The Journey back

Nobody was around. The silence was Mystical and stuffy. Left overs of packing was strewn across and the hot dusty May loo was taking them all over the hostel. May 04, 2005, Last day here and Tomorrow? God knows.

I saw everybody leave. One by one and after some time I stopped counting. I packed their bags, helped them carry it and then board them off. Everybody had the same picture in their eyes: - They were going back to old days when everybody walked in white dress, with their head bowed and honoring seniors; when the first bottle of vodka opened on the hostel roof top; when that beautiful junior girl came in and fighting who is going to hit her first; when the new professor came in asked for Batch name, replied with a false one …so many memories.

They are going to be just memories. Aint it? Nothing more. I stared through my window. I could see Gandu calling at me for movie but now …there was nobody. Only the echo left after the call, still reverberating in my ears. It was getting hot and almost half past one. Nobody came to call me for lunch. I locked my room and went towards the Mess. Nobody was there blocking my way. I hallucinated faces, calling me, asking me how I did in the presentation, asking to share a movie or two. Mess was empty, chair and table left after the chaos. No plates, no glasses. I turned around just to see the notice on the Wall beside me “ Mess closing day: 04/05/2005”

I looked up towards the hostel building, windows were all open everybody wanted to come out but nobody was around. I slowly retraced my steps back to my room. I was no more hungry. Everywhere I saw every faces but its was dark and musky. Gloominess surrounding me was telling the tales. I could hear them loud and clear about friendship, about love, about sleepless nights, about parties, about …everything that happened in the last four years.

I took my keys and opened the door for the last time. The room was dusty and murky as never before. Walls across staring at me and all those posters, I didn’t want them to leave it. But then I had a train to catch. The bag was already packed. Nobody was there to wish me adieu except the gigantic cement structures around with plane white walls . I stared one more time across the window . I took my marker and wrote on the wall” This room belongs to your grandfather Mr X,B.Tech IT, Batch of 2005” I locked the room with backpack on, walked towards the exit.


Good Bye MNNIT.