The night canteen was bustling with people waiting in line for their order. Mine would take a good twenty minutes. I decided to take a walk down the long thoroughfare leading from hostels to academic block, and met a group of people walking back, helmets in hand. The bikers were returning after a joyride. It was midnight. No one will tell you that IIMU is the place where you live believing that everything is possible. Be it something as simple as finding a juice shop at 2 AM in the morning, or setting off to Everest base Camp after farewell. Two of our classmates actually did that! At IIMU, you run free to follow your heart, yet you keep coming back home, to that little place in the huge world where everyone has a nickname and hostel mates become brethren.
I sat with a friend after food, planning to watch a movie. The courtyard had slowly emptied and people had retired to their rooms. No one will tell you how you never see any of the hostels completely dark. Someone or the other is always up – reading, painting, playing the guitar, and sometimes just wondering what life would be once we left this safety net. No one tells you that in IIMU, no one is allowed to sit with a broken spirit. Be it the college appointed, kind counselor who has her door open to students in stress, or be it the loving lady Doctor on campus who besides treating you for illness, once in a while helps you tuck in a Saree because you can’t get around to wearing it right. No one tells you that an Open Door policy also means Open heart Policy and you really won’t be the right fit unless you are ready to walk in with likewise open heart and mind.
"Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it" - Albus Dumbledore
We didn’t see a movie that night. We sat listening to songs till 5 in the morning. Classic Rock to Country, Metal to Blues, English to Hindi. It seemed like forever before we decided to take a walk, to see the sunrise, perhaps the first time. As we stepped outside, we heard music from the adjoining hostel. Another group of people were up too.
“So close no matter how far, couldn’t be much more from the heart…”
“They had a birthday party earlier. Looks like they stayed up the night too”, my friend said. At IIM Udaipur, you are never up alone. You will always find someone else.
We sat outside quietly a while, wondering if we can ever get over this place. As we set off for our walk, the first notes of Hotel California, by the Eagles, echoed in the night air around us.
“On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair…”
No one ever tells you, you never truly leave a place you have been in love with. You never really leave IIM Udaipur.
Pic Courtesy : Prof. Srinivasan Tatachari
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