma between looking young like a fawn or wise like old wine was neatly resolved. So my hair was dyed but my rapidly creeping baldness stayed. Sleep was hard to come by.
As the sun’s rays peeped through the curtains, I leapt to draw them out. My eyes breathed in the vista of the city which was my home three decades ago. Dressing up took a flash. I rushed down looking for the breakfast room, the rising din of the chatter from afar showing me the way.
It was a scene to behold, a feast for the eyes. The raucous reception of cheers, claps and hugs took no time to soak in. Twenty-five summers and winters did not add a single year to any of us. It was as if we were freshly minted in a time machine and just stepped out bewildered.
The breakfast spread was staring at us as if to remind us of the purpose of the room that was fast resembling our college locker room. A bite here and a morsel there, and then it was time to board the bus.
We arrived at our college to the welcome of victory drum beats, like prodigal sons and daughters who returned after a life-changing adventure. The wave of more cheers, more claps and more hugs rose like a noontide. The torrent of emotions swelled to its crescendo when Euphoria 2016 commenced with a formal welcome event in our college auditorium.
The next 3 days were delightfully crammed with endless chatting sessions, heart-thumping music, gyrating dances, fabulous food and exciting sightseeing tours. On a tour of our classrooms and hostel rooms, the memories broke away from the past and competed with the present. Those 72 hours were too precious for everyone, for anyone to be able to afford sleep or naps. The closing flourish was a boat trip across Lake Bhojtal, whose ripples danced to the pounding music as the float waded through the heart of Bhopal. It was followed by a delectable lunch at the lakeside restaurant.
Having relived the 5 years in a super fast-forward mode, it was time to bid goodbye yet a second time. How time flies! As my train chugged away to my destination, I marvelled at what makes reunions special and what made ours even more so. A fortnight later, when the event video popped up in my email box, the deluge of emotions replayed once again.
“We do have many types of reunions in our life. But what makes college reunions singular?” I reflected on my long walk across the countryside. The trees glistened with snow, whenever the sun tried its best to peek through the overcast sky. The icy breeze seemed to condense the sparkle of thoughts inside me.
As we get on with our responsibilities in life, our life’s journey begins to resemble a track marathon. Too many bean-counting tasks start to dot the circular path. Two decades hence, every new experience seems humdrum. This is when, the spirit in us furtively seeks an outlet from the mundane, as if on a pre-ordained quest to renew itself.
“Let me rekindle myself with good old friends, good old music and good old wine.” The spirit in us quips. And before long, the calendar is pencil marked with the reunion date.
College reunions are a reminder that the spirit in us is not subject to the laws of entropy.
They give us space and time albeit limited, to re-discover deeper truths in ourselves — that we can stay youthful in spirit while allowing years to mellow us wisely. They offer us an opportunity to renew our commitment to the spirit of camaraderie forged in our teenage innocence. They give us an occasion to pay a sincere tribute to the hallowed ground that made it happen.
In the ever-changing phenomenal world, there are few axioms that provide us so much succour as good old friends. Whether our college mate is a peer, a friend or a close friend, a tie of oneness binds us all. A tie that evokes the happy years spent, just by being in together, sharing the simple joys, daring the silly pranks and caring when the chips were down.
In those three days of Euphoria 2016, we have transcended or at least tried to, the non-existent boundaries that we may have earlier sewn ourselves into, rose beyond the din of little hesitations, put behind any remnants of wispy pretences and sealed an enduring bond of belongingness that will outlive us.
Both the past and the present did so effortlessly merge, that it left us to figure out our bearings.
There were quite a few people whom we knew only by name, but whom we were meeting for the first time. Both sides were a tad shy to acknowledge this. Fewer, we came to know for the first time, but there wasn’t time to connect. In the tide of euphoria that engulfed us, all vacillations were swept away. Any thought of “Who is he/she?”, was met with an immediate counter self-affirmative — “He/She is us!”.
This was by no means just evolutionary but a well-cultivated maturity that we all could be proud of. In that sense, college mates never say goodbye. Still, when the last day of our event ushered in, the cocktail of emotions did play — the choke in the voice, the warm hugs and one last lingering glimpse at everyone. These weren’t just accompaniments to an abiding friendship but the soul’s longing to expand itself beyond the limited confines it was born into.
There is something sacred about college friendships which unconsciously spark this elevating journey of the human soul.
Having seen through the vicissitudes of life, a reunion proffers a fleeting but conscious and visible expression of this quest, thereby a peek into the profundity of human life.
“It is getting windy.” I stepped inside my home. A steaming cup of masala tea always reminded me of my college days. My favourite bean bag squeezed as I settled down to relish my aromatic indulgence. “Let me flip through the photos once again.” My laptop was not too far off as I lunged for it, carefully holding my cup.
No doubt, the bar on how a reunion should be organised has been set high, nay, has become a case study. There will be generations who will carry forward the baton we have touched and shaped. This vantage viewpoint gives us a generous sense of accomplishment and a warm feeling of belonging to the great NIT-B’91 family. It is never one too many, for a heartfelt and sincere thanks to the reunion organisers for making this experience happen.
Time flies as its wont. But may it keep a cosy little nook in its wake untouched, for us to slip into when our memories begin to fade, to sip from the cup of those unalloyed days.
*NIT stands for National Institute of Technology. These are an elite tier of 31 engineering & technology colleges funded by the central government and spread over India at the rate of one college per state.
Originally published at https://heliumplus.substack.com.
