Twenty Years Later

Twenty years is a long time, very long time. And this is how long I took to revisit my alma mater- ISM, Dhanbad, and now IIT ISM. From the moment the train pulled into Dhanbad station my mind was in conflict, the old reel of pictures that my mind held and the one that unfolded in front. The station then was devoid of any feature worth remembering except for the darkened and tobacco strained floors and the gloom of black dust and smoke hanging all around. Now it looked neat and shiny, bigger and with character. The platforms are connected with lifts and escalators, and all in working conditions. It was beyond imagination, then. The railways have indeed done a commendable job. Even the station facade has a new and improved form. The chaos outside the station, though remains, the humble pedal rickshaws now replaced by auto-rickshaws. Amidst the black smoke and grating noise from the auto-rickshaws, the drivers shout soliciting passengers. The parking area have neatly parked vehicles- a mix of cars, from high-end models to the ‘almost extinct’ ambassadors. The road side eateries, fruit and bag shops still exist, though in a mannered form. The small Hanuman temple has taken a bigger shape and the STD booths have converted into mobile phone accessories shops. Few such shops have transformed into tea shops, serving no ordinary one but ‘Tandoori Chai’.

“I started this Tandoori Tea shop some three years ago” chirped the shop owner from where I had three cups of tea in my two days’ visit. Piping hot tea is served in heated clay cups and is sold for just Rs.10. The tea was indeed tasty and refreshing. “You will find me in the internet” the tea-seller proclaimed proudly when I clicked his picture.

The road leading to the great institution has widened, the shops on both sides pushed back, and the rule of ‘One-Way’ has come into effect for better traffic management.

The Mani’s café, then just bang opposite of the ISM main gate, has shifted quite far away on the same road. The charm of this café is lost and not many students frequent it any more. How all birthday parties used to be hosted here, a humble dosa and cold drink use to be so exciting and the most striking feature use to be the face of the birthday boy, the awkward expression, for he had to settle the bill after the brawl. The many eateries that have surfaced there now attract flock of students enjoying avidly the variety away from the mundane hostel food.

The main gate has enhanced security now; entry is simply not free for all. Being a student then, traversing the main gate either way was like walking in and out of house but now with the status changed to a visitor, I had to go through the entry formalities. The campus is no more a thoroughfare for the residents of ‘Dhaiya’ instead a side road running alongside the high boundary has come into being.

The pristine greenery, as it was then, catch your eyes the moment you set foot in the campus, the flora is well preserved. The metallic road leading to the inside of the campus is spic and span, as it was then. Near the post office one comes across a manual boom barrier, second layer of security. The sluggish guard rises from his post, releases the rope, and lets the car pass without any display of heed. The next turn to the left is the way to the Department of Management Studies. You get to see the Upper ground on the right and new department buildings on the left.

The DMS is complete in itself, the classes are also held in this building, the one where we had our classes has now become International EDC Annexe. An auditorium of its own is a proud addition to the DMS. Several new buildings have cropped up in the free lands which housed bushes and things of no significance, then. New hostels have come up to accommodate more students resulting in swarm of young students all around. The entire tour remains incomplete without the mention of Ramdhani Tea shop. The old Ramdhani is no more but the business remains; the old structure has given way to a stylish small complex, a stretched sloping roof to accommodate customers and several businesses exist side by side in harmony- tea shop, laundry, tailor, and salon. Students flock this place like a crowd of insects around a flower. The innumerable hours we spent sitting on the cemented platform around the tree, smoking and sipping tea, and how all brilliant ideas for assignments germinated here. Many such fine brains spread across the globe now must be feeling indebted to this place of meditation. This ignoble place is indeed more revered than the classrooms and the library.

The canteen facing the library is closed and a kiosk selling noodles and beverages has come up. Within the campus this is the only meek competition to Ramdhani Tea shop. A massive new library has come up and the old library is being linked through a sky way, indeed an engineering marvel inside the campus.

The open area in front of the Emerald hostel, our first abode in the campus, has a well fenced and developed garden. The building stands elegantly embellished by the front garden. Finally the walk to Topaz hostel, this is where we spent most of our days, filled me with nostalgia. The facade remain as it was then, the ground floor mess has neatly arranged tables running around the inner wall with abundance of plastic chairs. Students played cricket as use to be the scene then. Walking the stairs to the second floor it felt as if I was going to my room and would meet all my friends. In few moments I stood in front of my room, it was locked from outside and the corridor was empty. It felt like any moment the doors would fling open and my good old friends would emerge. I had to remind myself that two decades has slipped from my life when I last stood in front of that door.

Finally, Ruby has two sisters. For the uninitiated, Ruby was the only girl’s hostel then. I was told that even entering the lane where Ruby stood is now restricted for boys. “What wrong have you junior guys done?” During ‘our’ days we were surely trusted and considered harmless, few of us even barged inside the hostel during our final days, just out of curiosity.

The campus though filled with more buildings and even more students left me feeling empty. For, my eyes couldn’t see my friends.

The era that is gone, never returns. Only new people come, the old never returns.