Many years ago, I went to a b-school in Jamshedpur. One of their traditions is to have a weekend in November when all alumni are invited to visit the campus with friends and family. This is - quite beautifully - called The Homecoming.
The Homecoming Weekend is on right now. The following piece was meant for the souvenir printed on this occasion. Some of the names may be a little personal but I am hoping many people who want to go back to their alma maters some time in the future will identify with this.
The Homecoming Weekend is on right now. The following piece was meant for the souvenir printed on this occasion. Some of the names may be a little personal but I am hoping many people who want to go back to their alma maters some time in the future will identify with this.
When the auto had turned the bend, you had tried to
peep out and take a look at the tree-lined campus that had been your home for
the past two years. Blame it on the three others who crammed into the same auto
and their embarrassingly large backpacks, you couldn’t do it. Oh, what’s the
big deal, you thought. You will be coming back every once in a while. Every
time you come home to Calcutta for a holiday, you can squeeze in a day trip to
Jamshedpur. The Bombay-Delhi guys will not be able to do this. But you can
easily…
You were not alone among the alumni who made these
highly optimistic ‘return’ plans and failed miserably. Even the guilt gave way
after the first three-four years.
Every once in a while on a business trip to Bombay
(or Bangalore or Delhi), you postponed the evening flight out and landed up at
a batchmate’s place. He would always have the dregs of an Old Monk bottle left.
Chatting animatedly with the couple of other friends, you would again make
elaborate plans. Hey, did you know Kingfisher flies to Ranchi now? It is even
easier now. Just fly and drive down in three hours. All objections about the
bad Jharkhand roads would get lost in the nostalgic high. For the Jubilee Batch
(or Jalebi, as you call yourselves unselfconsciously), the campus had changed
the maximum since your departure. It would be so cool to go back, you thought as
you downed the Old Monk.
These plans became more and more difficult to make
as you grew older. Many of you have moved abroad. Some had multi-locational
teams reporting into them. Some had started their own business. It was bloody
difficult to get away from work for 4-5 days. On top of that, this recession
was not making anybody’s work-life easier. (Yaar, yeh recession ko postpone
karao koi. You postponed project submissions with impunity. How difficult can
this be?)
Then you had children and their schools, class
tests to contend with. As you grew even older, too many of your earlier
generation seemed to be going in and out of hospitals. Planning with friends
became nearly impossible. Instead of shacking up with a friend in a different
city, it felt right that you came back hoping to catch your daughter about to
fall asleep.
But you must plan again – right from scratch.
You now want to take your son along. He knows what
colleges are. He has heard of these good colleges called IIM. He has to be
shown the difference between the good and the best. He has to be shown those
tree-lined paths. He has to be shown where the computer centre used to be (You
used desktops, dad?). You had to tell him about Jesu, Gango and Sarin. You also
need to prepare an answer for when he asks, “Mom, what are they shouting?
What’s the next line after Ek do teen chaar?”
He has seen all his ancestral homes.
It is time to show him this one as well.
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