A Transition

         It was a beautiful Saturday morning. I had woken up at 6 AM that day even though I had kept my alarm at 6:30 AM. I looked around my room. Most of my stuff had been shipped the previous day to my apartment in Bangalore. Only a few books and other commonplace things were scattered all around. That day was to be my last day in that room. It had been 4 glorious years!!! That room had seen me metamorphose from a reckless teenager into a responsible engineer.

         Our final semester exams had got over just a couple of weeks ago. I still remember me and my friends playing holi after our last exam, Multimedia Communication, had got over. It had been great fun since then. For the past two weeks, we had enjoyed so much. We ate in posh hotels, watched atleast 3 movies daily, visited almost all possible hang out spots in Mysore, played TT and cricket in the evenings and much much more...:-) In hindsight, it was like giving vent to all the pent up frustrations and disappointments which we had faced during the past four years of our engineering life.
   

          I looked at the time. It was 10 minutes past 8 AM. After finishing breakfast, I decided to go to my college. Since the exams were over, there were very few students scattered here and there. There were a couple of my friends sitting near YAMPA (Yashaswini milk parlour), which had been one of the most sought after place in SJCE, for both students and lecturers alike. We had a hearty chat for some time about our college trip, ethnic day, the fun we had had during our final year project, our future career prospects and a host of various other topics ranging from recession to Aishwarya Rai;-)

  

       
         Then, I went to the temple of Lord Ganesha which is located at the heart of our college. I had a silent conversation with God for a few minutes. I thanked God for His blessings and for giving me the strength to come this far in life. I knew that life after college was not going to be easy and I would have to face stiff challenges at each and every point. I prayed wholeheartedly that day to God to give me the will and courage to tackle these challenges. I sat silently on the cool marble floor of the temple for about 10 minutes. My interaction with God a few minutes earlier had given me a sort of new energy.

         Now was the time to do things. I had a couple of books to be returned to the library. That was done in a jiffy. Then, directly, I went to the market to get some packing materials. Then, I came back to my room and did my packing for 2 full hours. It was a quarter past noon. The room looked so neat and clean which was in sharp contrast to its state a few hours back. So, the main thing was done and a satisfied smile spread across my face. Then I had lunch and slept soundly for a couple of hours.

         When I woke up, it was 4 PM. I just gave some finishing touches to my packing and went out to have a cup of tea. There was some bhajan chanting going on in a temple close by. It was also a temple of  Lord Ganesha. It was here where I had waited for 2 hours to see the CM when I was in my 3rd semester. I had also shaken hands with him ( I considered it to be a great achievement at that time). I also joined the people for some time in chanting the Bhajans.

          Then, I had my usual cup of full tea, had a little stroll and came back to my room at about 5:15 PM. It was almost time for me to leave. I had one last look around the room. I felt as if all the members of my room, viz, fan, light,chair, table, wardrobe, et al were standing together to bid me goodbye. My right hand involuntarily came up to reciprocate their goodbyes but suddenly realizing the fact that it was just a figment of my own imagination, I stopped. The hand which had come to wish goodbye ended up wiping a silent tear off my cheek. It's amazing how our relationship with inanimate objects takes real substance when the parting time is near whereas under normal circumstances, we would take them for granted. But everything, good or bad, has to end, isn't it? I took my bags, which were quite heavy indeed, and then set off on my way to the railway station.

         The railway station was buzzing, as usual. I got my tickets and settled myself comfortably at a window seat. Just five minutes was left for the departure. The train was getting filled up very quickly. At sharp 6 PM, the whistle was blown and the train slowly started chugging out of the station. In another three hours or so, I would be in Bangalore.

         I still could not believe that my engineering college life was over. What a journey it had been!!! There had been so many ebbs and flows, smiles and tears and now, it was all over:-(  Monday would be my first day as a software engineer!!! With new dreams and new aspirations, I was stepping into the professional life. I didn't know what would be in store for me. This uncertainty had a strange touch of mystique to it which I found to be very seductive...:-)

         As I was looking out of the train, my mind suddenly shifted many years back to a conversation which I had had with my father when I was, I think, in III standard:

Me: Today, in our class, our teacher had asked us what we would like to become when we grew up?

Father: What did you say, dear?

Me: Dad, I told that I would like to become an engineer...