This musical talent was also the birthplace of the XL’s famed Bodhi Tree Band – but earlier, they had a more colourful name: WAPITE - What A Pain in The Ears! They jammed late into the night, entertaining everyone with their sweet melodies, with the professors joining in! Legend has it, that we used to have a baby grand piano too! Gifted by Lady Ghandy, it was the pride of Fr. Tome Auditorium, and a constant feature of the musical revelry of the jams, played by the man himself – our very own Fr. Ozzie!
The romance was another defining feature of the XL life – the culture here was (is?) very inclined towards it! At that time, the girls used to live outside campus, and it was the duty of the boys to walk them back home. Those walks were the source of many stories. On campus, there was no dearth of couples, much like today! You could see memories being made in the library, on the pretext of projects, over sports, and while sharing a simple cup of tea! In fact, the romanticism was memorialised in the form of statues, cheekily christened as “The Scholars” in front of the XL Library: A girl coyly looking at her books, and the guy pretending to study, but obviously lost in the girl's charm!
Were those days better? I cannot say, but it sure was an interesting era. It had a certain charm, a certain je ne sais quoi that does seem to be lost in the sands of time. I for one, would love to turn back the clock and visit the campus then, but had to be content sipping my tea, and listening to Fr. Ozzie, as he took me on one of the best visual journeys I ever experienced – Lost in his stories, lost in the nostalgia, lost in the warmth, and lost in the glory that was XLRI of the 80s!
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This article was written as a part of Ensemble-Valhalla 2018’s Rewind.Repeat.Relive series. The management, cultural, and sports fest of XLRI is all set to be hosted between November 2nd and 4th, headlined by stars such as Amit Trivedi and Vipul Goyal on stage with the mic. Follow our social media profiles mentioned below to know more about our fest with our theme revolving around what shaped our history and how we can Relive those memories, with the touch of colour and lights.
Check out our Facebook page here.
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