Am I graduated already?

What? Am I graduated already? My graduation happened yesterday and I am still not sure is this the dream that I have been longing for, since four years  or its the dream that has already been achieved during my hitch in this four years of graduation. It seems it was yesterday when my parents left me in this gloomy land and went a million miles away. It was the first time when I was all alone in the completely different environment, people, system etc. High school had been more like a fairy; college was nowhere comparing to it. Restituting myself I went back to my hostel premises carrying my backbreaking luggage along. All I could see was a gob of parents bidding goodbye to their daughters, the waves of melancholies was in the air and I could feel it.

10pm it was, the exit time of all parents. The moment their beacon went out of our sight, there comes the seniors in the scene. We had not been spared even on the first day of our hostel journey. We, the first-yearites were ordered to line up in a queue and asked to introduce ourselves in pure Hindi format. Even on the minutest mistake we were abashed severely. Burdened with millions of “Do’s and Don’ts” list, we went off to sleep. The terror of seniors was actually running through our blood. Next day, overwhelmed with the dreadful feeling, we were reluctant to even wake up so that we could elude ourselves from such poignant situation. Under the quilt we were holding-off ourselves for the seniors to leave so that we can get ready for the class without any fear of getting grabbed, after their evacuation. We could actually relate ourselves to the rat from “tom and jerry” story. In this process of self effacement, I got 15minutes late for the first lecture of my graduation. I literally ran inside the college building, on the first floor from some random class room that has been dedicated to first years, I heard a lady voice shouting my roll call.

Enrollment number 070070!? “Present madam” and there I enter, the entire sixty eye-balls rolled towards me, I was suppose to get a good dose of scolding but might be considering the fact that we are college student now or maybe it was the first day of college, anyhow  I was spared. Phew, with her eye-brows high and furious looks she let me in. Obviously, the last bench of the class was awaiting me, “the late comer”. And this is how “the first day at college” in all girls-university begins. The moment everyone settled down, the introduction session took place in spite of listening of what they were saying, girls were busy commenting on their beauty, dressing-sense, language-fluency, gossiping about all the insignificant issues, the girls acquainted themselves with each-others respective attributes. One by one, the series of classes took place, I was drowning in the ocean of drowsiness, haven’t had slept in the night properly out of fearfulness intend me to fall asleep right on my desk for almost the entire day. I had no idea what crap were they discussing about that took these professors the entire day, anyhow it was least of my concern that time, I was gladly enjoying my sleep. Somehow a sleep seems to be more sound when you take them at a place where it is strictly prohibited and when you are ought to avoid them. It was some third lecture, physics class while I was amid my dreams when I got caught by my professor; my bad luck has to play its roll on almost all of my significant days. He made me stand for the entire lecture. It was an awful experience and especially when you get such derisive attention by your batch mates whom you didn’t even know properly. Later on my friends cognized me that I have missed my roll call in two lectures while I was asleep. My bad again! Somehow I could manage to successfully finish my college hour that I hated badly and went back to the hostel, the home of devils.

 Bearing those dramatic cum fancy dresses, “salwar-kameez with dupatta, having tri-color combination” accompanied with thousands of pins here and there not only dress but we were ordered to pin our hairs too with not less than ten clips no matter whether you have hair or not, it should be clipped up along with the funniest possible foot wear. I wonder which kind of relief of the world would their eyes would receive seeing us in such humorous out-fit.  The moment I lie down on my bed with a breath of relaxation after having my lunch, for which I had to struggle to walk like ten miles in the scorching heat of desertedly land, it was a devil’s call on my cell. Our seniors wanted to see us in their room immediately, fearfulness strive us to reach their room in like a split of second. And there we are all ready for demonstrating all sort of non-sense whatever they would ask us to do in order to entertain them so that they could laugh their throat out, literally for no reason. I could never figure out the concept behind ragging except that juniors under terror had to go to the seniors and get them bullied out of limits. Eventually days passed by with the same routine,  filled with morning classes and then evening cum ragging classes, for me they both were equally torturous and I was sloth to either of them.

 While I could get any time to see beyond this excruciation, there was mid-term knocking on the door. Assignments, vivas, quizzes, presentations and finally exams, God! The list is even more; it would actually take me another day if I start counting the number of assessments that this graduation would require for the entire year in order to grade us on their scale. Whelmed with the work of co-curricular activities in our college’s cultural day, basking out with the gigantic friends, getting treats from seniors, late night Maggie parties, blabbering on the corridors with every other girl, fighting on the unwarranted issues possible, late night terrace gossips etc academics was dropped down to the least priority. I wasn’t even aware how does it happen, when does it happen but it does happened and I along with my group-mates, we all were happen to be the most famous juniors among the college crowd, were the least grade scorers of the first semester. Damn! Why does this have to happen? Accepting that fact that we all were happen to be among the toppers of our respective classes during school time, digesting the tag of 5-pointers were pretty vexatious to all of us. Even the parents weren’t any less in bombarding all sort of emotional and ireful words to us. Although the holidays didn’t go any eventful without my girls around, that gloomy place and people were missed desperately.

We all were together again, the next semester with the same level of enthrall, excitement and with full enthusiasm to be the toppers this time “our days” started once again. Craziness was at its acme, I always prayed if God bless me with such friends all through my life I would love to be such crazy forever. My college days should never end. Eventually we all grown more mature, insightful, having encountered with the life’s bitter truths more closely and experiencing them, ups and downs, success and failures , love and break-ups, fights and bitchiness, politics and co-operations all sorts of blues and bright no matter what, I fought like millions of battles in this four years but I was never alone I had my friends along and their hands on my shoulder boasted me “Pankhuri, you are the toughest born” applauded me for my good, criticized me for my bad and ultimately transformed me in the BEST out of me. This heavenly gift of God to me, that is friendship has fortified me with the zest to fight against all the odds in life, taught me the essence of togetherness , belongingness and boastfulness that I will never be alone those hands would always be there on my shoulder  no matter where I am, no matter how I am.

These four years of graduation has evolved all of us into a respectful lady, who defines her own definition of life, with the pinnacle of confidence, independence, toughness, composure, compassion, charm, etiquettes, morals and principles and the level of conscience. The aura of her beauty and intelligence is so overwhelmed that even in the strangest place the people around would salute her beingness and her individuality. With my salute to all those girls who graduated with me. Enrollment number 070070 is signing off!  L L