I visited TISS almost after a year. 8 years ago many of us walked through the same leafy lanes and entered the hallowed portals which we called classrooms. For many of us it was to be the final chance of getting a formal education. Our launchpad into a different world. Over the next two years we were to undergo a variety of experiences. Bitter, sweet, painful but most of all – memorable.
We had no idea of what was in store. I was the most clueless of them all. I was the daring Bombay boy who knew the city and her ways well, but beyond that I was no match for the suave, very corporate like peers of my batch. Nevertheless, somehow I fit in. I found my ilk in the old campus.
So when I found myself at the quadrangle today, with rain falling all around, I was just lost in nostalgia. I had work to finish so I worked on the same old wooden benches which were never kept in any order. Not much had changed and yet everything had. The mosquitoes were still around though. The thin, frail ones which have a strong bite and worse itch that simply won’t go away. The cats and dogs were different but as always they were around. I wondered if the resident rat snake was around as well.
Life came a full circle. From finishing assignments here to sending in urgent-critical project inputs for work, to meeting popular writers to sharing burgers and wafers here. Spaces like the quadrangle are always a trigger for nostalgia. And today I didn’t mind taking a dip in those times as rain fell all around me.
