It was on 18th July 2018, I first stepped into R-land and I still remember my thoughts while entering the main gate and traveling to NC Nigam in the e-rickshaw. Now you may be expecting lines like “I fell in love with this beauty the moment I saw” or “I smiled at the buildings and said to its walls that you were my dream and it’s time to live this dream”. No, these were not running in my mind. Back then I was a worried kid entering hostel life for the first time and could barely see the beauty around me as the tears obstructed my vision. Resting on my mom’s shoulder and looking at my dad, I asked myself how I would live alone for the next four years. And now after four years, I am sitting down at my desk and writing how I lived here: “A memoir about my days at Roorkee”.

To begin with, between all the chaos in my brain I managed to make a few friends on the day of orientation, the minute I saw them I went to them and broke the ice as quickly as possible because in the world of “chalthey convo hall?”, “bahut bhid hein is bus mein” and many more Hindi phrases whose sounds shook my heart and threw me into the sea of sorrow, I heard them talking in Telugu. I felt it for the first time, ah!! The warm feeling of having someone to talk to in your mother tongue while you were miles away from your home. I didn’t know that day that these were going to be the human diaries of my college life who would never hesitate to give their ears whether I talk about my excitements or fears or my endless overthinking thoughts.

I had no plans designed for how to live in this place and I never thought that people around me had one. Any day in my first semester would look the same, day started with rushing to LHC with hunger pangs, followed by having fun copying the assignments, talking in a husky voice while the classes went on, walking back to the hostels discussing all the things which grabbed our attention, make myself tired in the ground for few hours (as someone said NSO had credits), eating the mess food unwillingly and complaining about it (desserts were an exception though!) and finally end the day by falling asleep watching movies and web series. Some quite normal days turned into memories and all thanks to my roommate who always has lots of excitement within. Though the chores sound monotonous, in the middle of all the ordinary something extraordinary always showed up in the form of birthdays, chapos, festivals, Thomso, and most importantly wholehearted laughs till our stomachs hurt, I bet no sitcom would at least be eligible for comparison to our fun talks.

Lately after the first semester, I started to enjoy the essence of the campus and campus groups. They introduced me to the field of robotics which has always fascinated me since the first time I saw RC cars. I was not so knowledgeable enough to find my interests but people around had always inspired me to choose one. I sometimes wonder that without being at Roorkee, Would I ever discover that I find peace in clicking photos, honestly when I saw the film “3 idiots” I didn’t believe that people like “Farhan Quereshi (wildlife photographer)” exist and felt it as some sort of cooked up story but when I saw passionate people and a dedicated group for photography here, I added “clicking photos” in my hobbies list. I may not have been featured for best photographs but I have a few which I am grateful for.

At times when everyone was busy going on trips, I remember I along with my friends just spent hours together within the four walls of my room. I never regret this; rather I feel lucky to have them in my life, whose smiles when I recited funny incidents encouraged me to perform a “stand-up” for the first time, and cheered me to give auditions for the dramatics section.

When I was a child I once wished for a no-exam education system but I am glad that didn’t get fulfilled because whenever I recollect those pressurized prep days before the exams, I feel like going back and reliving those moments as they always showed me how my “Panch Pataka” cared about my studies more than I did.

This place gifted me with a gang “Bengaluru” where we are a group of “least like-minded” people and hardly stayed for a couple of days without fighting for a stupid reason, despite these exceptional traits we sailed on the same ship all the four years and now when I look back I feel at times when everyone looking from outside saw it as “almost drowning” we enjoyed the moment like “rapids in rafting”. These people made me appreciate the flavor of good friendship and at the same time taught me how to respect the differences and yet maintain the same bond.

In contradiction to others, I don’t blame covid for stealing two years of my college life because it enlightened me to the fact that the value of anything could be known only in its absence. So, when I came back to Roorkee, I found the same places more beautiful than ever, I enjoyed this piece of land to the fullest in the final days and I made sure I ticked all the boxes before I bid farewell.

Dear Roorkee,

You gave me a plethora of memories to cherish, friends for life, some valuable experiences which a piece of my heart would always reminisce about and in a nutshell, you made a better version of me. Honestly, never before in my life have I felt like writing a memoir though this is not the first time I said ‘goodbyes’ to a place and people. Not because they weren’t posting on instagram :) ,but because when I recall my school days I feel “how happy life was” but when I look back to these four years, all I could say is this place taught me life in a way greatest of all the times.