April 23, 2007

A Trip Down Memory Lane VI – The Epilogue

I came back a happy man. Did I miss something? Oh sure I did. The Gatecalls. They are a symbol of an era gone by. The ANC Chai hold, it’s gone. So is a beautiful game called Worms World Party. (There’s still an orkut Pilani community for it) No one knows that on a PPW you must put a couple of kitkats. But worst of all, I saw a disease that’s creeping into Pilani. As we were being trained as Mitr Volunteers in Bangalore, we were always worried about the effects of the lack of human interaction within students, a reason why IIT Bombay started filtering internet activity on their campus. We lived in happier times. Even though there were crazy Quake III, AOE enthusiasts, we always had time for our wing, our departments. We just never disturbed couples. But today, many BITSians prefer staying closeted in their make-believe virtual reality. Classes get gussed, not for reading Camus but for playing AOE.

Anyway, I never predict the future (except when I used to debate a lot in Calcutta) I do not know whether I will ever be back on campus. I’m not even thinking about it. I just wish that if I ever go back, I should feel the same homecoming as I did this time. As the bus started, I looked back at Shibanka and Uddip. Psentisemites should NEVER wake up so early, yet they were there. The bus started. I took a completely new route back to Delhi, a route never travelled before...

A conversation to end it… finally…

X: So I heard you went to Pilani. You must have felt bad with none of your batch mates or wingies there on campus.
Me: ???????????????? I missed them but why should I feel bad?
X: Ah, it’s so nice. You have grown out of Pilani. Wish I could do the same. Doesn’t happen even after so many visits.
Me: Dude!!! You want to grow out of Pilani. I KNOW Pilani is a part of what I am. That’s the difference between us.
PS: The posts in this series ran into a lot of pages on my laptop where they are still saved. And somewhere within them I found two people fighting. A BITSian circa 2001-2005 and me of today. The posts often became a journey of self discovery and hence had to be edited. That might be a justification for the lack of continuity in some places. But whatever is written is written straight from the heart. The problem is like me, it also speaks a lot.
PPS: If you ever find a 'J' anywhere in the posts it would just mean :-)

16 comments:

Akash... said...

Wow, is all i have to say! Though i am from Goa campus and found your blog while searching for "BITSians" (am addicted to doing that very often!), I found the post really amazing. I consider Pilani as a pilgrimage for me, and could understand so many things you wrote! Wow!

Unknown said...

machan,
always used to wonder why u dint blog... and finally (thanks to ur gtalk stat msg) hit this spot... whether pilani or muzaffarpur u will always remain the same dude! :)

guess i dont have to say what i think abt the pilani posts :)

Madhurjya (Banjo) Banerjee said...

Thanks Akash, Glad you liked them.

Chand, now that I have started you too update yours faster :-)

DeEpAk said...

hey Banjo....me an instru passout....the posts were awesome...i am already feeling sort of nostalgic :)....keep posting...

Madhurjya (Banjo) Banerjee said...

Thanks Deepak,

Will definitely try to.

The Tobacconist said...

Hey Banjo boy,

That was a real nice read. Brought back some real fine memories.

ex-210

Madhurjya (Banjo) Banerjee said...

Hey 210. I should have put AV quizzes somewhere :-)

The Tobacconist said...

Yeah those were fun. I can't remember, did we actually win one? Harsha was asking me and I just couldn't remember.

Unknown said...

Feels nice to be the last item in an Epilogue. Much like a bottom line. :)
I think I will give it another try. Will go for a couple of days in September.

The Nomad said...

Hi, I stumbled on to your blog while putting random search words while on my own nostalgia trip to Pilani.

This string of posts is awesome, really. Only someone whose heart is a part of the Pilani cult would know :)

Bharat said...

Awesome man. The posts were very trippy. They just transported me to that time...

Very well done.

Madhurjya (Banjo) Banerjee said...

@ Saikat - So what happened?

@ Nomad - Thanks :) I guess a lot of us are dedicated to that cult

@ maum - Thanks a lot dude :) It had felt nice to go back.

bits.pankaj said...

You have set the standard!!
Seriously if I come back to Goa (although I am here for another 2 years) and dont have the avalanche of some same emotions...I wont think I deserve to be a BITSian!!
I want to relate myself to this post..not because of the common attachment to BITS as a whole but because of the feeling that I want in myself when I visit my alma mater after being some one..the one that started off in the very same campus!! :)

Madhurjya (Banjo) Banerjee said...

Thanks a lot Pankaj. I am sure few years down the line, I'll be looking forward to reliving your memories.

Absolut Jain said...

Hello,

Excellent series of articles on Pilani (and CF). I started reading one and couldn't stop myself from reading all of them (even if it meant goofing off at PS)

Madhurjya (Banjo) Banerjee said...

Thanks Absolut. PS has been an amazing time