Last night at 00:45 a.m. i saw a person standing at the entrance/exit gate of a train's compartment waving wildly at us wishing us all the best and shouting goodbye as the train started to gather speed.I saw tears forming at the back of his eyes.We ran to the corner of the station waving wildly till the train sped out of sight.As we turned back to leave the place i felt a drop of water on my hand.As i brought my hand back to brush my hair i felt my eyes all wet.i did'nt believe it.I,who had never shed a tear as long as i can remember,crying????I stopped and felt again.It was indeed tears rolling out of my eyes.I quickly wiped it off before anyone saw me.I had an image to live upto,after all.We came out of the station and sat down for a coffee.I could'nt help but get carried away by all the memories flooding me.
I heard the name RAVI MOHAN AGRAWAL being mentioned for the first time last September when the cultural committee was being formed.I did'nt care much as i did'nt know him.I saw him a few days later-a short guy wearing a cream shirt and a black pant with a decent haircut and probably the loudest voice in the whole world(atleast the loudest i had heard).I very first thing i noticed about him was that smile that spread across his lips the moment he saw us,his juniors.He came down to each one of us,introduced himself and enquired about us.He asked us to tell us about ourselves and listened very patiently as we blabbered away boasting of our achievements(heightened by many).Then after some work related talk,the meeting ended.I still remember that smile as if it was just yesterday.
In the 10 months that we spend with him,there is not 1 moment i recollect that i did'nt enjoy 100% percent.Be it his talks about his school life,his college life,the experiences that he shared with his friends,his road trips or anything that he ever talked about,he succedded in encaptivating us every single time.His favourite dialogue everytime 1 tried pulling his leg was "bachhe,tum jis school main padh rahe ho,hum us school ke principal reh chuke hain ".Among his group of friends,he was the butt of all jokes.He never complained and on many occasions gave them reasons(on purpose)to laugh at him.A total joker he was,a lovable adorable one.
The best quality among the ocean of his good qualities was that he never,even for an instant,considered himself superior in any manner.He listened to all our advices and spoke to us as if we were friends since nappy times.The trust and confidence he had in us sometimes scared us that we would be the reason he would get into trouble.He whole heartedly supported us in whatever we did.His confidence and determination in us was the reason that stopped us from falling apart on a number of occasions.Evertime we did something,we had the mental satisfaction of him being around us,the feeling that propelled us to do things beyond our physical capabilities.
What made him a favorite was the love and devotion he showered among all of us.He stood by us in times of need,guiding us.There was small little things that he did and those made us feel special.The encouraging messages while we were sad,the supporting ones in times of happiness,the occasional gifts and parties were among a few of them.Everytime we went out,he made it a point to drop us all back like a parent would do.He made his presence felt by his constant calling,messaging.He handled our mood swings with the utmost care.He never allowed me to miss my parents.
He was ever ready to help us.A few days back,while coming back from dinner one of my friends met with an accident.Since it was the first time we saw a pool of blood we were all shit scared.And since we were non localites,we did'nt know any hospitals.It was 11:40 pm when i called him.He immediately asked us not to panic and take my friend to a hospital.He reached the hospital before us and completed all formalities.He was with us all throught the night consoling us and assuring us that my friend would be all right.I can never thank him,amitesh sir,gautam sir for the support that we got that night.
One should have seen how happy he was when he was selected in LAFARGE cement during campus recruitment.I am really glad that we were a part of his happiness cause if was one moment that we could have shared his happiness,it was then.Time flew and he was also selected in NMDC.
Soon thereafter,college ended.Before we knew it,it was departure time.Slowly,one by one,all the seniors that we knew started leaving to join their respective companies.Those were the most painful moments we ever came across and still have their scars left on all of us.It is the worst feeling one can ever experience,the feeling of being left alone in the world with no one by your side.The faces we were so used to were no longer around us and the thought that we would no longer see them led to sleepless nights.The ones who were yet to go constantly tried lifting our spirits but it was nothing compared to the moods we had while the entire gang was present.The feeling that they would be leaving soon kept eating at us and we felt helpless to do anything.
Yesterday fate struck the final blow.The last of the legends also left and alongwith him took away the feeling of protection that had been around us for almost a year now,the feeling that had been the backbone of our confidence.It's been 25 hours since then and not 1 instant has gone by where we have not tried consoling ourself and telling ourselves that we will be seeing them soon.The memories of the last one year that have been deluging us is nothing in comparison to the cold and eerie feeling that has developed since then.
Tomorrow will be a battle of nerves as we step into college for the first time without our ideals around.The college canteen,the login room,the first floor water cooler,the examination cell and the memories associated with them will be the only lifelines that we have to solace and shield ourselves from the empty feeling till we are all there again,1 more time sitting,cracking jokes,trying to pull each others legs and laughing our hearts out.Moreover we have a mission to accomplish,a mission that our seniors started,a mission that that chose us to carry forward,that is to make sure that we give our juniors the same kind of love,care and affection that they showered upon us,the very feeling that gave them special places in our heart,made them immortal(atleast for us) and eched them as a brick in the wall of memories,the same wall that has been building up for the last 50 years.
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