Almost two decades ago when Patna Women's College celebrated its golden jubilee, I grabbed the opportunity to pen down a memoir of my stay in the hallowed precincts of my alma mater. The write-up along with numerous others, that spoke of the veritable place the college had earned in imparting education to women, found its way into ' Souvenir' the college magazine. Very soon I made my adieus to the glorious portal of this magnificent edifice. Little did I realise, that the advent of the internet which had then just begun in our country, would one day rekindle a few connections that seemed to be getting obliterated at that point of time, and would perhaps give me an opportunity to pour down my retrospection of some of the most splendid moments of my life.
As a member of the group PWC'91, I catch but just a glimpse of this wonderful piece of architecture on my page and reminiscence all that went on to edify an exuberant teenager into an entity that today manoeuvres the labyrinth of the huge, wide world with grit.
Visuals roll out in mind's eye as I go down memory lane. Anuradha Sinha (Sahay) and Anuradha Bajpai (Upadhya) walk into the Economics class bleary eyed, in flip flops, clutching their notebooks. Being boarders and living just a floor above the classrooms, they enjoy the privilege of taking power naps to endure a fifty minute session ahead. Sharing the seat with them is Bashishtha Banerjee (Bhatacharjee), turned almost a zombie, taking down each word of what Mrs Kumudini Sinha rattles out on the ' Marxian Theory '.Class over and our dear Bash is back to her cheery self spreading her infectious laughter all around.
A year on as we gather in room no 10 for a poetry session in English Literature, the gloom brought in by Alfred Lord Tennyson's verses is thankfully broken by Aradhadha (Pradhan) Prasad's pop-ups. Our fair lady can rightly enliven humdrum sessions with her own artistic sensibilities. Sharing the stage with Aradhana is Tanuja Shankar whose humorous and witty repertoire succeed in flipping composures into smiles, grins and laughter.
Outside the classroom, you are often greeted by Neeti Sahay's graceful smile. Priya (Jaipuriar)Roopshree's cool and sober looks affirm a budding psychologist. Aradhana Lal (Verma) strikes you with her beauty and poise, and how can you miss out Udita Sharan's magnetic charm or Jaya Singh's grace and dignity and the captivating chat sessions that one enjoys with her. The ever bubbly and voluble Rita Bose (Sinha) is loved by one and all. The highlights of the batch are Anvita Sharma (Singh) and Vijaya Singh with their bold, vivacious selves; the typically outgoing types.
Time runs its course and the girls soon graduate out of college carrying dreams of a brighter tomorrow and of course, the secret desire of meeting their own Prince Charming. The kaleidoscope of images that appear in a series of flashback, soon disappear. The present has taken over where these young girls have transformed into mature women. Relationship status has changed for all. There are several add ons. Priorities have changed, and each one has moved on with her life. Yet each woman has brightened up her respective domain with her virtues and radiance.
Today I sit in my cosy home that resonates with the voice of my teenage son and the squeals and laughter of my babydoll. As I share this warmth, I relive the peals of unsuppresable laughter that brought to life the otherwise cold room numbers 18, 10, 8 to name a few, at PWC, when we laughed loudly enough to be warned every now and then about the din that was consequently created.
I smile wistfully and realise that I shall have to be reborn to be a party to the laughter that even today fills up the cafeteria, common room and corridors of PWC, sans my own among them.
We have now moved to various places across the globe. It has probably been decades since we last interacted, but social networking in the virtual world has reunited us all. As we cruise the internet, the joys of chatting online with one another or clicking on to view pictures of the new families, is inexplicable. As the years have gone by, we've grown older, wiser, and a lot has changed....What remains unchanged is the spirit of friendship, the only factor to have grown younger or perhaps vibrant amidst the change. Eighteen years on, as I get to send birthday wishes to someone I hadn't forgotten altogether, yet hadn't ever hoped to meet, how can I stop myself from thanking Facebook for this delightful reunion.... We can march on, not just with memories but connectivity, as well !
As a member of the group PWC'91, I catch but just a glimpse of this wonderful piece of architecture on my page and reminiscence all that went on to edify an exuberant teenager into an entity that today manoeuvres the labyrinth of the huge, wide world with grit.
Visuals roll out in mind's eye as I go down memory lane. Anuradha Sinha (Sahay) and Anuradha Bajpai (Upadhya) walk into the Economics class bleary eyed, in flip flops, clutching their notebooks. Being boarders and living just a floor above the classrooms, they enjoy the privilege of taking power naps to endure a fifty minute session ahead. Sharing the seat with them is Bashishtha Banerjee (Bhatacharjee), turned almost a zombie, taking down each word of what Mrs Kumudini Sinha rattles out on the ' Marxian Theory '.Class over and our dear Bash is back to her cheery self spreading her infectious laughter all around.
A year on as we gather in room no 10 for a poetry session in English Literature, the gloom brought in by Alfred Lord Tennyson's verses is thankfully broken by Aradhadha (Pradhan) Prasad's pop-ups. Our fair lady can rightly enliven humdrum sessions with her own artistic sensibilities. Sharing the stage with Aradhana is Tanuja Shankar whose humorous and witty repertoire succeed in flipping composures into smiles, grins and laughter.
Outside the classroom, you are often greeted by Neeti Sahay's graceful smile. Priya (Jaipuriar)Roopshree's cool and sober looks affirm a budding psychologist. Aradhana Lal (Verma) strikes you with her beauty and poise, and how can you miss out Udita Sharan's magnetic charm or Jaya Singh's grace and dignity and the captivating chat sessions that one enjoys with her. The ever bubbly and voluble Rita Bose (Sinha) is loved by one and all. The highlights of the batch are Anvita Sharma (Singh) and Vijaya Singh with their bold, vivacious selves; the typically outgoing types.
Time runs its course and the girls soon graduate out of college carrying dreams of a brighter tomorrow and of course, the secret desire of meeting their own Prince Charming. The kaleidoscope of images that appear in a series of flashback, soon disappear. The present has taken over where these young girls have transformed into mature women. Relationship status has changed for all. There are several add ons. Priorities have changed, and each one has moved on with her life. Yet each woman has brightened up her respective domain with her virtues and radiance.
Today I sit in my cosy home that resonates with the voice of my teenage son and the squeals and laughter of my babydoll. As I share this warmth, I relive the peals of unsuppresable laughter that brought to life the otherwise cold room numbers 18, 10, 8 to name a few, at PWC, when we laughed loudly enough to be warned every now and then about the din that was consequently created.
I smile wistfully and realise that I shall have to be reborn to be a party to the laughter that even today fills up the cafeteria, common room and corridors of PWC, sans my own among them.
We have now moved to various places across the globe. It has probably been decades since we last interacted, but social networking in the virtual world has reunited us all. As we cruise the internet, the joys of chatting online with one another or clicking on to view pictures of the new families, is inexplicable. As the years have gone by, we've grown older, wiser, and a lot has changed....What remains unchanged is the spirit of friendship, the only factor to have grown younger or perhaps vibrant amidst the change. Eighteen years on, as I get to send birthday wishes to someone I hadn't forgotten altogether, yet hadn't ever hoped to meet, how can I stop myself from thanking Facebook for this delightful reunion.... We can march on, not just with memories but connectivity, as well !
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